Less is More

Remember when I mentioned how I HATE letting my ingredients go to waste?

My goal this week when I was menu planning was to buy things that I would use, and possibly use more than once.

In doing this, I managed to get away from the grocery store spending under $25 for the week (Score!).

Here's how I did it. Bear with me:

• Kroger has chicken on sale for $1.99/pound this week. Looks like I'll be working with chicken!
• I searched for a chicken recipe I enjoy that doesn't have overly complicated or too many ingredients. Skinnytaste's Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili is one of my favorites, easy to put together (especially spectacular since I don't get home from work til 7:30 pm), all of the seasonings are already on hand, and many of the ingredients are one-timers (I'm looking at you, canned beans and tomatoes). This means I'm really only going to have chicken left after making this.
• SO I searched for another chicken recipe without too many ingredients. Enter cheesy chicken bagel pizzas. I had homemade marinara, mozzarella, and chicken, so all I needed to buy was two bagels. I made it even more delicious by breading the chicken bits in panko crumbs. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't do it justice, and I had a showdown with the broiler again. I think we tied.

Here's their picture, since mine wasn't quite as pretty.

Between those two meals, it may not sound like much, but that chili is going to go FAR. It was Tuesday night's dinner and has managed for a couple lunches and dinners for the rest of the week as well. I'm a creature of habit, though, so I can eat the same things day in and day out and be content. This weekend's trip to the grocery store will be another adventure for my Less is More Challenge to myself!

Any tips from you all on the art of buying less ingredients while using more?