You could also consider the CHIPINO from chipaxe.com.
It works with PICKit 2, PICkit 3, and any PICkit 2 clone.
Will accept Arduino shields and is PIC16F886 based.
They also have a breadboard version that's even cheaper.
CHIPINO gives you the simplicity of Arduino but the power of PICBASIC or any compiler such as Flowcode.
If you need help getting started check out rawmicro.com. They have a video on how to use Flowcode with CHIPINO.