Spicy Southwestern Skillet (Frugal Food Thursday)

Welcome to Frugal Food Thursday!  If you have a great frugal recipe, please link up below! 

Here's an easy go-to recipe that I use a lot when I'm in a rush.

And it's healthy, too.  It uses chicken breasts, but only two for four servings.  To supplement the protein, I add a can of black beans (rinsed well to get as much sodium out as possible.)

And it's cheap as well.  Although the chicken is expensive for me, since I buy kosher, the other ingredients are not.  I often buy tomatoes on sale for less than 50¢ per can.  Pasta can be bought cheap when on sale and using coupons.  And I get onions are often on sale at ALDI for 99¢ for 3 pounds.

You could also add a can of corn to this recipe, but none of us are corn eaters.  Or melt some cheese on top.  And if you don't eat it all, the leftovers are great for lunch the next day.

SPICY SOUTHWESTERN SKILLET

4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red or green pepper, diced
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1 15-oz can black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapeno peppers
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup uncooked macaroni or other small pasta

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add the red or green pepper and saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove vegetables to a medium bowl.

Heat the other 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add the chicken and saute, stirring constantly, for about 4-5 minutes, or until all traces of pink have left the meat.

Add the vegetables back to the skillet.  Add the drained black beans, the tomatoes with their juice, and the spices.  Turn the heat up to high and bring mixture to a boil.   When boiling, turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. When skillet cooking is complete, uncover and add pasta and mix to coat pasta with sauce.  Remove from heat and serve.

Serves 4.

There are lots more cheap recipes posted here at Frugal Follies.  Click here for the list!

Got a great frugal recipe?  Link below to your actual post, not your main page.  Please only link up recipes and other food-related posts; contest entries and other posts are not allowed and will be deleted. I'd appreciate it if you would link back to Frugal Food Thursday as well!





For more great recipes, please go to my Linkup Parties list and scroll down to Food Linkups. There are lots of great recipes on each blog and I'm sure you'll find some new favorites!