No, I will not be talking about the toy that all of our little sisters had when we were growing up. What I will be talking about is another easy meal that you can make. And yes, it’s in the oven. When you are at the store grabbing the following ingredients, make sure to get a bit extra to make more chicken so you can take leftovers into work the next day. Save a dime instead of eating out.
CRISPY OVEN BAKED CHICKEN
- 1 chicken, cut in pieces
- 2 egg whites or 1 whole egg
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs or panko
- 1 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
- 1/4 tsp. each garlic and onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. paprika (optional)
- flour, salt and pepper
Wash chicken pieces and pat dry with a paper towel. Combine dry ingredients in a shallow pan. Spray a 9″x13″ baking pan or larger with olive oil spray. Beat egg slightly. Add parsley to egg and a pinch of salt, pepper (and a sprinkle of garlic and onion powder). Season the flour with salt and pepper, onion and garlic powder. Roll the chicken in the egg, then in the seasoned flour, turning well to coat. Make sure all the flour is wet. Spray chicken well all over with the olive oil spray, then bake in a preheated 350°F oven, for about 1 hour or until chicken is tender, golden, and cooked through.
MMMMMMM… sounds good just reading it doesn’t it? I know an hour seems like a long time to wait, but just get some gamin’ in or relax after your hard day at work.
This recipe was courtesy of our friends over at cooks.com
Unfortunately, my rap skills are not to the point yet where I can support eating Surf & Turf everday at the seafood restaurant on Capitol Hill. Instead, I am like most working class Americans and am trying to watch my finances as best I can in order to stay fiscally responsible as well as be able to save a little each month. One of my largest expenses each month is eating out everyday for lunch. If you think about it, there are 5 work days in a week, 4 weeks in a month, and an average of $7.50 each lunch meal. This comes to about $150 a month. Just think if you can cut that down to $5 a meal, you will save about $50 a month! That can be an extra tank of gas, a round of golf, or part of your cell phone bill.
Obviously, the easiest way to hit the budget is by bringing in your own meals to work. Maybe a ham sandwich, an apple, some yogurt, and a granola bar. This tactic might drop your daily cost well below the $5 and if you can do this on a daily basis, then I commend you. If you are like me and are: a) too lazy b) wake up way too late and c) like getting out of the office for an hour, then that just isn’t an option. Instead, most everyday, I take my lunch hour to escape the office life and eat out at a local eatery. When I first started, I got hooked on Chipotle and Panera and found I was shelling out close to $8 a day when all was said and done. This was taking a hearty chunk out of my bank account, one I knew I could reduce if I put my mind to it. After a little bit of experience, here are a couple helpful tips to save a dime during lunch time.
- If you drink soda, instead of feeding $1.25 to the vending machine everyday, go buy a pack of six bottles at Target or Wal-Mart for $3. Each week, this will save you $3.75. Not too mention, you won’t have to get a drink at your lunch stop.
- Subway – $5 footlongs – Don’t get the premium subs or a meal. Leave it at $5 and bring your own drink
- Quiznos – $5 large subs & $4 Torpedos - Again don’t get a meal and bring your drink
- Water Water Water – Instead of getting a drink, just ask for a cup to get tap water
- Eat a snack mid-morning & mid-afternoon. This will help you with your lunch time cravings.
- Chick Fil-A, Burger King, McDonalds, etc. – Get just the entree, skip the meal. By doing this you can cut your meal cost in half immediately. If you desperately need fries, get them off the dollar menu. You don’t need a drink, you already bought plenty of them earlier.
As you go out to different places, you will discover where you can find a good meal for a good deal. Just make sure you adhere to whatever budget you put in place and try to be as consistent as possible. Take some pride in it, be proud that you are being strong and being responsible with your money. It isn’t always easy but it is definitely worth it.
If you have a good deal you would like to share, post it in the comments and let us know.
As Brad and I add more and more to this site, I am hoping that this section can be a daily feature, but we’ll see what happens. We simply wanted to have a section where busy, overworked people can come to find an easy meal idea. Enough of the explanation – you get it.
Easy Meal #1 is Salmon and Asparagus which, coincidentally, I had for dinner tonight. Buy a salmon chunk (I’m not sure what the correct term is for a piece of salmon as you can tell) and a… bunch of asparagus. Put a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice on each (oh, and be sure to cut the gross ends off the asparagus). Put the salmon on a piece of aluminum foil and throw it on the grill for 10-15 minutes. Don’t have a grill? It could take a bit longer. Throw it in a glass baking dish put it in the oven on 300 for about 40 minutes (it’s better to have a grill, but still very little work). Throw the asparagus in a pan and put it on medium heat for 8-10 minutes… DONE.
That’s the basic gist of things. Enjoy!
