We all have days when we just don’t feel like cooking. Mine tend to come around on Wednesday or Thursday. After eating breakfast, lunch, dinner at the house for the last 5-6 days I am over it, ready to get out and have someone else prepare a meal for me.  Although eating out is almost never as cheap as eating at home there are a few different ways to save.

Coupons: Chain restaurants are constantly putting out coupons in the Sunday paper and online.  Subscribe to your favorite restaurants email list to get coupons sent right to you. There has been an $8 off Outback coupon floating around recently and we took advantage of that savings this past weekend.

Gift Cards: We redeem our credit card points for gift cards. Usually the options are pretty limited on what gift cards you can get, but there is bound to be at least one restaurant you enjoy. We have so many Outback/Bonefish gift card we could probably eat there for a year.  As far as chain restaurants go those are at the top of my list. In addition to our $8 coupon to Outback we also had enough gift cards to cover the total.

Drink Water: Not only is it better for your health, but better for your wallet. Sodas and alcohol can make your total climb fast. If we are hoping to grab a drink at a restaurant we are sure to go during happy hour when they are offering a discount.

Appetizers for Dinner: Have a tapas style dinner at a non tapas restaurant. Hey, the appetizers are the best part sometimes right? Skip the full meals and order a few appetizers to share. Bonus  points if you go during happy hour and they are running a special, such as half off appetizers.

Eat Locally: We tend to prefer our local restaurants to chains and I have noticed quite a difference in prices. I was scoping out the menu at Outback the other day and was shocked at how high their prices are (good thing we had a gift card). I can get higher quality food at a more upscale local restaurant for cheaper. Ask your friends for restaurant recommendations or check out that restaurant that you drive past everyday to work.

Eat Ethnic: Along the same line as eating locally, check out some ethnic restaurants. The Thai restaurant down the street serves you enough food in one meal to feed two or three people; a two person Greek salad will usually feed a crowd; and our local Indian restaurant puts on a vegetarian buffet for a great deal.

Be Social: Follow your favorite restaurants on social media sites,  such as Facebook and Twitter. Most will post their daily specials. One of our favorite restaurants offers buy one, get one entrees on Tuesdays and guess how we found out about it? Facebook!

Do you have any money saving tips to add?

We actually had some exceptionally cool May weather the last few weeks. To the point where it was necessary to wear sweaters and pants. We have seem some wacky Florida weather this year, but I’m not going to complain about   extra cool weather in May. We all know the hot and humid summer is right around the corner.

It was nice to be able to eat chili out on the patio. And the best part about this recipe is how quick it cooks. After a busy day of work this is an easy recipe to place on the table. Who would think you can make delicious chili in less than 30 minutes.

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven 

The marinade for this chicken is perfect. Very tangy and keeps the chicken so very juicy while it cooks. I found myself eating it right out of the pan rather than putting the chicken onto the quesadillas. I love stretching one chicken breast to feed four people and this is a great recipe for it. I slice the chicken very thin so it cooks in no time at all. Layered on the quesadilla your whole family can enjoy the meat without eating tons of it.

Greek is one of our favorite foods to get takeout, but now that I can whip up these chicken souvlaki quesadillas in no time. I think we might be changing our tune.

One time in those three years we decided it would be fun to have a dinner party. We invited a few of our friends and we each made or brought a dish.  I don’t even remember what I made, but I distinctly remember my roommate calling her dad for his Panzanella salad recipe. This was the first time I had ever heard of Panzanella salad.

Last week while doing my weekly menu plan I could not get Panzanella salad out of my head. I had to have it. I searched the web and came across this Grilled Cheese Panzanella Salad by Panini Happy. Um, yes please! This salad is like a marriage of my two favorite things. It has the elements of a Caprese salad with the twist of a Panzanella salad and grilled cheese, ok make that three favorite things. All tossed in a light and tangy vinaigrette.

Publix has been offering the new Flatout flatbreads for sale BOGO for a few weeks now. I am having so much fun creating easy dinners out of these.

Just this weekend I was talking to a friend who said she didn’t have time to cook dinner. I pointed her towards the idea of flatbreads in general. In about 15 minutes you can have dinner on the table. What restaurant can you go to and get dinner in 15 minutes? Even takeout takes longer than 15 minutes. There are some days when I don’t get home until 7 or 8pm and on days like that I need to have an easy meal to turn to.

I love the sweet mango flavor next to the slightly jerky shrimp. And well, you know I love goat cheese! These flatbreads made a great weeknight dinner.

I hope all the mom’s out there had a great Mother’s day yesterday. I spent some time out on the boat with my parents and had a delicious late lunch of buffalo grouper tacos! Because we like to eat, a lot, we ended up fixing the Grilled Cheese Panzanella Salad for a late dinner while we watched TV. I’m telling myself it’s kind of healthy since it has tomatoes and onion, just never mind the grilled cheese croutons.

Jerk Shrimp and Mango Flatbread

Grilled Cheese Panzanella Salad

Chicken Souvlaki Quesadilla

Black Bean Chili Stuffed Baked Potatoes

The items with the + are used in more than one recipe, be sure to check the actual recipes to make sure you have everything needed. The items with the * are featured in this week’s Publix ad, which is ending Weds/Thurs (5/15 or 5/16).

Flatbread

• spinach
• small salad shrimp
• mango
• goat cheese

Panzanella Salad

• sourdough bread
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 large tomatoes + *
• 1 small red onion +
• fresh basil
• white balsamic vinegar

Quesadilla

• 1 lemon
• shredded Mexican blend cheese +
• Greek yogurt +
• 1 small cucumber

Chili Stuffed Potatoes

• 1 white onion
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 4 small potatoes

Already in Pantry

• Flatout flatbreads * (BOGO)
• olive oil +
• jerk seasoning
• salt and pepper +
• shallot (or can just use red onion that was already bought)
• Dijon mustard
• 1 chicken breast
• italian seasoning
• flour or whole wheat tortillas
• garlic+
• 1 bottle of beer
• 3 cups prepared black beans (or purchase 3 cans)
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt

I never thought I was a fan of quiche, that was until I made Julia Child’s Quiche Lorraine. Mom made quiche growing up but it was never quite so buttery.  She tries to keep things lower calorie, but I have learned with quiche you can’t try to cut calories. It’s just not the same. I did cheat on the crust with a premade and I still haven’t made Julia’s crust, but I have made a few other homemade crusts.

Since I first made Julia’s quiche back in November it has become a staple at our family brunches.  For Mother’s Day I am made a big batch of blueberry muffins, instead of my now famous quiche.

After a night of heavy, creamy pasta I needed to lighten it up a bit with a healthy salad. I have always been a fan of beets, but had not yet roasted my own.

When the Greek restaurants include beets in the salads I steal everyone elses. I don’t know what it is about them. While flipping through Ina Garten’s Foolproof cookbook I came across this recipe (which I have slightly amended). I was immediately drawn to it, because just a few weeks ago I had seen some beautiful organic beets at the farmer’s market. Plus anything with arugula and goat cheese and I’m game!

We ate this as a main course salad, but it would also be great for a dinner party starter.

My research shows that nutrition wise beets are very low calorie and high in tons of different vitamins and minerals. For a healthy salad that is a little different than the usual, you can’t beat this one

I wanted to throw together an easy grilled chicken dish when my in laws where in town a few weeks ago. I already had plenty of chicken and knew I wanted to grill it. I remembered the Orange Soy Pork Tenderloin and thinking how good the marinade would be on chicken. Those ingredients are all staples, nothing to add to the grocery list!

Three large chicken breasts was plenty for four people with leftovers. I did serve the Southwestern Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes and a salad on the side. I try to serve large, healthy side dishes to lessen our meat intake. And so far it’s working.

Lentil Tacos are both a great meatless option and cheap dinner. Taco nights are nothing fancy in our house. I don’t go out and buy specialty shredded lettuce or salsa we use what we have, which means I usually chop up some spring mix and either have chopped tomatoes or pico de gallo (if I have everything to make it). We always have Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and the guacamole this time was just a bonus. When taco shells are on sale I usually buy them and plan tacos into our menu in the next few weeks.

I thought lentils made a surprisingly good taco filling. And leftovers were made into a tostada. I broke tacos shells in half so they laid flat and piled on the toppings. Whether you make these for Meatless Monday or just a penny pinching night. I don’t think you will even miss the meat.

Adapted from Taste of Home