A less than $5.00 dinner!

I'm a huge fan of Erin Chase, the $5.00 dinner mom. I follow her on Facebook and Twitter.  She constantly inspires me to plan and prepare nutritious meals for my family that are inexpensive.

Last night I made a family favorite that I hadn't made in probably over a year- chicken and stuffing casserole. It's technically a less that $5.00 dinner (but only by a few cents), and since there are only 2 of us, there were lots of leftovers for lunch today for each of us, plus enough for 1 dinner in the future!

I got a few photos of the prep, but not the completed meal (We were so hungry, I forgot!).  I have labeled where everything came from for reference.  Everything except the veg we already had on the cupboard/fridge.

 

Chicken and stuffing casserole (serves 6)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (from the HUGE Costco package), each breast cut into 2 or 3 pieces. approx. $2.50 (pictured is only 2 of the chicken breasts cut up- I added a third after deciding that 2 was just not enough!)



1 Box of stuffing .49 (Ralphs- markdown after the holidays, plus a super sweet coupon someone had left on the shelf- Thanks Coupon Fairy!!)



1 can Campbells reduced fat, reduced sodium Cream of Chicken soup .49 (from 99 Cents only!)

1 cup sour cream (free- leftover from a vendor lunch at work.  They brought us Rubio's.  What? I totally take home the luncheon leftovers and re-purpose them, esp. if no one else wants them.)

1 cup Celery .50 (Fresh and Easy)

1 cup chopped onion .50 (used 1/2 of the 2 cup package. Thanks Fresh and Easy mark down section!!)

1 carton Swanson chicken broth (used 1/2) .49  (99 cents only)



Pat of butter (Free- also from work luncheon.  We had Souplantation for my work baby shower a few weeks ago and there was leftover butter.  I brought it home and put it in a freezer safe container.)

Spray release (like Pam). I used 3 squirts- I have no clue how much that cost, maybe a few pennies(?).

Side dish- bag of frozen veggies (free after coupon and store sale at Target)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Saute the veggies in pat of butter, until the onions are clear, about 5-10 minutes.  Add stuffing and broth (You could use water instead to save money, but the broth adds more flavor), and stir to combine.  Fluff the stuffing, and remove from heat.



 

Mix soup and sour cream in a small bowl and set aside.



Spray 9x13 pan with spray release.  Pour 1/3 of the soup/sour cream mixture into the bottom of the pan and spread around to coat the bottom of the pan.

Pour the stuffing/veg mixture over the top. Place the raw chicken breast pieces on the top of the stuffing and pour the remaining soup/sour cream over the whole shebang.

Bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees until the chicken is cooked (juices run clear when pierced with fork).

Serve with mixed veggies.

Total cost OOP $4.97.  Total cost per serving $.83




It was really good, better than I remember. If you want to make it at home, remember:

You can use cream of mushroom soup if you prefer.  Any "Cream of" soup works.

Only use REAL Sour Cream. No IMO. Lower fat sour creams may work, but make sure that there is only sour cream in it- no fillers.

If you like other veggies or fruit in your stuffing, add those instead.  I know some people like raisins, nuts, apples, mandarin orange slices in their stuffing.  It's your dinner- it's up to you!

If you don't have chicken breasts, try pork chops instead!  Pork Chops with stuffing is heavenly (if you use pork chops, I suggest using Cream of Mushroom Soup).

 

Enjoy!