Guest Post: Eggplant Lasagna

Last Saturday, I was busy teaching a couponing class. Maria S of Maria S Hand Made Love gave us a yummy recipe for Sour Cream and Chicken Enchiladas. I made them before I posted the recipe and they were delicious!

Maria returned the favor by posting my Eggplant Lasagna recipe. Please visit her site and thank her for sharing with us!

Guest Post: Sour Cream and Chicken Enchiladas

Note: I'm hosting a coupon class today, so I knew I would be swamped. Maria S. of  Maria's Handmade Love was kind enough to offer us this delicious recipe for our weekend! Please let her know how much you enjoyed this recipe by going to her site and following her via GFC and commenting, too!


Sour Cream and Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican food is all my husband wants to eat...well, almost. He loves Mexican food and can't get enough of it.  So at least once a week I make some Mexican dish for dinner - usually more than once a week.  This week I made these super easy and delicious Sour Cream and Chicken Enchiladas.

They are easy to make, and it is a recipe that the whole family will love!  And that is a big bonus when it comes to cooking dinner! 

Cheap Meals that are Good for You -- Lemon Marinated Grilled Chicken

Here's this week's cheap meal and it was delicious. My family loves lemon, especially my older son and I, so we really loved this dish.


Lemon Marinated Grilled Chicken


4 chicken breasts (I buy big bags of frozen chicken breasts for $5, cost for this meal: $2.50)
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (approx.$0.50)
4 Tbsp Lemon Juice (approx. $0.50)
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest (included with juice)
1/2 tsp Salt (negligible)
1/2 tsp Pepper (negligible)
1/2 cup White Cooking Wine (approx. $0.25)
1 tsp Corn Starch (negligible)
1/4 cup water (free)


Place defrosted chicken in a ziploc bag. Add all other ingredients except the wine, corn starch and water, then zip and shake. Refrigerate for 4-8 hours. Prepare the grill and place the chicken on the grill. Reserve the liquid from the ziploc bag. While the chicken is grilling, place the liquid in a sauce pan with the wine on simmer. Put the corn starch in the water and whisk until mixed. Add the corn starch mixture to the sauce. Stir the sauce frequently with a whisk until thickened. Remove the chicken from the grill and pour the sauce over each chicken breasts.


To complete this meal, I added some mixed vegetables (on sale for $0.88 ea.) and a loaf of Rosemary Italian bread (day old $1.00).


Total cost for the meal: $5.63

Cheap Meals that are Good for You: Eggplant Lasagna

Second in my series of recipes on the cheap is one of my favorites, Eggplant Lasagna. This is only cheap when eggplant is on sale.

Eggplant Lasagna

2 Whole Eggplants, sliced into 1/4" thick slices (2/$4)
1 Clove Garlic, diced (cost negligible)
1 Bell Pepper, diced ($0.99)
2 Carrots, chopped ($0.10)
1 Zucchini, chopped ($1.00)
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes, drained ($0.50)
1 Tbsp Italian Herb mix (cost negligible, if you don't have this mix, add oregano, parsley, rosemary, and basil instead)
I Jar Pasta Sauce (I used Classico with 3 Cheeses, on sale of 2/$4, with coupon -- $1.00)
1 16 oz Cottage Cheese ($1.00, on sale with coupon)
1 Cup Shredded Cheese ($1.00 on sale with coupon, only used half -- $0.50)
Total cost: $9.00


This is a little more expensive than the last meal, but it is very healthy, especially if you use non-fat cottage cheese and low-fat shredded cheese. It also is enough for our family to have two meals, so it's really $4.50 per meal.


Turn the over on to broil. Lay the eggplant slices on a cooking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Broil for 2-4 minutes, until tender. While eggplant roasts, saute all of the other vegetables in a pan. When I saute, I heat a tablespoon of water to boiling in the pan before adding the vegetables. Saute until crisp-tender. Pour the vegetables into a bowl with the can of diced tomatoes. Take out the eggplant and turn the over to 350 degrees. Spray an 9x13 cooking dish with cooking spray. Place a layer of eggplant slices on the bottom of the pan. Add half of the vegetable mixture, then half of the cottage cheese, half of the pasta sauce, then repeat the layers one more time. If you still have eggplant (I did), place a layer on top, with a little more sauce and the shredded cheese. Place in the oven, covered with foil, for 45 minutes. Allow to cool, slice, and serve.


If you have a recipe you like to make on the cheap, please feel free to let me know in the comments below, or email me at fullcartfullwallet@gmail.com.

Pairing Savings with Health -- Cheap Meals that are Good for You

One of the common complaints of people who start to coupon is that most of the coupons are for processed foods. While this is often true (meat, dairy, and produce coupons are rare), you can make good tasting, healthy meals on the cheap with coupon shopping. Below is an example:

Panda Express-Style Orange Chicken

1 Pkg Perdue Baked Chicken Nuggets (Orig. $3.99, marked down to $2.39, coupon for $1.00 off = $1.39)

2 Bell Peppers, one red, one green (On sale this week at Albertson's for $0.99 ea.)

1 Pkg of Success Rice (Orig. $3.99, on sale for $2.99, coupon for $1.00 off = $1.99 for 4, or $0.50 for 1)

1/2 cup Orange Juice (Est. cost $0.50)

1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar (Est. cost $0.05)

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar (Est. cost $0.05)

1 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce (Est. cost $0.05)

1 tsp Corn Starch (Est. cost $0.10)

1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (Cost negligible)

Total cost = $4.62

How to prepare:

Boil rice in a pot for 10 minutes. While the rice is boiling, chop the Bell Peppers into small pieces and cut the Chicken Nuggets into fourths. In a wok on high, heat 2 Tbsps of water until it is almost to boiling. Add peppers and stir for 2 minutes, then add Chicken Nugget bits and stir. Turn the temperature down to medium and let the Pepper mixture sautee. Meanwhile, whisk the Orange Juice, Rice Vinegar, Brown Sugar, Corn Starch, and Soy Sauce in a small bowl. Pour the sauce mixture over the Chicken and Peppers. Toss until thoroughly coated and the sauce is warm. Shake Red Pepper Flakes over the Chicken mixture and stir once more. Remove from heat. Drain rice thoroughly, then serve the Chicken mixture on a bed of rice. Serves 4-6.

My boys (DH and two sons) loved this so much they eagerly went back for seconds. This version also has a lot less calories than Panda Express' version and the whole meal was cheaper than one entree at Panda!