Find It Free

When you are seriously working on stretching your budget, you can’t beat free.  You can join the Free Cycle Network.  In it, people who have something they no longer want offer it free for the taking to anyone who wants it.  The problem is that things move quickly and it’s hard to connect for what you want.

The Second Rule of Couponing

My local store doubles coupons up to $2.00.  That means that if you have a manufacturer coupon for $2.00 and the item costs less than $4.00, you get it free.  Now sometimes the item costs a little more than $4.00.  In that case, you wait until the store puts it on sale so that you can still get it free.  I know it sounds crazy but I know people who buy10+ of the same item for free and smile all the way to their car.  (I think you still have to pay the tax on them but you can use a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon.)

Now, here comes the good part.  You don’t have to use the item that you ‘buy’.  My friend started doing this and ended up with a lot of stuff in her garage.  Her family kept coming over to ’shop’.  Finally someone urged her to have a garage sale and she made a bundle.  When you get stuff free, you can sell it super cheap and still make money.  She has been doing it long enough that people have gotten to know her and call her up to shop even when she isn’t having a yard sale.  Now that’s a good thing.  She takes the money she makes for these things that she doesn’t use and buys the stuff she wants.  All it costs her is time to clip the coupons, visit the store several times and then sell the stuff.

Listen, my friend had to quit her job because after childcare, she wasn’t making enough money to make it worth it.  Her couponing is adding to her family finances and she is doing it on her schedule while she stays home with her son.  Sometimes we get so caught up is what isn’t working for us that we don’t see the opportunities that are staring us in the face.  What can you do to make extra money?

Since my husband doesn’t like “spicy hot” dishes, I make my curried chicken very mild. The raisins and apples are a nice balance to the curry spice and seem to cut the heat a little. You can certainly spice it up to your taste. That’s one of the benefits of cooking it yourself. In any case, my children like this so it works for us.

I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they are easier to work with but you can also use dark meat. Feel free to adapt this to what you have on hand. If you want to use legs or thighs, you can bone and chop them after they cook and then add them back to your pan.

Glenna’s Curried Chicken

On a piece of wax paper, in a large plastic bag or in a shallow dish, combine
3 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Coat the chicken with the flour mixture.

Heat about 1 Tablespoon of oil (I use olive oil) in a pan over medium heat. Add your chicken pieces and brown for about 4 minutes each side.

Add about 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is almost done.

Add some raisins (about 1/4 cup) and an apple that you have pealed and coarsely chopped. Cook until the apple starts to soften and chicken has finished cooking.

Remove the chicken from the pan.  Take about 1 cup water or milk and add 2 Tablespoons flour to it. (I usually use the water.) Whisk it into the pan with the drippings, the apples and the raisins. Stir until the flour is thickened and is cooked. Salt to taste.

At this point I often chop the chicken into small chunks but you can serve it in larger pieces. Add it back into the pan with the gravy mixture. I usually serve it over rice.

There you have it. It sounds a lot harder than it is to make and smells wonderful while it cooks. I hope you enjoy it.

Easy Chicken ‘N Dumplings
It’s easier to make than to write about it :0)

Chicken of Choice cut up
2 cans cream style soup (mushroom or chicken)
milk

I used to start by cleaning and cutting up a chicken. These days I keep boneless frozen chicken breasts in the freezer. You can thaw them in cold water for about 20 minutes and they don’t have to be completely soft to begin cooking them. Remember, if your meat is boneless it cooks in 10 to 20 minutes where regular pieces might take an hour.

Put a little olive oil in a large frying pan or electric skillet. Heat it over medium to medium high heat. Meanwhile, pat your chicken dry and season it with a little salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan. Turn it over when it starts to brown. As soon as the bottom side starts to brown, add 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup(or cream of chicken, or some of both). refill one of the cans with milk and add that too. Stir until it looks like a sauce and reduce your heat to a high simmer. Cover the Pot.

Meanwhile, make dumpling dough.
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening (or oil or butter)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

Measure the dry ingredients. I like to add parsley because it looks nice in the dumplings. Cut in shortening and add milk. Stir until dough forms.

Drop by large spoonfuls onto the hot bubbling chicken mixture. Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes more or until dumplings are done.

I usually serve green beans with it but you could substitute any vegetable or green salad.  If I make extra, my family loves the left-overs for lunch the next day.

I used leftover turkey but chicken (light or dark meat) or beef would work too.  You simply make the filling, roll the taquitos and bake them for about 15 min at 350.  It’s not hard at all. If I use the medium size burrito shells, I cut them in half and heat them (20 seconds in the microwave) so that they don’t break.

Here’s a basic recipe from cooks.com but feel free to change it up.  They fry theirs.  I bake mine which lowers the fat content.  Like it hotter?  Add red pepper.  Don’t have the chili pepper, make it without.  Kids will eat it plain but you can serve it with sour cream or salsa for dipping.  Want to stretch the recipe?  Try grating a carrot into it.  The spices make it red and you cook it briefly anyway.  Who would know?

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section.  Unless it’s personal, I will answer so that others can see it too.

Chicken Veggie Pie

¼ to ½ cup chicken stock (can use chicken base)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 bag mixed veggies
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp salt or to taste
½ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp dried sage
¼ tsp gr. Black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper

In Wok or large pot, simmer chicken in stock until done.
Add veggies in order.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender. (stirring as needed.)
Then add the soup and spices and heat through.

Pour into a large casserole that has been sprayed with Pam.
Cover with biscuit dough (from scratch or store bought.)

Bake 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

If you have a lot of fresh veggies on hand, you can simmer it a little longer until they are done before putting it into the casserole dish.  If there are carrots in the mixed veggies, you can leave the extra ones out.  Try adding mushrooms or chopped broccoli.  You really can use pretty much what you have on hand.