I WON!!!

I just looked at the Reader's Digest Dollar Savvy website and learned that MY tip for saving money on groceries was voted the winning tip last week!! According to their rules, I won $250!!!! I am soooooo excited!!!!

Of course, I still have to get the confirmation email, but I submitted my tip as KaryaDawn, who has been named the winner!! You should go to Dollar Savvy and submit a tip for this week - how do you save money on bank and credit card fees? The editors pick their top 5 tips and submit them for public voting the following week. This week, LittlePeopleWealth is up for vote for her tip on saving gas money! (I messed up and didn't get my tip in on time this week, but that's okay!) Pop over there, vote for LittlePeopleWealth, and send in your own tip.

I can't wait to get my confirmation email, and then my prize!!!!! Woohoo!!! It's a good day!!

By the way, the reason I posted on my Leftovers blog is that the tip was about saving money on groceries, so it's related! :-)

Hen House Bargain Meal of the Week

Top o' the bargain week to ya! It's time again for the Hen House Bargain Meal of the week. I'm going to touch on two recipes for ya this week - the traditional St. Paddy's day fare and a recipe for you scoundrels who haven't the decency to be Irish!

Okay, confession time. I have some Irish in me, but I absolutely hate corned beef!! I'm going to post a recipe for it, but I can promise you that you won't find that dish on my dinner table next week! :) Sorry to all who revel in the tradition - it just isn't something I enjoy.

Dinner Idea #1 - Corned Beef and Cabbage

What you need to buy:
2 lbs. Boyle's Corned Beef - On sale for $2.79/lb
3 lbs. cabbage - On sale for .25/lb

Since I don't make this dish, I am borrowing an adapted recipe from Gooseberry Patch that sounds like one I would like if I ate corned beef:

Glazed Corned Beef

2 lb. corned beef brisket ($5.58)
1 T. mustard (negligible)
1 t. prepared horseradish (negligible)
1 T. red wine vinegar (negligible)
2 T. honey (.20)

In a slow cooker, cover brisket with water. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, until tender. Place corned beef in an ungreased 13"x9" baking pan. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; brush over beef. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden; baste occasionally. Makes 3-4 servings.

Toward the end of the cooking time, put some water on the stove and bring to a boil. Once boiling, drop in your cabbage, cut into wedges. To cut down on the cooked cabbage smell, drop in a couple of lemon wedges or half an apple. Cook until tender, about 7 minutes. (Cabbage - .75)

I think I would serve this with some boiled red potatoes. ($1.00)

Total cost of meal: $7.53


Now, for the meal I would love to prepare based on the current Hen House ad! This is a very easy meal with minimal cleanup and everyone loves it.

Dinner Idea #2: Chicken in a Packet

What you need to buy:
KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce - On sale for .96
2 lbs. fresh chicken breasts - On sale for $1.99/lb (Fri/Sat sale)
5 lb. russet potatoes - On sale for $1.50

Chicken in a Packet

2 lbs. chicken breast ($3.98)
1/2 c. KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce (.24)
4 potatoes, sliced thinly (.75)
1 green or red pepper, sliced (.50)

Tear off 4 large pieces of aluminum foil. Divide chicken into 4 servings. Take first piece of foil and drizzle 1 T. BBQ sauce on the middle section of the bottom half. Place one sliced potato on top of sauce. Place chicken breast on top of potato and drizzle with 1 T. BBQ sauce (you can use more if you wish). Top with 1/4 of the sliced pepper. Fold top half of foil over and seal edges. Set on a cookie sheet.

Repeat this process with the other 3 pieces of foil and ingredients. Line up on cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for about 45 minutes until chicken is done.

Alternately, in nice weather you can place these on the grill and cook until done. Be sure and use heavy-duty foil if you use this cooking method.

To serve, cut open the packets. When done, toss them. :) Easy, huh??

Total cost of meal: $5.47

For more GREAT dinner ideas on a budget, be sure and head over to 5 Dollar Dinners!

Leftover Pork and Country Soup

I had a request (thanks, Laurie) to discuss what to do with leftover pork chops (and fish, but that one is going to take me awhile since we don't eat fish! lol). As part of the leftover pork discussion, I am going to post one of my family's favorite soup recipes for the great recipe swap over at Grocery Cart Challenge! Read on.....

Pork chops can be diced up and used in recipes, sometimes even substituted for ham. One thing that I do frequently is a pork stuffed bread. Mushrooms and mozzarella cheese are wonderful additions to the pork and make a yummy dinner bread.

This one may sound a little over-the-top, but my kids enjoyed it. I have made a pork pizza. It's best with alfredo sauce, and is really good and a little different.

Cubed pork is also a great addition to a homemade quiche. Swiss or mozzarella cheese would be tasty with it.

If you would like something with a little more kick, you can simmer the cubed pork in your favorite bbq sauce and make a delicious sandwich similar to a sloppy joe.

I found a recipe in my latest Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine that inspired the use of leftover pork. It's called Chinese Roast Pork Paninis. You could modify this recipe and use your cubed pork by simply simmering the pork in a sauce made of 1 T. hoisin sauce, 1 T. honey, 1/2 T. sesame oil, 1/2 T. soy sauce, and sauteed chopped onion if you like that. Cook up on fresh bread on your panini press.

And finally, here is the soup recipe I promised. Originally, I made this soup with cubed ham, but recently used it for leftover chopped pork, and it was great.

Country Soup

1 c. water
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed to about 1/2"
1 package Country Gravy Mix (I use Pioneer)
2 c. milk
1 cup/can whole kernel corn
Leftover pork, or 1-2 cups cubed cooked ham

In large saucepan, bring water and potato cubes to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, whisk gravy mix into milk until smooth.
Add gravy mixture, pork, and corn to saucepan with potatoes (do not drain).
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 min., stirring occasionally.

All of my kids love this soup, surprisingly enough. Hopefully yours will, too! As always, if you have any great uses for leftover pork chops, please share them! I know I'm forgetting a lot of ideas, but at least this is a great start.

And for a variety of fantastic recipes from around the blogosphere, be sure and visit Gayle's recipe swap!

Hen House Bargain Meal of the Week

When I looked at the Hen House ad this week, I had a moment of panic. It can be very difficult to find a bargain meal at Hen House, which is a bit of a higher-end grocery store. Their meat prices are almost always more than I am willing to pay, so I have to look at everything very carefully. One tip if you're a Hen House shopper: go in the store as close to 8 a.m. as possible. Head directly for the meat department. Somewhere in that area, generally on a big silver tray on top of the reach-in bins, you will find clearance meats. The stores here mark those packages down to at least half-price, often lower. You can get some really good deals, but you have to be an early bird!!

After a more careful perusal of the ad this week, my bargain meal jumped right out at me. It's a family favorite that I am sure you will love, too. I can't make this one often enough to please my kids...it's their favorite way to eat chicken! Let's get cooking!!

Your shopping list for Hen House:

1 lb. fresh boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins - $2.99 sale
1 pkg. Bar-S Sliced Bacon - $2.50 sale
1 bag Birds Eye Steamfresh or frozen vegs. - $1.50 sale

You will also need:

Ranch dressing
Monterrey-Jack (or your favorite) shredded cheese
Baking potatoes


Jack's Ranch Chicken

1 lb. chicken tenderloins - $2.99
6 slices bacon - $1.25
1/2 c. ranch salad dressing - $.50
1/2 c. shredded cheese - $.50

Spray a skillet with non-stick spray. Cook your chicken tenderloins until done. Place the tenders in a 13 x 9 baking pan that has also been sprayed with the non-stick spray. Set aside.

Cook the bacon in the same skillet (or in the microwave on paper towels, the way I do it) until cooked and crisp. Cut or crumble the bacon.

Pour dressing over chicken strips in pan. Top with crumbled bacon and shredded cheese.

Place in oven and broil on low until cheese is melted and bubbly.


Serve with:

4 large baked potatoes (and top with the remaining dressing in the pan - $2.00
Prepared Birds Eye veggies - $1.50

Total cost of meal: $8.74

(Note: I know this is above the $5 that I said was my goal, but I've decided to increase that goal to $10. That allows me to make tastier and more interesting meals and is still WAY less expensive than going out.)

For more great menu ideas, be sure to check out 5Dollar Dinners!!!

How About Some Requests??

I started this blog to help people stretch grocery dollars by utilizing leftover foods. I've posted on some of the most common foods I have in my home that need to be made over into new meals. But now I'd like to hear from YOU! What do you find sitting in your fridge that you'd like to do something with it? I want this blog to be helpful and informative, so please tell me what topics you would like me to address. Nothing's off limits, and I'd love some requests. If I don't have any ideas, maybe another reader can help out.

Let's make this fun, and full of even more valuable information. Tell me what you need to turn from Leftover into Brand New Meal!!!

Hen House Bargain Meal of the Week

Welcome to installment #2 of the Meal of the Week for Hen House. If you don't have a local Hen House, you can probably find a great bargain meal at your local grocer by visiting 5 Dollar Dinners. If you click on the button in my sidebar, it will take you right to the feature - check it out!

This week's Hen House ad has a few deals, but they have definitely had better sales. It's been very difficult to come up with a recipe below $5, which is my goal. I do have one, which you will find below, and then a second meal that will put you just over the $5 mark. So keep reading....

Budget Beef Stroganoff

1/2 lb. ground beef ($1.00 - on sale for $1.99/lb)
2 T. flour (negligible)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder (negligible)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (about $1.00)
1/2 soup can water
1 can mushroom stems and pieces (about .75)
1/2 c. sour cream (about .50)
Cooked egg noodles (Best Choice on sale for .77)

Brown and drain ground beef. Stir in flour and seasonings to taste. Blend in cream of mushroom soup and water and stir until smooth. Stir in mushrooms and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream just before serving over hot cooked noodles.

Serve with your choice of Popeye's, Allen's, or VegAll Steam Supreme frozen vegetables on sale for .66.

Total dinner cost: $4.68


Or, another option is:

Oven-Fried Chicken

2 lbs. fresh split chicken breasts ($3.00, on sale for $1.49/lb)
1 container plain Best Choice yogurt (.39)
1 c. bread crumbs (free if you made them, or about .30)
Seasonings for the bread crumbs, if desired (negligible)

Coat chicken breasts in yogurt, then dip in bread crumbs until covered.
Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 350° for 1 hour or until done.


Serve with Glazed Carrots:

1 lb. baby carrots (Green Giant on sale for .99)
1 T. sugar (negligible)
1 t. salt (negligible)

Cook carrots in water until tender, 25-30 minutes. Drain off all but about 1 T. of the water, then stir in the salt and sugar.


To complete the meal, prepare 2 c. rice (approx. .50)

Total meal cost: $5.18


Both of these are family-favorites here. I hope your family enjoys them as much as mine does! Be sure and check out the other bargain meals at 5 Dollar Dinners!!

Burritos that were a "Keeper"

Tonight I decided to actually try and cook. Good thing I did, really, since DH didn't even get home from work till 7:00!!! I had some things to use up, so I decided to use one of my suggestions in my prior post on rice, and I made burritos of a sort.

We had a roast the other night, and I had instructed DH to put the gravy/drippings into a container in the fridge. It was made with cream of mushroom soup, so it was a nice creamy concoction. I removed all the fat from the mixture and discarded it (gotta love how that all rises to the top when chilled!). I set a half-cup aside and heated the rest up, adding cornstarch and water to make a nice thick base. Into this, I stirred around 2 cups of brown rice, and all the leftover shredded roast. A taste sample proved it was pretty good!!

I got out my tortillas and placed a large scoop of this filling onto each, topping with shredded cheddar/jack cheese. Now, I know this sounds really non-spicy, but my kids are NOT spice eaters, and my stomach is still recovering from surgery, so I'm not ready for much spice or any beans just yet. So, yes, these are a bit boring, but you can add anything you want to spice up yours! I rolled my tortillas into pretty burritos and put them in a 13x9 pan. Once they were all done (I ended up with 12), I covered the pan with foil and put them in a 275° oven to get them nice and warm for dinner.

Remember that half-cup of the gravy that I set aside? Well, I decided to make a nice sauce to pour over the top for DH and I. Into the gravy, I mixed a huge scoop of sour cream and some salsa. I mixed it well and got it nice and hot, and it was a very nice touch - DH loved it, even reheated!

The kids ate this very well, and loved that they could pick up the burritos and eat them without a fork. They were definitely not authentic, but it was a great use of all the leftovers from making a roast the other day. Nobody even realized that dinner was comprised of leftovers! :-) (By the way, the tortillas were left from making quesadillas the other day....lol)

Let's Talk About Rice

I'm going to try and get back into the swing of posting great uses for leftovers. I'm slowly feeling more like myself, and while I still can't really cook, I do have some recollection of how I used to do it! ;-)

Gayle over at the Grocery Cart Challenge hosts a recipe swap every Friday, and I love to participate, as well as gather great new tried-and-true recipes. Gayle asked me to review how I use up my leftover rice awhile back, so I thought I would post a few rice recipes for the swap, as well as to help everyone use up those yummy little grains.

One of my very favorite uses for leftover rice is to turn it into mock fried rice. While "fried rice" screams fat and calories, you can actually create an excellent version of it with little fat. This is a great side dish, or I've also added leftover pork, beef, or chicken to make a complete meal.

"Fried" Rice

1-2 cups leftover white or brown rice
1-2 eggs or egg whites (use more egg if you have more rice)
1/2-1 c. leftover cooked veggies (corn, cabbage, carrot, celery, etc.)
1 T. soy sauce (or more to taste)
1/4 t. ginger
1/2 t. dry mustard (you can omit this, but it really is good!)

Scramble the eggs in a skillet sprayed with no-stick spray, then set aside when done.

NOTE: If you don't have leftover cooked veggies, but do have fresh carrots and celery, re-spray your skillet and saute the chopped/diced vegetables for 2-3 minutes till crisp tender, then continue the recipe.

Add cooked veggies and rice to the skillet and toss to combine. Stir in the soy sauce and seasonings (and any chopped meat, if using) until well-coated. Stir in the eggs and heat through.


Another great and common use for leftover rice is rice pudding. You can find lots of recipes online, or here is a quick and simple recipe:

Rice Pudding

1 pkg. cook n serve vanilla pudding mix
3 c. milk
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
3 c. leftover cooked rice

Cook pudding and milk according to package directions. Remove from heat and blend in the seasonings. Stir in the rice. You can serve this warm, or chilled.


Another option, that can be used for breakfast or dinner, that is very cheap, is a quiche! You can combine leftover rice with an egg and a bit of shredded cheese and pat it into a pie plate. Bake until lightly browned for a crispy crust, or simply add your quiche ingredients and bake it all at once for a softer crust. I have a post about making quiche here (though I used potatoes for the one I demonstrate).


A lot of people like stuffed peppers (though I really don't!) or stuffed tomatoes. Your family will never know the rice was "leftover."


Burritos or enchiladas can use up the rice in a yummy way. I have mixed the rice with chopped tomatoes, seasonings, and chicken or beef and rolled it up in corn tortillas for enchiladas or flour tortillas (with some refried beans) for burritos. My family just loves these options!


Another family favorite recipe where I always use leftover rice is Pizza Rice Casserole, which I posted previously.


Of course, there is always the standby of making soup. You can make up some nice chicken stock and create a quick and tasty chicken-rice soup. Or you can put the rice in a container in your freezer where you put all your small bits of leftover meats, grains, veggies, and broths/gravies. Once a month, you can have a batch of Freezer Soup. It may sound questionable, but it really comes out tasting great! I have been truly surprised at how much my family has liked the freezer soups I've "created." And that is about the most frugal meal you can find!!


I know I'm forgetting a bunch of uses for rice, but this will at least get you started. Please add your ideas in the comments section! Rice is a wonderful grain that can really stretch a grocery budget!!

And for more wonderful recipes, don't miss the latest Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!!!!

A New Feature - Hen House Bargain Meal of the Week

I am participating in a great new venture over at Erin's 5DollarDinners.com. Every week, bloggers from all over the country join in and scour local grocery ads for great deals. Each person then puts together at least one "bargain meal" for that week, one that anyone can put together without having to use coupons or analyze the specific deals. It's a GREAT concept, and while it has little to do with utilizing leftovers, it definitely contributes to lowering the cost of groceries, which is what this blog is all about!

Hen House can be tricky. They don't often have great sales on meat, so some weeks it's going to be quite difficult to make the meal below $5. However, this week, they do have boneless/skinless chicken thighs on sale, and I have a family favorite recipe using chicken thighs. It's based on a recipe I found in Taste of Home, and it is a delicious one-skillet meal. I'm assuming that you have basic staples in the pantry that will be needed for the recipe, and some of the ingredients are not in the ad, so I am providing my best estimate of the cost based on my regular shopping trips.

Skillet Chicken Supper

1/2 c. flour - .10
1/2 t. garlic powder - negligible
1/2 t. pepper - negligible
3/4 lb. boneless/skinless chicken thighs - $1.72 (on sale this week)
2 T. vegetable oil - .15
1 3/4 c. water, divided - 0
1/2 c. soy sauce - .75
1/2 t. dried oregano - negligible
3 medium red potatoes, cut into 1" chunks - .50
3 large carrots, cut into 1" pieces - .30
3 celery ribs, cut into 1" pieces - .30
10 oz. bag frozen peas - .85 (based on Best Choice 16 oz. bags on sale: $1.36)

In a plastic zip-top bag, combine flour, garlic powder and pepper. Add chicken in small batches and shake to coat; set remaining flour mixture aside - do not discard!

In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil till lightly browned on all sides; drain oil.

Combine 1 1/4 c. water, soy sauce, and oregano and pour over chicken, Add vegetables and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165° or more. Remove the chicken and vegetables and keep warm.

Combine reserved flour mixture and remaining 1/2 c. water until smooth; pour into the pan with the cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or till thickened. Serve with the chicken and vegetables.

Serve with a can of Pillsbury Biscuits, which are on sale this week in a 4-pack for .99, or splurge and get the Grands or Crescent rolls! :-)

Total entree cost: $4.67
Cost of biscuit can: .25
Total cost of meal: $4.92

Enjoy, and come back next week for a new bargain meal. And make sure you visit the Bargain Meal of the Week for lots of wonderful budget recipes!!!!

The Surgery I've Mentioned....

If you are a regular reader and have wondered about the surgery I've mentioned previously, I finally blogged about it on my other blog. If you're interested, please check it out here.