Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Eating Healthy on A Budget: Do It Yourself "Chicken Rice-A-Roni"

My "Chicken Rice-A-Roni". I added corn to this batch.

I'm a grad student. I get paid a stipend, but I'm not bringing in a lot of extra money. So, it's important for me to make meals that are both healthy and inexpensive. This great recipe fits the bill, and it's tasty too. If you're not swimming in extra cash (and really, who is?) you may want to give it a try as well. Adapted from Kitchen Stewardship.

Do It Yourself "Chicken Rice-A-Roni"

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice
2 cups chicken stock (If you made my Fauxtisserie Chicken you've got everything you need to make your own chicken stock)
1 onion, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Saute onion and celery in a bit of water or oil for about 5 minutes.
  2. Add chicken stock, rice, salt and pepper.
  3. Bring to boil and stir.
  4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes until rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed.
  5. Stir in beans.
  6. Enjoy!
This is a great basic recipe. It can be modified depending on your tastes or what you've got on hand. You can mix in your favorite veggie with the beans, I added corn to this batch. It's also good with some chicken mixed in. And, you can experiment with adding your favorite spices.

Do you have a favorite budget friendly meal? What do you do to save money on groceries?

11 comments:

  1. Hi Krissy:) I must say that pic did not look appetizing to me but let me explain why. Both my wives (no I'm not a pologamist, I'm talking about my ex and my wife now) think I'm a little odd because I can't eat my food mixed. I have to eat each dish separate from the others on the plate. I also do not eat them bite at a time mixed. I finish one and then go to the next, and then on to the next. So my rice, beans and celery would have to be in separate piles on the plate for me to eat it. I think they have a psychological name for this - crazy.

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    1. That sure is crazy. ;-) I'm a big fan of the one pot meals with everything mixed together. There are less dishes to wash that way.

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    2. My sister eats food that way too Marc (for the most part), she never eats a second item on her plate until the first one is finished. I thought she was the only crazy one out there :)

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  2. This looks delicious. I'll eat pretty much anything that included chicken and black beans.

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  3. I'm bookmarking this to add to my recipes later. Sounds like a great starting point for many variations!

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  4. Great recipe! I make a lot from scratch, from beans to bread. That helps me save money on expensive already prepared foods.

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  5. Hey Krissy, I like the sound of this dish (I'd swap the chicken stock for veg stock as I'm veggie) but it sounds good to me! My favourite budget meal is homemade vegetable broth soup- so cheap and easy to make.

    Btw I nominated you for a Liebster Award and thought you might like to know! Feel free to take a look if you like!

    http://missusandsausage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/it-could-be-you.html

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  6. Hi Krissy! I haven't from you in a few days and was just checking to see how you were doing? I hope everything is going OK for you.

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    1. Hi! I'm doing well, a few busy weeks have kept me away from blogging (and gotten my off track with my weight loss). I'm back at it again. I'll be back over at your blog soon to see what I missed.

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