Rice and Beans Success

I bought several bags of dry beans when we got married in March 2009.  I just got around to making the first bag two days ago.  I haven't been a big beans person, so I'm not sure why I thought I would be able to eat them when I bought them.  My mom was right, though, and having a baby changes everything.  I pretty much like any and all kinds of food now.  So, I soaked the pinto beans and cooked them with some garlic powder and onion powder.

To accompany the beans, I made some rice, which also came from a 10-lb. bag bought in March 2009 (it's almost done, though).  I added quite a bit of salt to my plate and then nearly cleaned it.  It wasn't terrible, but I wasn't necessarily dying for seconds.  We ate around 1, and I was surprised when I didn't get hungry again until after 8.  It was very filling.

The next day, I boiled a chicken thigh to add to our rice and beans, and we grated just a little bit of cheese to mix in.  Gus added a bit of sour cream to his plate, though he said it wasn't really necessary.  This combination was delicious.  So we had it again today.

With grocery prices going up, I have been trying to find ways to spend less without going hungry.  Here is the cost breakdown of our meal per person:

Rice (1/4 c. dry rice): $.06
Beans (1/4 c. dry beans): $.10
Chicken (1/2 chicken thigh): $.32
Cheese (~1/16 of an 8 oz. block): $.12

Total: $0.60 per person!