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).