The World's BEST Puffy Tacos

These tacos are out of this world!  My just mom shared this recipe with me and since then we have made these 2 times this wk for dinner!  They are easy and really make a difference from the same boring old shells. 

Ingredients:
Oil
Corn tortillas
Meat filling of your choice
Taco toppings (lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, avocado, salsa, etc.)

Recipe

1.  Fill a generous amount of oil (about 1/2 of a 48 oz bottle) in a deep frying pan and heat on med-med high heat

2.  Test oil with a small piece of tortilla to see if the oil is hot enough - should bubble and float to the top easily

3.  Place tortillas one at a time in the hot oil and cook on both sides for about 1-2 mins until tortilla is puffed up - try not to touch the tortilla too much since it will deflate and the puffiness will be effected

4.  Using both a spatula and tongs lightly fold the tortilla in half.  Sometimes I hold my tortilla down in the crease and fry it since this will help shape it.

5.  Let puffy shells cool and drain their excess oil on paper towels.  As you can see the shells will NOT all look the same but that's ok!

6.  Meanwhile, cook your meat while frying the tortillas - this is chicken breasts boiled in several packets of chicken taco seasoning packets then shredded and simmered in onions and the seasonings

7.  After you have fried all your tortillas stuff with your meat and favorite toppings!  Enjoy!



Cooking with Thanksgiving Leftovers

If your family celebrates Thanksgiving anything like my family does I'm sure you have leftovers coming out of your ears!  Here are some great recipes for using all those leftovers...

http://www.rachaelray.com/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/

http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/ - 38 Different Recipes!

Fried Turkey Balls

Dad's Famous Fried Turkey Sandwiches - My favorite!
Homemade Turkey Stock - Save your carcass/bones and make my homemade stock
Lightened Loaded Baked Potato Soup - on my meal plan this wk (use your LO potatoes)

Dad's Famous Fried Turkey Sandwiches



Here's one of my family's favorite recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers.  The turkey soaks up all the butter and has an incredible flavor and texture.  Simple, inexpensive, and kid friendly!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup leftover turkey shredded (per sandwich)
1/2 TBS - 1 TBS butter (per sandwich)
Sandwich Bread
Mayo

1.  Heat butter in non stick pan on med heat until completely melted

2.  While butter is melting shred turkey into small pieces

3.  Added shredded turkey to pan with butter and fry until golden and crispy

4.  Put turkey on bread, add mayo and any other toppings

Thanksgiving Cooking on a Budget

Here is a list of some of the most common Thanksgiving staples with the cheapest prices I could find in the DFW grocery circulars this week...

TURKEY
HEB Riverside frozen turkey - .19/lb with additional $20 purchase (limit 1)
Albertsons Honeysuckle turkey 12lbs & up - .39/lb with additional $20 purchase (limit 1)

HAM
Spiral - $1.69/lb at Aldi
Shank -$1.19/lb at Aldi
Buy a HEB ham get a turkey free up to 12 lbs or a credit towards a larger turkey at HEB

STUFFING
Stove Top 6 oz - .89 at Target
Chef's Cupboard 6 oz - .89 at Aldi

POTATOES
Fresh - $1.29 for a 10 lb bag at Aldi
                .49/lb for Russets at Sprouts
Instant -.79 for a 4 oz bag at Aldi

SWEET POTATOES
5 lbs - $1 at HEB
3 lbs - $1 at Albertsons or Aldi
.33/lb at Walmart or Aldi

GRAVY
Heinz 12 oz jar turkey gravy - .89 at Target

CELERY
.69 at Aldi
.77 at Sprouts

BROTH
Swansons 14 oz canned broth - .50 at Walmart
Use .50/5 from 11/6 SS
Total = .40 each

BUTTER
Countryside Creamery 16 oz butter - $1.99 at Aldi

PUMPKIN PIE
Fresh -    $2.98 for 24 oz (8") at Walmart
Frozen - $2.98 for 24 oz (8") at Walmart
                  $2.99 for 37 oz Sara Lee at Tom Thumb

CAKE MIX
Duncan Hines 18.25 - 18.5 oz mix - .99 at Albertsons
Use .50/1 Q from 11/6 SS (this will double to $1 or .99 if your store doubles)
Total = FREE!!!

WHIP CREAM
8 oz Container - .89 at Aldi
                                  $1 Cool Whip at Kroger, Albertsons or Tom Thumb
7 oz Spray - Friendly Farms $1.49 at Aldi

***  You can print this page out and price match at Walmart!!!  ***

Budget Cooking - Crock Pot

Using your crock pot can be a very budget friendly cooking method.  I try to make at least 1 meal/wk using my crock pot - for ease and frugality.  The average slow cooker only costs .2 cents per hour to run.  Even if you leave it on for 8 hrs it only costs .16 cents to use!!!  This is significantly CHEAPER than oven and stove cooking.  The link below contains a chart that explains the costs associated with different cooking appliances.
http://www.greensahm.com/how-to-use-less-energy-while-cooking/

***Top 3 Reasons to Cook with a Crock Pot:***

Reason #1 - Uses less energy
As stated above, using a crock pot consumes considerably LESS energy than traditional stove and oven cooking methods.  If you used a crock pot for 1 meal/wk for 8 hrs each meal - you would spend less than $1 a month!  If you spent only 1 hr cooking the same meal in an electric oven each wk instead, you spend about DOUBLE the cost in electricity! 

Reason #2 - Cheap Cuts of Meat
Crock pot cooking allows you to buy tougher cuts of meat that tend to be inexpensive.  I usually buy these types of meats when they are on sale or "quick sale".  You can also add inexpensive fresh vegetables, canned tomatoes, or cooking soups for additional great flavor.  Crock pot cooking is also SO diverse!  You can change almost any traditional recipe into a crock pot version.  You can also cook anything from deserts to soups to hearty meat dishes in this magical appliance.

Reason #3 - Time is $$$
Crock pot cooking allows you to cook unattended.  You can turn it on before work and "POOF"- dinner is done when you get home.  You can run your errands, pick up the kids and put in a load of laundry all while "cooking" dinner!  Easy cooking and easy clean up!  Use crock pot liners that run less than $2 for 3 at Walmart and Target to make clean up even easier!

***The Chica's Favorite Crock Pot Recipes***

*  Italian Beef - This is my FAVORITE CP recipe!  SOOO delicious!  Any inexpensive beef roast will do.  I usually just add the pepperoncinis.  I serve on toasted bollio bread with melted provolone cheese.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/italian-beef-in-a-bucket/detail.aspx

*  Pulled Pork - I typically use a pork butt or shoulder roast and Kraft Honey Hickory BBQ sauce.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bbq-pork-for-sandwiches/detail.aspx

*  Egg Noodle Lasagna - Not bad for crock pot lasagna
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/egg-noodle-lasagna/detail.aspx

*  Lemon Garlic Chicken - Replace the bouillon for 1 can chicken broth, I add a lot of lemon juice and lemon pepper...Use the broth to top on mashed potatoes!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-lemon-garlic-chicken-ii/detail.aspx

*  Beer Beef Tacos - I substitute the wine for Mexican beer. 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/shredded-beef-for-tacos/detail.aspx

*  BBQ Pork Ribs - I only add Kraft Honey Hickory BBQ sauce.  Skip the water too.  Broil or grill after done in the CP for a better texture.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grannylins-barbeque-ribs-made-easy/detail.aspx

Budget Cooking - Rotisserie Chicken

"Get Your $ Worth A Rotisserie Chicken"

DAY #1 - Buy your rotisserie chicken.

The first day I buy my chicken and use it as is.  If you have a larger family then buy 2 chickens and double the stock recipe below.  I usually get mine from Walmart since they are always $5 each.  Since my husband likes dark meat and I like the white meat, we each get our portions of the chicken.  I usually add 2 sides, like salad, green beans, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, etc.  Then I save the rest of the chicken on the bone and in the original container.

DAY#2 - Round 2 Meal Recipe

I take my left over chicken and use it in a round 2 recipe.  I have made several different things with the left overs...Shredded chicken tacos, chicken pizza, salads, pasta, soups, etc.  There are a few recipes below that are my favorite:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sour-cream-enchiladas/detail.aspx

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-flautas-with-avocado-cream-recipe/index.html

DAY #3 - Homemade Chicken Broth

Don't throw away the carcass either!!!  Don't you want to get EVERY penny out of this chicken?!  If you do not have time to make the chicken broth, then freeze the carcass in a freezer bag and make at a later date.  I usually make mine with the recipe below in my crock pot while at work but you can tweak it to your taste.  I make mine without any salt or major seasonings most of the time since I want a basic "neutral" broth so it's diverse.

*  Place rotisserie chicken carcass in crock pot covered with a crock pot liner (BEST invention EVER)

*  Add all the left over fat/drippings at the bottom of the original container

*  Cover with the following roughly chopped :

1 onion, 2-3 celery sticks (with leaves), 1/2 bag of carrots

3 Bay Leaves

6-8 cups of water 

Optional : 1 can chicken broth, 1 garlic bulb, salt/pepper and seasonings

*  Cook in crock pot on low for 8-10 hrs

*  Let broth cool then drain all veggies/bay leaves through strainer and discard all but the broth itself

*  Freeze in 1-2 cup portions in freezer bags and freeze
*  Freeze any remaining broth in ice cube trays for smaller portions

Broth can be safely stored for 3-4 days in the fridge or 3-6 months in the freezer.



Panko Chicken with Fried Eggs

This recipe is my easy "go to" week night recipe.  It's very inexpensive to make and doesn't take long since the cuts of meat used are sliced very thin.  I usually have all the ingredients on hand too.  I have a surplus of eggs right now so I'm trying to add them to recipes and I got this idea from my sister and grandma a couple of months ago.  I have made this with chicken cutlets and thinly sliced pork chops.  I probably prefer the chicken over the pork but both taste amazing!  You can serve this on top of white rice, noddles or sometimes I make it with oven baked potatoes (almost like a breakfast for dinner meal).

What you will need...

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken cutlets or thinly sliced pork chops (1/person)

Eggs (1/person)

2 TS Oil

1 Cup Flour (Aprox)

1 Cup Panko - Japanese Bread Crumbs (Aprox)

1 beaten Egg for batter

Seasonings (to taste): garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, 1/2 ranch packet

Put aside the flour, beaten egg, and panko bread crumbs in separate dishes/bowls for dipping the chicken

Season all 3 mixtures evenly with seasonings

Wash chicken and pat dry, then dip in the flour, egg, and lastly the panko (in this order)

Fry in oil on medium heat for 5-7 mins per side until golden brown

Fry an an over easy egg to top each chicken cutlet with



ENJOY!!!