Mom's Super Easy Chili

Homemade Chili is probably the 1st thing Mom taught me to cook. Most of her recipes were quite simple...When you are feeding 11 people every day, you have to be able to stretch those dollars and also save time. I made this meal for my family for a little over six dollars.  I know there are tons of Chili recipes out there with all kinds of different ingredients and types of meat, but this recipe has always been a real crowd pleaser, and I always get compliments!

I also made the yummy beer bread which set me back a little over a dollar!  I will be posting this recipe up too!

Chili:

Prep time - 5 minutes

Cook time - 30 to 45 minutes

1 Lb. Ground Beef

2 - 15 oz. cans tomatoes

(I use the diced, but you can get the whole tomatoes and put them in the blender or use a stick blender right in the can)

2 - 15 oz. cans of chili beans

1 small onion

Cumin, Cilantro, Salt, Pepper

Brown your ground beef.  Chop the onion, add to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and beans.  Season to your taste with Cumin, Cilantro, Salt & Pepper (probably about a teaspoon of each to start).  Simmer for about 30 Minutes.

I bought the ground beef in the 3 lb. chub and cut it into 3/1 lb. hunks and froze the other 2, so 2.66 for the meat.  My local market had all of their canned goods on sale for .68, so I stocked up on those and used 4 of them - 2.72.  I got 6 onions for .99 on the produce managers special rack and used 1 - .17.  The bread cost me about 1.29 and we used 1/2 of it, so - .65.  Total for meal - $6.20 and I have leftovers.

Where's the Beef? Another yummy 6 dollar meal!

Gone are the days when we used ground beef to stretch our food dollars...It's almost cheaper to buy steak!

 One of my favorite go-to meals for autumn is a big pot of homemade chili, but these days it's not very budget friendly, so I decided to make white chili using chicken instead. My local market had chicken breast on sale for .99 a lb. (one third the cost of ground beef). I got a 3 lb package for 3.21, and used 2 lbs. for the chili. They also had their canned beans on sale for .68 a can.

I asked my friend for her white chili recipe. It called for 2 cans of chicken broth, but I decided to use the stock from boiling the chicken with some bullion added instead. It tastes the same at a fraction of the cost. A jar of 25 bullion cubes costs 1.99, I used 4, so around .32 compared to 3.00 for 2 cans of chicken broth.  NOTE: I also used more than 28 oz. of liquid because I thought it was too thick, so another benefit of not using the canned broth.

Last, but not least, I bought a loaf of pre-sliced french bread that was marked down to .78, and used half of it and froze the other half to use for another meal.

 $2.14, for the chicken, 2.72 for the beans, .32 for the bullion, .33 for the onion, and .39 for the bread. Total for the meal $5.90, I fed my family of 3, plus my daughter had a friend for dinner, and I have half of it left over.  (I made a double batch)

Here is the recipe for a double batch:
2 Tbsp. Olive oil (more or less...I used a little more. I just eyeballed it.  You need enough to saute the onions)
2 small onions
6 Tbsp. flour
4 tsp. Cumin
I added a pinch of garlic powder, a pinch of cayenne, some salt and a sprinkle of ground oregano
2 - 14.5 oz. cans of chicken broth
3 c. chopped cooked chicken ( I didn't measure, I just used the meat off of 2 chicken breasts
4 cans Great Northern or Navy beans
Optional:
2 - 4 oz. cans chopped green chiles (I only say these are optional because I didn't have any, and the chili was delicious)
Garnishes - Monterey Jack Cheese, sour cream, salsa

Saute your onions in olive oil until they are transparent.  Add your flour and cumin to make a roux.  Slowly whisk the chicken broth into the roux.  Stir in your un-drained beans, chicken, and any other spices you like in your chili. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, but keep an eye on it and stir frequently.  Serve it with crackers, garlic bread, or anything else you may like.

Boston Market...NOT!

Talk about saving money! A meal like this at Boston Market would have cost $20.97. I had this on the table in less than 30 minutes, and it only cost me around 6 bucks.

I was crunched for time and couldn't think of anything decent for dinner that would be quick.  As I was heading for the check-out, I noticed the rotisserie chickens were on sale for 3.99...Whew!, that saved me.

I grabbed one, and when I got home, I whipped up some mashed potatoes (about .50 to make), some mac & cheese (another .80), and a can of green beans (.59), and viola!  Less than 30 minutes later we were sitting down to this great meal.  (To be fair to Boston Market, we opted for white bread, but corn muffins would have set me back another 33 cents for a dozen.)

Total for the meal - $6.21 ( that would be with the corn muffins)
Per person price at Boston Market - $6.99

I easily could have fed 4 people with this meal.

Six dollar dinner

Sometimes people don't believe it when I tell them how cheaply I feed my family.  I decided to start sharing some of my amazingly cheap dinners.

This is a meal I cooked for my husband, my daughter and me:

I bought these beautiful 1" thick pork chops on sale for just 3.31.  I seared them off in a screaming hot iron skillet for about 5 minutes on each side, and then I finished them off in the oven til they reached 160 degrees.  I made a quick pan gravy using a little flour to make a roux, then milk, salt and pepper.

I served them with stuffing (1.00), Corn on the cob (.99 from the produce manager's special rack), and applesauce (1.79, and we used 1/2 of the jar, so .90)

Total for this beautiful meal - $6.20 to feed 3 people!

If we were to eat this same meal out in a restaurant, it would cost well over $30 for the 3 of us.