Today’s Featured Cookbook: The Complete Tightwad Gazette- it is full of cheap & thrifty recipes that a frugal cook just can’t do without!
Pantry Items of the Day (according to Martha): Here are the canned and bottled items you need for a well-stocked pantry. Italian plum tomatoes, tomato paste, green & black olives, olive paste, anchovies, anchovy paste, capers, chickpeas, black beans, hot sauce, mustards, Italian oil-packed tuna, low-sodium chicken broth, canned fruits, chutneys, fruit jam. Heed expiration dates; otherwise, most canned and bottled goods, such as preserves, pickles, and relishes can be kept unopened, for up to one year. Once opened, glass bottles should be refrigerated; transfer unused canned goods to airtight containers and refrigerate for three or four days. This is especially important for canned acidic foods such as tomatoes or pineapples; once the interior of the can is exposed to air, the acidity is likely to cause rust. If you do see rust on an opened can of food, the can & food should be discarded.
Welcome to day two of the Iron Chef Moms Challenge. Please be sure to visit Meredith’s blog where she will be sharing ways that you can stay within your budget just by utilizing the sales flier. Yesterday she shared tips for cooking with loss leaders and the fabulous Southern-style birthday dinner she was able to make out of ingredients she purchased on sale. Her total beat me by $1.65! Great job, Meredith!
Meredith has already posted her day two results, as she has thrown a dinner together in the slow cooker (I love those kind of recipes!) using cabbage that she found on sale at her local supermarket. Her daily total came to $4.55 or $1.13 per person. I am excited to say that my total today was $3.14 or $.79 per person, which seemed more reflective of Meredith’s total yesterday. This puts me at $1.41 ahead today, but still $.24 behind, overall.
I have a little confession to make that might surprise you…I actually have never in my life cooked chicken drumsticks so last night’s dinner was a bit of an experiment in our house. If I purchase chicken, I
tend to go for the white meat because it is the healthiest option. Unfortunately, it is also the most expensive option so I have been trying other cuts of meat to keep our expenses down.
tend to go for the white meat because it is the healthiest option. Unfortunately, it is also the most expensive option so I have been trying other cuts of meat to keep our expenses down.When I happened upon these two recipes, I was very excited to try something a little different. When I put it together, I realized it will be a perfect meal for us to take on our next picnic and it was a cinch to put together.
Here is a one little tip for today that I would like to share. This might be common knowledge, but it is a little trick that I use when I am cooking chicken with a coating or breading on the outside. I take a jelly roll pan and then rest our cooling rack on top of that and spray it lightly with cooking spray. I then bread the meat and rest it on top of the cooling rack. The reason I do this is because I absolutely hate it when you have a nice crisp side on one side and then a soggy mess on the flip-side. By using the cooling rack, I am able to get the heat to circulate on the bottoms, which help keep that crispy coating on all the sides of the meat.
Although the chicken was divine, I have to admit that I was most surprised by the simple side dish and how tasty it actually turned out to be. Potatoes prepared in the microwave? Covered in only a tablespoon of butter? Could Cooking Light Magazine have been mistaken when putting this dish together? I was wrong though- the amount of butter and the swiftness of the microwave made for some very tasty taters. My husband, who will only eat the fry variety of these, actually gobbled them up and asked if we could have them again.
Best of all, you just can’t beat the price tag on the meal itself!
Parmesan Chicken
4 drumsticks (the Aldi’s bag contains five drumsticks, but there will still be plenty of coating)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (in the dairy section, not in the shaker)
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I make my own and store them in the freezer)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (in the dairy section, not in the shaker)
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I make my own and store them in the freezer)
In a shallow bowl, mix together cheese and breadcrumbs. In a separate bowl, beat egg until lemon colored. Dip chicken in egg, coating well. Roll in cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
Amy’s Notes: I removed the skin on the chicken drumsticks. Simply slip your fingers under the skin and pull to remove. I then proceeded with the coating. My drumsticks took 50 minutes to bake.
Microwave Taters
1.5 pounds potatoes- red or Russet. 1.5 pounds of potatoes equals about four cups of diced potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
Any seasoning of your choice- I used a teaspoon of Italian seasoning & salt and pepper
In a shallow baking dish, place a tablespoon of butter in the dish and microwave for fifteen seconds (or until the butter is melted). Dice the potatoes and put them on top of the butter. Top the potatoes with any seasonings of your choice. With a spoon, lightly toss the potatoes until they are all coated in the butter. Pop the bowl in the microwave and microwave for fifteen minutes. Every five minutes, just give them a little stir to make sure all of the potatoes get heated evenly.
Cost Breakdown:
Chicken Drumsticks- $1.89
¾ cup Parmesan Cheese- $1.89 for the container, $.95 is amount used
1 egg- $.89 for a dozen, $.07 for one egg
1.5 pounds potatoes- $1.49 for 10#, $.23
¾ cup Parmesan Cheese- $1.89 for the container, $.95 is amount used
1 egg- $.89 for a dozen, $.07 for one egg
1.5 pounds potatoes- $1.49 for 10#, $.23
Total Cost To Feed Four- $3.14
Cost Per Person- $.79
Cost Per Person- $.79
Note: This recipe will be added to “the Aldi Queen” and all ingredients listed will be added to my weekly menu planner. My planners are posted every Friday so you can get a week’s worth of ideas and a grocery list in one stop!
Have you tried beans as a side dish? I make black bean salad and black bean soup (onion, garlic, carrots) for pennies per serving. Mediterranean style couscous is another one of my low cost side dishes.
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Wow, now that’s an inexpensive meal! That chicken looks very tastey…I love parmesan with chicken.
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I’d like the recipe for that black bean soup. We are going to try the drumsticks- they look so yummy. Jakesmom
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I too tend to use the white meat more than the darker, less expensive cuts. You have given me inspiration, however, and I will be giving this a whirl.
Catherine
http://angelfoodcakeisntacandle.blogspot.com
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Both those recipes look great. My son LOVES drumsticks, and while not as low -fat as chicken breasts, yours is a great alternative to fried.
The race is heating up!
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Beans, unfortunately, do not go over well with my family. I wouldn’t mind eating them, but no one else in my house would
Couscous is not available at Aldi and the only thing close is white rice. I do love to buy it though on occasion and do keep it in our pantry. It pairs well with chicken. I would love to see your recipe for your Meditteranean style couscous.
Thanks so much for the sugeestions!
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mmmm. those look good. I know the challenge is for only Aldis food, but Martins Supermarket will run drumsticks and thighs on sale for .88/pd. I’ll buy 10-15 pounds at a time to freeze.
My parents used to do potatoes in the microwave like that when I was a kid. I’ll have to try ‘em again!!
I am so loving this contest!!!
(
ps
I was over on Grape Road today. Thought of you when I went past the Aldis! We should so meet for lunch sometime!
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ooh.. yummy!
I LOVE Tightwad Gazzette!
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I think dark meat has an undeserved bad reputation for being high in fat, when in reality, the difference in negligible.
I looked up the values for 100g portion of roasted drumstick meat (no skin) and found: 173 kcal, 5.66 g fat, 1.3 mg iron, 3.18 mg zinc; compared to 100g roasted breast meat (no skin) and found 165 kcal, 3.57g fat, 1.04 mg iron and 1.00 mg zinc. Considering most adult’s total fat budget / day is ~ 60-70g, I wouldn’t worry about the slightly higher fat content of dark meat.
Good choice to remove the skin, though! It looks like a tasty recipe. I’m enjoying the Challenge and the Aldi Queen blog. Keep it up!
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PeppermintPearl- Anytime you would like to get together for lunch would be great! I would love to meet you in person!
3bean- that is an excellent point about the dark meat. Thank you for looking up the nutritional information! I went to school for nutrition so I should know better, but maybe it is the ease of preparation that also lures me to the chicken breasts. Making the drumsticks though was very easy and I am going to be more inclined to use that cut of meat now that I know how good it tastes! Thanks so much!
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Question: Are you all very light eaters? Was one drumstick each sufficient? I ask because my memory of drumsticks are that they are pretty small, but I may be remembering a different thing (like chicken legs?) I know, maybe a dumb question… Anyway if it’s the size of a normal chicken leg, I don’t think one would do it for my family.
What do you think?
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Megan,
That is a good question. The bag of chicken was 2.5 pounds and contained only 5 drumsticks. The drumsticks were huge and we ate four of them (there are four people in our family) and saved the fifth one for my husband’s lunch. My husband and son can REALLY eat too! They are both super skinny, but they consume a lot of food. This seemed to be enough for them.
I hope that helps!
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THIS IS SO FUN! I love this blog feature you guys are doing.
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Drumsticks are always a hit with my kids! Those look great and what a bargain meal!
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