$5 Dinners™ » rice

Chicken Gumbo with Iceberg Ranch Wedges

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:46:09 +0000

This dinner is inspired by a gumbo that my dad had for lunch when we were in Dallas last month. All I knew about gumbo was that people from LA made it. A lot.

Call me “gumbo ignorant.” I was. But no longer. Did a little research on Wiki…and learned quite a bit. Hop on over there and see how “gumbo savvy” you are!

I digress.

A simple soup. Err, gumbo! With a whole LOTTA flavor. And LOTS of leftovers.

Paired with some free iceberg lettuce and homemade garlic ranch dressing!

(Only thing missing…andouille sausage…but that woulda sent me WAY over $5! So we made do…still was delicious!)

We all loved it…boys included!

Ingredients
8 cups chicken stock (free if homemade)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.29)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken ($1.50)
2 12 oz. bags of gumbo frozen vegetables ($2)
2 Tbsp Emeril’s Essence seasonings ($.25)
Tabasco ($.20)
1 cup rice, brown or white ($.20)
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, cut into wedges (free)
1/2 cup homemade garlic ranch dressing ($.40)

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, add the chicken stock. Toss in the canned tomatoes, the shredded chicken and the bags of gumbo frozen vegetables. Stir together.
2. Season with Emeril’s Essence, or other creole seasoning. Add a few dashes of Tabasco…or more if you want to give a little more heat!
3. Let simmer over medium heat for 30-45 minutes.
4. Cook 1 cup rice according to package instructions.
5. Make homemade garlic ranch dressing. Pour over iceberg wedge.

6. To serve, add about 1/2 – 3/4 cups of cooked rice to a bowl. Top with gumbo.
7. Serve Chicken Gumbo with Iceberg Garlic Ranch Wedges.

Cost $4.84

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Chicken Gumbo with Iceberg Ranch Wedges is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Chicken Gumbo with Iceberg Ranch Wedges was first posted on March 5, 2010 at 6:46 pm.

Chicken and Broccoli Stirfry

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:40:14 +0000

It’s great to be home. And it’s great to be back in the kitchen.

The first half of the day, I wandered around the kitchen…feeling lost. Lost in my own kitchen!

But once dinner time rolled around, I was fully re-acquainted and ready to cook!

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts, cubed ($2.87)
3 Tbsp canola oil ($.15)
1/4 cup soy sauce ($.40)
1 head broccoli ($.38)
1 small white onion ($.30)
3 garlic cloves ($.15)
4 cubanelle peppers, seeded and diced (from the garden)
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper
1 cup rice ($.20)
1 large apple, sliced ($.50)

Directions

1. Cube chicken and toss with oil and soy sauce, plus salt and pepper, in the wok/skillet you plan to use. (I usually marinate in a separate bowl…but tonight I used the skillet because we are on a “dishes reduction plan” because the dishwasher needs a new filter…which will happen on Monday!) Marinate for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, prep the rest of dinner. If you plan to marinate longer than 30 minutes, put in the fridge!

2. Peel onion, garlic and thaw the peppers.

3. Cut the florets off the broccoli head and cut the onion and peppers into quarter size pieces.

4. Turn on the burner “full blast” and get the skillet screaming hot with the chicken and marinade inside. Toss the chicken often. Once the chicken has begun to cook, add the vegetables in with the chicken and toss around. Add the crushed garlic too.

5. Cook in the screaming hot skillet. Toss. Toss.

6. Toss. Until all the chicken has cooked through.

7. While the stir-fry is “stir-frying,” cook the rice as directed on package.

8. Serve Chicken and Broccoli Stir-fry. We ate this with some apple slices!

I think this would be awesome if you substituted the soy sauce with teriyaki sauce!

Cost $4.95

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Chicken and Broccoli Stirfry is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Chicken and Broccoli Stirfry was first posted on February 26, 2010 at 5:40 pm.

Baked Chicken Marsala

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:06:35 +0000

So I’m still sorta doing the pantry challenge…using up what I find…and everything in this meal came from the pantry/freezer minus the broccoli!

One of my dear friends moved to Alaska not long ago…and she left me with a few of her goodies from her pantry…including the Marsala cooking wine you see below!!! Not something I normally buy, but after this meal…I’d totally buy it! I finally remembered to look at the price at the store, so I’d know how much it would have cost…so here you go…

Baked Chicken Marsala

Scrumptious!!!

Ingredients
1.4 lb package boneless skinless chicken breast ($2.64) On sale regularly for $1.89/lb
1/2 cup flour ($.10)
1 tsp Italian seasonings ($.05)
1/2 tsp salt and pepper each
1 Tbsp olive oil ($.10)
1/3 cup marsala cooking wine ($.50)
1 4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms, drained ($.49) On sale regularly at Walgreens
1 cup white rice ($.20)
2 large heads broccoli ($.79)

Directions

1.In a small bowl, mix together the flour, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper. Coat each of the chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Place into baking dish.

2. Drizzle the olive oil and marsala cooking wine over the coated chicken breasts.

3. Top the chicken with the sliced mushrooms. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken has cooked all the way through. Cooking times may vary depending on thickness of the chicken breast.

4. Cook the rice according to package directions.

5. Steam the broccoli in stovetop steamer or in a microwavable bowl with 1/4 cup of water, covered with plastic wrap, for 4-5 minutes.

6. Serve Baked Chicken Marsala with Rice and Steamed Broccoli.

Cost $4.87

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Baked Chicken Marsala is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Baked Chicken Marsala was first posted on February 9, 2010 at 7:06 pm.

Rotel Beans and Rice (Potluck Meal) – $5 Dinner Challenge

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:34:14 +0000

Impress.

Is that what you think of when you think of a potluck dinner? That you have to impress everyone there with your creative meal or dish…made with the finest ingredients!

Will they like it? Will everyone eat it? Will the dish be empty by the time the dinner is over? What if no one eats it and people figure out that it was me who made it?

Been there. Thought that!

But the reality is…very few people, if any, are going to know what you brought to the meal. So tell those thoughts when they come racing to the forefront of your mind when you are trying to decide what to make to find another brain to bother!

A few weeks back, at the end of the January Pantry Challenge, we had an International Potluck, to kick off Missions Week at our church. I was NOT going to run to the store to grab something fun and fancy. I made do!

I made a Rice and Beans dish, seeing how I spent 6 years of my life in a culture where rice and beans were a daily staple. My dish…Dominican Rice and Beans meets some spice! Dominican Rice and Beans tend to be bland…so I gave them a bit of a kick!

Ingredients
2 cups brown rice (that had been frozen) ($.40)
2 cups pinto beans (that had been frozen) ($.40)
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies (free)
1 Tbsp ground cumin ($.10)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Completely thaw brown rice and beans.
2. Combine ingredients into a bowl. Stir together. Heat in a microwave or in a saucepan. Serve warm.

Cost $.90

Makes 10-12 potluck size servings

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P.S. This is also delicious wrapped up as a burrito!!!

Please share your favorite POTLUCK dish or $5 Dinner Challenge meal in the comments or in the Mr. Linky!

Rotel Beans and Rice (Potluck Meal) – $5 Dinner Challenge is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Rotel Beans and Rice (Potluck Meal) – $5 Dinner Challenge was first posted on February 8, 2010 at 6:34 pm.

Ranchero Black and Pinto Beans

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:12:30 +0000

At this point, we’re just throwing things together…a little of this from the freezer with a little of that from the pantry! But I must say…this is a WINNER!!!

(You know it’s a winner when you arrive at the dinner table half full because you’ve been sneaking bites from the skillet!)

Video Disclaimers

Please excuse the t-shirt and sweatpants (just keepin’ it real)
Sorry about the sci-fi alien lights in the background…will explain those soon
I apologize if the spinning skillet makes you dizzy
And finally, forgive the loud saute noise…I’ll learn to talk louder!

Pantry(Rotel + Onions) + Freezer(Brown Rice + Black Beans + Pinto Beans + Holiday Ham) = Ranchero Black and Pinto Beans

Mouthwatering Goodness!!!

Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped ($.30)
2 cups leftover ham, diced ($1)
2 cups cooked black beans ($.40)
2 cups cooked pinto beans ($.40)
1 10 oz. can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies (free) Sale plus doubled coupon!
Salt and Pepper, to taste
3 cups cooked brown rice ($.40)
About 1 lb. garden green beans (free)

Substitutions: Sub. 1 15 oz. can of black beans and 1 15 oz. can pinto beans, both drained.

Directions

1. Cook black and pinto beans. (Because they take so long to cook, I prefer to cook these in large batches and freeze them in 2 cup portions.)

2. Thaw ham and beans. Dice ham. Chop onion.

3. Add a oil to skillet, then add onion and ham. Toss in partially or completely thawed beans. Add can of Rotel, undrained. Stir and saute for 4-5 minutes.

4. Steam garden green beans for 4-5 minutes in microwave.

5. Thaw brown rice in microwave. (Just like the beans, I prefer to cook up a big batch of brown rice and freeze in 3 cup portions…enough for our family!)

6. Serve Ranchero Black and Pinto Beans over Rice with Green Beans.

Cost $2.50

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Ranchero Black and Pinto Beans is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Ranchero Black and Pinto Beans was first posted on January 28, 2010 at 7:12 pm.

Firecracker Salmon – FAIL

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:02:13 +0000

Operator fail.

Chef fail.

I shall explain! This is the other salmon that I bought when on sale for $2.99/lb. I immediately added the marinade, wrapped it up in foil, put it into a plastic freezer baggie and froze it.

Operator fail. I forgot to mark which side of the salmon was “up” before freezing it.

Chef fail. I forgot to put the foil on a cookie sheet when I put it into the oven. And I forgot to look to see which side was “up”…oh wait, I wouldn’t have been able to tell…because of my operator FAIL! Needless to say, the juices immediately spilled all over the oven floor. So I rectified by placing the foil salmon pack on a cookie sheet…only to have all the juices spill out on to the cookie sheet. The juices burned. The house smelled bad. But…

The salmon tasted fine. But I think it would have tasted great, had not all the juices and marinades seeped out…as I baked it upside down.

Ugh.

Live and learn!

Adapted from this recipe on Recipezaar…featured on the OAMM March Menu.

Ingredients
1.2 lb salmon fillet ($3.65)

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil ($.50)
1/4 cup soy sauce ($.20)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar ($.20)
1 Tbsp brown sugar ($.05)
2 garlic cloves, crushed ($.05)
2 tsp red pepper flakes ($.10)
Salt and pepper

1/2 cup wild rice mix + 1/2 cup brown rice ($.40) Trying to use up what’s in the pantry!
1 12 oz. bag of frozen peas ($.50) Sale plus coupon

Directions
1. Place salmon fillet onto foil.
2. Whisk marinade in small bowl. Pour over salmon. Wrap foil around the salmon. Freeze or bake.
(Bake at 350 for an hour from frozen or 20 minutes from fresh.)
3. Cook rice and peas as directed on package instructions.
4. Serve Firecracker Salmon with Rice and Peas.

Cost $5.65

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Firecracker Salmon – FAIL is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Firecracker Salmon – FAIL was first posted on January 26, 2010 at 7:02 pm.

Cranberry Chicken and Rice

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:29:46 +0000

So this meal was pretty good. Came out a little on the bitter side, so I just sprinkled a little sugar over the cranberries on everyone’s plate and we were all happy!

So…you could add a little extra sweetener in before you bake it, or you could do as I did.

It really was tasty…after it was properly sweetened.

And boy am I glad that I froze some fresh produce from the fall and the holidays…because good prices on produce are SCARCE these days!!!

(Below is the recipe as I made it!)

Ingredients
3 cups cooked brown rice ($.40) (or 1 cup raw brown rice)
About 1/2 cup of apple juice ($.15)
3 large chicken breasts ($2.54)
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder ($.03)
1 bag cranberries ($1.25) Bought on sale over holidays and froze
2 Tbsp sugar, sprinkled over the cranberries ($.10) Increase for a sweet sauce
Dashes of cinnamon and ground ginger, enough to lightly coat the cranberries ($.05)
2 cups cooked butternut squash, warmed ($.50) About half a butternut squash, bought when on sale for $.49/lb.

Directions

(Cook 1 cup raw brown rice according to package instructions.)

1. Place cooked brown rice into a 9×13 glass baking dish. (This is a great way to use frozen rice from a big batch. Rice doesn’t keep it’s consistency after being frozen, but baking it with some juice and cranberries, I didn’t notice the “mush” so much!) Pour apple juice into the baking dish with the rice.

2. Nestle the chicken breasts into the baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

3. Top with thawed cranberries.

4. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and ground ginger.

5. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken has cooked through. Cooking time may vary depending on thickness of chicken.

6. Once baked, sweeten if need be. Or don’t if you like tart cranberries. Toss some cranberries with some rice.

7. Serve Cranberry Chicken and Rice with Baked Butternut Squash.

Cost $5.02

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Cranberry Chicken and Rice is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Cranberry Chicken and Rice was first posted on January 20, 2010 at 7:29 pm.

Honey Ginger Salmon – $5 Dinner Challenge

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:53:16 +0000

Several times in 2009, I found fresh Atlantic salmon on sale for $2.99/lb…regularly $7.99/lb! This great deal never appeared on the front page of the store circular…but was hidden on the inside pages!

I asked for a pound. Brought it home. Cut it into 4 4 oz. portions. Added the marinade. And froze.

Saturday night, it went straight from the freezer to the oven to our plates.

Broccoli from the freezer. Wild rice mix from the pantry (from Trader Joes…I got it a. way. long. time. ago!)

Voila!

Ingredients
1 lb. Atlantic salmon fillet ($2.99)
3 Tbsp honey ($.30)
1/4 cup orange juice ($.20)
1 tsp ground ginger ($.05)
Salt and Pepper
1 cup gourmet wild rice mix ($.75)
2 broccoli heads ($.50)

Directions
1. Cut salmon into meal size portions, about 4 oz. each. Place into foil.
2. In small bowl, combine honey, orange juice, ginger, salt and pepper. Pour over the salmon. Wrap up salmon in foil and place in plastic baggie. Freeze. (Skip the place in plastic baggie and freeze parts if making this fresh!)
3. If fresh or completely thawed, bake in foil packet at 350 for 15 minutes, or until completely cooked through. If frozen, bake in foil packet at 350 for an hour, or until completely cooked through. Cooking times may vary depending on thickness of salmon fillet.
4. Prepare the wild rice mix, or any other rice, as directed on package instructions.
5. Steam blanched broccoli in stovetop steamer, or in microwavable bowl covered with plastic wrap for 4-5 minutes.

6. Serve Honey Ginger Salmon with Wild Rice Mix and Broccoli.

Cost $4.79

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Honey Ginger Salmon – $5 Dinner Challenge is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Honey Ginger Salmon – $5 Dinner Challenge was first posted on January 18, 2010 at 6:53 pm.

Chicken Zucchini Stew on Rice

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:25:59 +0000

Tonight’s dinner is straight out of the freezer!

From the freezer: 2 cups of shredded chicken, 1 container of chopped up summer veggies, about 2 cups of homemade chicken stock, blanched broccoli

Toss into pot. Stir occasionally. Eat!

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil ($.06)
1 large zucchini, chopped ($1)
1 yellow zucchini, chopped ($1)
1 yellow summer squash, chopped ($1)
1 large green onion, chopped ($1)
1 celery stalk, chopped ($.10)
1 carrot, peeled and chopped ($.10)
About 2 cups of homemade chicken stock (free)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken ($1.50)
2 tsp garlic powder ($.10)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup white rice ($.20) I would have preferred this with brown rice, but didn’t have time to wait 30 more minutes for it to cook!
2 broccoli heads ($.50) Bought when on sale for $1/4…blanched and froze!

Directions
1. To a large saucepan, add olive oil. Toss in the partially thawed chopped veggies. (Or fresh if you’re using fresh!) Saute for 6-7 minutes, or until are completely thawed.

Add the chicken stock plus 1-2 cups of water. (Add enough water to cover all the veggies. It’s difficult to quantify the liquids in this recipe because the frozen veggies added quite a bit of liquid to the pot.) Add the shredded chicken. Cook for 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I let mine cook down so it was pretty “thick” and more stew-like than soup-like.)

2. In a smaller saucepan, add 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add rice, return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Fluff rice with fork before serving.
3. Steam the blanched broccoli for 4-5 minutes in stovetop steamer, or in a microwavable bowl covered with plastic wrap.
4. Serve Chicken Zucchini Stew over Rice with a side of Broccoli.

Cost $6.56 OOPS!

This dinner was a *smidge* over…but there were A.L.O.T. of leftovers…and it was LOVELY to have summer veggies in the DEAD of winter!

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P.S. Be sure to check out the cookbook signing schedule…coming up next week…Dayton and Columbus! And updates for Indianapolis and Cincinnati!!!

Chicken Zucchini Stew on Rice is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Chicken Zucchini Stew on Rice was first posted on January 8, 2010 at 6:25 pm.

Homemade Chicken and Rice with Apricot Acorn Squash

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:14:43 +0000

I pulled out some stuff from the freezer. Celery. Shredded Chicken. Chicken stock.

Then went looking for a new way to use it all up. I found this recipe on Katie’s Kitchen Stewardship. And I went from there.

Then chopped some fresh carrots and onions.

(When I probably should have been taking a nap…as 2 boys were napping and the other was at school.)

But I’ve missed cooking. So I cooked.

(But I don’t think I’m quite ready to cook and blog about it every night. Not just yet.)

I’ll be ready soon.

Oh. And the Apricot Acorn Squash. That’s a keeper of a side dish!!!

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock (free)
1 1/2 cup brown rice ($.60)
1 cup chopped celery ($.20)
1 small onion, chopped ($.30)
2 carrot sticks, peeled and diced ($.20)
2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken ($1.50)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large acorn squash, halved and seeded ($1.12) About 2 lbs…been on sale for $.49/lb!
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened (I used dairy-free) ($.10)
3 Tbsp Smuckers Apricot Preserves ($.50) (Not gonna lie…I got these free from when I was at Smuckers…but I’ll include the estimated cost into the recipe)

Directions
1. Cut acorn squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place upside down in glass baking dish with 1/2 inch of water and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.
2. In large saucepan, combine chicken stock plus 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add brown rice and return to boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 20 minutes.
3. Add chopped celery, onion and carrots and stir into the rice. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, or until rice is tender. If need be, add 1/2 – 1 cup of water to prevent from drying out. Once rice has cooked, add in the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. In a small bowl, combine softened butter or margarine with the apricot preserves. After squash has cooked for 35-45 minutes, remove from oven, flip over the squash (using a hot pad!) and spoon the butter/preserve mixture into the squash. Using a fork, poke a few holes into the squash flesh, so that when the butter/preserve mixture melts, it can get deep down into the squash! Return to oven and continue baking, uncovered, for 20-30 more minutes, or until squash flesh is tender all the way through.

5. Serve Chicken and Rice with Apricot Acorn Squash.

Cost $4.52

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Homemade Chicken and Rice with Apricot Acorn Squash is a post from: $5 Dinners (c) 2009 $5 Dinners. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you see this post anywhere other than your email subscription or RSS reader, then the site might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please Homemade Chicken and Rice with Apricot Acorn Squash was first posted on December 17, 2009 at 5:14 pm.