Monday & Tuesday Dinners

Turkey Fajitas

It was a busy weekend for us filled with a concert and Super Bowl parties, but I was back in the kitchen Monday.

Last fall I ran across a great markdown deal on Tequila-Lime marinated turkey tenderloins ($1.25 apiece), so I bought all they had. I roasted one whole in the oven (according to package directions) and it was just so-so. We ate it, but nobody was really looking forward to having it again. Consequently, the rest have been sitting in my freezer, waiting for me to figure out something better to do with them.

I decided to try them in fajitas, so here's what I did: I cut the marinated turkey into 1" cubes and sliced a yellow onion into strips. I sauteed them both together in about 1T oil using a nonstick pan over high heat. I was able to get a nice brown/sear on the meat, which I think made a big difference in the taste. I served in heated flour tortillas with black beans, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and guacamole. (Wholly Guacamole - from the produce section - frequently offers $1 off coupons, making the 8 oz. package free when Harris Teeter has super doubles. It freezes well unopened, so I stock up when this happens.)

The verdict: all the rest of the Tequila-Lime Turkey Tenderloins in my freezer are now destined to become fajitas. This was a really good meal, and didn't taste at all like something I was trying to use up.

Monday Totals:

$1.25 - turkey tenderloin
.20 - onion
.80 - black beans
.70 - tortillas
.55 - 1/2 package shredded cheese (BOGO sale + coupon)
free - guacamole

$3.50 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us), with leftover turkey & black beans for a lunch serving

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Tuesday was a busy day for me, shopping and running errands in the cold rain. I didn't get home until late and I wasn't in much of a cooking mood. Good thing I had several heat n' serve dinner options, so I was able to get dinner on the table in about 15 minutes. As a bonus, the only dishes I had to wash were the plates we ate from.

Tuesday Totals:

$3 - Hormel meat loaf (rain check + coupon)
.80 - Birdseye steam-in-the-bag broccoli & cheese (BOGO + doubled coupon)
free - Birdseye steam-in-the-bag red potatoes in butter-chive sauce (eVic special for .99, but .50 doubled coupon made it free)

$3.80 for dinner for 3

NOTE: I wouldn't get the Birdseye potatoes again. They were simultaneously mushy and undercooked, and the sauce was just weird. We all ate 2 bites then left the rest on our plates. I even threw out the leftovers, and I ALWAYS save leftovers, y'all. Oh well, good thing it was free.