dining in on a dime

newbie to adulting? not sure how to cook a chicken breast let alone how to make a cheap, decent meal? say no more, I got you.

[dininginonadime-blog]

Beef and Broccoli Ramen

Total Cost Breakdown: $7.90 Makes 4 full meals

1/2 lb ground beef: $3 for a full pound

12 oz frozen broccoli florets: $1

1 Chopped Onion: $1 (I only use half)

Low Sodium Soy Sauce: $1.50

1 package 3 oz beef ramen: $0.20

Garlic Powder: $1

Cooling Untensils Needed: 

-Medium sized skillet and lid

-Medium sized pan

-Wooden spatula or spoon

For this one you can either make it in one huge pan or cut it in half and freeze your cooked beef and onion and use another time. I usually chop the whole onion and freeze the other half, then cook the entire pound of ground beef and freeze that for next time. 

Cooking Steps: 

1. Line the bottom of your pan with olive oil. Cut open your ground beef and add into your pan, take a wooden spatula or a fork and dice up the beef so it cooks evenly. Be sure to wash your hands immediately after dealing with the raw meat. Continue to stir your beef in the skillet so it cooks evenly and remember to clean off your spatula so no uncooked meat is left behind. Once the ground beef is evenly cooked and at a temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. To drain, I usually lie 4 paper towels over a plastic shopping bag and lay it on a plate to drain. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and set to the side. Clean out your skillet with a paper towel and start in on the onions. (If your splitting the ground beef, once it’s just drained just split it in half)

2. Chop onions into thin strips for easier cooking, warm large skillet at medium heat with enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. (I usually only use half an onion and freeze it for the next time I make this) Slowly add onion and start cooking while continuing to stir so the onions don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add in 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce and a few shakes of garlic powder to give some flavor to the onions.  I like to cook mine for about 10 minutes but I hate a crunchy onion so it’s really cook’s choice, here’s what mine looked like when they were done: 

3. Grab your broccoli that has been thawing out for an hour or two, open up that bag and throw them into the pan with the onions. Add in some more soy sauce and garlic powder, cover your skillet and turn your heat to medium. Continue to stir every few minutes to make sure it isn’t burning or sticking to the pan. I like to let it cook for about 15 minutes on low or medium heat. Taste a piece of broccoli and make sure that it’s not too hard and cooked to your taste. Stir in ground beef, turn pan to low and re cover. Taste it at this point and determine if you need to add more sow sauce or garlic powder. 

4. Cook your Ramen according to the package. Once it’s done and has set for two minutes. Slowly stir in broccoli, onion, and beef mixture, Stir well to make sure you have a nice mixture. Taste and add what’s missing. I usually cook the mixture in the Ramen pan for a few minutes on low. 

5. Enjoy!

[dininginonadime-blog]

Chicken Ranch Tacos! This is my first post here and instead of giving you a long drawn out story about how i learned this recipe from my great, great, twice removed Aunt I’m going to be straight up with ya’ll. I just really freaking loves tacos and I basically just made up this recipe one night when I was tipsy in my kitchen. Enjoy!

Total Cost Breakdown: $15 Makes 10 soft tacos or 4 quesadillas

Fiesta blend cheese (new bag): $2

Taco seasoning: $0.78

Knorr chicken flavored rice: $1

Soft taco shells: $2

Ranch Dressing (new bottle): $2.18

Chicken tenderloins (new 3lb bag): $7

Cooking Steps:

1. Throw 4-5 chicken tenderloins in the crock pot with a ½ cup of water, half of your taco seasoning packet, salt, pepper, put your lid on and cook that shiz. If you’re not used to your crock pot yet keep an eye on the chicken to make sure it doesn’t over cook and become too dry. Crock pot cooking times:

-Low: 4-6 hours

-High: 2-3 hours

2. A few hours into cooking, remove lid and take a wooden spoon or spatula and chop up the chicken in the crock pot by piercing the chicken repeatedly until it is shredded into smaller pieces. Add in a few squirts of ranch dressing. Replace lid and continue cooking. 

 3. When the chicken has no pink and is fully cooked (the safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165 degrees F) go ahead and prepare your rice, follow the instructions on the back of the package and you can’t go wrong. After the rice has set for two minutes, stir the rice into the chicken and stir until it’s well mixed. Taste the mixture and decide if you need to add more ranch dressing or taco seasoning. 

*Side note: At this point I like to stir in the rest of the package of taco seasoning because I like my tacos spicy but it’s definitely not for everyone. Try the mixture after the rice and chicken are mixed and just add more until it tastes right. 

 4. Return the lid to the crock pot and cook the mixture on low for an extra 30 minutes. 

5. Remove lid, turn crock pot to “Keep Warm” or just turn it off. 

If you’re going the soft taco route: Wrap your tortillas in a damp paper towel and throw them in the microwave on a plate for 15-30 seconds to get them warm and not dry them out. Put those warm taco blankets on a plate and scoop out your rice and chicken mixture and top with cheese. I will never tell you how much cheese to put on anything, you measure that stuff with your heart. If you really love ranch, drizzle a little over the cheese before you close that bad boy up.

If you’re going the quesadilla route: (The only reason this is an option for me is because an awesome cousin bought me a quesadilla maker for my high school graduation and it’s my favorite dang thing.) Throw one tortilla on the turned on quesadilla maker, top it with chicken and rice then cheese, top with a tortilla then close that lid. 

 *Cheap Tip: Next time you’re at Taco Bell, ask for extra sauce packets with your meal, keep them in your fridge, and whip them out when you make this.