Parmesan Chicken and Veggies

 

These meals are intended to be a relatively simple and healthy weeknight meal for a family of four. We assume that these dinners are being made in a kitchen stocked with regular kitchen staples. We will not include prices of oil, sugar, flour, spices, etc. unless you need a substantial amount or it is unusual. Regional food prices may vary and can be reduced by smart shopping techniques.

Special thanks to Allison for submitting her own $10 dinner idea. We left her pricing the way she wrote it although we usually don't bother pricing spices and other staples. If you have your own favorite cheap and healthy dinner recipe for 4, submit it to us and you may see it posted in a future $10 Dinners.

I was inspired to create my own $10 recipe so here it is:

Shopping List

Directions

Start the rice first. I use brown rice because it is more nutritious than white rice. Nuke the water in the microwave for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and put the rice, butter and salt in a baking dish. Pour the hot water over top, put the lid on, and put it in the oven.

Next, work on the chicken. Melt 4 Tbsp. butter. Combine the parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, and garlic in a shallow dish. Coat each chicken breast with butter, then with cheese mixture. Place in a baking dish. Put this in the oven, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until no longer pink.

Finally, prepare the veggies. Chop up the onion and garlic. Put this in a baking dish along with the frozen veggies, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour olive oil over top. Stir to coat all the veggies with oil. Put this in the oven, uncovered, with the rice and chicken.

When the chicken is done, everything else should be done too. You may want to stir the veggies halfway through. I'm sure this could be made even more thrifty using thriftier cuts of chicken. While it's all in the oven, you are free to clean up the kitchen, surf thriftyfun.com, or whatever else you need to do.

By Allison from Northeast TN

Editor's Note: I had fresh carrots and broccoli on hand so I used them instead of the frozen veggies that Allison listed. The price is about the same but the prep work takes a little longer so I cut up the veggies first, then started the rice, etc.