$5.00 No Peek Pot Roast

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So I kinda threw my food budget out the window over the holidays, and now we’re playing catch up.  I actually find it rather entertaining, because being short on funds means I have to get really creative with healthy meals that don’t break the bank.  Earlier this week, Lori over at Vann Clan 5 shared a simple no peek beef tips recipe that got me thinking.

I headed out to Aldi to do my shopping and was stoked to find THREE marked down packs of eye of round steak for right at $3.00 each.  I LOVE picking up discounted packs of tough-as-leather-nobody-wants-to-buy-it meat at Walmart and Aldi, because once you slow cook it, it’s tender as can be!  I grabbed some carrots and onions and a few more ingredients and headed home to make some magic.  This is *such* an easy recipe for anyone to make, check out my $5.00 No Peek Pot Roast below!

$5.00 No Peek Pot Roast

$5.oo No Peek Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 pound of cheap beef (cut into 1/2-1″ cubes) – $3.25

2 cups of chopped carrots (I used 5 medium carrots) – $0.40 [Read more…]

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Cooking with the kids: Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



Today while doing last minute stocking stuffer shopping, I grabbed a bag of Kraft peppermint marshmallows.  My kids love marshmallows, and I thought the peppermint ones would be really tasty in their Christmas morning cocoa.  Once I got home, Angel saw there was a recipe on the back and asked if she could make it for everyone.  I love letting the kids cook and create in the kitchen, so of course I said sure!

Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn 

Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp salt

12 cups air-popped popcorn (6-8 Tbs kernels)

1/2 cup dark chocolate morsels

1 stick unsalted butter

40 mini peppermint marshmallows

Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 275.

2.  Add chocolate and butter into a microwaveable bowl and heat for 30 seconds at a time until melted completely.

3.  Stir in marshmallows and heat for 15 seconds at a time until melted.

4.  Stir in salt.

5.  Pour over popcorn and toss until coated.

6.  Spread out on a greased baking sheet.

7.  Bake for 10 minutes, stir and bake for another 10 minutes until crisp.

8.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

This would make a great treat for a party, or a gift for someone special on your list.  Adding in extra marshmallows after the mix cools can give it some extra color and texture.  The original recipe called for semi-sweet chocolate, but we are big dark chocolate fans over here, so we used that instead.  If I hadn’t used all of our mint flavoring on fudge this week, I would have added in a bit more to the chocolate mix, as it wasn’t *quite* as minty as we would have liked.  Still delicious overall though!

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Omelets in a bag – Cooking with the kids

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



My friend Nancy (she’s an artist, check out her stuffs y’all!) sent me a link to a post about omelets in a bag recently.  I can’t believe I had never heard of them before!

Each weekend that I have a day off from events, I try to plan a hands on breakfast that I can make with my kids.  We love omelets, but it’s hard to make 8 of them at once and still manage to eat all together.  I always have two pans going, but even so, by the time I finish cooking, the first two batches have already been gobbled up.  This method allows the kids to customize their own breakfast, and everything can be cooked all at once.  (For another delicious breakfast recipe that’s easy to make with the kids, check out my Biscuit Breakfast Bake post!)

Omelets in a bagOmelets in a bag

Directions:

1. Set out your ingredients.

2. Write everyone’s name on a bag (permanent marker).

3. Let everyone pick out their own ingredients.

4. Add a ladle of egg to each bag.

5. Double check everyone’s bags to make sure they are sealed all the way. (watery eggs, yuck!)

This time, I chopped up a wide variety of ingredients.  The kids were able to choose from peppers, onions, olives, tomatoes, peppers, cheese, apples, bacon, and more.  For seasonings, I set out cinnamon, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, jelly, pepper, and salt.  Cracking eggs can get a little messy with kids, so I did that part for them before portioning the eggs into the bags.

Omelets in a bag

6.   Put the bags into a large pot of water.  Bring to a boil.

7.  Cook for about 10 minutes, you’ll be able to see when the eggs are finished cooking.

8.  Open the bags and remove the omelets.  They should just slide right out. (No grease, oil, or butter needed!)

9.  Enjoy!

Omelets in a bag

Not only is this a quick way to prepare omelets, but it takes the caked-on egg skillets out of the equation!  My kids loved that they could choose exactly what they wanted in their omelets.  Allowing children to make their own choices about small things helps to build their confidence, and teaches them about independence.  Plus, it’s a lesson in consequences as well.  If they refuse to listen to mom and instead put in 6 Tbs of jelly and 2 Tbs of salt into their eggs, they’ll learn really quick that maybe they should have paid attention, and you won’t even have to nag!

I may be busy a lot of the time with business, but weekend breakfast with my kids is a moment I treasure.  We get a chance to talk about school, friends, their activities, and more.  It’s such a great way to start the day!  And now with this easy bagged method, we can all eat at the same time on omelet day!

(BTW, if you are a camper, this is an excellent way to cook eggs at a campsite!)

Want to make this meal even easier?  Check out some of my favorite time saving kitchen tools below!

1.  Double balloon whisk – Mine is from when I was a Pampered Chef consultant, but any brand will do.  They work so much better than a traditional whisk, and really beat things up pretty quickly.  Twice the wires means half the work time! (Be sure to use the end of the whisk to “pop” the yolks first, they’ll mix up much faster that way.)

2.  Food chopper – Another thing I had from Pampered Chef days, a food chopper really saves times on chopping up ingredients, and you can get the exact type of chop you desire, from rough to extremely fine.

3. Mini ladles – My favorite is the one ounce size.  We have a variety of ladles, but this one is the most versatile.  Works great for ladling eggs in this case, but it’s also perfect for gravy, dessert sauces, and more.  Using those huge soup ladles just doesn’t cut it sometimes!

*This post includes affiliate links, and I earn a small commission from any items purchasedMaybe even enough to take my kids out for ice cream. Or buy myself a cheap bottle of wine!*

Have you ever tried to cook eggs in a bag?  What’s your favorite way to eat your omelet?  Share your favorite recipe in the comments below!

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Quick and Easy Salad Dressing

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



This dressing has become one of our favorites, and it’s so easy to make!  It’s much healthier than any of the store bought dressings available, and can be thrown together in a matter of seconds.  If you want to double or triple the recipe, it keeps just fine in the fridge.

easy salad dressing

Quick and Easy Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

Juice of one lemon

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp coarse ground black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and serve immediately over mixed greens.

 

Variations:

-Add red pepper flakes for a little bit of spice

-Use half lemon and half orange juice

-Add minced red onion

-Mix in 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning

 

Do you make your own salad dressing?  What’s your favorite recipe?

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Copycat Recipes – Favorite Restaurant Dishes At Home

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



One of our biggest monthly expenses outside of regular household bills is eating out.  I vow every month not to spend so much on eating out at restaurants, but then I get tired, stressed, busy, etc. and always end up getting take out or running in for a “cheap” meal at a local restaurant.  With a family of 8, even eating “cheap” ends up being expensive!

Other than the convenience factor, the main reason we eat out is because we are wanting a particular dish that a restaurant offers.  I’m working on learning to prepare similar meals at home so that we can try to really start putting that money into savings.  Below are some of my favorite restaurant meals, with links to copycat recipes that can be prepared at home.

Restaurant Copycat recipes at home

1.  Hibachi Style Fried Rice

I love me some fried rice.  I mean, LOVE it!  There is a Japanese place near my house that makes the best rice, and I’m pretty sure it’s because they add in bacon.  Bacon makes everything tasty!  Earlier this year, I decided to try and come up with my own version of their rice, and I came pretty darn close to it.  It can be a bit time consuming if you’re trying to prepare a really large amount, but it’s delicious and super cheap compared to eating out! Check out my recipe here —-> Homemade Fried Rice

homemade fried rice

2.  Chipotle.  Anything from Chipotle!

My husband and I love Chiptole’s burritos and salads, but my kids don’t really care for their food.  We usually stop in during the day when the kids are at school, but just lunch for the two of us can easily cost $20.  The website Chipotle Fan has some great Chipotle style recipes, although I have yet to try them out.  It’s on the list for this month, because those burritos sure are tasty!

3.  Whole Foods deli

I know Whole Foods isn’t a restaurant, but I love grabbing lunch from their deli counter.  Their caesar pasta salad is to die for, and they have a roasted corn salad that is amazing.  I played around with the corn salad for a few hours and came up with an inexpensive alternative that tastes almost exactly like it!  Find my recipe version here —-> Roasted Corn Salad (WF Copycat)

Roasted Corn Salad

4.  Egg Drop Soup

Another Asian style dish, I know, but I am a big fan of Asian cuisine!  Not that yellow greasy egg drop soup, but the kind that’s made with chicken broth and is much healthier.  My favorite Chinese restaurant offers a delicious, healthier version, complete with peas, carrots, mushrooms, and mini tofu cubes.  This recipe from AllRecipes.com comes pretty close, although it doesn’t have the added veggies.  I like to add in a bit of white pepper as well, to give it a little bit of spice.

Egg Drop Soup

Photo credit: User ALFANN02 on Allrecipes

5.  Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Okay, I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of Red Lobster.  I find their food to be fairly bland, and way overpriced for the portions you receive. However, their biscuits are delicious!  This recipe from AllRecipes.com seems to be a pretty close copy, which means I can indulge at home without spending money on food that I really don’t care for!

Photo credit: User mominml on AllRecipes

Photo credit: User mominml on AllRecipes

6.  Fettuccine Alfredo

This cheesy pasta dish is delicious at almost every Italian restaurant, but the jarred sauce sold in stores just doesn’t even begin to compare.  This recipe is SO easy to make at home, with only a few ingredients to buy.  Keep in mind though, once you realize how fattening it is, you might not be so keen on eating it in the future!   Be sure to have a salad first, so that you can keep your portion sizes smaller.  I like to add in just a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice and fresh ground black pepper, and top it off with diced roma tomatoes!

Fettuccine Alfredo

Photo credit: User Dianne of AllRecipes

7.  Loaded Baked Potato Soup from O’Charley’s

This soup is creamy and delicious, and Food.com has a great copycat recipe that you can make at home.  It’s not exactly the same, but it’s close enough!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Photo credit: User run for your life on Food.com

8. Cajun Jambalaya Pasta from Cheesecake Factory

This pasta dish is one of my husband’s favorite meals to eat out.  I found this recipe on Tastebook recently and can’t wait to share it with him.  It’s spicy and rich, with plenty of shrimp, chicken, and peppers to pair with the pasta.

Cheesecake Factory Cajun Jambalaya Pasta

Photo credit: User Rhonette on TasteBook.com

9.  Wing Stop Lemon Pepper Wings

When I was living in San Antonio, I fell in love with Wing Stop’s lemon pepper wings.  Alright, I was pregnant at the time, so everything tasted wonderful, but they really are delicious wings!  When we moved to our new house three years ago, I was delighted to see that there was a Wing Stop less than a mile away.  Unfortunately, taking a family of 8 to eat wings can quickly cost over $60, so we don’t go there too often.  I found this recipe from Uncommon Censor recently and can’t wait to try it out!

10. Chik-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets

I love Chik-Fil-A’s nuggets (and chicken minis!) but don’t eat there very often anymore, for several reasons which I won’t get into here. This recipe from Frieda Loves Bread comes pretty close, although I would definitely recommend using peanut oil instead of canola, as there is a big difference in taste.  That, and we all know that CFA uses peanut oil for their chicken. 🙂

I recently cooked up another delicious dish at home, be sure to check out my creamy restaurant style macaroni and cheese!

Does your family spend more than you would like on eating out?  Have you ever tried to make your favorite restaurant meals at home?

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

White bean and chicken chili

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



This week my younger sister came to visit with her 4 month old son.  We met up at my parent’s house right before noon, and my mother made mention of the fact that she forgot to go to the store to pick up something for lunch.  One of my favorite things to do is make meals from random pantry and fridge items.  So I quickly got to work.

white bean chicken chili

First I checked out the fridge and pantry shelves.

white bean chicken chili

white bean chicken chili

There wasn’t much in the fridge other than drinks and condiments, but I did find a bag in the freezer with one large chicken breast.  The pantry had a decent amount of canned goods to work with, so I was confident I could pull something together.

Here’s what I ended up with:

white bean chicken chili

I pulled out some diced tomatoes, white beans, corn and peppers, chicken broth, rice, lime juice, and tortillas.  All the fixings for a southwestern style chicken and bean chili!  In the spice cabinet, I found some cilantro, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin.

Once I had everything together and a plan in mind, this recipe only took about 15 minutes to prepare.  Check out the recipe below!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice

3 cups water

2 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp cilantro

Directions:

1.  Add all ingredients to a large microwave safe bowl and cover.  Cook on high for 10 minutes.

2.  Stir and cook again for 5 for minutes.

3.  Remove from microwave and set aside.

white bean chicken chili - cilantro lime rice

White Bean and Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast

1 Tbs oil

1 can corn with peppers

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can white beans

2 cans chicken broth

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tbs cornstarch

1/4 cup water

 

Directions:

1.  Trim chicken of all fat and cut into small cubes.

2.  Heat pot to medium-high and add in oil.

3.  Add chicken to pot and cook until no longer pink.

4.  Drain tomatoes, beans, and corn.  Add to pot.

5.  Season mixture with spices, stirring well to coat.

6.  Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil.

7.  Whisk cornstarch and water together, making sure to break up any lumps.  Add into pot and stir until thickened.

8.  Remove from heat.

 

Tortilla Strips

Ingredients:

2 small tortillas

1 Tbs oil

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450.

2.  Cut tortillas into strips.

3.  Toss with oil until coated.

4.  Spread strips out on a pan and bake until browned.

5. Remove from heat and use to top chili.

 

To serve, place a scoop of rice into each bowl.  Ladle the chili over the rice and top with tortilla strips.  If you have sour cream, it makes a great addition to this tasty dish!

Just because you haven’t gone shopping or you don’t have a meal planned, doesn’t mean that you don’t have the ingredients you need already in your kitchen.  Putting together a last minute meal is easier than it seems, it just requires you to think outside the box!

Click here for a printer friendly version of this recipe!

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Oven Baked Shrimp

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



If you are on Pinterest, you have most likely seen the lemon butter shrimp picture that’s been going around.  For lunch today, I made my own version, check out the recipe below!

Oven Baked Shrimp

Oven Baked Shrimp

Ingredients:
8-10 shrimp (I used jumbo deveined, shell on)
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
1/2 c. cherry tomatoes
1/2 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
1/2 stick of butter (4 Tbs)
2-3 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbs minced garlic
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley flakes

Oven Baked Shrimp
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Melt butter, pour into 9″ round cake pan.
3.  Add in diced onion, garlic, and tomatoes, stir to coat in butter.
4.  Spread lemon slices around the inside of the pan.
5.  Place shrimp in single layer in pan, flipping once to coat both sides.
6.  Sprinkle with Old Bay, garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley.
7.  Bake for 15 minutes, remove and toss with pasta to serve.

Oven Baked Shrimp

This makes an easy, delicious meal and can easily be split between two people.  You could also do an Italian style with capers, artichoke, and parmesan, or even Cajun with peppers and cayenne!  I’m going to play around with the recipe in the next few days and see how it comes out if you substitute broth for the butter, I’ll be sure to link up to that recipe as well.

Oven Baked Shrimp

Do you ever use Pinterest for dinner ideas?  What is your most recent Pinterest inspired dish?

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Sloppy Joes (with lentils!)

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



I am always looking for ways to cut down on our food bill and dried lentils really help out a lot.  They are very inexpensive, don’t require soaking, and are easy to incorporate into a variety of meals.  Sometimes it can be challenging figuring out how to use a new ingredient, but I have found that we can easily switch them out for ground beef in a lot of dishes.  As I experiment and come up with yummy lentil dishes, I’ll post about them so you can try them out too!

The inspiration for this sloppy joe recipe came from Namely Marly.  I modified it to suit our tastes, that and I can’t stick to a recipe to save my life!  Not only is this recipe super easy, it’s also slam full of veggies and vegan!

By the way, please excuse the horrid photos. One of the mini mafia absconded with my camera and I had to use my phone. 🙁  Anyhow, on to the deliciousness!

Sloppy Joes with lentils

Sloppy Joes with lentils

Ingredients:

1/2 lb lentils (about half a bag)
4 garlic cloves
2 large peppers (I used banana and bell, but any combo will do)
1 medium onion
1 1/2 c. rough chopped cabbage
2 medium carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
oil (vegetable, olive, canola, etc.)
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (REALLY adds to the flavor)
2 Tbs brown sugar

Directions:

1.  Cook lentils as directed, drain and set aside.

2.  Finely chop all vegetables.  (I’m a food processor junkie, so I just threw everything in there instead of doing it all by hand)

3.  Heat oil in a pot on med-high heat.

4.  Add in chopped vegetables and cook for 5-10 minutes, until soft.

Sloppy Joes with lentils

If it looks like veggie mush, you’re on the right track! 🙂

5.  Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato paste. (Put the diced tomatoes in the food processor for a just a few seconds if you don’t want chunks.  Literally, a few seconds, or they’ll end up like sauce)

6.  Add in all seasonings, stir well, and cook for 5 minutes.

Sloppy Joes with lentils

Starting to look a little more sloppy joe-ish

Just serve it up on buns like you would a traditional sloppy joe.  We didn’t have any in the pantry, so I went with plain ol’ sliced bread, but it was still delicious.

Sloppy Joes with lentils

Not only is this recipe quick and easy, it’s also loaded with good stuff.  You can really use any vegetables you have in your fridge.  I’m not one to go out and buy specific ingredients for a recipe, I just throw in whatever we have around here.  The brown sugar can be left out if you want, I just add it in because I find it helps get rid of that canned tomato taste.  The smoked paprika REALLY makes the flavor pop, it tastes completely different than regular paprika.  We ended up with sandwiches for all 8 of us, and enough leftover to make at least another 4 for lunch.  The kids were eating it straight out of the pot, so you know it was tasty!

Sloppy Joes with lentils

Definitely a winner with the littles!

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Sausage and Apples with Pineapple Teriyaki Rice

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



We have had this pesky can of apple pie filling sitting on the shelf for months.  I don’t even know where it came from.  And Eva constantly asks if she can eat it.  Lunchtime rolled around and this simple recipe came to mind.  It is delicious and inexpensive, just how I like ’em! 🙂

Sausage and Apples with Pineapple Teriyaki Rice

Ingredients:

For the rice

3 c. rice

4 1/2 c. water

1 1/2 c. pineapple juice

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbs Teriyaki sauce

For the sausage

1 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2″ slices (precooked, I used beef)

1 can apple pie filling

1 large onion, diced

1/2 c. pineapple juice

1 Tbs. Teriyaki sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbs canola oil

 

Directions:

1.  Mix all rice ingredients in a large pot on high heat.  When it starts to boil, cover loosely and turn down to low.  Leave it alone for around 15 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork.  Set aside.

Pineapple Teriyaki Rice

2.  Heat oil on med-high in a skillet.  Add in sausage and onions.  Cook until onions are slightly soft.

Sausage and onion

3.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cook until heated throughout.

Sausage, onion, and apple

4.  Serve over rice.

Pineapple Teriyaki Rice with Sausage, Onion, and Apples

Makes 6-8 large servings.

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Quick and Easy Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipe

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**



One of our favorite quick simple dishes that works great for busy nights is my Creamy Chicken Pasta recipe.  It is literally one of those recipes where you dump the ingredients in, mix it up, and serve.  The part that takes the longest is boiling the noodles, and while those are going you can get everything else opened up and ready to go!  This is a recipe that can easily be made by a younger child that wants to be independent and helpful (my 9 year can make it all by herself) but it’s also one that my 4 and 5 year olds can “make” with my help.

Cream Chicken Pasta - Quick and Easy

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound of pasta (we <3 penne)

1 can chicken (in the tuna/chili section)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can evaporated milk

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 Tbs garlic powder

1 Tbs parsley

1/2 Tbs onion powder

Last minute creamy chicken pasta

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain and set aside.

2. Heat chicken, tomatoes, evaporated milk and soup to a boil.

3. Mix cornstarch and water, slowly pour into sauce to thicken.

4. Season with herbs/spices listed, or come up with your own twist!

5. Pour drained pasta into sauce, stir to coat.

That’s it!  Quick and easy. 🙂

Side notes and ramblings…..

-The cornstarch/water slurry isn’t essential, but without it your sauce will be thin and runny.

-Breaking the chicken up with a fork before adding it into the sauce is WAY easier than trying to do it later.  Trust me.

-This is a basic recipe, have fun with it!  Add in broccoli, cheese, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, etc.

 

Cost of ingredients:

Pasta – $1.00

Chicken – $2.00

Tomatoes – $0.50

Cream of Chicken – $0.50

Evaporated Milk – $1.00

Total cost – $5.00

There you have it!  My Creamy Chicken Pasta recipe, only $5.00 and less than 30 minutes from start to finish!

Keep on saving!  :o)
--Barbara

**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Atlanta's Frugal Mom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. In other words, if you click through to Amazon from some of the books or products I recommend and make a purchase, I get a small percentage in exchange for your purchase. It's a small way you can support AFM.