$1 Meals - Chicken Stew

I really wanted some stew the other day, but I wanted to use chicken. I decided to make chicken stew the same way that I make beef stew, and it turned out wonderfully. Number One Husband really liked it and that says a lot. I also realized that it cost less $1 per meal, so I thought that I would share it with all of you.

A month or so ago, we found split chicken breasts on sale for .99 a package. Each package weighed around 5 pounds and had 4 breasts in each package. It was a great deal. We topped off our freezer for winter. 

Ingredients:

1 Split chicken breast, deboned (reserve bones for stock) .15

1 Large potato, cut into chunks .66

1 Large carrot, cut into chunks .15

1/4 Onion, chopped .25

1 Celery stalk, diced .10

1 Can diced tomatoes .75

Seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Bread .15 per slice

4 Cups chicken broth (homemade or use 4 bouillon cubes and 4 cups water) free if using homemade bone broth from scraps

Flour

Season salt

Garlic

Directions:

Remove skin and bones from chicken. Cut the chicken into chunks. Render fat from chicken skin. Place bones in 4 1/2 cups of water with washed peelings from vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes. Strain and set aside.

Lightly flour the chicken chunks in flour seasoned with season salt and garlic powder. In the rendered fat. brown the chicken chunks with the vegetables. Add the broth and stew until vegetables are tender and the sauce is thickened. Serve with bread.

This recipe makes 10 - 1 cup servings at a cost of .21 per serving. Add a slice of bread for an additional .15 per slice for a total of .36. 

Enjoy,

Mrs. Smith

Vegetarian Lentil Breakfast Sausage - Money Saving Recipe

This recipe makes about 20 patties for a nominal price compared to
the price of meat patties.

I decided to create vegetarian breakfast sausage patties as an alternative to expensive meat sausage. I usually make my own beef or chicken breakfast sausage. You can find my recipe here: Copycat Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage 

I used a lentil kofta recipe as my guide. I only changed up the spices. The sausage turned out great. Number One Husband's reaction was that it tasted just like sausage and immediately requested that I make homemade biscuits. I obliged his request.

I only made 11 biscuits because that's all my cast iron pan will hold. We ate some of the patties and we have a few patties leftover.

I added cheese once the biscuits cooled.

I wrapped the breakfast biscuits in tinfoil sheets so that I could re-heat them in the oven.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Lentils

1 Bell pepper, quartered

1 Onion, quartered

1 C Breadcrumbs  

1/2 Tsp Cayenne pepper

1 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Garlic powder

1/2 Tsp Parsley (Finely chopped or dried)

1/4 Tsp Sage (rubbed or ground)

1/4 Tsp Black pepper

1/4 Tsp Red pepper flakes

1/4 Tsp Ground thyme

1/8 Tsp Ground coriander

1/8 Tsp Oregano

Oil for frying

Notes:

 Add more or less pepper flakes and cayenne to adjust the amount of heat you desire.

 Add maple syrup if you want maple flavored sausage.

Directions: 

Rinse lentils in a strainer removing any foreign objects until water runs clear. In a bowl, soak the lentils in hot water for three hours then drain. In a separate bowl, mix spices together. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. In a large fry pan, add oil until the bottom is covered. Heat on medium until oil is hot. With wet hands form patties that are 1/2 of an inch thick. Fry on both sides until brown and crispy. Place cooked patties on a paper towel or plate to remove any excess oil. Use patties for breakfast sandwiches or crumble patties for breakfast burritos.

Enjoy!

Mrs. Smith