Weekly Dinner Deal — 3/22-3/28/10

As you know, I hit the grocery jackpot last week.  Lots of terrific sales, and lots of freezer and pantry stash.  I love it when I can put a meal on the table with these Cheap Thrills and still eat well.  This week I made Chicken Stuffing Bake with Green Beans.

Chicken breasts 2# @ 1.45/# (2.90) at Target last week

1 pkg cornbread stuffing mix .48 at SuperSaver over the weekend

1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 can water .50 at Target

1/2 cup white wine .48, always on hand, always on sale

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese .25 from .99 sale in freezer

1 can green beans .34 (cheaper if I’d bought it this week!)

milk for the guys .30

Place the chicken breasts in a 9×13 baking dish.  Mix soup, water and wine together, and pour over chicken.  Sprinkle stuffing mix over sauce; top with cheese.  Cover with foil and let sit in refrigerator at least an  hour.  Bake on 350 deg 20 minutes; remove foil and bake 15 -20 minutes more till chicken is cooked through.  Serve with cooked green beans.

Total for the meal for six was $5.25, but this included leftovers for lunch, so net dinner cost was $3.71. This was an oven meal, and they take a little extra planning and cook time, in my experience.  But it was creamy, yummy and really thrifty.

How have you used your grocery deals?  Share your Weekly Dinner Deal!

Weekly Dinner Deal – 2/14-2/20/10

This was a whirlwind week!  Flexy-bendy plans, dinners that oopsed!, and my still not feeling up to par.  Still,  we did what the frugal do, and made it work.  The menus were what you’d expect for Ash Wednesday and Lent, but this one was a Thursday winner: Crocked Chicken Breast Surprise, with Peas and Rice.  It was a crazy morning and I reached into the cupboards….

I used half a bag of frozen chicken breasts (on sale 4.99/3#), tossed in the last can of cream of mushroom soup, added a packet of Italian dressing mix, and let ‘er go on low; I turned it to warm about 2 hours before dinner.  I also pulled out a bag of cooked brown rice from the freezer to fridge, along with a bag of frozen peas.  Putting it together in the evening was easy-peasy (pun intended)!  Warm the rice, nuke the peas, set the table.  Here’s how this totalled:

Chicken breasts 2.50 sale

Soup .49 Aldi

Dressing mix .39 Aldi

Brown rice .44 reg BnS price of .91/#

Peas .88 sale

Milk for 3 .30 reg Aldi price

Total for the meal for four:  $5.00

When I know my afternoon-into-evening is going to be rough, I turn to my Crock Pot.  My prep time is shifted, and I am, ummm, less harried/nuts/screaming, at the dinner hour.  And I know this sounds corny, but it really works: I turn on some Mannheim Steamroller to readjust my ‘tude and chillax.