One of the easiest ways to save money on the grocery bill is to cut down on the amount of meat used in a recipe. When making casseroles, soups, stews, pasta dishes, and other meals where meat is not the main dish it is easy to reduce the meat in half. This way my family saves a lot of money without giving up our favorite meals.
We don't eat a lot of meat in our family, maybe 3 times a week and other proteins the rest of the week. To make my life easier with feeding 3 people I will buy a whole cooked chicken and use it for 2 meals. This is perfect for me because I don't enjoy cooking meat and it always comes out chewy. At safeway I buy one for 8.00 or at my local organic store it's 9.00. I prefer the organic as it is raise cage free and seems to have a better seasoning at the store I go to.
I will usually use the breast the first night and make an indian curry:
Day 1
2 chicken breast diced up salt / pepper 1 can of diced tomatoes 1 potato 1/4 onion 2 tbs. masala or curry or 2 tbs curry paste (whatever you use it will be fine) 1 cup basmati rice (I buy this in bulk at an indian grocery, at williams - sonoma I bought a small box of this for 6.00 but at the indian grocery I found the same brand for 8.00 but it was a large sack that has lasted 6 months)
this feeds 4 people
optional: naan bread can be used in next days meal as well.
Day 2
Diced up chicken from previous night left over naan any kind of veggies you have (I like to use lettuce/tomatoe/jalapeno, but you can use anything that you want to not waste in your fridge) sour cream or hummus
As a side dish I usually will boil 2 corns broken in half and then sprinkle them with cumin and drizzle a lime on them
feeds 4
If you want to be resourceful then on day 3 why not boil the bones and add some veggies and some type of noodle or rice and make a soup out of it; serve with open faced grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches
Thats 3 easy meals using one bird. Saves cooking time, room for error and money
Yes it's cheaper but you should try to balance your carbs with protein or you'll gain weight. If you cut the meat down try to replace it with beans or soy burger mix
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