$5 Fridays: Lazy Mom Edition

I wasn’t a cooking superstar this week -- one night I resorted to a frozen pizza and salad (I always keep 1 or 2  Wegmans’ $3.99 Bake & Rise pizzas in the freezer just in case), and another night I was saved by a last-minute dinner invitation from a friend.

When I’m just not feeling the cooking vibe, that is generally the time when I pull out my crock-pot.  This week I resorted to a recipe that I only discovered recently, and it is amazing. I found it on the blog “A Year of Slow Cooking.”  When you read the ingredients, it sounds like an unlikely combination. But try it. Trust me. Then come on here and tell me how awesome it is.

Brown Sugar Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets ($1.50)

1 cup brown sugar ($.31)

1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (I know, I know! HFCS!) ($.10)

2/3 cup white vinegar (<$.10)

3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic ($.25)

2 T soy sauce ($.25)

1 tsp ground black pepper (pennies)

1 1/2 cup white rice ($.24)

1 package frozen asian vegetable medley ($1.69)

This is so easy -- just throw the chicken in the crockpot. Add brown sugar, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper.

If you have kids and they’re into this, here’s the science experiment part: add the vinegar, then the soda. . .it’ll start bubbling and fizzing.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. 

In the last 30 minutes of cooking (right before you want to eat), pour the frozen veggies in the crockpot, and cook the rice per the package directions. 

Lay the chicken and veggies over the rice and ladle a big spoonful of broth over the whole thing. 

Now go eat!

Total Cost: $4.44