Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Grub Time!



Here in Oregon were having a heat wave that is very much needed. We have had so much rain that even Oregonians are tired of it. With a long day of berry picking with the girls, I really was not in the mood to cook a huge 3 course dinner. With that in mind I remembered to soak some dried beans in water earlier in the day. By the end of the day they were ready to cook. When you soak the beans it takes less time to cook. Here's what I ended up making. This fed a family of 6 with enough left overs for my husband to take to work the next day.

Mexican Chili Salad

1lb of dried beans cooked till tender 50 cents
1 red bell pepper (any bell pepper will work) from Marks NW Fresh Produce 33 cents (adds so much fresh flavor! )
1 tomato again from Marks 30 cents

Seasonings
4 tbs of Chili powder
2 tbsp Cumin
1 tsp of dried onion powder (you could use fresh)
1/2 tsp of onion powder
2 tbsp Paprika (for color)

I served the chili over fresh lettuce from Costco for 99 cents. Then crumbled left over tortilla chips that were from the bottom of the bag. This adds a great flavor! Then your choice of cheese or sour cream or both in my case. This is a great way to make a hot meal cold. The lettuce cools down the chili but the chili is hot enough at first to melt your cheese. Perfect!

All together this meal cost around  $2.12 or so. I used the spices that I had on hand which were bought in bulk for pretty cheap. If you think about it, this meal is only .35 cents per person in a family of 6. Now thats frugal!

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