Saving Money by Buying Bone-In Chicken Breasts and Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

I recently purchased a pack of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.  I don't buy chicken breasts very often because they are so expensive, but this was a big pack of chicken for $.99 a lb.  I ended up spending about $3.80 for the pack and used it to make BBQ Pulled Chicken last night.  It made enough to feed 3 adults, 1 child, and for me to have enough meat left over to put into our quesadillas tonight.

Before I started, I went on to YouTube and watched videos on how to take a bone out of a chicken breast.  I was surprised at how easy it was, and the nice piece of meat that I was able to get from each breast. I will be buying more of these the next time they are on sale.

Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken

(I got this recipe from the All You magazine and plugged it into WW.  You can eat in on a multi-gran or whole wheat bun, on a baked potato, or by itself).

24 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian dressing
2 TBSP packed brown sugar
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP low-sodium chicken broth (I left this out and used water instead)

Put chicken in slow cooker.  In a bowl, combine barbeque sauce, dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred with 2 forks.  In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and chicken broth (or water).  Stir into sauce in slow cooker, cover and cook until sauce is thickened and heated through (about 10 minutes).  Return chicken to cooker, stir, cover and continue cooking on low for 45 minutes. 

Serves 8................................................................................................3 WWPP per serving

Pistou Tilapia and Sauteed Zucchini with Bell Pepper

When I got married, I was so nervous because I didn't know how to cook.  Sure, I could whip a few things up from a box, but it was pretty limited.  My husband comes from an Italian family, and his mom is always making meals from scratch, so cooking for them was always daunting to me.  I started learning to cook by using the Kraft Food magazines, and I'm proud to say that now I've graduated to "real" cookbooks.  This meal seriously took about 8 minutes to make and looked (and tasted) like it came from a 5 Star Restaurant.  And even better, it was very inexpensive.  I think it cost about $6 total.

Pistou Tilapia

1/2 cup of fresh minced basil
1 TBSP Olive oil
1/2 TSP salt
1/4 TSP black pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
4 (6oz) skinless tilapia fillets (or halibut)
Cooking spray

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl.  Rub over both sides of fillets.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add fillets.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until desire degree of doneness.

4 Servings (1 fillet per serving).............................................................................5 PP Per Serving

Sauteed Zucchini and Bell Pepper

1 TSP olive oil
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup refrigerated prechopped tricolor bell pepper (I used a red pepper I already had)
1 minced garlic clove
1/4 TSP salt

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add zucchini and remaining ingredients.  Saute 7 minutes.

4 Servings (1/2 cup per serving).......................................................................1 PP per serving

I also added a serving of the 90-second Uncle Ben's rice in the pouch for 2 points.

Ham Steak and Sauteed Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

I made this simple version of ham steak for dinner last night.  I love cooking with ham steak.  It's pretty inexpensive at the store, and cooks super fast.  To add some flavor (and 0 points), I put 1/4 TSP of chili powder and 1/4 TSP of cinnamon on the ham steak before cooking it.

I wasn't too sure about this green bean recipe before I made it, but let me tell you, it was amazing.  I hardly left any green beans for my husband!

Sauteed Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

1 (12 oz) package of pretrimmed green beans (I used french-style)
1 TBSP light stick butter
8 cherry tomatoes, halved (I used 10 grape tomatoes)
1/4 TSP salt
1 TBSP chopped fresh basil
1/8 TSP black pepper

Microwave green beans according to package directions and drain.

While green beans cook, melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add tomatoes and salt.  Saute 4 minutes or until tomatoes are tender.  Press tomatoes against the pan with a spatula to release juices.

Add beans.  Saute 1 minute or until heated.  Stir in basil and pepper.

4 Servings (1 piece of ham is 3 points) and 2/3 cup of green beans is 1 point.

Sausage and Summer Vegetable Skillet

I absolutely love zucchini, and I eat it as often as possible during the summer months.  It's an easy vegetable to work with, versatile enough for many different types of dishes and it is usually on sale.   This recipe came from a WWPP cookbook-type magazine that I picked up at Kmart.  It was $12, which is a lot, but it has lots of great recipes that I haven't seen anywhere else (and most are 4-ingredient, 10 minute recipes).

Sausage and Summer Vegetable Skillet

1 (14 oz) package turkey kielbasa, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices (I used Turkey Smoked Sausage)
2 cups chopped zucchini (about 2 small)
2 cups fresh corn kernels (I used frozen)
2 cups grape tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1/4 TSP pepper

Heat a large nonstick skillets 2 minutes over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray; add sausage and cook 5 minutes.  Remove from pan; keep warm.

Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add zucchini and corn.  Cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir in tomatoes, water, and pepper, and cook for 4 minutes.

Return sausage to pan.  Cook uncovered for 2 minutes.

4 Servings (1 and 1/4 cups per serving).............................................................7PP

Weekly Menu - May 16th to May 21st

Monday - Tuna Helper
Tuesday - Sausage Skillet
Wednesday - Ham Steak and Green Beans
Thursday - Black Beans and Rice Salad
Friday - Pistou Tilapia with Zucchini
Saturday - Pizza

Recipes to follow.............................

Weekly Grocery Trip

Before I give you my Meijer list, I wanted to let you know about a great deal at Kroger.  They have their individually frozen fish in bags for $2.99.  This is $4 off a bag.  I got two bags of Tilapia, one of which I am using in a recipe this week, and one that I'll be using next week.  If you have the Indianapolis-area Entertainment book, don't forget to use your $5 off of $50 Kroger coupons that are in the front.

Meijer Trip-

Bananas..................................................................................................$1.53
Red Onions............................................................................................$1.99
Whole Wheat Pita Bread........................................................................$1.99
Cucumbers.............................................................................................$.67
Ham Steak.............................................................................................$2.81
Salt........................................................................................................$.44
Zucchini.................................................................................................$1.00
Yogurt (large container of Dannon Light & Fit).......................................$1.99
Milk (2 Gallons).....................................................................................$5.00
Kellogg's Cereal (3 boxes).....................................................................$7.25 (Used $1.00 coupon)
Salad Mix..............................................................................................$1.67
Wheat Bread.........................................................................................$1.00
Frozen Corn (2 Bags)............................................................................$2.00

Total Spent: $47.20
Total Saved: $26.80

*If you drink Crystal Light (which is a great way to get in your water for the day), I got the deal of the century at Meijer.  They have B2G2, and you can combine the B2G1 coupon (which I had 2 of).  So, I got 10 containers of Crystal Light for $10.76.

5 Point Lunch: Great Way to Fill Up on Veggies

Today for lunch I made a nice little veggie, cheese and cracker platter.  I started with this yummy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus I got at Meijer (2 points per serving):

I filled up the plate with celery and carrots.  Then I added Town House Flatbread Crisps (2 points), with one slice of Laughing Cow Cheese (1 point).



2 Point Breakfast - My Daily Staple

I'm not a big breakfast eater, but I know it's an important component to weight loss.  I usually eat cereal, but I have a super hard time spending 5 or 7 points for a small bowl.  Instead, I've been eating various versions of this 2 point breakfast: Fruit and Yogurt.

This yogurt is 3 points per serving (1 cup).  I don't really need that much, so I use a half a cup for 2 points.  I layer the bottom of the bowl with whatever fruit I have.  Today it was bananas and grapes.

I then put the yogurt on top.  Love it!

Chicken with Artichokes and Lemon

I had been looking forward to making this recipe all week.  I found it in the May issue of ALL YOU, and it just looked so yummy.  I have to say, I was very disappointed.  The lemon flavor was way too strong for me, but if you like lemon, you'll probably love it.  I will more than likely make it another time (leaving the lemon out).  My husband loved the lemon flavor. 

The recipe was pretty high in points - 5 per serving, and realistically, you'll probably want two serving like me, which brought the points up to 11 just for the chicken mix.  If you wanted to experiement, you could probably skip the white wine and use chicken broth and get a similar result.

I paired my meal with the quick and easy Uncle Ben's microwavable rice, which I was so excited to find out is 2 points per serving (1 cup). Yahoo!

Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (you could easily leave this out too in order to save points)
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup white wine
1 12oz jar artichocke hearts, drained and chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 TSP finely chopped fresh thyme

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.  Warm oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides (I would go for about 10 minutes total - until chicken is almost cooked through).

Add wine and artichokes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through.  Transfer chicken and lemon slices to a platter.

Stir thyme into sauce and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.  Pour over chicken and serve.

6 Servings............................................................................................5 points per serving

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries: The WW Way

I am completely addicted to sweets.  I always have been.  This is probably the single biggest reason for my current weight.  Once I start eating cookies or brownies or cake, I find it almost impossible to stop until it's all gone.  For this reason, I try to keep sweets out of the house.  At least I have to actually go out and by something should I decide I want to eat it. 

When I was previously on WW, I used to spend my points on 100 calorie packs of sweets.  I also bought the WW snacks (the cost alone of those kept me from eating too many).  Since I've started PointsPlus, I have been eating so much healthier than I ever have before, but I still haven't figured out how to eat "sugar" in a healthy way.

Tonight I went out to Meijer and Walmart with my daughter.  All I wanted to do was pick up a giant size Kit Kat bar, but I resisted.  I knew I didn't have much at home, but I raided my fridge when we got back anyway.  I found the Yoplait Delights in Chocolate Eclair that I bought on sale last week.  I had a coupon that was doubled, so each 4-pack only cost me a dollar. 

I layered the bottom of my bowl with strawberries (0 points), and topped with a container of the chocolate eclair Yoplait (3 points).  It was delicious! And almost like eating chocolate covered strawberries............................almost.

Fast and Easy (and Cheap!) Lunch

I didn't have a whole lot of points to use for lunch today - we are having Mexican for dinner, and I was also short on time.  For those of you who don't know me personally, I have a small in-home daycare.  Today we were filled to capacity - 6 under the age of 4 (including one newborn).  So as the kids were eating their lunch, I scrambled around for something that I could easily whip together.  I pulled out this can of soup:

I plugged it in to WW, and came up with 6 points for the can.  I drain out almost all of the liquid out of mine, so I mostly just have the veggies.  I paired it with two pieces of 98% FF wheat bread from Meijer, and topped the bread with "No Ifs, Ands, or Butter." 

The total points value was 8.  If I get hungry later, I plan on eating some of the cantaloupe that I got on sale so I can save my points for our yummy dinner tonight!

Helping Out Victims of the Alabama Tornadoes

One of the blogs I follow on a daily is basis is "Couponing to Disney."  Kristen is a great lady who spends her time helping other families say money and realize their dream trip to Disney.  Her church is accepting donations for local victims of the Southern tornadoes.  I raided my stockpile and sent a box down (including some too-small clothes of Paisley's and some toys/books she no longer plays with).  I also used my saved Amazon money that I receive from Swagbucks and sent down a box of Horizon milk (it doesn't have to be refrigerated).  If you're looking for a way to help, please visit her blog.

www.couponingtodisney.com

Entertaining with WW - Part Four - Cherry Chutney and Manchego with Naan

So, I saved the best Indian-inspired recipe for last.  I am so not into spicy things, but this had just enough kick to delight the tastebuds without being too hot for me.  Before making this I had never had chutney, manchego, or Naan, but I have to say I am now a big fan of all three!

I found all of these items at Meijer.  The Manchego cheese was in the specialty cheese section and cost about $6.50 for a large wedge.  It has a very mild flavor, and you could easily substitute another hard white cheese.  The Naan was in the bakery section and was very inexpensive.  If you can't find naan, you could easily substitute pita bread.

1 TSP canola oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 cup pitted tart cherries (I used thawed frozen cherries)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 TBSP packed brown sugar
1 TBSP minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 TSP mustard seeds
1/4 TSP red pepper flakes
Pinch of salt
1 (4oz) whole wheat naan bread, cut into wedges and toasted
2 oz Manchego cheese, cut into thin slices

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until softened (about 5 minutes).

Add cherries, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, mustard seeds, pepper flakes, and salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until chutney is slightly thickened (12-15 minutes).  Transfer to bowl and let cool to room temperature.  Serve with naan wedges and Manchego.

Serves 4 (3 TBSP chutney with 3 Naan wedges and 1/2 oz. cheese)............................................5 pts.