Chicken Paprikash-Topped Potatoes

Looking for a quick, budget-friendly and tasty dinner recipe? Look no further. Using a combination of items from your pantry plus a couple of perishables from the grocery you can whip a healthy meal in just minutes. The main ingredients are chicken thighs and potatoes (you could substitute rice) which are very budget friendly.

The traditional Hungarian dish of chicken and onion in creamy paprika sauce makes a hearty topping for baked potatoes. Perfect a weeknight during the fall.

Source: Cooking Light, MARCH 2002 – this recipe is available online at www.myrecipes.com

I just returned from a visit to my sister and her family in Clark Summit, a bucolic little town near the Northeastern edge of the Pocono Mountains, where the leaves were at 70% fall color saturation – that magical moment when the red leaves blaze, the orange leaves sparkle, the yellow leaves glow, and the green of the pine trees provide just the right background for the morning frost.

My sister and I have 2 brothers – we’re all suburban kids - and the closest any of us ever came to growing and canning vegetables, making jelly, hunting, or having farm animals was visiting a living history museum in Jamestown or Plymouth Rock or one of those places. So when my sister and her husband began doing exactly all of those things, I was a bit stunned to say the least.

But what I saw on this visit proved to me just how much of a beautiful word “thrifty” could be. Tomatoes are either grown or bought by the bushel at the local Farmers Market – and promptly canned for the winter. Turkeys are raised then sent to Mrs. McDonald’s farm (no, really, Old McDonald’s Farm, ee-yi-yo) to be butchered and frozen for eating later. Chickens roam the coop, providing eggs. Here’s a shot of my favorite chicken, Spot.

My nephews and their Dad hunt, and venison not only fills the table, but provides all kinds of snacks, like venison jerky and rope sausage.

And then or course, there’s Eddie the Goat and Dexter the Bunny, just to provide cuteness and cuddle.

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not suggesting that we all leave our citified lives and put on overalls. But in these challenging economic times, I know that we’re all thinking about how to provide the most healthy, nutritious and cost effective meals for our families.

The recipes in the Mama Says “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe box can help do just that. For just $1.30/serving, you can make Southwestern Tortilla Soup, cut up a salad, and have a wonderfully filling and nutritious meal for 4. The Honey Roast chicken serves 4, and only costs $2.50/serving. Add the Spinach Salad (at $1.10/serving) and you’ve got a healthy and delicious meal. And that’s just the beginning!

If you’re cooking for yourself and your family, or if you’d like to get a great gift for a new cook in his or her first apartment , Mama Says “No More Frozen Pizza!” is the answer to being both budget conscious and eating delicious, healthy meals. Grab a box on our website, and come join us in the kitchen!