I’m amazed every month at how much I spend on food. The largest parts of my costs are from eating out, because of the convenience. But when I really look at my finances and my budget, I try to figure out ways to reduce the food costs. The biggest way to reduce the costs are to not eat out. But I think old habits die hard.

However, I’ve figured out the reason my family and I eat out a lot. I think it’s because we get bored at home (not because we like to have people serve us). It’s because only one of us has been the cook. (That “one” is my husband. I’ve been spoiled.)

In order to stop the pattern of eating out I realized I have to start taking my turn in the kitchen. So some of the ways I’ve accomplished this was to buy some pre-made dinners (ex. pizza, lasagna, chicken nuggets). But all of those can get really old, really fast (then boredom again). So I’m back to real cooking and finding simple dishes to fix that require very little on my part.

One of my favorite simple dishes is called Herb Chicken. You take four chicken breasts (small to medium sized) put them in a baggie with a can of Cream of Mushroom soup, a little bit of basil and oregano, squish it all around. When you are ready to cook it put it in a glass dish, heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes (or until chicken is completely cooked). While it’s cooking make a box of your favorite Rice-A-Roni. Add some green beans or a salad with the meal and it’s quite scrumptious. Nine times out of ten this is better than eating out and also reduces the gas necessary to get to another restaurant.

Lets just hope I can keep it up.