Tuesday Dinner

Curried Coconut Chicken

This dish has gone from being a completely unfamiliar flavor profile to one of my family's favorite meals. The Kid does a fist-pump in the air whenever I mention what I'm cooking for dinner.

I can't lay claim to the recipe because it's not mine and my only changes are minor. (I use a little less chicken, a whole onion, etc. Stuff like that.) It's all kinds of awesome, though, no matter how I tweak it to suit my needs.

Totals:

$2.50 (1/2 of 2.5 lb bag bought BOGO at HT)
$1.37 - 1 can coconut milk
.50 - 1 onion
.25 - 1 can tomato sauce
.33 - 1 can diced tomatoes
.20 - rice

$5.15 for dinner for 3 (with enough leftover for about 1 more serving)

Tuesday Dinner

Dinner Tuesday was Orange Chicken, made with a Wanchai Ferry dinner kit. These kits all contain rice, seasoned cornstarch (to toss the chicken in before cooking), and sauce. Some add a packet of hot chilis, nuts, canned pineapple, etc., depending on the flavor. I'd be happy enough to just purchase the sauce in a bottle and do without the kit altogether (especially because they never contain enough rice), but I'd miss the seasoned cornstarch, too - it really gives the chicken a nice flavor. The Orange Chicken is our favorite variety, although we've liked every other kind we've tried, too. The kits are a bit pricey at the regular grocery stores, but WalMart has them in the $3 range. Combine that with the frequent coupons for $1 off, and it's a decent deal.

On the side we had steamed edamame from Trader Joe's. I could have made a meal on these alone - they were so good!

Totals:

$2 - Wanchai Ferry dinner kit
$2 - boneless chicken (purchased BOGO from HT)
$1.69 - edamame

$5.69 for dinner for 3 (we had another complete serving left over that I was hoping to save for lunch, but The Kid polished it off before bedtime.)

Wednesday Dinner

Tonight I made Curried Coconut Chicken and served it with white rice. This is the second time I've made this dish and the family loved it just as much as the first time - maybe more. My only changes to the recipe are that I cut the chicken to 1 lb. and only used about 3/4 can of coconut milk (used 1/2 cup in my now-famous Banana Tres Leches Cake.)

Even if you're unfamiliar with the flavors of Indian food (as my family is), I highly recommend this dish. The Kid practically jumped for joy when I mentioned what I was cooking tonight. It's THAT good.

Totals:

$2 - chicken (purchased BOGO at Harris Teeter)
$1.29 - coconut milk
.80 - canned tomatoes
.50 - onion, rice

$4.59 for dinner for 3 (with leftovers for another serving)

Tuesday Dinner

Tonight's dinner was a mix of homemade and ready-made. I cooked Chicken Fried Rice from stratch, and rounded out the meal with ready-made egg rolls.

For the fried rice, I cut 2 boneless chicken breasts into cubes and marinated in soy sauce for about an hour. I tossed them in a little cornstarch (my secret) and stir-fried in a little oil until browned and crispy. I removed them from the pan and added 2 eggs, lightly beaten, then cooked until they were scrambled and set. I set these aside with the chicken. I added a bit more oil to the pan and stir-fried 1 chopped onion for about 5 minutes, then added 1 tsp. garlic and cooked another minute. I added 3 cups cold cooked rice (I cooked this morning) and stir-fried everything for about 3 minutes, adding about 3 Tablespoons soy sauce. At the end, I stirred in 1/2 of an 8oz package frozen peas, the chicken and the scrambled egg, and let cook another few minutes or until everything was heated through.

The egg rolls are a brand I've only seen sold at WalMart, in the deli cases up front. $2.50 for a package of 5. I usually get the the shrimp variety, which is low-fat ( 3 grams per egg roll) and delicious.

On Michelle's suggestion (Hi Michelle!), I'm going to start posting photos of my meals when possible. Of course, some things just won't lend themselves to photos, and I'm sure I'll have photos that won't come out well, but I'm going to try and make them a regular part of this blog.

Totals:

$1.50 - chicken (about 12 oz. purchased at HT BOGO sale)
.41 - 1/2 package peas
.20 - rice
.25 - onion
.15 - eggs

$2.50 - egg rolls

$5.01 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us)