Save Your Money- Buy Our Groceries: Vol. 22

2 people, 5 days, 70 bucks or less

For more info on this series of posts, click here!

THIS WEEK’S MENU

Breakfast

• Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Nectarines

Lunch

• Turkey Provolone Wrap with Tomato Cucumber Feta Salad

Dinner

• Southern Taco Potatoes

Snack

• Roasted Potato Chive Salad

THE GROCERY LIST  (for 2 people)

• 10 ripe tomatoes or 5 cups pearl or grape tomatoes
• 2 large cucumbers
• 2 bunches baby spinach
• 5 nectarines
• fresh chives
• 6 cups tiny bite sized potatoes
• 10 smallish sweet potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• approx. 24 oz. sliced turkey breast
• 3 cans corn
• oatmeal
• 10 large wheat tortillas
• feta cheese
• sliced provolone cheese
• sharp or smoked cheddar

WHAT WE ALREADY HAD AT HOME

• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• NC BBQ Sauce
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• mayonnaise
• grainy mustard
• red wine vinegar
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons butter

PREP ON SUNDAY

Roasted Potato Chive Salad

• 6 cups teeny tiny potatoes
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• grainy mustard
• 1/2 cup (or one of those plastic grocery containers) chives, chopped
• mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 425.  Arrange the potatoes in one layer on a sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper; toss to evenly coat the potatoes.   Roast in the oven for about 15-25 minutes or until the skins are crispy, lightly golden brown and the insides are soft.  While they bake, put chives and a large dollop each of mayo and mustard into  a large bowl.   When the potatoes are done, immediately pour them into the bowl and mash about 1/2 of them roughly with a fork or masher.  Mix everything and add more mustard, mayo, salt and pepper to taste.   I used about 2/3 cup of mayo to 1/2 cup of mustard because I really like the mustard taste for this particular salad instead of the typical creamy potato salad.   Store covered in the fridge for the week!

Chicken for the Taco Potatoes

I should mention here that this dinner is nothing like a taco at all.  It won’t look like one or taste like one!  My mom used to make us “taco potatoes” which were baked potato halves topped with everything you might have stuffed into one of those crunchy taco shells.  Since my childhood, I have been reinventing the idea of the “taco potato” every couple months.   This one combines some of my favorite southern flavors;  creamy sweet potato, buttery corn and tangy North Carolina BBQ.

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• NC BBQ sauce
• pepper

Put chicken into a medium saucepan and pour in the chicken broth.  Add enough BBQ sauce to almost cover the chicken.  Cover with the onions and set pan over medium high heat.   Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for about 1 hour or until the chicken is super soft and easily shreds with forks.  Remove the chicken and shred with two forks in bowl.  Add the cooked onions and some of the cooking liquid.  Stir and continue to add more liquid until the chicken no longer absorbs it.  I added all of mine, but it varies every time.   Salt and pepper to taste.  If you’ve never had NC pulled pork (shame on you…), your chicken should be spicy, super tangy from the vinegar and a little sweet.

Potatoes for the Taco Potatoes

• 10 sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 425.  Stab each potato a few times and put into a baking dish or on a sheet pan.  Bake about 1 hour or until fully cooked and soft to the touch.   Store in the fridge for the week.

Corn for the Taco Potatoes

• 3 cans corn, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt
• pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add corn and cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Store in a bowl in the fridge for the week.

BREAKFAST- 5 minutes

Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Nectarines

• 3/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 nectarine, sliced
• brown sugar

Heat water and oatmeal to boiling over high heat in a small saucepan.  Stir until cooked, just a couple minutes.  Divide between two bowls, top with nectarines and brown sugar.  If your oatmeal is too thick, drizzle with a little milk.  Eat!

LUNCH- 10 minutes

Turkey Provolone Wrap with Tomato Cucumber Feta Salad

• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• turkey
• provolone
• spinach
• mayonnaise
• 2 tomatoes or 1 cup grape or pearl tomatoes
• 1/2 cup feta
• 1 cup sliced cucumber
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper

Mix olive oil, vinegar, feta, tomatoes and cucumber in a bowl.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Divide between two plates or bowls.  Top each tortilla with a smear of mayo, a handful of spinach, a couple slices of provolone and some turkey.  Roll them up and serve with the salad.

DINNER-  20 minutes

Southern Taco Potatoes

My mom used to make us “taco potatoes” which were baked potato halves topped with everything you might have stuffed into one of those crunchy taco shells.  Since my childhood, I have been reinventing the idea of the “taco potato” every couple months.   This one combines some of my favorite southern flavors;  creamy sweet potato, buttery corn and tangy North Carolina BBQ.

• 2 pre-baked sweet potatoes, cut lengthwise in half
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• 1/5 of the corn
• 1/5 of the chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 500.   Microwave the sweet potatoes, corn and chicken separately just to take the chill off a little.   Line the potatoes up in a casserole dish, cut side up.  Top each half with a tiny bit of brown sugar and a teeny sprinkle of cinnamon and use a fork to mash it into the potato a bit.  Top with corn and chicken.  Sprinkle everything with cheddar and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

SNACK-  no minutes

Roasted Potato Chive Salad

Scoop some onto a plate or just eat it straight from the bowl!