Easy Tandoori Chicken Recipe

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I’m all about fast, flavorful, healthy meals using real ingredients and this Easy Tandoori Chicken recipe is exactly that.

Easy Tandoori Chicken Recipe

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I received an early copy of Lisa Leake’s newest cookbook, 100 Day of Real Food on a Budget, last week and am looking forward to trying several of the recipes. My daughter has the Costa Rica Red Beans recipe on her list to try next week.

I am super excited to have permission to share this tasty easy tandoori chicken recipe with you.

You guys, this recipe was so simple. It’s a 30 minute meal that’s full of flavor. Definitely great for a busy school night or a leisurely weekend dinner. All three of my kids cleaned their plates. Even my pickiest gave it a thumbs up. The 5 year old at first protested at the spinach, but once I tore it up and mixed it into his food he proclaimed it good.

This easy tandoori chicken recipe is also one of those meals to have in your back pocket when your other dinner plans fall through. There are few simple spices (coriander, garlic powder, ginger, cumin, ginger, salt, and cayenne), coconut milk, tomato sauce, and rice from the pantry and chicken from the freezer. If you don’t have spinach, just add another family favorite vegetable and dinner is ready.

Super easy tandoori chicken recipe. This recipe will be on the table in 30 minutes and it's kid friendly and healthy! #tandoori #indian #chicken #maindish #30minutemeal #recipes #supper #menu

In true Deanna fashion, I made a tiny change. Notice Lisa keeps the chicken in full pieces. My simple tweak is below.

Budget Friendly Tip: Cut down on the chicken (I used 2 boneless thighs and 1 small breast) and after it finishes cooking remove from the sauce, cut into pieces, and add back to pan. You can also add cooked chickpeas or cooked, diced sweet potatoes to replace some of the chicken.

Easy Tandoori Chicken

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Easy Tandoori Chicken Recipe
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1½ teaspoons coriander
  • 1½ teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne (start with ¼ teaspoon)
  • ¾ - 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
  • 1 13-ounce can coconut milk
  • 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
  • 2-4 ounces fresh spinach (2-5 cups)
  • 6 servings cooked brown rice
  • Optional if using half the chicken: 1½ cups cooked chickpeas or roasted, cubed sweet potato
  • Suggested Accompaniments:
  • cilantro
  • mint
  • plain yogurt
Instructions
  1. Combine the garlic powder, coriander, cumin, ginger, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl. Put on one side of the chicken.
  2. Preheat large skillet over medium heat with the oil. Place chicken seasoned side down in the pan. Sprinkle remaining spices on the other side. Sear until golden brown - about 2-3 minutes per side.
  3. Add coconut milk and tomato sauce (and chickpeas or sweet potatoes if using), bring to a boil and cover with lid. Reduce heat to low and and cook until chicken is done all the way through, 8-10 minutes.
  4. If desired, remove chicken from pan, dice and stir back in.
  5. Add more cayenne if needed.
  6. Layer in bowls with brown rice on the bottom, then spinach, chicken and sauce mixture, and any accompaniments.

 

  • You can see the format for the cookbook above – that is how each page is laid out. Very simple, easy to understand, and I love the pictures.
  • In the recipe cost breakdown, Lisa includes what it’s going to cost you to buy the entire product from the store, not just the portion you use.
  • The first almost 50 pages of the book is food budgeting tips and resources. If you need ideas for that, I’m sure you’ll find it helpful. If you are already a pro at your grocery budget, most of the tips will be things you already implement.
  • A lot of the recipes are ones we’ll try. Some I don’t think will fly high in my family, but over all, Lisa always has flavorful, healthy recipes.
  • My grocery budget is a lot less than Lisa’s budget plan in this book. That means my budget can’t handle us eating a weeks worth of these recipes. But we don’t have too – I can incorporate a recipe here and there as I make my plan each week.

Do you have any of Lisa’s cookbooks? What are your favorite recipes from them? I want to know which others I need to try!

100 Days of Real Food and 100 Days of Real Food Fast and Fabulous are her first books and this newest one is 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget.
  easy tandoori chicken recipe

Easy First Day of School Activities

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Can it really be that time of the summer where we are thinking of first day of school activities?

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Time flies. This year I will have one in a 2nd grade and one in kindergarten and one that specializes in making messes. 🙂 Kids like routines and they like having things to look forward to, so having a few fun first day of school traditions up your sleeve will have them excited.

I’m all about keeping things easy (I need easy to make sure I can keep up with them each year) and frugal, so these first day of school activities will be both of those things.

Since we homeschool, these ideas for the first day of school will work for public, private, and homeschooler. Perfect!

First Day of School Activities

Breakfast for Dinner

The night before school starts, have a breakfast feast! You don’t want to spend your first morning of school rushed, so this is a perfect way to sit down and have time to enjoy the breakfast foods you would have made.

Some ideas:

  • A pancake bar with assorted toppings (fruits, chocolate chips, nuts etc). Pancakes could even be shaped into the number of each child’s grade.
  • Cinnamon rolls, bacon, and eggs
  • Breakfast Casserole and Fruit
  • French Toast
  • Yogurt bar

Afternoon Cookies

Make up a batch of  your favorite cookies to celebrate the completion of day 1! You really can’t get much easier than that. Making the dough a day or two before and sticking it in the fridge makes the process even simpler. If you want dairy and gluten free, try these peanut butter cookies or these chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are also yummy!

Pictures

You knew this was going to make the list. 🙂 Find a chalkboard, or small dry erase board, or printable and and find a place to take a picture. For printables, check out this one or this one that’s customizable.

Questionnaire

If it’s hard for you to keep up with remembering to do these on birthdays or over the busy holidays, make them a part of your first day of school traditions! Here are a few that I found and liked – this one and this one are great all about me printables. I also really liked this interview worksheet.

Fun Breakfast

I know we already talked about doing breakfast for dinner the night before so come up with a super simple idea for the actual breakfast. Jessica Fisher does a slab apple pie for breakfast every year. If you are like our family, you don’t buy packaged foods – so a box of granola bars or cereal could be a fun treat. Or a box of donuts. Or leftovers from the night before. 😉

Measuring Chart

This is another one of those things I never seem to remember to do. Line up your children and see how much they grew in the past year. I’m loving this removable one I found on Amazon! Don’t want to leave it out all the time, no problem.

Kids Choose Dinner

Let the kids pick dinner for the night. If you think they’ll blow the budget, give them a dollar amount if they are older or help guide them if they are little.

Saturday Fun

The Saturday before school starts, pack up and have a little more summer fun. Try the beach, pool, or hiking and make an afternoon or even day out of it.

Write a Note

Write each of your kids a note for their first day and stick it in their lunch, inside a school book, or in the front of their notebook.

Homeschool Bonus First Day of School Ideas:

Two more ideas that will probably only work for the homeschoolers out there:

PJ Day

Celebrate by letting your kids do school in their PJs. My kids would think that’s the coolest! I know there’s the stereotype that homeschoolers stay in the pajamas, but that’s not how it works in my house so it would be a fun (and looked forward to) treat.

Picnic Lunch

Whether you go to the park or simply to the backyard, make lunch a little special by turning it into a picnic. If your kids already completed their work, it will be a celebration. If they are still in the thick of it, it will be a fun and needed mental break.

What are your favorite first day of school activities?

Super easy, last minute, and frugal first day of school activities you need to check out. Your kids will love doing these traditions year after year.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

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3 ingredient gluten free peanut butter cookies. Yum! In full disclosure, sometimes these 3 ingredient cookies get 5 ingredients added to them. But either way, they are made from pantry staples and whip up in a flash.

gluten free peanut butter cookies sitting on a plate

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These are also a gluten free and dairy free cookie! Woohoo!!! Considering we are in the middle of 3 months without dairy or gluten for one of our children right now, this is a big deal.

Someday soon I’d love to remake these using maple syrup or honey and 100% peanuts peanut butter, but in the meantime I needed to share this simple 3 ingredient gluten free peanut butter cookie recipe with you! The kids love eating them and I love how simple they are to whip up. Win win.

Before we dive into the recipe, I want to let you know what the 2 optional ingredients are. First off, vanilla. We know that vanilla makes pretty much everything better. Second, baking soda. This changes the color and how the cookie bakes just slightly. But again, you can leave it out.

The one problem with three ingredient gluten free peanut butter cookies is that they tend to fall apart easily. I would make them on the small side to help remedy that problem (a child in tears because their cookie fell apart is never fun, right?). If you can resist diving in right away, I would let them cool all the way as well.

I like to decrease the sugar to 3/4 cup, but that also slightly increases the breakability (like my made up word 😉 ) of them.

One last thing, I love using my cookie scoop for these. I find it faster than a spoon because the dough is quite sticky.

NOW, for this incredibly easy peanut butter cookie recipe.

If you are looking for another yummy cookie recipe (that includes gluten and dairy) check out this one that came from my grandma.

gluten free peanut butter cookies stacked on a plate

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

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Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • ¾-1 cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla, optional
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda, optional
  • Additional sugar for rolling
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
  3. Place small scoops of dough in bowl with additional sugar and lightly coat the top.
  4. Place on cookie sheet and use a fork to gently press down in both directions to create the traditional peanut butter cookie crisscross.
  5. Bake for 6-7 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before removing to cooling rack.

 

 

Dave Ramsey When You Don’t Have Money

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Dave Ramsey when you don’t have money.

Erasing the word debt. Dave Ramsey when you don't have money.

Dave Ramsey. Paying off debt. Living on a budget. Living on a budget when you don’t have money. Financial freedom.

Have any of those phrases ever left you feeling depressed, not good enough, that accomplishing them would be reaching for the impossible?

Have you ever thought being debt free and having money in savings was something only the rich could accomplish but for the poor or lower middle class it’s just something to scoff at?

I want to encourage you. No matter what your financial status, no matter the decisions you’ve made or what life has thrown at you in the past, you can make forward progress.

No, it won’t be easy. Yes, it might be uncomfortable. Yes, you might have to make even more sacrifices. Yes, it might feel impossible.

You will most likely be living against the grain. There’s the chance your friends and family will think you are crazy. There’s also the chance some of your family and friends will be your biggest cheerleaders.

But just do it!

How to Conquer Dave Ramsey When You Don’t Have Money

Start by making a budget.

This is crucially important – and can be done no matter how much money you have. Budgeting when you don’t have money is so necessary. Tell every dollar you have exactly where to go. Yes, that means saying no to a lot of things. Find ways to lower your grocery budget (a huge passion of mine), vacations might have to take place close to home, clothes will probably be bought on clearance or at garage sales. These are all things that helped us on our debt free journey.

Build an Emergency Fund

After you have a budget, you need to have an emergency fund. This helps keep you from going backwards when life happens. And we know life happens. Save up in increments of $10, $50, $100. Every little bit will add up.

You might not have the extra money in your budget to put toward an emergency fund. Your finances might be so tight that even with budgeting and buying used clothes and not eating out, there’s not even $5 left at the end of the month.

What then? You are discouraged. Your emotions want to take over and you just want to quit.

Stick with it!

Ways to Build an Emergency Fund:

Sell

Think outside the box. See if there is anything in your house you can sell – on Craigslist, Facebook, eBay etc. You might need to sell the car you are making payments on. Look at your housing arrangements. Maybe renting a smaller place for a period of time will help you get ahead.

Bring in Extra Income

Maybe you have the bare minimum and there’s nothing to sell. Sometimes we have income problems and not a budget problem. All the corners are cut, we are telling every dollar where to go, our cars are old, homes are basic with no modern updates.

What then?

Look for ways to bring in some extra money.

That might mean getting a second job.

  • If you’ve listened to Dave Ramsey I’m sure delivering pizza has crossed your mind.
  • Or maybe you can babysit or pick up a friend’s kid from school.
  • What are you gifted at? Can you sew? Try mending clothes. If you are gifted in the kitchen, maybe you could sell  your famous cinnamon rolls.
  • Churches sometimes pay for a pianist or you could give music lessons.
  • Looking for a part time weekend or evening job is another option.

To  help with buying birthday presents or other Amazon.com purchases use Swagbucks.

Cut Expenses

Look hard at each of your expenses and find ways to save. Check out that post and the ones I linked to earlier for some inspiration. Put that money toward your emergency fund.

One of the easiest ways to start cutting costs is on your grocery bill! Be sure to get this free menu planning template to make your life easier and save money.

Your emergency fund is built up, now what?

Now you get to apply the money you’ve found by budgeting, cutting expenses, and increasing your income to your money into your debt snowball. Only stopping if you depleted your emergency fund and need to rebuild it.

It might take years but keep at it. Keep finding ways to save and trying different ways to increase your income and earn little bits of money each month.
holding a $1 bill. Dave Ramsey when you don't have money.

You can do this!

It probably won’t be easy, but the rewards later are worth it.

Remember, hard doesn’t mean bad. Make sacrifices and think outside the box.

Start making baby steps to financial freedom. Even when life throws a curve ball, stay in the game and stay on course. Let the challenges bring you together as a family.

Find ways to celebrate and enjoy life even while you are on a budget.

These years might be hard and long, but it will be worth it later. Trust me. I’ve been there. When we got married my husband wasn’t making much and I was finishing college and working part time waiting tables. We argued, we did lots of discussing, we worked hard, we said no, we set goals, we celebrated milestones.

You can do it – you can do Dave Ramsey when you don’t have money! If there’s no one else cheering you on, know that I’m am rooting for you!

holding a $1 bill. Dave Ramsey when you don't have money.
Working on a spreadsheet. Dave Ramsey when you don't have money

 

 

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

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This DIY Foaming Hand Soap is one of the easiest things you can make! Not only do you control exactly what goes into it, you also save a ton of money!

Foaming bottle and essential oils. DIY Foaming Hand Soap.

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Forget spending $3.50-$5.50 on a bottle of quality soap, this can happen for as little as $.50. Quite the savings for 30 seconds of work. (And nope, that’s not exaggerating.)

I know life can get crazy and sometimes we need to put DIY on the back burner, but this is something you can keep up with during even the craziest seasons. You also know exactly what’s inside of it and can easily change scents without adding harmful ingredients or artificial colors.

DIY Foaming Hand Soap Ingredients:

Liquid Castile Soap – 1/4 Cup

Where to buy:

Moisturizing Oil (optional)

Water (distilled, filtered, or boiled) – to finish filling container

Essential Oils – 15-30 total drops

Preservative – 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

  • Optiphen Plus. I’ve seen some places that recommend adding this preservative to extend the shelf life. It’s a paraben and formaldehyde-free preservative.

Foaming Bottle

  • Here’s a 3-pack from Amazon.
  • An even cheaper option is to purchase a $1 bottle of foaming hand soap from the store, dispose of the contents, rinse the bottle, remove the label, and reuse.

Do you make your own hand soap? Any favorite essential oils combos I should try? (Keep reading for the recipe in printable, consolidated format 🙂 )

castile soap, essential oils, bottle to make foaming hand soap.

Are you new to saving money or interested in lots of tips to help you be able to live on your limited income? Check out Erin’s new book filled with 100 tips, tricks, and simple ways she provided for her family on a budget.

For more ways to save, check out:

What are your favorite (easy) DIY projects?

Print
DIY Foaming Hand Soap
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup unscented liquid castile soap
  • 15-30 drops essential oils
  • Moisturizing Oil (optional) choice of: ½ teaspoon vitamin E oil, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon almond oil, or 1 tablespoon fractionated coconut oil.
  • ½ teaspoon optiphen plus (optional)
  • Water (distilled, purified, or boiled)
Instructions
  1. In the bottom of foaming bottle place castile soap. Add essential oils and moisturizing oil and preservative (if using).
  2. Gently swish around.
  3. Fill bottle with water being sure to leave room for lid.

Foaming bottle and essential oils to make foaming hand soap.