Baby it's cold outside. Our Chicken Chili recipe will warm you up!

When it’s cold outside I like to cook myself up a little bit of chicken chili. Here’s one of my favorite recipes:

Chicken Chili

1 Roasted Chicken-$5.00  (I grab one of those roasted chickens that they have at Safeway or Fry’s. Did you know that if you go after 9 PM they are sometimes half off! You can get one of these and pull off all the meat for soups or tacos or salads, any old thing. Freeze it or stick it in the fridge to use during the week.)
1 Packet McCormick’s White Chicken Chili Seasoning Mix $1.50
1 Can kidney beans $1.00
1 Can White Beans $1.00
1 Onion $.80
1 Bell Pepper (any color will do) $.80
1 Large Can Diced Tomato $1.50
1 Avocado $1.00 (optional)

As you can see this is a pretty cheap dish and it serves about 4-6 people for under $15.00. Score!
As many of you know (including my long suffering husband) I am not what you would call a “cook”. I would much rather go grab some take out before cooking. I don’t like all that dicing and sauteing and whatnot. This dish is super easy. There is a little dicing and sauteing but if I can do it then anyone can. 



The first thing I do is chop off the chicken breasts and pick the meat off the roasted chicken. Then I dice up the chicken pieces and put them in a bowl to the side. I can tell you that I have a great audience sitting juuuust outside the kitchen while I do this.


Then I chop up the pepper and the onion add them to a hot pan with a swirl of olive oil in the bottom of the pan. Stir everything around a little bit, until the onion is kind of translucent, this should take about 2 minutes. You can add a little salt, pepper and garlic powder if you wish. When you are done with that step go ahead and dump the whole pan into the crock pot (you can also just use a large pot of any kind)

Once the onion and pepper are in the pot, dump in the can of tomatoes, the chicken, the chili powder packet, both cans of beans (rinsed) and just a little bit of water. I usually fill the can that the tomatoes were in about half way full and pour that in. Stir everything together and put it in the crock pot or a regular pot on medium for about 15-20 minutes then turn it down to low until you are ready to serve.

When I serve this up I slice a few pieces of avocado and squirt on some sour cream (if I have it on hand)  It really gives it a little boost!

Leftover Turkey? We got a cheap recipe for that!

Got some left over turkey? Well here’s a cheap thrill recipe to polish off the last of it! Courtesy of my dear friend Suzanne.

Turkey Tetrazzini

2 cans cream of mushroom soup -$3.00
2 cups cheddar cheese (or colby or anything that you have on hand) $4.00
1 can mushrooms (or you can use fresh) $1.00
3 pieces of bacon $1.50
Celery $1.00
1 Onion $1.00
1 bell pepper $1.00
1 box vermiccelli pasta (or you can use angel hair or thin spaghetti) $1.00
Left over turkey FREE!

This may also be a good time to use up the leftover celery and onion from your stuffing. We always have a few stalks left and almost a whole onion.

So, as you can see this whole recipe is under $15.00 and it serves between 4-6 people. Also, if you don’t have any leftover turkey you can always grab one of those cooked roasted chickens that they have at Fry’s or Safeway. They are $5.00.

Now, the first thing you do is put on a pot of water to boil up the pasta. I add a pinch of salt to give it a little flavor.
Then the next thing you do is chop up the bacon and toss it in a hot pan. While that is cooking up chop the mushrooms, onion, celery an bell pepper. Once the bacon is done cooking you toss all of those veggies in the pan and stir it all around. Your kitchen should smell good and bacony at this point.

Once the onion is a starting to turn translucent you should pull the pan off the burner and check your pasta. It should be about done now. If you are feeling crazy pull out a string of pasta and throw it at the wall and see if it sticks. I think if it sticks that means it is done.

When the pasta is done, drain it  and toss it in the pan with all the veggies and bacon. Mix that all around and then add the turkey and cream of mushroom soup, stir that all around and then add the cheese. Once everything is thoroughly mixed together pour it in a 13 x 9  (or other size) casserole dish. Stick the whole thing in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until it is all nice and hot and viola! You got yourself some yummy food and you used up your extra turkey and you saved some money!

Cheap Thrills Recipe Edition

I was cooking myself up some chicken chili and it occurred to me that maybe I could come up with some recipes that are cheap and that are easy (I am NOT a cook by any stretch of the imagination)
So with that, here’s the first installation of Cheap Thrills Recipe Edition!

A few things of note: Most of the recipes serve 4-6 people and the prices that I am using are from my regular shopping at Fry’s or Safeway. You can get super cheap thrills by using coupons and shopping smart. Beth suggests couponmom.com. The site is super easy to use and she has had some great luck saving money using that site and the Sunday paper.

Without further ado….

Ever need to throw together a quick dish for a pot luck?  Or how about needing to toss something together because you have a few friends coming over? Well, this is my go-to quick and easy recipe. Just ask my dear husband. I am sure this is the recipe that stole his heart.

Baked Rigatoni
1 lb ground beef -$4.00
1 box rigatoni or penne pasta $1.00
1 can spaghetti sauce $1.00 (I know, I know you can get some pricier sauces but for my money I really like the Hunts Roasted Garlic Spaghetti sauce. It is basic and it has good flavor)
2 cups mozzarella cheese $4.00

Basically you can make this whole dish for about $10.00. If you want to add in a loaf of french bread for $1.00 and a bag of salad mix for $2.00 you can serve up a meal for 4-6 people on less than $15.00.

Here’s the super complicated recipe. Brace yourself.
Boil some salted water and add the pasta
While the pasta is boiling up,  brown the ground beef, add in some salt, pepper and garlic powder.
When the ground beef is done, drain off the fat and mix in the spaghetti sauce.
By now the pasta should be done so drain it and put it back in the pan, mix in the meat sauce and pour this whole thing in to a 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and pop in to a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese is all bubbly.
You can get fancy with this and add in some globs of ricotta cheese (say it all Giada style “reeecoata”) before sprinkling on the mozzarella. This gives it a creamier texture.














There you go! Our first cheap thrill recipe. Feel free to chime in with your own recipes! We would love to hear about them. E mail to cheapthrillsinaz@gmail.com

The Fair is coming!!

Do you feel like the Arizona State Fair is the kick off to all things Fall? Well, I do! Once you see the signs posted on the Coliseum you just know the scent of popcorn and fried things will soon waft throughout the City.

Arizona State Fair

The official kick off of the Arizona State Fair is Friday, October 14th and will run until Sunday, November 6th, the fair is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

There are lots of discounts offered while the fair is here. For example, on the first day of the fair admission is only $1.00 until 5 PM. There are also discount days throughout the week.

One great Arizona State Fair promotion is "We Care Wendesdays". Each Wednesday a different charity benefits from donations in exchange for free Admission from 12 PM until 6 PM.

The charities this year are Arizona Stand Down (benefiting Arizona's homeless veterans), St. Mary's Foodbank (benefiting Arizona's hungry) and St. Vincent De Paul (benefiting Arizona's poor) You can click here for details of which charities and donations are for which days. This is a win-win, you can help these wonderful charities and get free admission!

The Arizona State Fair is a great way to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather, see some really cool exhibits, play some games, ride some rides and eat some stuff you wouldn't normally eat (fried oreos anyone?)

Calling all women!

The Arizona Ultimate Women's Expo is coming to Phoenix on October 22nd and 23rd. 

Arizona Ultimate Women's Expo

There are all kinds of great speakers and booths. The keynote speaker on Saturday is Dyan Cannon and the keynote on Sunday is Paula Abdul. Not only that but the list of seminars is very impressive. There is something for everyone. Whether you want to build your business, learn about trends in fashion or party planning this is a great time to explore new and innovative ideas and get inspired.

If you just want to come and be pampered you can check out the massage pavilion, the martini and nail bar or one of the other 550 exhibits offering tastings or complimentary spa treatments.

The best thing is the ticket price! If you purchase online you can enter the promo code 2for1 and get two tickets for the price of one! Now THAT is a Cheap Thrill!

First Watch Free Omelette Day - October 12th 2011

If you want to have a great breakfast for cheap October 12th, 2011 is the day to do it! Every year all four Valley locations of First Watch host a free Omelette day for donations, proceeds benefit St. Vincent De Paul. Please don't forget to tip your server and let them know they did a great job.

Cheap Dining in and Around Phoenix - Promotional Special

If you are looking for a new Mongolian place to eat I highly recommend Genghis Grill. They have several locations throughout the valley. Currently they are running a Buy One Bowl Get One Bowl Half Off with purchase of two drinks. Get the coupon here!