So this meal involves a little vegetable chopping.

Okay, Fine. A LOT of chopping.

But it is worth every second. I promise.

We all loved this…including the boys.

Ingredients

1 green pepper (I used some from the freezer…$.33)
1 medium eggplant ($1.50)
1 medium yellow squash ($.75)
1 medium zucchini ($.75)
About 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (from the garden)

Fresh herbs from the garden – basil, oregano, and thyme
About 2 Tbsp olive oil ($.20)
Salt and pepper

Directions

First chop the eggplant and season with some salt. Place in a strainer or colander in the sink and let the juices out while you chop everything else.  When you are ready to throw it all together, rinse off the salt/juices and pat dry.

Then chop every else into 1/2 or so size pieces. Chop the herbs.  Toss everything into a large bowl with the olive oil and season with some salt and pepper.

Spread it out onto a single-ish layer on a cookie sheet and roast at 400 for 35-45 minutes, stirring once.

Roasty. Toasty.

Serve as is, over bread or over pasta.

**Note: I had the leftover ratatouille cold over cold leftover noodles.  Perhaps the best lunch I’ve had all summer!

Cost $3.53

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Welcome to the NEW $5 Dinners Friends!

(If you haven’t been over to the site to check out the new look, I hope you’ll click through!)

First off…a ginormous thank you and big hug to Neil and Jessica from Kohler Created!  They both did a fantastic job in not only creating the new look, but also creating the new layout and making the site much more user friendly.  Their design, vision and coding knowledge is amazing!

New Features

• Email Subscription Options – I’m thrilled to share that there are now several different email subscription options for the content on $5 Dinners.  In addition to the daily email option, there is now a weekly recipes newsletter, a weekly gardening newsletter, a weekly savings newsletter and an EXPRESS Coupon Delivery option!  If any of those interest you, please head on over to learn more about these options.  And of course, all the newsletters from $5 Dinners are FREE!

• Feature Box – The big feature box is back!  And I love it!  With blogging, it’s so easy for content to get buried down the page.  I have resurrected the feature box to highlight all the best content from $5 Dinners, both past and present!  I’ll be updating the featured posts on a weekly basis.

• Front Page – You may notice that the “front page” looks a little different.  In addition to the feature box, the front page will contain the most recent posts from the blog.  It also has my favorite resources listed down the sidebar, so you can easily find the most important things on the website.  I may update the resources list as time goes by too.

• Navigation Bar – The Nav Bar has been simplified and broken down into the 4 main categories of the site – Recipes, Coupons, Gardening and How Tos/Savings.  You’ll be able to find what you are looking for faster by clicking through the categories on the nav bar!

• Blog - The “blog” is still here…if you’d like to continue reading $5 Dinners as if it were a blog (and it still is), then click on the Blog Tab at the top to view it as a blog.

New Contributors

As we finish up the 2nd year of blogging around here, I thought I’d make some additional changes, besides the design.  This whole thing started out as my own journey to spend less at the grocery store, without sacrificing the quality of the food we were eating.  The whole experience has very much been a “one-woman show”…but it’s time to branch out and let others share what works and doesn’t work for them!

While I will still very much be present and sharing 2-3 of our $5 Dinners each week and other money- and time-saving strategies, I’ve decided that I can no longer continue as a “one-woman show.”

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be introducing you to some amazing women! They will be bringing some awesomeness, variety and uniqueness to the website.

I’ll be introducing you to a master gardener and chef, to a woman with 8 children, to another with toddler quads and a 5 year old, to another who lives in-the-middle-of-nowhere and has terrible grocery prices, and to another with several teenagers and college aged kiddos who practically eat her out of house and home, and a few others. I look forward to their valuable input and recipes…and how they feed their families on a budget!

I can’t wait for you all to meet these women. (And no offense to the dudes…if you’re a dude and you feel like you have valuable content and/or recipes to add to the site, feel free to email!)

The first of these amazing women that I’d like to introduce is Jenn K.

You’ll see Jenn here and there…mostly helping out with the coupons posts and giveaways!  She is a delight to work with…super efficient, detail oriented, and knows how to get the job done quickly.  I am thrilled to be working with her and to have her as part of the $5 Dinners Team.  I hope you welcome her and value the time, energy and love she puts into helping you spend less of your hard-earned dollars!

She will make sure you don’t miss out on any of the hottest coupons!

And finally, we appreciate your patience as we finish up the work  from the transfer and get everything all spick and span around here!

Photo Credit: SmartAnnies

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Rather than let the garden herbs grow out of control, make pesto instead.  I have found that it doesn’t really matter how much of which kind of herb you use…as long as you have enough basil in there to give it that basil flare.

I did not measure my pesto as I made it…but I’ll tell you what I put in it…and then just added a little salt and olive oil to make it taste just the way I wanted it!

• Fresh spinach
• Fresh basil
• Fresh parsley
• Fresh thyme
• Fresh rosemary
• Pine nuts, about 1/4 cup
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Smidge of water, as needed to help it puree

It’s perfect for pasta…Grilled Chicken Spinach Pesto Pasta.

It’s perfect for dipping tomatoes.

It’s perfect for making a pesto vinaigrette (recipe below).

It’s perfect for spreading onto a grilled chicken sandwich.

Or you could just drink it out of the bowl.

Well, that may be a little much?!

Well, maybe not?!

Pesto Vinaigrette

Ingredients

3 Tbsp homemade pesto
1 teaspoon vinegar, white balsamic or distilled white
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Place ingredients in a bowl and whisk.  Add a touch of water if needed to get it to desired dressing consistency.  Serve with salad.

Please share some of your favorite Pesto Recipes!!!

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I love simple meals.

I love experimenting with simple meals.  Giving them a little extra something special.

With the chicken on special and the acorn squash on sale, I thought I’d have some fun with tonight.  Added a touch of honey to them both. Then roasted them into a state of perfect deliciousness!

…mmm, MMM.

Ingredients
6-8 chicken drumsticks ($2.03) Bought a package of organic drumsticks for $3.03 and used $1 store mailer coupon
Drizzles of olive oil ($.05)
1/4 cup honey ($.40)
Dashes of cinnamon and ginger ($.05)
1/2 tsp garlic powder ($.02)
1 medium acorn squash (about 2 lb.) ($.99) On sale for $.49/lb at my grocery store!
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened ($.40)
1/4 cup honey ($.40)
Dash of cinnamon and ginger ($.05)
1 cup brown rice ($.40)

**Note: I buy raw, local honey from the farmer’s market by the 5 lb. jar for $20!  Much cheaper to buy “in bulk”

Directions
1. In medium saucepan, cook 1 cup brown rice according to directions on the package.  This takes about 45-50 minutes, so plan accordingly!

2. Place the drumsticks into baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the drumsticks and then pour the honey over the drumsticks. Sprinkle with a few dashes of cinnamon, ginger and garlic powder. Using back of spoon or fingers, spread the honey over and under the drumsticks. (Will be thick, and that’s OK!) Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes…but the longer the better! Bake uncovered at 400 for 45-55 minutes. Once the chicken is in the oven…start on the squash.

3. Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds with spoon (and save for roasting). Cut the squash into wedges along the “seams” of the squash.

4. Place wedges into baking dish or small roasting pan. Roast (along side the chicken) for 15-20 minutes at 400.

5. While the squash is on their “initial roast,” in a small bowl, whisk together softened butter or margarine (I use dairy free margarine) until creamy.

6. Whisk in a dash or two of both cinnamon and ginger to the honey butter.

7. Remove squash from oven and then drizzle the honey butter mixture over the squash.

8. Return honey squash to oven and roast for another 15-20 minutes at 400. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Place squash wedges onto serving plate and pour the honey butter liquid from the base of the baking dish over each serving!

…mmm, MMM.

9. And if you time this right, the rice, chicken and squash should all be ready to go about the same time!

10. Serve Honey Baked Chicken with Honey Roasted Acorn Squash and Brown Rice.

Cost $4.79

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Don’t you wish we could still get prices like those?

Reader Question:

Can you let us know what a good deal on meat is? I personally don’t know when to stock up or when to hold off. How much a pound is good on all the meats?

Spotting a great price on any product can be difficult.  It takes time and practice. But what I like about meat prices is that the best ones are usually advertised.  On the front page of the weekly circular.

And sometimes hidden within!

The most expensive aspect to consider when making a $5 Dinner is the meat/protein price (with the exception of vegetarian and “breakfast” type dinners, of course!).  My goal is to keep the overall meat/chicken price at $2.50 or less for the meal.  So that means I have to buy meats/chicken at a certain price or below…or this won’t happen!

I have a mental “never pay more than” list that I pull up each time I’m looking through the store circulars, and even when I’m going through the store.

Here are some examples of great meat SALE prices that I look for when shopping:

• Fresh Fish – $3.99/lb
• Frozen Fish – $2.99/lb I usually only buy with a store coupon
• Pork Chops (bone-in) – $.99/lb
• Pork Chops (boneless) – $1.49/lb
• Pork Roast – $1.49/lb
• Beef Roast – $1.99/lb
• Beef Stew – $1.99/lb Often can be found cheaper in a “family pack”
• Ground Beef – $1.49/lb
• Ground Chuck – $1.89/lb
• Whole Chicken – $.99/lb
• Split Chicken Breasts – $1.19/lb
• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts/Tenderloins – $1.99/lb

And I’ve always got my eye out for packages that are reduced for quick sale.  I’ll either use right away or freeze right away.  My store tends to mark meats down on Thursday and Friday…and they are usually gone by mid-morning.  Just ask your meat dept. manager when is the best time for markdowns at your store!

*Please note: This prices might be dramatically different if you are living in an area with a higher cost of living.

What are your “stock up” prices for your favorite cuts of meats/chicken? I’d love to hear what sale prices are in other parts of the country!

Photo Credit: jbcurio

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When blueberries are on sale for $1 a PINT, of course I’m gonna buy a few extras…and by a few, I mean 9!

Yes, I bought 9 pints of blueberries last week!

I tossed 1 pint into the week’s fruit salad. The other pints I froze…just like the raspberries. I rinsed and dried them, and then laid them out in baking dishes and put them into the freezer.

Once frozen, I transferred them into quart size freezer baggies.  I plan to use them for smoothies, pancakes or muffins.

Stockpiling fresh fruits is possible, and I highly recommend it…especially on a deal like this one! I’m not sure that I’ll see such a great price on blueberries for a while, but I’m glad to be all stocked up on blueberries.

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