This one won first place in the staff Cook Off! Emily's Fiesta Taco Dip, I priced it at just under $18 according to PeaPod.com.
Emily's Fiesta Taco Dip
16 oz Sour Cream (I used the light Sour Cream, bet you couldn’t even tell)
4 oz chopped black olives
4 oz chopped green chilies
1 packet Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch Dip
2 cups Shredded Cheese (the taco flavored kind tastes best)
Mix it all up in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Staff's Favorite Appetizer - Buffalo Chicken Dip!
Yesterday our staff held a Cookoff where a bunch of us brought in appetizers and everyone tasted and voted for their favorite. Below is Todd's Buffalo Chicken Dip. It rocked. Perfect for a football game! I priced it out at about $25 to make this dish, but it's worth it!
Buffalo Chicken Dip
2 large chicken breasts
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
approx 3/4 – 1 cup Frank’s red hot sauce (amount to taste)
Tostito corn chips, scoops
Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Directions
1) cook chicken in glass bakeware covered with foil at 350 for 30 minutes.
2) once cooled, finely shred chicken using two forks. (Or you can chop up as well.)
3) mix together cream cheese, shredded chicken, red hot sauce and ranch dressing.
4) Spread mixture into 9 inch square or 9x13 glass bakeware or corningware pan.
5) Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until hot and slightly bubbling
6) Sprinkle cheese on top and bake another 5 mins.
7) Serve hot with Frito scoops
Buffalo Chicken Dip
2 large chicken breasts
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
approx 3/4 – 1 cup Frank’s red hot sauce (amount to taste)
Tostito corn chips, scoops
Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Directions
1) cook chicken in glass bakeware covered with foil at 350 for 30 minutes.
2) once cooled, finely shred chicken using two forks. (Or you can chop up as well.)
3) mix together cream cheese, shredded chicken, red hot sauce and ranch dressing.
4) Spread mixture into 9 inch square or 9x13 glass bakeware or corningware pan.
5) Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until hot and slightly bubbling
6) Sprinkle cheese on top and bake another 5 mins.
7) Serve hot with Frito scoops
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
TIP: Feed the gang for $2 pp!
SAVING TIP: Eating in is clearly less expensive than eating out. Our staff put our heads together to come up with some meal ideas that we estimate to be about $2 per person. Such as:
Mary J suggests: Grilled cheese, fries and salad. ½ Loaf of bread on sale ($1), half a pound of cheddar cheese ($2), Bag of frozen French Fries ($3), head of lettuce (75 cents), ¼ bottle of salad dressing (75 cents), tomato (50 cents), cucumber (50 cents) = approx $8 or $2 per person.
Sandy B suggests: Breakfast for dinner. Box of cereal ($4), ½ gallon of milk: ($1.50), 4 bananas ($1.50), 6 eggs scrambled ($1) = approx $8 or $2 per person.
Robyn S suggests: Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo. Pasta ($1), Jar of Alfredo Sauce ($2), Two large chicken breasts ($4), Loaf of garlic bread from the bakery ($1.50) = Approx. $8.50 or $2.15 per person.
What's your favorite cheap meal?
Mary J suggests: Grilled cheese, fries and salad. ½ Loaf of bread on sale ($1), half a pound of cheddar cheese ($2), Bag of frozen French Fries ($3), head of lettuce (75 cents), ¼ bottle of salad dressing (75 cents), tomato (50 cents), cucumber (50 cents) = approx $8 or $2 per person.
Sandy B suggests: Breakfast for dinner. Box of cereal ($4), ½ gallon of milk: ($1.50), 4 bananas ($1.50), 6 eggs scrambled ($1) = approx $8 or $2 per person.
Robyn S suggests: Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo. Pasta ($1), Jar of Alfredo Sauce ($2), Two large chicken breasts ($4), Loaf of garlic bread from the bakery ($1.50) = Approx. $8.50 or $2.15 per person.
What's your favorite cheap meal?
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
TIP: Eat Leftovers
Even on a budget, you can justify eating out if you can bring home your leftovers and make a second meal out of it. Most portions in restaurants are big enough for two meals. Granted, not everything reheats well. You have nothing to lose giving it a try because the restaurant is only going to throw out your leftovers anyway. Just don't leave the box on the table when you get up to leave!
The same principle works for home cooked meals. If the dinner you make for your family of four costs $12 and you get two additional meals out of it, divide $12 by 6 meals and the cost is just $2 per person.
The same principle works for home cooked meals. If the dinner you make for your family of four costs $12 and you get two additional meals out of it, divide $12 by 6 meals and the cost is just $2 per person.
Friday, February 20, 2009
TIP#51: Brown Bag Lunch saves about $112/mo!
Brown bag your lunch and cut back on eating lunch out. Make it a once-a-week treat on Friday, maybe. (You'll find eating out is much more fun when you only do it occasionally!) You'll save about $112/mo. Assuming the cost of your average lunch out is $10 per day, and it costs about $3 to bring a frozen dinner or a sandwich and chips, you'll save $7 per day. Multiply that by 4 workdays and you'll save $28 per week or $112 per month!
What could you do with an extra $112 per month?
1) Start a rainy day savings account for vacation? Education? A dream?
2) Pay off debt. Add that $112 to pay down the principal on your mortgage or add it to your credit card payment.
3) Have more fun! Stimulate the economy!
The possibilities are endless. All thanks to a little brown bag...
What could you do with an extra $112 per month?
1) Start a rainy day savings account for vacation? Education? A dream?
2) Pay off debt. Add that $112 to pay down the principal on your mortgage or add it to your credit card payment.
3) Have more fun! Stimulate the economy!
The possibilities are endless. All thanks to a little brown bag...
Monday, August 6, 2007
Save money on food, by eliminating waste.
Does anyone else waste a lot of money by throwing out food that has gone bad? I always go grocery shopping with the best of intensions. I stock up on fruits and vegetables that I intend to eat soon, but by the time I am ready to use them, or finish eating them, they have gone bad.
When I clean out the refrigerator, I through away more food than I would like to admit. I am always trying to save money on just about everything else, but when it comes to food, unfortunately a lot of our money ends up in the trash.
I am very excited to report that I may have found a solution to this problem that will end up saving my family a lot of money. Yesterday, I saw a TV commercial advertising a product called “Green Bags” by Debbie Meyers. The advertisement claims that these bags will prolong the life of fruits and vegetables up to ten times as long. The bags control humidity and moisture build up, which discourages mold, bacteria, fungus and decay. They also help reduce vitamin loss by up to 50%.
Last night I went to the web site, http://www.buygreenbags.com/ and bought 20 of these bags for $9.99, and the bags can be used 10 times each. I will let you know if they work.
When I clean out the refrigerator, I through away more food than I would like to admit. I am always trying to save money on just about everything else, but when it comes to food, unfortunately a lot of our money ends up in the trash.
I am very excited to report that I may have found a solution to this problem that will end up saving my family a lot of money. Yesterday, I saw a TV commercial advertising a product called “Green Bags” by Debbie Meyers. The advertisement claims that these bags will prolong the life of fruits and vegetables up to ten times as long. The bags control humidity and moisture build up, which discourages mold, bacteria, fungus and decay. They also help reduce vitamin loss by up to 50%.
Last night I went to the web site, http://www.buygreenbags.com/ and bought 20 of these bags for $9.99, and the bags can be used 10 times each. I will let you know if they work.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Nickle and Dimed
I was at the ticket counter at the train station. I asked for a round trip ticket to Chicago. She offered to sell me a weekend pass that would get me where I needed to go and home when I wanted to return.
"You'll save 15 cents," she said.
"Whatever," I said. "It doesn't make much difference."
"The difference is 15 cents," she said.
She's right. Fifteen cents - a nickle and a dime. It made me wonder how often I casually disregard a small sum of money. Seems like the more I have the greater the amount that I tend to disregard, and the more money I spend. Really, what does 15 cents get you nowadays anyway? (Now I sound like my Grandmother.)
But the point is, small amounts really do add up. I'm not going to sweat over 15 cents. But how many times have I spent $15 more than I should? The grocery store is the hardest time for me - I see a food item and I just buy it without checking the price. If it looks good and it's healthy (no chemicals, transfats or high fructose corn syrup) AND if it's low in calories, too, I buy it. Maybe I can justify the price because I'm a bit particular about food. But I am also a sucker for convenience foods. I could easily save $15 a week by cooking more at home.
If I saved $15 each week, I'd have $780 more in savings at the end of the year. At retirement, that $780 could grow to nearly $4,000 (that's in 25 years at an average rate of 6.50% without contributing any more money!) If I put away $15 every week for the next 25 years ($60 per month for 25 years at an average rate of 6.50) I'd have nearly $45,000.
Direct deposit or automatic transfer is the easiest way to do this - you don't even have to think about it then. We can arrange to automatically move whatever amount of money you want, into a separate savings account.
$45,000 - That's no small change!
"You'll save 15 cents," she said.
"Whatever," I said. "It doesn't make much difference."
"The difference is 15 cents," she said.
She's right. Fifteen cents - a nickle and a dime. It made me wonder how often I casually disregard a small sum of money. Seems like the more I have the greater the amount that I tend to disregard, and the more money I spend. Really, what does 15 cents get you nowadays anyway? (Now I sound like my Grandmother.)
But the point is, small amounts really do add up. I'm not going to sweat over 15 cents. But how many times have I spent $15 more than I should? The grocery store is the hardest time for me - I see a food item and I just buy it without checking the price. If it looks good and it's healthy (no chemicals, transfats or high fructose corn syrup) AND if it's low in calories, too, I buy it. Maybe I can justify the price because I'm a bit particular about food. But I am also a sucker for convenience foods. I could easily save $15 a week by cooking more at home.
If I saved $15 each week, I'd have $780 more in savings at the end of the year. At retirement, that $780 could grow to nearly $4,000 (that's in 25 years at an average rate of 6.50% without contributing any more money!) If I put away $15 every week for the next 25 years ($60 per month for 25 years at an average rate of 6.50) I'd have nearly $45,000.
Direct deposit or automatic transfer is the easiest way to do this - you don't even have to think about it then. We can arrange to automatically move whatever amount of money you want, into a separate savings account.
$45,000 - That's no small change!
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