Lemon Roasted Chicken: Economic Recession? Or Depression? Dinner Series # 1
It took our government quit sometime to officially announce that the country was in fact not in a recession any longer but rather a depression. It took this realization for the people (some) to think about how they were going to fair in this economy. For us we had to tighten up even more, especially with working for ourselves. It was time to put holidays on hold, buying frivolous things that we really do not need (that new purse I would really like), staying in more often, bringing lunch to work, trying not to spend $5.00 a day on coffee (we got a french press for the office and bring in coffee/cream) and overall, just tightening up and buying only what we really need to survive and/or for work.
I have been reading in all the food magazines for the past couple of months about these budget dinners and decided last week that I would put our grocery shopping and cooking skills to the test this week by creating the Chez Us Recession/Depression Dinners. The criteria in the about mentioned articles was that it would be for 7 nights and would include a dessert that would last a week, as well, the menus would make at least 4 servings.
We knew that we did not want to skimp on quality as well we wanted to continue eating as we have been for the past few years. This meant we would continue shopping at Whole Foods, yes, you can eat well and stay on a budget by shopping there; it is not as expensive as everyone thinks (that will be another post sometime). I originally wanted to include the farmer’s market in this challenge but did not make it there on Saturday so all of the shopping would be done at Whole Foods. I planned out our menu for the entire week, 7 dinners, 5 lunches (leftovers from the night before) and 1 dessert to last the week. I would bring down the weekly shopping from $120 – $200 (usually on the low end unless we have company over for dinner, or it is time to stock up on staples we are out of) to $100 for the recession/depression dinner series. For this first week I would purchase everything I needed for each recipe and not use what is on hand. Included in this list would also be the usual weekly items, a gallon of milk (yes, organic), breakfast (yogurt), fruit (seasonal fruits and bananas (Lenny loves them in yogurt) and fresh ground espresso.
For dinner tonight I used half of the chicken (I had the butcher butterfly it) and I froze the other half. We picked a couple recipes from the Barefoot in Paris cookbook , the Lemon Roasted Chicken with croutons and a celery root salad. We LOVE French food and we really love this chicken recipe. It is so easy! You stuff this chicken with lemons, give it a rub down with olive oil, salt and pepper and then lay it on a bed of onions and roast it! While it is roasting to a golden brown, you make some croutons out of a baguette. When the chicken is done cooking you are left with a golden brown chick and a roast pan full of lemony juices. I like to lift the chicken out of the baking pan and put the croutons ontop of the juices and then lay the bird back on top.
The celery root is very simply tossed with a dressing of mayo, mustard, lemon juice and white wine vinegar. It is so refreshing and light, really complimented the chicken and the lemony croutons.
Dessert will be announced on Tuesday 
– it is good!
$ 12.74 for 4 servings. Dinner and lunch for the next day.
What are you doing in your home &/or lives to help ease this economic downfall?
very inspiring!!!!!!!! it’s amazing what lovely meals you can make for cheep cheep. can’t wait to see what’s next on your menu.
cheers!
~chanelle
That looks awesome! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten celery root, although I know Ina likes to cook with it. I’ve been working on a list for my blog that will be an ongoing/ever expanding collection of tips on how to eat well on a tight budget. Buying whole chickens instead of chicken pieces is actually on there. If you have any good ones that you wouldn’t mind me putting on the list, I would be interested to hear them. Looking forward to future installments ChezUs “Depression Dinners.”
I love the idea, esp of not using your pantry to start out. Will have to try this soon. We too love Ina’s recipes!
That meal didn’t seem like you were cutting back at all. I love celery root. We are not eating out as much to save money.
Just think how well we foodies can stretch a dollar! We want our cake, and we can make it too. We’ve been buying fresh produce from a grocer with ridiculously low prices, experimenting with various ways to make different meals with the same main ingredient. It definitely shows you that a red pepper has more uses than just soup and salad. Your dinner looks amazing. Just the kind of thing you want after a day working for the man.
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My husband and I went from a combined income of $50k last year down to a combined income of $35k this year. I trimmed our food budget (because it’s really the easiest part to trim) by writing out meals every Saturday or Sunday with the grocery’s Weekly Ad. I planned breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. On average, we spend $100/week for the 2 of us. That really includes maybe 1 night that we go out to eat somewhere. Most of my grocery bills are about $70 for all that–of course, it gets a bit higher on the weeks we buy soap, toilet paper, etc. We eat as fresh as possible and with the cheapest cuts of meat I can find. We still eat organic eggs, milk, and ground meats. I also use the heck out of my pantry. We’ll eat a pasta side with veggies in it once or twice a week, rice once a week, and a bag of salad serves as a small side for every weeknight. Luckily, with just 2 of us, we can have leftovers or smaller amounts of food bought each week.
[...] I sauteed some thinly sliced white onion with garlic and then added some sliced carrots for color. After all the seasonings were soft I added a can of chickpeas – we love chickpeas! It really is a versatile legume and is very good for you. While the dish simmered I seasoned the Tilapia with paprika, salt and a little pepper. I think used the grill pan and cooked the fish until it was golden. To serve I ladled the chickpeas into a wide soup bowl and gently laid the fish on top and gave a dusting of sea salt. I served a simple red leafed butter lettuce salad drizzled with the leftover dressing from the celery root salad. [...]
What a fabulous idea! We can also trim our food budget and still have healthy, tasty and interesting dishes. Looking forward to your next recession/depression meal.
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