Tight-Arse Tuesdays - Mexican Bruschetta

I was lazy in the kitchen this week when I came up with this little gem that I love so very much now. I bet if I had used fresh barlotti beans instead of tinned, it would've been even better (and cheaper!). As it was, like I said, I was lazy.

I got a kilo of chicken thighs the other day for around nine dollars. I was telling my fiancee that I read a blog ealier that day that suggested halving the meat in a recipe and adding a filler instead to save money. I said I was going to try this. He looked wounded.

I browned two chicken thigh fillets, diced as small as possible, in the pan before adding one can of barlotti beans, 1/4 cup salsa, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp dried chillies plus a dash of paprika. I set it aside.

I like to dry-grill my bread. Oil works fine, but doesn't seem to do a nice crunchy brown that I love the outside to be. So I started up my grill pan and had my man slice up the bread at an angle. I toasted it nicely on both sides, setting off my fire alarm in the process. Luckily, this happens often, so the man was standing underneath it waiting to push the button. Sensitive thing!

The bread I got for a dollar on sale from the day old section of the grocers, which works perfectly with this recipe. The can of beans was a dollar and the chicken was about $2. Topped with a dash of olive oil, chopped fresh tomatoes ($1) and some coriander from the garden, this meal feeds three for five bucks.

Oh, and it's freakin' delicious and hubby didn't notice the lack of a lot of meat!