Frugal Friday: Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms - Healthy Meal or Fancy Hors D'oeuvres

I was running low on dinner ideas a few weeks ago, and we were low on ingredients in the house. Carley was out playing Bunco, so I decided to get creative with my dinner. While this is normally a clue that the entire contents of our kitchen will be dirty on the counter, this meal turned out to be simple and delicious.


The picture does not really do these treats justice. I tried to pile some left over Melba toast in the middle as a garnish, but it just looks like crumbs :) Carley commented that the real thing looked good enough to be served at a fancy dinner or cocktail party.

"Chuck"en Stuffed Mushrooms... yeah, I said "Chuck"-en

Ingredients that you will need per serving:

• Chicken breast or thigh, 100g or roughly 3.5oz., trimmed of fat, skin and veins - We usually buy frozen chicken breasts. The 6 lb. bag usually costs about ten dollars and change at the superstore, or about 50 cents per serving.

• Fresh button mushrooms, 5 to 10 depending on size - We picked these up at the local superstore as well.I asked Carley the price, and she seems to think they are about $3 a pack, and the recipe uses about a third of the package, or $1 per serving.

• Melba Toast, crushed - 1 cracker or 2 rounds. At $2.25 a box, this comes in at about 15 cents per serving.

• Chimtot's super special seasoning blend (I talked about this last week, but it is 1 part pepper, 1 part garlic powder, 4 parts salt.) - Staple

• Lemon juice (fresh, bottled... however works for you) or  cider vinegar, whatever you prefer  -  Staple

• Cider Vinegar - Staple

• Paprika or Cayenne pepper -  Staple

• Cooking oil (I use EVOO) or Bragg's amino acids as you prefer to cook with - Staple

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, brush oil (or spray with cooking spray) onto a baking sheet
2. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. 
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
4. Pop the stems out of your mushrooms and finely dice them throwing out the tough ends.
5. Finely dice the chicken.
6. Combine the chicken, diced stems, crushed Melba toast, seasoning blend and lemon juice in a bowl and allow to stand for 2 to 3 minutes or until the toast has absorbed the liquid.
7. Fry the mixture until the chicken is fully cooked and any moisture has cooked off.
8. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool.
9. Fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing and place on the baking sheet.
10. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are hot and liquid starts to form underneath.
11. Remove from the oven, sprinkle on Paprika or Cayenne for color and additional flavor.
12. Serve and enjoy.

I actually ate this as a meal, and found it to be quite satisfying.  All together it comes in at less than 250 calories and less than two dollars and fifty cents a serving! Frugal and healthy, just the way I like it! 
There is also plenty of room to alter this recipe to your tastes. You could add a bit of Parmesan cheese,  Pecorino Romano or cream cheese to make the filling more creamy. You could use mint, parsley or oregano to give it a different, more Italian flavor and a different color. You could use a nice italian sausage, or cook the mixture in Marsala wine... the possibilities are quite numerous!


Feel free to share this recipe with others, try it yourself or pint it to one of your boards :) If you do try it, let me know what you thought.


 Send me your favorite frugal and figure-friendly recipes and I may include them in a future post!

Frugal Friday: A Healthier Alternative to a Burger and Fries

I have been posting the occasional photo of some of my low-calorie dinners to Facebook in the last few weeks. These photos seem to have gone over well, and they fit in so well with my whole weight loss journey, that I thought I could share some of my recipes with those of you that read this blog. Keep in mind, these recipes are usually very simple, cheap and filling. Don't expect a gourmet meal. I am sharing because I am successfully losing weight by eating these things. Your mileage may vary.

For those of you that are taking the time to read this post, rather than skipping to the recipe, I will share with you that I have decided to restructure this blog. Where in the past my posts have been fairly random, and about whatever is on my mind on a given day, I am going to try to be a bit more focused. This blog will focus on weight loss, healthy living and thrifty, yet healthy cooking.

The first recipe that I would like to share with you is one of my favorites. It is my cheaper, healthier version of a hamburger and fries. This is no gourmet meal, but it is delicious, satisfying and less than 500 calories.

Ingredients that you will need:

• Ground meat of your choice, in 1/3 lb. patties - In the picture above I used  a box of Black Angus Beef Patties from the freezer section of our local superstore. A box of six cost about $6.00, or roughly a dollar per burger.
• Fresh green beans, 1 cup (roughly 1/4 lb) per serving, washed - We picked these up at the local superstore as well. I prefer to go to a farmers market when I can to support local growers (I have to get a little business commentary in here, I am a banker after all.) We picked them up for roughly $1.25 per pound.
• Chimtot's super special seasoning blend (1 part pepper, 1 part garlic powder, 4 parts salt. This is nothing special, contrary to the arbitrary name I have given it, but it is delicious. I make a large batch and keep it in a canister on our counter. We use it on almost everything.) - We call this a staple, meaning we always have this at home, so I cannot comment on price.
• Lemon juice (fresh, bottled... however works for you) -  Staple
• Dried onion (or fresh, whatever variety you prefer) -   Staple
• Paprika -  Staple

1. Place the burgers in a hot frying pan, douse with a healthy drizzle of lemon juice.
2. I you are cooking the burger frozen, allow it to cook just long enough to thaw the bottom.
3. Flip the burger, and again apply a generous drizzle of lemon juice.
4. Season the burger with a dash of the special seasoning mix, and onion. Press the onion with a spatula so that it sticks to the burger. (This is why it was important to allow the frozen burger to cook just long enough to thaw.)
5. Generously sprinkle with paprika.
6. Allow the burger to cook for two to three minutes.
7. Flip the burger, and season as in steps 3 - 5.
8. Allow the burger to cook as preferred. I suggest it is cooked just until the juice begins to run clear when pressure is applied with a spatula.
9. Remove the burger and place on a covered plate or dish.
10. Cook green beans in the renderings that are left from the burger. You can also steam for an even more health alternative. Might I suggest applying some of my special seasoning before steaming? It is quite a delicious alternative.
11. Add cooked green beans to the dish with the burger and serve.

This is a delicious meal. It comes in at roughly 450 calories and roughly $2.50 per plate. While that does not make it the cheapest meal ever, it beats $7.49 for a "value meal" at the local fast food joint. There is also plenty of room to cut costs by buying/hunting/raising the ground beef (or turkey, or buffalo, or deer, or a portobello mushroom cap, etc.) yourself. This recipe calls for 1/3 lb of meat, and that could easily be cut as well for lesser calories or a smaller appetite.

Let me know if you try the recipe. It is a big hit with the kids as well as the adults at our house, and I'd love to hear your thoughts! Send me your healthy, frugal recipes and I will include them in a future post!