Not Made Of Money

This week’s ad was full of Valentine gifts and food treats. I was able to find a few items on sale that would make a lovely Valentine day’s dinner!

Meal Idea #1
Roasted Chicken with Idahoan mashed potatoes and carmelized fried apples.
Whole Chickens are $1.09 per pound. Idahoan mashed potatoes are 50 cents per pouch. Apples are 89 cents per pound. To feed a family of 4 you’d need to purchase a 3 or 4 pound chicken, 1 pouch of the potatoes, and 4 apples. Meal cost of approximately $5.55 depending on size of chicken purchased.

Recipe ideas (click the titles) Roast chicken, carmelized fried apples.

Meal Idea #2
Homemade chicken and dumplings with steamed brussel sprouts.
Whole chicken at $1.09 per pound. Brussel sprouts are $1.49 per pound. This meal would have approximately the same cost as above ($5 range) assuming you have the other ingredients needed to make the dumplings – flour, baking powder, salt, milk.

This is one of my favorite meals to make. It is a copycat recipe from Cracker Barrel. You can click here to get the recipe. You’d need to buy one whole chicken and cut it up. (You may be able to get the butcher at Publix to cut it up for you).

Meal Idea #3
Crockpot chicken w/pasta sauce served with a side dish of rice.
You’d need one whole chicken at $1.09 per pound. (3 to 4 pounds needed), one jar of the Barilla Pasta Sauce on sale for buy one-get one free ($2.75 or less). Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice pouches are $1.67 each. Cost estimate for this meal would be approximately $8.78.

Again, you’ll have to cut the whole chicken up for this one. Place the cut up chicken pieces in a crockpot and pour one jar of the pasta sauce over it. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Stockpile idea:
I frequently buy whole fryers and freeze them for use later on. You could also cut the fryers up and freeze the individual pieces for making fried chicken later on.

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