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Ever since we moved to the mountains, I have struggled with meal time. You see, we have a very small grocery store. It’s a gas station store with very high prices and a limited selection. The nearest decent store is 40 minutes away and when it snows the road closes to that store so I have to drive even further to shop!

I had an appointment in the next town in a couple days so I was trying to make do with what I had in the kitchen until then. You know how it is though; frozen burgers, no buns; rice, no chicken; canned tomatoes, no pasta; you are left with nothing that really goes together! lol!

Easy Cheesy Mexican Rice Skillet Meal

So I combined everything I had, added some spices, and VOILA, Cheesy Mexican Rice was born! It’s so yummy and versatile that I make it all the time now. It’s easy enough that my daughters can practically make it on their own.

Just cook your ground meet (I only had a couple frozen burgers, but that worked!), add canned tomatoes (my kids like the tomatoes with bell peppers and onions), rice, broth and cook until the rice is done (about 15 minutes)! Then add your cheese and you have a full meal in just 20 minutes!

Now, when I actually plan to make it, I like to add some Mexican seasonings and serve it with beans and tortillas! This Mexican rice great in quesadillas too!

I’m not always lucky enough to come up with a great recipe on the fly so I knew I really needed to get my stuff together and start planning my meals. Luckily, I found Plan to Eat, a drag and drop meal planner that builds my grocery list at the same time!

5 Ingredient Cheesy Mexican Rice Skillet Meal

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

5 Ingredients, one skillet, a full meal in just 15-20 minutes! It's like homemade hamburger helper!

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Mexican

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• ½ lb ground meat (beef or turkey)
• 1 can tomatoes with green chilies (or with bell peppers and onions for less spice)
• 2 cups rice
• 3½ cups chicken broth
• 1 cup grated cheese

Instructions

1. Brown your meat in a large skillet on medium heat. Drain fat if you want to. I don't usually.
2. Add canned tomatoes, stir and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add rice and broth and heat to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender. You may need to add more broth depending on what kind of rice you use.
5. Add cheese and stir until well combined.
6. Season with salt, pepper, and any Mexican spices you like. I put cumin, chili powder, garlic, cayenne pepper in mine, but it tastes good without it too.
7. Garnish with cilantro and serve with beans and tortillas (optional)

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If you’d like to start eating healthier and getting organized in the New Year, join Plan to Eat’s Easy Meal Challenge and get 30 Easy Meal recipes to put on your calendar! Don’t forget to add this Mexican rice too!

You might also like this recipe for Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells!

The post 5 Ingredient Cheesy Mexican Rice Skillet Meal first appeared on True Aim.

This Brown Rice Stir Fry recipe is versatile, too! You can substitute many of the items to add variety while still keeping dinner cheap. The very best part is that my family loves it! Who can argue with cheap, healthy, and smiles on top of it all? Certainly not me!

This dinner takes about 35 minutes to cook. All prep work is done while the rice is cooking, so there is no added time there. The yield is 4 generous servings. You can use whatever oil and vegetables you have in the house, so I used sunflower oil and frozen stir-fry veggies. Enjoy!

Cheap Family Dinner Recipe

First things first – Get that rice cooking! It takes the longest, so get it going according to the directions for whatever rice you have. If you have minute rice, then this cooking time will be cut much shorter, but you can still get it started first.

For my brown rice, I boiled 2 cups of water and then added the rice. I turned the heat down, covered it, and put the timer on for 30 minutes. (A good trick for knowing when rice is done cooking is watching for those tunnels that escaping air creates, but not removing it from heat until there is only a tiny bit of water on the bottom when you stir it.)

Then, it’s time to trim, cut up and cook the chicken or whatever protein you decide to add. Steak or shrimp would be good too.

While the chicken is cooking, make your sweet and sour sauce in a separate bowl. I take my chicken out of the pan without draining it and then cook my veggies until tender. This took 5-6 minutes for me because I used a frozen sugar snap stir-fry veggie mix. Covering them while cooking will keep them from burning or drying out.

Add the sweet and sour sauce and the chicken to the vegetables in the pan. The rice should be almost done, so just stir for a few minutes to reduce the sauce and get the flavor cooked into the chicken and veggies a bit.

Then, add the rice and stir for just a minute or two more before serving. And there you have it! A yummy, healthy dinner for the family in about a half hour for a little over $4! Not too shabby.

Brown Rice Sweet and Sour Stir Fry

 

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Cook time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

This delicious stir fry with brown rice and sweet and sour sauce is healthy, balanced, and costs less than $1 per serving!

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Dinner

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tbsp oil of your choice
• 1-2 chicken breasts (or whatever protein you would like to add)
• 1 lb vegetables of your choice
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Get your brown rice cooking. Boil the water and then add your rice. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a pan on medium heat and add the chicken. Stir occasionally until fully cooked. Do not drain. Put aside.
3. While the chicken is cooking, make the sweet and sour sauce by mixing the chicken broth, soy sauce, cider vinegar, brown sugar, and pepper flakes in a small bowl.
4. Add 1 lb of vegetables to the pan, cover, and stir occasionally until tender.
5. Add the chicken and sweet and sour sauce to the pan and stir until thoroughly mixed and heated through.
6. Add the cooked rice to the pan, stir for a minute or two, and serve.

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If you really want to save money, you can use eggs instead of meat. Or you could try flank steak or pork tenderloin and maybe some zucchini and summer squash with a honey teriyaki stir-fry sauce. Yum! Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Leave a comment below explaining how you made this your own, or let us know if you have any creative ideas for other cheap, healthy dinner recipes!

The post $5 Dinner: Healthy Sweet and Sour Stir Fry first appeared on True Aim.

Recently, we’ve made it a priority to include more vegetables in our diets.  This is the perfect way to do just that!  Plus, rice is such an easy dish for children to learn to cook by themselves.  So, I can provide a nutritious side-dish while teaching my daughter how to cook!

Ingredients:

4 Cups of Liquid – I use 2 cups water and 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

2 Tbls Butter (optional)

2 Cups of White Rice

1 Cup of Veggies – I use 1/2 cup of red bell and 1/2 cup of frozen broccoli

How to Make 20 Minute Easy Veggie Rice

First, place a large pot over high heat and pour your liquids in.  I’ve used a variety of different broths based on what I had on hand at the time.  You can simply use water, but I like the extra flavor the broth adds.

Next, add in some butter.  This helps the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and gives it a rich flavor, but is totally optional.

When your liquid comes to a boil, add in your rice and cover.  Reduce the heat to Low and cook for 12 minutes.  Add in your veggies and cook for 5 more minutes.

You’ll love the flavor of this rice.  It is one of those side dishes that is great on its own.  I’ve made this countless times for dinner parties because it is easy to double.  If you’re short on time, you could simply add frozen peas to your rice for the last 3-5 minutes of cooking time, just to make sure your children are getting those veggies.  Try it with Baked Herb Crusted Salmon.  Enjoy!

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The post Kid Friendly Recipes: Easy Veggie Rice first appeared on True Aim.