what's better than a bean burrito?

...A bean, chicken, rice, and cheeeeese burrito! So far the 5 Dollar Dinners website is batting a thousand. They're two for two anyway.

So it's the end of the month and what does that mean at the Miller household? That the grocery budget is nil, again, of course. Which necessitates another visit to the 5 Dollar Dinners website. And we were not disappointed. This time I made the Chicken and Red Bean Burritos, and butchered the recipe of course. But that's the point. The point is to save money by using what you have, and the recipes are so simple they're made for that.

So I boiled a whole chicken, which is more healthy than just chicken breasts because you eek out the goodness of the bones, and have chicken broth to boot. I try to put some kind of onions or celery in the stock pot to give the chicken an extra burst of subtle flavor.

Then I used a bag of extra beans that were sitting on the freezer door forlorningly. They were sure to be forgotten and die a slow death from freezer burn. But this recipe saved them from their fate, and it turned out to be the perfect amount.

Then I made some brown rice, threw them all together in a skillet with the tomatoes, chili powder and cumin, warmed up our whole-grain TJ's tortillas, shredded some cheese and cut up some green onions that were also about to bite the fridge dust, and voila! a scrumptious aaaand very healthy dinner. And (the best part of all), he liked it!

pasta pasta!

For most of my life I would not indulge in pasta, any more than the occasional lasagna that somebody else made or a few bites of pasta salad at a picnic. I thought it was fattening, and reading the South Beach Diet book (which I recommend by the way: it taught me how digestion works and how to control my weight by eating more protein) only confirmed it.

However, I married an Italian. And, after being forced to eat well because of my health, I've discovered that you can eat as much as you want of things that are truly good for you, and be fine on the scale. And guess what, whole grain pasta is good for you! And with brands like Barilla, it tastes the same as regular (white, nutritionless, gut-clogging) pasta, even to my authentic husband.

It's a good thing I've switched over to the pasta-indulgence category, now that I'm making many Rachael Ray (also Italian, of course) meals. She has been very helpful in cooking for a picky eater who adores tomatoes, tomatoes, pasta, and tomatoes.

I recently made her Chicken Parm Pasta Toss and it is a perfect, light summery meal, and fun to make...and eat! Viva Pasta!