Food budget this month is TIGHT...need help with tasty cheap meals!

[IvyandLace]

This may be slightly OT, but I just got down doing the bills for the month (I hate that DH gets paid monthly)-unfortunately, I'm not left with much for food this month. I'm gonna try to use what I have as much as possible, but DH and I (no kids thankfully) love milk and go through cereal and sandwich stuff pretty often for breakfast/lunches. DH is pretty picky on what he eats for dinner-no onions, peppers, doesn't like casseroles made with canned soup (darn), no peas or califlower, no dark chicken meat, no peanut butter while I can have a couple of hot dogs and call it a day. I have a package of ground turkey, a 6-lb. roasting chicken, lots of potatoes, a couple packages of venison (from my dad), and a couple of pounds of boneless pork chops (some are marinated, some plain)-I'm not really a pork person (don't like the texture), but I guess I can't be picky at this point. Just trying to get some ideas as to what kind of meals would *stretch* the best. I'm going to make potato soup as DH recently asked for it, and I also have mac-n-cheese (I add tuna to make DH happy) that will be a good substitute once-in-a-while. I know that there's always grilled cheese and french toast, but DH needs meat after a few meals as such.

Any suggestions?? I'd appreciate it!
IVY

[juliegirl]

Rice bought in 5 lb bags is pretty cheap.

Do you like chili? I find at my grocery store that ground turkey and/or ground chicken can usually be bought for $2/lb, much less expensive than ground beef. Use 1/2 1/2 with beef if you don't like the taste. (My family can't tell the difference)

Roast the chicken, use leftover meat for chicken salad and the carcass for soup.

Good luck, been there, done that. :umbrella:

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

pasta - spaghetti, mac & cheese, etc.

[Disney Ontario]

Hi- this is quick and easy. Makes enough for two for two nights.make up a box of mac and cheese. Brown up ground beef then add your sauce.Start layering theese plus shredded cheese in a loaf pan. Bake 350* for 15-20 minutes. Now you have a easy no fail lasagna.Enjoy

[littleclover]

For those non meat evenings, nothing as good as breakfast for dinner... how about scrambled eggs (or any way you like them) and toast, french toast, pancakes. My DS thinks it is such a treat to have breakfast for dinner, especially pancakes! Also, soup and grilled cheese is pretty good.

[DianeV]

Probably not what you want but Banquet makes a good frozen crock pot dinner...some with chicken and some with beef. They are usually under $6 and enough for a meal..just add salad and bread

[HappyMommy2]

How about pork fried rice, with some of your plain pork chops? I'm not much of a pork fan either but I like pork fried rice.
Chop up the pork chops and cook in oil in a skillet till done. Push to the side and scramble an egg or two in the middle of the pan and then chop the egg finely. (I always add some cooked frozen peas and carrots at this point but maybe just shredded carrot for you since your DH doesn't like peas). Then stir in chilled cooked rice and fry it all together, seasoning with soy sauce to taste. Good, easy, cheap.

You can add other stuff if you like--sometimes I put in shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, etc.

[GoldenAfternoon]

Taco dinners are cheap and tasty. Also, you could make a chicken soup with your leftover chicken. Rachael Ray has a great recipe, which can be found at www.foodtv.com. Good luck

[jevans8758]

Making 15 bean soup tomorrow. 1lb bag of 15 bean (dry beans), soak overnight. You can put it in a slow cooker most of the day. Add some ham pieces later in the day (small ham steak will do or whatever you have. A marinated pork chop or two would do well.) and a can of stewed of diced tomatoes. Spices (the usual salt, pepper, little chili powder, garlic powder, ect). I serve with cornbread. Pretty good for a change and makes quite a bit of dinner.......

[powellrj]

What about potatoes? A big bag of potatoes are pretty cheap. You could make baked potatoes with a large salad one night, make extra potatoes and make baked potato soup a night and make ham with cheesy potatoes one night and make skillet hash browns one night. If you do make the chilli pour leftover chilli over your hash browns and add cheese.

Another idea with leftover chilli is to add a box of macaroni to it and call it chili mac!!

[2angelsinheaven]

A quick/cheap dinner we use to eat alot when we were tight on money is this:
1 pound sausage (about 1.35 for the cheap kind near the breakfast sausage/bacon)
And one box of Zatarans Jambalaya w/ cheese. (about 1.00 or so)
Brown the beef, add the rice mix and boil for like 15 minutes... if you make 2x's that (2 pounds sausage/2 boxes rice mix) it's enough for like 3 meals!

Also... how about generic tuna or beef helper? You can buy Walmart kind for around 1.00 a box. Use chopped pork chops in it... it would be good I would think with the stroganoff type.

Ummmm... trying to think what else! If you are really pressed... Ramen noodles can replace spaghetti or other noodles, they are only .15 cents or less for a good sized bowl of noodles. OR use them in soups.

I like the potatoe ideas, but salad is expensive by the time you buy dressing, etc. We use to go this on a budget... a thing meat (around 2-2.50 small pack chix breast, or beef or even a whole chicken sometimes, fish nuggets, you get the idea), one can veggies (.40) and one box/bag rice a roni or potatoes or pasta (.75 or less)... so a whole big, filling and sometimes left overs meal for around.. 3.75 or so!

If you can skip the milk/cereal you will save alot, try generic oatmeal or an egg or poptarts, etc for breakfast just till you get through this. Same with the sandwhich they do cost alot... maybe a leftovers for lunch? We use to be able to do it for less than 50$ a week and that INCLUDED tp and papertowels, etc... yikes!

[Jodi3530]

Your not a pork person but I am not really into pork but like ham. I have a bunch of cheap recipes that include ham from I am not sure what they are called I think picnic ham. they are oval and fully cooked. I can make 5 to 6 meals out of one ham and each of those meals always has a ton of leftovers.

Your Dh won't eat any hotdishes with canned soup in them. Will he eat them if the soup used to make them is homemade or is it that he just does not like those kind of hotdishes? I find that those are cheap to make.

Here is one of the ham recipes but you could add chicken instead.

Garlic potatoes and ham~ * 8 small potaoes, cut into wedges. 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 pkg frozen broccoli cuts partially thawed, 1 cup cubed fully cooked ham, 1 envelope herb with garlic soup mix (lipton secret savory herb with garlic soup mix it is around $1.30 for two envelopes)
In a lg skillet cook potatoes in oil over med high heat for 10 minutes or until lightly browned stir in broccoli, ham and dry mix reduce heat cover and cook for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

[popeyeohoh]

One skillet spaghetti. 1lb gr. beef,onion,garlic. brown. add 1 c. water. Large can of tomatoes (stewed or crushed) 1 8 oz cn tomato sauce 8 oz spag. 1/4 tsp chili powder. cook till pasta tender melt cheddar cheese on top. Chuck roast on day 1 (bake at 300 for several hours) next day shredd beef and add b-b-q sauce for sandwiches. Same concept for chicken bake one day and have leftovers in gravy the next with noodles or dumplings.

[funnygarcia]

This might not help much this month but.. learn how to coupon/bargain shop effectively to stockpile canned goods and other items to help you thru those lean months.

I learned how to coupon thru the "tips of the trade" T.O.T. forum at www.mycoupons.com
No doubling of coupons in my area but I still manage to save 40- 50% off with coupons - I do travel once per month to a larger city an hour away -- those grocery stores take expired coupons. From other posters on Mycoupons I trade a small fee (10% of face value of the coupon or less) for really good coupons that I know I wil use-- mostly meat and cereal ones.

This weekend I had $2/2 pkgs Gold N Plump chicken coupons from the local paper .. my local Cub Foods had a sale on chicken drumsticks for $1 per pkg = FREE meat!! They had Hormel chili in the new box container for $1 each, they gave out $1/1 coupons at a food demo table in the store = FREE chili.

Check the damged goods aisle at your grocery store, sometimes you find a deal (new pkging, close to expiration dates, no longer carrying that item in store, cut marks when they open box with cutter) and use coupons to make it even better. This weekend we picked up boxes of cereal marked down to $2 to $1.50 a box and they had peel off $1/1 coupons on them- SCORE! cheap cereal!!


This web site may help too!
http://www.cutouthunger.org/

Another tip is to read the Tightwad Gazette books (library) for ideas on how to save even more $$ and ways to make good meals for cheap.. I love the Quiche recipe (unfortunately it uses lots of milk) and the muffin recipe. She lists just a basic frame work of x amt of flour/baking powder etc., up to x amt of your choice of sweetener , up to x amt of wet ingredients. My muffins are never the same thing. Whatever I have on hand (leftover bit of fruit, some yogurt, juice, jam, choc chips ,etc...) and my ceativity decide the flavors of the day!

Make friends with beans. CHEAP and healthy protein. Combine with rice for a complete protein - it will fill you up and give you energy.

Here is web site that has frugal cooking ideas:
http://www.justpeace.org/better.htm#Recipes%20for%20the%20Frugal%20Kitchen

[gigi1313]

looks like you got great ideas...

one of my fave "cheap" dishes is chicken and potatoes... parboil chicken drumsticks ($.29/lb) and potatoes cut in chunks together (throw in carrot or two or some celery if you have it... no problem if you don't!) and when they are pretty well cooked, transfer them to a casserole dish, season w/salt/pepper/mrs dash or any mixed spice stuff (or individual spices like garlic/onion powder/paprika/etc) and bake in the oven... it's very tasty and rather inexpensive and usually a big pkg of drumsticks means leftovers for another day!

another idea is to take those pork chops and cut them off the bone and brown them in the bottom of a big saucepan... add ground beef (chicken or turkey) and brown also... then toss in some canned tomato sauce (or jarred, but cans are cheaper) and make a hearty meat sauce to serve with pasta...

enjoy!

[canwegosoon]

Ziti is my big inexpensive meal...I make it meatless. I get a Prego Mini meatball sauce ($1 aft coupon or buy Hunt meat sauce), .25 for box of Ziti noodles, Cheese (ricotta+Mozzrella no more than $4 for both, look for sales or buy generic), 1 egg, some spices, a bag of Green beans (on the side). total $6.00. The savings is that you should be able to get 3-4 meals out of it (one each week). After 1st night eating, I slice remaining into 2-3 meals and wrap and freeze seperatly. You could always use a little of the ground turkey. If you want to stretch serve it with a soup (on sale) and a couple of slices of garlic bread.

Big stretchers for meals for me are make biscuts or rolls from scratch (or with coupons I can get dry mix cheap). Soup or salad, and serve vegetables.

I love french toast for dinner, and great for the budget. Also Grilled cheese and Tomato soup is another budget saver. Rice with Hamburger meat, or chicken is a great stretcher. The venison I would make stew with if you can.

Another big saver that I do is to look for meat that has been marked down (expiring that day, and cook it or freeze it as soon as I get home). I do not like pork, or ham, so I am a little limited on those ideas.

I love Fettucini al la vodka (noodles $.50 on sale, and Jar of sauce $2.50 with coupon). Again you should be able to get 3 meals(for2) for the $3.00...To change it up, you might want try different types of pasta). I also love to get the turkey sausage when on sale with a coupon, it really adds to throw in meat once in a while. I try to do 2-3 meals a week little or no meat, and then the other 4-5 meals heavy on veggies/ meat (eg. grilled chicken with salad) to balance the carb factor.

You could save a lot of money by only having 3 meat meals a week, and the other thimes using meat as a additive. Buy the meat on sale, or free(thanks Dad), or inexpensive cuts. Eggs are also very inexpensive and very good for you. Having deviled eggs, omelets, or strata are another great way to stretch the food budget, and still get the protien.

[kay_key3]

I take it that your husband is a teacher? In Kentucky we get paid once a month as well. It makes it real hard when its Dec and you get paid around the 15th, then you don't get another pay day until the 28th of Jan. TIGHT!!

lol :cheer2: GO CHEER CATS

[ebarj1098]

I noticed you had no ideas for the veni (venison) you have. Here's my fav. I make venison pot pie. Make your own pie crust(double crust), it doesn't have to be perfect. Cut up a poundish of the veni into little bite size pieces and brown in 3 Tbsp bacon grease. Add garlic powder, basil, 1 Tbsp of Worchestershire and about 1 Tbsp of lemon juice(tenderizes). Cook about 20 min on low, then remove veni. Make a gravy with the juice, I use G.Washington to flavor mine, then return meat and throw in a can of mixed veggies, or whatever. Put in crust and cover with top crust, bake til crust is done. This costs almost nothing since you did not pay for the veni and you may already have the other ingredients. I also like to make stew with venison. I made it for my father who "claims" to dislike venision, yet he raved at how good my "beef" stew was!

[JessetheCowgirl]

Ziti is my big inexpensive meal...I make it meatless. I get a Prego Mini meatball sauce ($1 aft coupon or buy Hunt meat sauce), .25 for box of Ziti noodles, Cheese (ricotta+Mozzrella no more than $4 for both, look for sales or buy generic), 1 egg, some spices, a bag of Green beans (on the side). total $6.00. The savings is that you should be able to get 3-4 meals out of it (one each week). After 1st night eating, I slice remaining into 2-3 meals and wrap and freeze seperatly. You could always use a little of the ground turkey. If you want to stretch serve it with a soup (on sale) and a couple of slices of garlic bread.



I would love to know how you prepare the ziti---do you layer it like lasagne? Precook the noodles or not?

[canwegosoon]

My Ziti:

Boil ziti noodles in water with 1 teasp of oil for about 7 minutes. The noodles should be larger, but not fully done because they will keep cooking in oven. Drain, but do not rinse, or let get cold.

While noodles ar boiling- in small bowl I put 8 oz of Ricotta, 1 egg, 1teasp parsley dried, s/p, 1/2 teasp garlic powder, and 1/2 teasp oregano flakes, a few shakes of parmeasean cheese, and about 1/2 c shredded mozzrella. Mix together.

In a 9X13 pan I like glass, I pour out a small covering of sauce (right from jar, sorry true Italians). pour in 1/2 of noodles, cover with 1/2 of remaining sauce, layer mix from bowl of cheeses, last of noodles, last of sauce, and cover with shredded mozzrella. I bake covered in 350 oven for about 30-40 minutes. But you could raise temp and shorted cooking to (400 for 25-30). Sauce should be bubbling, and cheese should be melted.

I know you can also just pour a little sauce in pan, in large bowl mix sauce, noodles, and cheese mixture. lay out in pan cover with cheese, and cook the same. I like it both ways.

[ElaineHN]

I'm paid once a month too, so I know your pain ... but I've found that using grocery coupons and matching them up to sale items is a HUGE savings for me and the time I spend clipping/sorting, etc. is very much worthwhile. I usually do it while watching TV at night ... and if I can save $20+ at the grocery store from 1-2 hours 'work' then that's a decent wage ... and I have saved $80+ on some shopping trips!

I also try to make my meals/ingredients do double duty whenever possible, without actually just having warmed up left-overs. If you bake a ham, save the bone and any meat scraps for cooking dry beans or making soup. If you have left over slices of fresh tomatoes or tomatoes that are getting close to going bad, cut out any 'bad spots', dice up the tomatoes and freeze to add to soup, chili and spaghetti sauce. Use left over chili to make burritos just add a little cheese and salsa (make up a bunch and freeze in Ziplocs for quick kid snacks or meals.) Use left over chicken in soup or Chicken Pot Pie.


Here are a few of my favorite budget friendly meals:

Sausage and Cabbage (even my kids LOVE this!)

Cut one head of green cabbage into 6-8 wedges depending on size of cabbage (don't chop up too small or it will get mushy)

Place in large pot and cover with water. Add one smoked sausage (Eckredge, Hillshire Farms, Butterball, etc.) ... any variety will work

Cook just till the cabbage is tender ... the sausage will flavor the cabbage, no need to add additional seasoning, though you may wish to salt/pepper individual servings.

Serve this with Mac & Cheese or a flavored rice and you've got a full and filling meal. I know a lot of people say 'Ewwww Cabbage' ... but this is actually one of my family's favorite meals ... so if you aren't just absolutely revolted by the thought of eating cooked cabbage ... give it a try, you may find you like it too!

And it's easy on the budget:
Smoked sausage 2/$3 - .50 coupon doubled = .50
Cabbage - $1 (not really positive of the exact price)
Mac 'n Cheese - $3/1 at Walgreens - $1/3 coupon = Free
or
Mahatma Spicy Saffron rice 2/$1 - .50/2 coupon doubled = Free

Even without the special sales and the coupons this is a cheap meal ... but using coupons can really make it a penny pincher's dream!


Pork Chops with Tomatoes and Rice

Brown pork chops in a large skillet (add onions if you like), remove the pork chops when browned (they don't have to be fully cooked) ... add 1 cup rice to the pan and allow it to brown a bit. Add 1 cup chicken stock or water and 1 can stewed tomatoes. Return pork chops to the pan, cover and allow to simmer for about 1 hour.

You can use plain tomatoes or seasoned (Italian, Mexican, etc.) and use whole, sliced or diced. If you use whole ones you may want to cut them up a bit. i wouldn't use the 'fine' dice because they'll cook away to almost nothing. The rice absorbs most of the liquid as it cooks, but this is still a very moist dish ... it shouldn't be 'runny' when done, but the rice won't be dry either.

Pork Chops = FREE if you already have them ($1.29 lb. on sale)
Rice = 2/$1 - .50/2 coupon = FREE (or just a few cents worth of a larger bag)
Tomatoes = .85 can - .40 coupon doubled = 5 cents


Black Beans Two ways - w/ sausage & in chili

Cook a bag of dry black beans (either overnight in a crock pot or soak overnight and then cook several hours on the stove) You can add a ham bone for seasoning if you have one in your freezer, or you can buy 'salt pork' to use. Add an onion cut into quarters if you wish.

For the first night's supper ... put half the black beans into a large pot on the stove and add one cut up smoked sausage. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Add as much or as little seasoning (I like Cayenne pepper) as your family prefers. Heat till bean 'soup' is thick and sausage is heated thoroughly. Serve 'cajun style' over rice or with a rice side dish.

For the second night's super, make chili from the remaining beans. After super the first night, add one pound (more or less if you prefer) of browned ground beef (or deer meat), two (or more) cans of diced tomatoes, any frozen tomatoes you happen to hav on hand, and chili powder. Stir well and refrigerate. The next day either cook on low in the crock pot for several hours, or bring to a boil and then simmer on the stove. I brown my ground beef with onion, but you can leave this out if your hubby wont' eat onion.

Super Easy, but yummy, Chicken Pot Pie

2 cans mixed veggies
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken or about 1 cup left-over cooked & shredded chicken

1 cup Bisquick
1 cup milk
1 egg (optional) - using egg will make a fluffier crust, not using it will produce a crisper crust

Drain veggies. Mix veggies chicken soup and chicken in a large baking dish. Season with salt/pepper/other seasonings if you wish.
Mix Bisquick and milk (and egg if using) in a small bowl. Pour crust mixture over chicken mixture. Bake in 375 degree oven till crust is golden brown.

I know you said your hubby didn't like casseroles and didn't like soup in cooked dishes ... but if he likes Pot Pie, you might be able to slip this one in ... it is sooooo tasty! This is the recipe I cook for our family of 4 ... we usually have a little left over and could probably get by with half a recipe, but my hubby and teen son have big appetites. You might want to cut it in half for smaller families.

Veggie Soup from the Freezer

After having a roast (beef or venison) for supper one night, start a soup bowl. Just pick out a large freezer safe bowl with lid and put any left over roast and any cooking juices into the bowl. Place this in your freezer. Throughout the week, add any left over veggies after each meal (I'm talking about from the serving dishes, not from people's plates) ... maybe a little corn one night, a few green beans another night, etc. When the bowl fills up, or at the end of a couple of weeks (if you don't feel comfortable keeping left-overs in the freezer longer) just take out the bowl and empty the contents into a large soup pot. Add a fresh chopped onion (if you like) and canned tomatoes (or fresh), and more veggies ... canned mixed veggies, frozen 'soup blend' veggies, fresh cut up carrots and potatoes or whatever you prefer. Add a cup or two of V8 or a can of pureed tomato if you like a tomato based soup. Allow the frozen mixture to thaw over medium heat stiring occasionally and then turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. You can adjust the soup contents to your family's liking.

:wizard:

If you aren't on a 'low carb' diet, serve pasta, rice or potatoes with every supper ... these are filling and inexpensive. They are also a part of a healthy diet if not eaten in excess. You'll probably want to add a salad or green veggie to all these meals ... but I've just posted some ideas for the 'entree'.

Sorry so long ... :rolleyes1 Elaine

[cepmom]

I have a couple of recipes I use that my family loves.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 pkg frozen peas & carrots (or any frozen veg you like)
1/3 cup margerine or butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 3/4 chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups cut up, cooked chicken (or turkey) (sometimes I use boneless skinless chicken if I'm short on time - if I have more time I will buy bone in chicken breasts and cut it off the bone to save $ or use leftover chicken from a roasted chicken)
pre made pie crust (I use either Pillsbury or store brand in the refigerated aisle or you can make your own if you prefer)

.rinse frozen vegetables in water to thaw out
.melt butter in saucepan over medium heat
.stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper
.cook stirring constantly until bubbly - remove from heat
.stir in broth and milk
.heat to boiling stirring constantly
.boil and stir 1 minute
.stir in chicken and vegetables - remove from heat
.heat oven to 425
.pour chicken mixture into ungreased 9x9 square pan (or deep dish pie plate)
.cover with pie crust - flute edges
.bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown

serve with potatoes or rice
I usually double this and freeze the extra chicken mixture so all I have to do is place it in the fridge to thaw out and it's all ready to assemble and put in the oven.


Crock Pot Chicken
1 whole chicken (make sure it will fit in your crock pot)
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced (or omit if you prefer)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
16 oz can chicken broth or 1 boullion cube dissolved in 2 cups water
1 tsp crushed basil
2 1/2 tablespoons Italian Seasonings mixture (optional)

.in a crock pot, put in 1/2 of the chicken broth
.put in 1/2 of the carrots, celery, onions in the bottom
.place the chicken (back side down) in the pot
.add remaining broth, vegetables, salt, pepper and seasonings
.place lid on corck pot and cook on low for 7 - 10 hours or on high for 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours
.serve over rice


Buying a whole chicken is inexpensive and you can even use frozen mixed vegetables if you don't have time to cut up fresh vegetables.

[lsteadman]

I cook "old school." When I grocery shop I buy - flour, sugar, butter, brown sugar, baking powder, cocoa, baking soda, vanila, almond, extract, butter flavored crisco, graham crackers, chips for cookies which cost about $11.73. Instead of buying Pillsbury biscuit and rolls, cake mix, Oreo cookies, Pie Crust. Why do people by pie crust when its just flour, butter, crisco, water, and dash of sugar. Pie crust takes all of 5 mins to make with no poly stuff that you can't pronounce.

If you regularly buy butter, sugar, flour - you should never by Pillsbury or Duncan Hines cake mix. You are buying the same thing twice.

For $11.73, I can make a lot of cakes, cookies, pie crust, breads, muffins, etc. Plus it tastes a whole lot better, made with love, and doesn't have all of the perservatives.

Cut up you own chicken! It takes 3 mins (if that) to cut up a chicken - it saves so much money.

I am one of the most busiest person you will ever meet- work/run a business 6 days a week, homeschool, daughter violin and ballet lessons, activities, etc. But I find cooking from scratch saves me tons on groceries. I always say - I have more time than I have money.

I also plan my menu in advance! I know what I am going to eat two weeks ahead of time and I shop accordingly. Can say enough about coupons and buying stuff with the coupons when the items is on sale.

Good luck!

[IvyandLace]

You guys are the greatest! :grouphug: So many wonderful ideas and recipes!! Thanks so much...I really do appreciate the help.

And, yes, DH is a teacher-I used to be a L&D R.N. but have been unable to work due to my back disability for the past 18 months. Nice to know that others can *relate*.

Thanks again!
IVY

[got2lovedisney]

How about a package of seasoned rice mix (down here I use yellow rice), add a can or 2 of sliced up vienna sausages depending on the rice package size. Throw in some canned/frozen veggies and you've got a $2-$3 meal.

Or some fettucine with jarred alfredo sauce with cubed smoked ham/chicken and broccoli and some parmesian cheese. Some garlic bread on the side...yum!

I like scrambled eggs served over white rice.

Meatloaf is pretty cheap and goes a long way...add mashed potatoes and you're set.

Chili is great cuz you can serve it over rice/baked potatoe/hot dogs/tortilla chips to make nachos/elbow noodles and make cheesy chili mac.

[disneymom3]

Cheeseburger rice is one that we love--we are having it tomorrow! It's a Kraft recipe from their website, only I don't use Minute rice, I use regular and just precook it. (Cheaper and we like it better.) It is just hamburger, rice, american or Velveeta cheese and ketchup and mustard and onion. Very easy and good.

As for Alfredo Sauces--do you all know how easy it is to make white sauce? Flour, milk, and butter is all that is in there! Add parmesan and you have Alfredo. (I am saying this in all seriousness. I NEVER knew until recently how incredibly easy and cheap cheap cheap this is!)

I do a LOT of pasta--one of DDs meals (she is 8 and cooks dinner twice a month or more) is a pasta bake. A box of pasta, a jar of sauce, another jar of water put it in the oven for 30 minutes, sprinkle cheese, bake 15 min more and voila! You can add hamburger or ground turkey if you want, but cheaper if you don't.

I am bookmarking this thread because everyone has such great ideas! I will never remember them all.

[DisnyMama]

The Chili Macaroni is really good and cheap. When I have to stretch till pay day I just take a can of chili-any kind and some pasta-any kind and you have dinner in less than 15 minutes. It is yummy!! If you can add a veggie or salad or make up some garlic bread (mix up butter or margerine with garlic salt and garlic pepper and spread on any kind of bread or half of buns and either put under the broiler or in the toaster oven).

Also, potatoes and hotdogs. It can be done with little or no oil with a non-stick pan. The easiest way is to cut up the peeled potatoes small and boil them till just barely tender. Slice up your hot dogs. Either spray the bottom of the pan with cooking spray or a little oil and place the potatoes and hot dogs in and fry them till they are lightly browned. Salt and pepper to taste. Make some scrambled eggs and you have a very filling dinner or hearty weekend breakfast.

[figmentvi]

I noticed that you had a 6 lb. roasting chicken. Don't throw the bones out. Throw them in a stock pot filled with water, throw in a couple of onions (quartered) and celery stalks (large chunks) and simmer for a couple of hours. Now you have stock to make a variety of different soups.

Keep the veggies that you used to make the stock, add potatoes or other leftover veggies, leftover chicken and voila....homemade chicken soup. Cheap and easy. Serve with bisquick bisquits and you've got a meal.

Soups are the cheapest and easiest meals to make. The added bonus is that you get to clean out your fridge too.

[mom04]

Try www.fbnr.com- :banana: I love this siye-all seems pretty simple, and being a family of 5 :crowded: I try to keep my shopping bill down. :p

[bdcp]

We're not on a tight budget but, I make Prego Pasta Bake especially when my boys are home from college. We all love it. That and a salad are a good meal. My oldest is in an off campus apt at college and makes some of his own meals. His favorite is pasta bake and he tops it with precooked chicken before he puts the cheese on.

[LovePug]

We're not on a tight budget but, I make Prego Pasta Bake especially when my boys are home from college. We all love it. That and a salad are a good meal. My oldest is in an off campus apt at college and makes some of his own meals. His favorite is pasta bake and he tops it with precooked chicken before he puts the cheese on.

We love this for Ziti and it's so easy! We cut the recipe in half and freeze the other 1/2 jar of sauce and 1/2 bag of shredded cheese for the next meal. Serve it with garlic bread &/or salad. Very good, inexpensive couple of meals.

[debbiedoo]

alfredo sauce:

Melt 1 stick butter in pan,toss with cooked linguine noodles, add
16 oz of half and half, toss--add black pepper and parsley(to taste}
1 cup grated or fresh parmesean--serve immediately.

can add shrimp
chicken
broccoli and chicken

whatever else you would like!!

I think mine is better than alfredo's!!!

[ElaineHN]

Bumping this for a friend!

:earsgirl:

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[d4est]

Wow! So many good ideas. Now if only you were all on a diet too, I would never need to think "what's for supper tonight?"

[Forevryoung]

Ok now you guys made me excited to come back to school (spring break is this upcoming week) and go food shopping! Besides that, now I am hungry :).
Amazing ideas, I have already made a food shopping list.
Thank you!

[luv2nascar]

I love the Barilla tortilini in a bag (dry pasta) spinach and ricotta is our favorite. Only like $2.?? per bag for 3-4 servings. you could eat them with olive oil and parm, butter and parm, red sauce, white sauce whatever. We always have $1 off coupons for 1 bag floating around here too.

salisbury steak is easy and cheap too. I use ground beef and puts lots of spices mixed in with it. garlic, onion powder, salt pepper, bread crumbs, parsley, & parm cheese. make into hamburger shapes and bake in oven 45 min at 350 degrees. I usually make 6 of them with 1- 1&1/2 of meat. then I use onecan of beef broth or bouillon and add flour or cornstarch to make gravy with or without mushrooms. Package of butter noodles and you have salisbury steak. We had it for dinner tonight with some left over rolls from last night also. Yummy.

[pamlet]

On the weekends sometimes I have as many as 4 teenage boys in the house - plus 21 yo ds, dh and myself.. :earseek: We are the royalty of massive cheap cooking!

We something kind of like a burrito - brown 1 lb... yes ONE lb.. hamburger meat with some finely diced onion.. add taco seasoning and water.. (I buy the giant container of lawry's at costco). I've also used leftover chicken cooked w/the taco seasoning and water.

While hamburger is cooking down I make rice - the amount depends on the amount of mouths being fed...

add 1 or 2 cans of drained corn, 1 can drained black beans.. to finished rice, add hamburger to all. Once in a while I'll add a can of rotel tomatoes.

scoop some into large flour tortillas, put some shredded cheese on it and wrap it up! My DH will put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to melt the cheese - but I prefer the cheese a little more cold.. :confused3

It feeds a TON of teenagers - we always have leftovers... sometimes I'll just eat the mix without the tortilla.. Note on the tortillas - our local Costco sells a raw flour tortilla that is BIG and out of this world delicious! It's under 5.00 for 36 tortillas... we use them for breakfast tacos too!

[eeyore45]

Gotta chime in!

First off, if you havent tried "Dutch Babies" you gotta!! Its a 'pancake' but, so easy, cheap... take 1/2 C flour, 1/4 sugar, take 1/2 C milk and 2 eggs, blend.... then in a cast iron skillet warm it on the stove, melt 4T butter, then pour your batter in the cast iron skillet, put this in the oven for 20 min at 400 degrees. You will see a big poofy pancake, and when you take it out of the oven, it smells marvelous - then as it cools, it poofs down... serve with powdered sugar, jam, maple syrup, or plain!! The recipe came from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook, and it says you can double it and make it in a cake pan... :confused3 I've only made it in Grandma's cast iron skillets!!

My other saving money meal is Grilled Cheese Sandwiches! I serve them with oven fries - I take a potatoe, wash it, get a few tablespoons of butter melt them in the microwave, then I cut my potatoe in 1/2, then cut each half into 'eighthts" so you have nice small 'cubes' then I toss them in the butter, and put them in the pan to cook in a 350 - 400 degree oven till nice and brown. I sometimes add garlic and rosemary!

The best savings I can add is Homemade Pizza!! When we were first married I read the paper saying you can make homemade pizza faster than delivery!

I buy my yeast at Sam's club I get 2 HUGE bags (bought the size of a soda can!) of yeast for under $3!! Those tiny packets are expensive, I keep the bag in the fridge, I bought them last year, they're still good! So my pizza dough is 1 cup flour, 1 cup warm (110 deg) water, mixed in my Kitchen Aid blender, then I add some sugar (maybe 1/4C) some butter (maybe 2 -3T) then a handful of corn flour... then I slowly add more flour, maybe 2 more cups - then I knead the dough with more flour (I usually double the recipe with 2 teenagers!) Then I let it rise in a buttered bowl, I put syran wrap on as a lid... for about an hour, it does double! Then I punch it down, and roll it out the size of my pan 0 the darker the pan the better)

My sauce is a can of tomato paste mix with water, add Italian Spices, garlic, whatever you like! (cost is under $1!!)

Then, I also buy my cheese in bulk at Sam's I get a month's worth of cheese, as the boys love pizza on Fridays!! They like plain cheese pizza, dh likes Ham pizza, hamburger, bacon, sausage, whatever...

I figure my pizza's cost about $3 to make!!

(when dh and I were first married he only got paid once a month, I feel that pain!! I remember one day before payday we only had popcorn for food!)

[Suz D]

Long Post...sorry

This is one of our favorite meal bases. We love "fun" meals so this fits the bill...

Take 2-3 frozen boneless chicken breasts or 3-6 thighs and throw them in the crockpot covered with 1/2-1 package of taco seasoning (I buy the big jar at Costco, so I'm guessing on the amount if you have packets). Cook on low most of the day. At about 3 P.M. take the chicken out and pull it (tear it into shreds) with 2 forks. Put it back into the crockpot and add a drained can of black beans or chili beans w/ sauce, a drained can of corn, and a can of diced tomatoes (undrained). Cook a big pot of rice about 30-40 minutes before you are ready to eat (I make a lot because we use this for 3 meals as leftovers keeping in mind that we are a family of 3 so you might want to use a bit more chicken if your family is larger).

Here's the fun part...Taco Sundaes[/B][/U]...

Take an ice cream scoop full of cooked rice and put it on each persons plate (for the ice cream). Cover this with a heaping spoonful of the meat mixture (for chocolate sauce). The rest of this is optional depending on budget. I have a huge 12x12 food storage room that is floor to ceiling canned goods, home canned goods, staples and some "fun" things so we have pretty much all of the following on ours. If anyone wants to know more about my food storage room, PM me because I love to talk about it. But I'm getting sidetracks (big surprise), back to the taco sundaes.

[B]Optional...

sour cream for whipped cream
salsa for strawberry sauce
diced tomatoes for cherries
grated cheese for coconut
chopped lettuce for sprinkles
crumbled tortilla chips (clean out the bottom of that bag) for nuts
sliced black olives (I don't know what these are, but I LOVE black olives)

You don't need a side dish with this meal. I love it because everyone can make their own how they want it. I have also made this without meat, just a lot of beans and it's just as good, but I like the chicken stretching it to the following other 2 meals.

Enchiladas[U]...
Take the leftover chicken mixture and combine it with the leftover rice. Set aside 1/2 of this mixture for meal #3. Take a can of tomato sauce (not the tiny ones) and add cumin to taste and 1-2 t. vinegar. Spray a 9x13 pan with pam and then spread some of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Put a flour tortilla in the bottom of the pan and spoon some of the meat mixture down the center. Sprinkle with cheese and roll up. Repeat until the pan is full (I pack them in pretty tightly). Pour the remaining sauce over the top (make more if needed) and then sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Bake until it's warm and serve with the side of salad or green beans.

Meal 3...chicken casserole
Spray a 9x9 pan with Pam. Layer the meat mixture and cheese. Bake until heated through. We serve this with tortilla chips and salad on the side.

I make up meal 2-3 as I'm cleaning up the kitchen from meal 1 and put them in the fridge for a quick reheat meal. LOVE IT!!!

[ElaineHN]

I had planned to make tacos and guacamole for super last night ... but low and behold, my packed-to-the-gills freezer did not hold any ground beef. I sure thought I had some!!!

But I had bought avacados and I really wanted the guacamole ... so at hubby's suggestion of 'vegetarian' tacos ... I delved into the cabinets for a super yummy but cheap meal. (all prices noted are after coupons)

I warmed some diced onion in a little bacon greese (you could use cooking oil if the idea of bacon grease is gross to you or if you truly want a vegetarian meal ... but it sure makes the beans taste good) and then added 2 cans of Bush's Pintos (3 cents after coupons) and added in a heaping spoonful of Ortega taco seasoning (free I think) and let them cook while I prepared the other items. Before serving I mashed the beans a bit to make lumpy refried beans!

I opened a jar of $1 Ortega salsa, got out a bag of 75 cent Kraft shredded cheese along with my free + 21 cent overage Daisy sour cream. Diced up a tomatoe and slivered some lettuce (no bargain on these) and opened a bag of 67 cent Tostada corn chips.

To make the guacamole, I just added a heaping tablespoon of finely diced onion, a spoonful of very small diced tomatoe (only use the fleshy part, not the seeds), and a small spoonfull of sour cream to one well mashed avacado ($1.49).

Of course if I'd found the veggies on sale, the meal would have been even cheaper ... but for around $5 my family of 4 (including a burly hubby and a growing teenage boy) all had a Mexican feast and left over chips, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, taco seasoning and cheese. We ate all of the guacamole, beans and tomatoe but there's pretty much some of everything else left for another meal! I could've made some Mahatma spanish rice (free) but we just ate our 'taco salads' or 'tostadas' or whatever you want to call it and got full.

Much better than spending $40 at our favorite mexican restaurant!

:cheer2: Elaine

[ElaineHN]

Just refreshing this thread to go along with the other 'cheap recipe' thread ... :cheer2:

[poohfriend]

it calls for onion, peppers and the dreaded soup. But the soup is just enough to keep things moist. When this is served, it looks like spaghetti without tomato sauce (not a casserole). I'd easily drop the peppers from this without regret. Because It serves so many, it really is inexpensive. Pack half of it in a ziplock and freeze for a second meal.

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes with liquid, cut up
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom Stems and pieces, drained
1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained, optional
12 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
¼ cup water
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and oregano. Add ground beef if desired. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Place half of the spaghetti in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Mix the soup and water until smooth; pour over the casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Yield: 12 servings

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Peasant Pasta - spaghetti, stick of butter, peas (frozen works better than canned), parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best), fresh ground pepper. It's one of my favorites, cheap and easy, and even my kids love it!

Good luck!

[crazelion]

A good cost cutting top is join angel Food Minsties and 25.00 dollars a month get 50.00 or more in food. No don't have be on welfare or food stamps to join it's open to everybody. Just find church that doing Angel Food in your city and join it. Angel Food send out list every month what be getting what be getting every month. The list always at list 4 meat items on there. Angel food give such huge orders a meat every month that I don't buy meat anymore.


My cheap meal is:
chicken tenders from angel food thats 5lb bag and french fries.

That's enough chicken last me 3 months.

[disneymom3]

For Angel Food, do you have to sign up the month ahead? I did Fare Share for a couple of months, but you didn't know what you were getting ahead of time and had to pay for it the month before. Our last month, we got two lbs of swordfish, two lbs of mini sausages and something else that no one would eat. Really frustrating. Had I known that's what I would get, I would have skipped that month.

[graygables]

I understand the distance between paychecks very well as my DH is a masonry contractor, so we might get paid one week and not again for 6-8 weeks. To make matters worse, he's entirely weather dependent, so has been off for 4 months of the last 2 winters. He has a very high metabolism, so eats for 3 people at each meal, add me and 2 DDs and I'm cooking a meal for 8 (so there are 2 servings for leftovers for his lunch) every day. He's also a major carnivore, so we use a minimum of 2 lbs of meat a day, 2 chickens, etc. He does know, however, when money is tight, his pickiness goes away. He gets what I make, whether he likes it or not and if that means peanut butter or hot dogs, that's what it means.

I would also recommend as soon as you get some slack to buy a cookbook called Not Just Beans. It has great recipes and tips on living and cooking frugally. (It also has my cocoa mix recipe in it! ;)) I reach for it OFTEN.

Tonight we had one of our favorites...chicken stir fry. Cubed chicken (I buy it already cubed/frozen at Gordon's Food Service) and 2 bags of frozen cauliflower/carrot/broccoli mix. Heat through and add 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup miracle whip, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon ginger. Mix, heat through and serve over rice.

Another thing I like to make that's cheap is couscous. I'll have to look for my recipe, but you may be able to find one online.

[Mermaid02]

Something I always do when I roast a chicken: Pick the leftover meat off the bones, mix with 2 cans creamy chicken soup (store brand if you don't mind) add some frozen peas (any veggie you like) mix it together and put it in a store bought crust (store brand again!) bake it like any other pie. It's cheap and you have used your leftovers up!

[buzzandwoodysmom07]

subscribing!

[MirandaPen]

Loved these recipes! I am writing my grocery list as we speak.

[Donald - my hero]

We LOVE pasta in this house. Darn good thing since it is cheap, cheap, cheap!

Easy sgetti & meatballs?
Get the pasta cooking & once it is ALMOST done just toss the meatballs in. I will take some time while making another meal and roll a bunch of meat bulbs (as youngest calls them) and toss in freezer. They will still thaw and be great. Drain the pasta and then pour your sauce into the pot and heat until sauce is just warm. Plunck the entire pot on table and serve with bread. Kitchen to table in under 15 minutes YEAH!

[Tiffer]

Can you make your own Spaghetti sauce? Prep time is about 20 minutes at most, cook time about 4 hrs. If not, pm me, I'll tell you how.

Make a big pot and freeze it in smaller portions and you can make pasta, baked zitit or chick cutlet parm.

Fast and easy and cheap!!

Also, tacos, sloppy joe's and a whole cooked chicken from Costco, if you have one by you for $4.99.