If all else fails start with the meats in your freezer!

February 19th: I have two pork tenderloins in the fridge, two chicken breasts, 2lbs of ground beef, 1/2 lb of ground turkey and NOTHING virtually in my fridge. But no grocery shopping for two more weeks! We try very hard to live off of $110 a month on food. Time to brainstorm.......

Bon Appetit you give me inspiration! Parmesan, Asiago, and Panko encrusted chicken breast with Parsley garlic and olive oil. This is served over wilted romaine lettuce drizzled with garlic, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. All cooked on a baking sheet at 450 degrees! 10min for the chicken, throw the salad on for the last 5, and bam! Flavor city.

Needless to say the aromas in our house were fabulous that night. Cheese browning in the oven is fantastic. I've never had wilted lettuce either so it was a new experience. We loved it! Here's where I adapted to make things work.

For my chicken breasts I had a leftover cheese mixture in my fridge from our valentine dinner where I splurged a tiny bit :) It wasn't as much as what the recipe called for but I generally just cut the recipes in half since there's only two of us and saves on ingredients when I know it's not going to be enough!

Herbs always make everything taste better so spruce it up! I happened to have some dried parsley from my husband's dad who grows herbs and many other delicious things in his garden in the summer :) lucky me!

I ALWAYS get romaine lettuce. I feel that we're still getting more nutritional value then plain old iceburg lettuce but I buy the 3 pack of romaine which saves me some cash and we use it for everything! My lettuce was just about to get wilted which was perfect for throwing in the oven as opposed to using it in a crisp salad.

Here are my always in the cupboard items which add a HUGE bang for your buck:
-Garlic: always fresh. It changes everything!
-Olive oil: doesn't need to be the most expensive but it is amazing for anything.

I hope these tips helped you out. Try out this recipe! It's seriously amazing on a budget! And cooks in 15 mins! Go for it busy cooks!

Recipe:
1/3 c. Panko or any kind of finer bread crumb
1/3 c. drier grated cheeses like Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt
pepper
parsley
2 chicken breasts
romaine lettuce whole
2 fresh garlic cloves
lemon

Start by preheating the oven at 450 and combine bread crumbs, one smash garlic clove, grated cheese, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley in a flat dish large enough to fit a chicken breast in. Rinse thawed chicken breasts under running water, pat a little dry and bread both sides with the cheese/panko mixture. Lay tinfoil down on a baking pan if you have it and put chicken breasts on top. If you have extra bread mixture sprinkle it and smush it on top! Throw in the oven for 10 min. Meanwhile slice one head of romaine lettuce in half. Sprinkle with one diced garlic clove, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then take pan out and put romaine halves in pan. Throw back in oven for additional 5 min. Take out of the oven and plate lettuce first with chicken breast laid on top.