Four Years of Savings and Cilantro Lime Chicken

October 25, 2017

Today is a super exciting day for me. Let me back up. Four years ago, I heard about a challenge. You know how every time you walk into a grocery store you end up getting way more than what you went in there to buy? The challenge was to stock up on groceries and then stay out of the store for 30 days. You wouldn't be tempted with impulse buys. I knew there was no way that I could do that so I put my own spin on the challenge. I figured out the average that I was spending at the grocery store each week. I added up four weeks and then divided by four. I did the same with how much we were spending at restaurants each week. My plan was to shop smarter, use up leftovers, cut down on impulse buys, and eat at restaurants less often. If I spent less than my average that week then I would actually transfer that money into a separate account. Watching the balance grow is so motivating! We would only use that money for special things. We used it for a couple vacations, to buy our puppy, and when the military moved us and we had to pay for two houses for over a year we used it to pay our mortgage. If I spent more than the average, I just counted that week as a zero. I planned on doing the challenge for 30 days.

Today was the final day in my 4th year!! I can't believe I have stuck with it so long. We certainly have not been as strict as the first year but I'm still pretty impressed with how well we did. When we moved again this year (thanks again military), we spent just over 30 days traveling. That is a lot of meals on the go. I packed our slow cooker and rice cooker. I knew that I could use the steamer tray in the rice cooker to steam up vegetables but I also found out that you could use the rice cooker to make pasta! Yes! It really cut down on how many meals we had to go to restaurants for. This past weekend was our 19th anniversary but we didn't hit up any restaurants. I planned out two meals that I LOVE that we make and it was so much tastier than going out anyway!

Ok, so are you ready for some numbers? The first year we saved $5,036.79. I was really getting creative with leftovers though. If you scroll back to some of those posts, you will probably laugh. The second year we saved $4,096.29. That year we had a move too. The third year we saved $1,518. Ok, clearly we slacked off. However, that is still over $125 a month! Today ended our fourth year and we saved $2,310.55. That is with moving and spending several weeks in a hotel! This is an average of saving just under $200 a month! What would you do with an extra couple hundred dollars a month?! This challenge really opened my eyes as to where our money was going. Need wiggle room in your budget? Try out this challenge. You will be amazed at what you can save. Ok, one more number just because I'm excited..... ready for this? So, in four years of just shopping smarter, recreating leftovers, sticking to my grocery list (I've loosened up on that one some), and eating at restaurants a little less (we do still go out), I saved a grand total of $12,961.63. WHAT?! All I can say is thank you Katie for doing your own challenge and inspiring me!!

Now on to dinner. I ended up combining two recipes for chicken thighs. They had similar seasonings and I figured they would mesh well. I started out by making a marinade for some chicken thighs. I mixed 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 large garlic cloves (through my garlic press), and about 4 tablespoons of chopped cilantro. I added in some of Young Living's essential oils from their Vitality line. I added 8 drops of Lime and 1 drop of Oregano. I also stirred in 1/2 teaspoon of salt. I put the marinade all over the chicken thighs and then decided to sprinkle them with a little bit of cumin too. You could just add it to the marinade. Refrigerate the chicken and let them marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. I let them sit for probably close to 2 hours. I used a ceramic dish so that I could sear the thighs on the stovetop and then cover them and move them to the oven. I seared the chicken on one side in a little bit of olive oil. I flipped the chicken over then put the dish into the oven preheated to 375 for 20 minutes. Let the chicken rest for at least five minutes before you slice into it. The juices will redistribute and it will be so delicious.

Have you tried Rice a Roni's Cilantro Lime rice? I have a slight addiction to rice/pasta. Ok, maybe not so slight. Ha! I cooked the rice according to package directions. Once it was done, I wanted to kick it up a bit. I added two drops of Young Living's Lime essential oil from their vitality line to about a half teaspoon of olive oil and then drizzled it over the rice and stirred it in.

For the veggies, I sautéed onion, baby portabella mushrooms, and pea pods in a little bit of coconut oil. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Dinner was a hit. The chicken was juicy and flavorful. The combo of recipes totally worked together! The rice had just the right kick. I should write to Rice a Roni and tell them to add more lime!