Meal Metamorphosis

Now that we are down my entire income, making every dollar stretch and sticking to a budget is more important than ever. Instead of going to the grocery store and making spur of the moment dinner decisions, now I go with a meal plan and a list and have been making a valiant effort to stick to the list.

Some shopping trips are better than others =)

Being more budget conscious, I've also signed up for a coupon service (Coupons.com) and the local free military paper here (The Gidon) offers P&G Coupons in the paper every week. I recently bought a coupon book/grocery list organizer and before I hit the commissary I peruse my Pinterest Wall for ideas/inspirations/meals and go through my coupons to see where I can save some dough.

I wanted to have my friends Ashley and her fiance Eron, along with there two Beagle pups (Doc and Pierre), over for dinner since they had us over twice and cooked two fab home cooked meals while we were hotel bound/homeless and took care of my hunny while I spent two weeks in CT in July. I finally settled on a pulled chicken crock pot recipe that I found on Pinterest. I was a bit skeptical because it only called for three ingredients (Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, a packet of taco seasoning and a 16 oz jar of salsa) but all the comments/reviews were positive so I decided to give  it a whirl.

Pulled Chicken Crock Pot Tacos that are bomb and cheap and cheerful!

 

 

Boneless and skinless chicken breasts (No need to chop them, they literally fall apart- I used 3)
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1, 16oz jar of salsa (you decide the spicy level and brand)
Put it all in the slow-cooker.
Stir to combine and in 4-6 hrs (high) or 6-8 (low) you are good to go!!

I served them with soft and hard shell tacos, and all the fixins for tacos (Shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream and salsa) and Mexican rices and they were a hit! I really like serving food that isn't fussy to eat or too prepare and I find that the more laid back the food the more laid back the company =)

Even thou I only used three whole chicken breasts and we ate until we were all stuffed, I still had a good amount left over. Since I don't like to throw food away (but i'm not a fan of eating the same thing over and over for days) I racked my brain on how I could morph/transform my leftovers into something else. Then it hit me: Make chicken tortilla soup! It was my first time making it (I perused several different recipes to gather the basics) but i'm pretty proud of my results =)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 

Leftover chicken (about 2 cups of the shredded chicken mixture)
One 32oz box of chicken broth
One can corn (drained)
2 hand fulls chopped parsley or cilantro but I HATE cilantro so I used parsley
One squeezed lime
One can diced tomatoes ( I had leftover marinara sauce that I made so I used that)
One small can of diced chilies
1 small yellow onion

2-3 cloves of garlic
One can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 teaspoons of Chile powder

Salt and pepper to taste
 

I sauteed the onion, chilies and garlic in evoo then added in the rest of ingredients in no particular order. I let it simmer for about 30 minutes and finished it off with cheese, a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips.