Pantry adventures...

Lately I've been trying to shop more diliberately... I want to be very aware of the money I'm spending and what I'm getting for the money. I'm trying to keep the meals simple, but I don't want to always be using boxes of mac & cheese and chicken nuggests. I've discovered that a box of pasta, cooked rice, cans of black beans, creamed corn, salsa, queso, and diced tomatoes can go far.

2 recipes with very similar ingredients:



Mexican chicken and rice



2 chicken breasts diced and cooked

3 cups cooked rice

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup medium salsa

2 cup shredded cheese, divided



combine everything, sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese

bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes

Serve with corn chips or hard taco shells.



This recipe can be altered according to taste by using mild/medium/hot salsa and by using diced tomatoes or ro-tel tomatoes.









Recipe #2
Tex-Mex pasta


2 chicken breasts cooked and diced

1 can creamed corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can ro-tel

1 box of elbow mac cooked

1 brick of low-fat cream cheese

combine everything in a large pot over low heat, stir until cream cheese is completely incorperated.