Bargain Meal of the Week 4/2/09

It's time for another week of Bargain Meals! Erin over at $5 Dinners (a great read!) is hosting a gathering of bloggers all over the internet, creating frugal meals straight from the sales circulars of their favorite stores. Check it out for even more inspiration. I contribute every Thursday for the current sales at Publix, which run from Wednesday to the following Tuesday. Keep in mind that you do not need to purchase two of a product to get the buy one get one price. Publix marks down their products to half price for the BOGO deals.

Today's meal is for the busy mom who likes to use her crockpot. This recipe has great ratings on RecipeZaar.com and you can start it with a frozen chicken. Currently at Publix, whole chickens are .79 per lb and whole white mushrooms are 2.69. Total cost should be around $5.06 plus a little more for onion and seasonings/oils.

Whole Crock Pot Chicken
From RecipeZaar.com

Description:

"I made this one day when I was in a very big hurry to get to work, but I also wanted a nice dinner to come home too. Since my Fiance works the same hours almost that I do...well, that wasn't happening. So, I decided to see how a whole frozen chicken would do in a crock pot, and it was great."

Ingredients:

• 1 (3 lb) frozen whole chicken (or a chicken that with just fit in your crock pot)
• 1 lb mushrooms, halved
• 1 small onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
  
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
  
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. Place the chicken and the mushrooms in a crock pot set to low.
2. Place all the other ingredients in a food processor (I use one mini food processor) and blend them into a paste.
3. Pour the paste over the chicken and mushrooms, cover with the lid, and let it cook for about 10 hours ENJOY.
4. It will be very VERY tender so be careful when you are taking it out of the crock pot because it will just fall apart.
5. Also, the stock that the chicken makes is GREAT for chicken noodle soup!