Time Saving Archives - Meagan Gets Real

Easy Chicken Tenders and Home Fries

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In an effort to save money I have been trying to make my own food from scratch instead of buying frozen or pre-made foods. R asked me this week if I would make her my easy chicken tenders and home fries so I headed to the kitchen. The result was delicious. Even Mike was happy with them. He asked me to make them again the next day. This recipe is very easy and involves minimal time.

What you need:

Chicken Breast – 1 pound boneless skinless
Potatoes – 4 large
Ranch Seasoning – 1/4 cup and 4 tablespoons
Bread Crumbs – 1 cup
Milk – 1/2 cup
Coconut or Canola oil – 1/4 cup

What you will do:

Chicken Tenders

Cut your chicken into strips – Kitchen Scissors are great for cutting strips without too much effort.
Put chicken in milk – You can also use eggs if you are out of milk.
In a separate bowl mix together bread crumbs and 1/4 cup ranch seasoning.
One at a time dip your chicken breast into the bread mixture – Make sure both sides are coated well.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes – My oven runs a little different than some. Make sure to check them throughout cooking. Yours may cook faster or slower.

Home Fries

Slice your potatoes – I like mine with the skins. If you prefer not to have them you will want to peel your potatoes first. I like wedges no thicker than the ones pictured above.
Pour oil over potatoes – You can use less. 1/4 cup is more estimation. Just make sure they are thoroughly covered.
Add 3 tablespoons ranch seasoning – Mix your potatoes well to make sure they are coated with a light coating of the ranch seasoning.

Easy Chicken Tenders and Home Fries, Ranch potatoes

Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon or ranch powder over potatoes.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes – My oven runs a little different than some. Make sure to check them throughout cooking. Yours may cook faster or slower.

Serve together and enjoy.

You can also flash freeze them and then bag them up for a future meal if you would like.

Looking for more great recipes?

Check out my complete list of Money Saving Recipes.

Easy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Jun 26 by Meagan 3 Comments

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Recently I went to a talk by Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom. One of the money saving ideas she offered was to view meat as a condiment. With that in mind I set out to make the most of chicken I had left from cutting up a whole chicken. I came up with this easy chicken and rice casserole I would highly recommend for a family dinner or as a meal for a new mom.

What you will need:

Cooked Shredded Chicken – 1 cup.
Cooked Red Beans – 1 cup (I made a whole pound in the crock pot and pull out beans when I need them.)
Cream of Chicken Soup – I am not a big fan of the canned stuff so I had my own in the freezer. I used about 1 cup of cream of chicken soup.
2 cups water
1 cup peas
Goya Sazon Azafran Seasoning (1.40z) – 1 packet
1 1/2 cups Rice
1/4 Cup italian bread crumbs

What to do:

Cook your rice – I boiled 4 cups water, added 1 1/2 cups rice, reduced heat, and covered. It takes about 10 minutes or so to cook.
Combine chicken, beans, peas, cream of chicken soup, and 2 cups water in a pan.
Simmer for about 5 minutes. -You should have a small amount of broth. Don’t drain it.
Combine rice and chicken mixture in a casserole dish.
Top with bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Serve and enjoy.

You can freeze it!

At this point you can freeze your casserole. If you want to save space or if you are cooking for a smaller family, slice it and freeze. Once frozen, separate the portions, wrap, and bag individually. You can pull out one portion to reheat at a later date or the entire casserole.

Oatmeal Packet Recipe

Feb 7 by Meagan 10 Comments

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Oatmeal Packet Recipe

Both of my children love oatmeal. However, I don’t love all the additives that they have. I wanted to try something different from store bought packets and give R a chance to work on measurements. I only had her make one type of oatmeal so that she would focus on one set of measurements at a time. Because I had her make enough to last the month you will see a large ingredient list here. I have also put together a great list of additional recipes at the bottom of this post filly with other DIY oatmeal packets!

DIY Oatmeal Packets -Both of my children love oatmeal. However, I don't love all the additives that they have. I wanted to try something different from store bought packets and give R a chance to work on measurements. I only had her make one type of oatmeal so that she would focus on one set of measurements at a time. Because I had her make enough to last the month you will see a large ingredient list here. I have also put together a great list of additional recipes at the bottom of this post!

What you will need

2 pounds Quick Oats – I used the Wal Mart brand that costs 1.84.
1 pound dried Cranberries
1 bag Brown Sugar
1 Container of Cinnamon
Measuring cups/spoons – 1/2 cup, 1 tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon, 1/8 tablespoon

Start by putting all of your ingredients into a bowl. Line them up assembly line style to make it easy for your child.
Give your child the ingredients list – Ingredients: 1/2 cup of Oatmeal, 1/2 tablespoon of Brown Sugar, 1 tablespoon Cranberries, 1/8 teaspoon of Cinnamon
Have your child match the correct measuring cup or spoon with the item. – For R I had her place each one in the bowl it went with.
Have your child scoop one of each item into their bag.

You can either write on the bag or the container you store them in that they will need 1 cup of water added before microwaving.

Microwave 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

This recipe made 30 oatmeal packets. For me this is very worthwhile. I control what is in them and R learned a bit about measurement. She even made this her job each month.