Sunday & Monday Dinner

I had a busy Sunday and wasn't remotely in the mood for cooking, so I heated up half a box of Taquitos, a can of refried beans, and sliced up a tomato from the garden.

Totals:

$2.12 (1/2 box of Taquitos, $5.25 - $1 coupon)
.79 - refried beans
free - tomato

$3.01 for dinner for 3

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Tonight I did some experimenting with veggies from the garden. We all love fried squash, but the usual way I make it (batter-dipped) is messy and time-consuming. I found a recipe that basically just called for the squash to be dipped in seasoned flour. It turned out OK, but nowhere near as good as my "regular" way.

I also have a sudden glut of tomatoes to use up, so I made baked stuffed tomatoes. I looked at several different recipes online, but wound up making one up as I went along. It was very good if I do say so myself. I diced 2 slices bacon and cooked in a large skillet. I added a mixture of sauteed chopped onion, garlic and bell pepper that I had leftover from another recipe (about 1/2 onion, 1/2 bell pepper, and 2 cloves minced garlic). I poured in 1 cup instant rice and 1 cup chicken broth, then simmered until rice was done. I let it cool, then stirred in about 1 cup shredded cheddar/monterey jack mix. For the tomatoes, I cut a thin slice off the top, then scooped out the pulp, leaving a 1/4" shell all the way around. I salted the insides, then turned upside down on paper towels to let drain for 30 minutes. I stuffed with the rice/cheese mix, topped with more cheese, and baked at 400 for 20 minutes. Rounding out the dinner we had leftover pole beans from the other night, and I baked up a box of Jiffy corn muffins.

Totals:

.50 - corn muffins (mix + milk + egg)
$1 - filling for tomatoes (rice, bacon, cheese)
free - tomatoes, squash, beans

$1.50 for dinner for 4 (sister ate with us again)