budget friendly recipes

[sk!mom]

Best money saver...eat less meat and very little prepared/ packaged food. We cook almost solely from fresh ingredients and eat very little meat.

Some of our favorite meals-

Black Bean Burgers- DD16 and I like them better than beef. DH and DS love them but wouldn't go that far. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/black-bean-burgers-recipe/index.html

Black Bean Nachos

Black Bean Tostados. (We really like black beans)

We also do steel cut oats for breakfast. A week's breakfast for DH and I is just over $2.00. I like this recipe. http://www.thekitchn.com/oatmeal-in-jars-a-week-of-stee-143623

Caprese sandwiches

Quiche- our fave is spinach with feta or Swiss but the beauty of quiche is that you can use whatever veggies and cheese you have on hand.

Sweet potato/Cannellini bean burgers are another good one. 3 of us prefer the Black bean but DD likes these more. http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/02/easy-sweet-potato-veggie-burgers-with.html

 

[scbelleatheart]

Best money saver...eat less meat and very little prepared/ packaged food. We cook almost solely from fresh ingredients and eat very little meat.

Some of our favorite meals-

Black Bean Burgers- DD16 and I like them better than beef. DH and DS love them but wouldn't go that far. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/black-bean-burgers-recipe/index.html

Black Bean Nachos

Black Bean Tostados. (We really like black beans)

We also do steel cut oats for breakfast. A week's breakfast for DH and I is just over $2.00. I like this recipe. http://www.thekitchn.com/oatmeal-in-jars-a-week-of-stee-143623

Caprese sandwiches

Quiche- our fave is spinach with feta or Swiss but the beauty of quiche is that you can use whatever veggies and cheese you have on hand.

Sweet potato/Cannellini bean burgers are another good one. 3 of us prefer the Black bean but DD likes these more. http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/02/easy-sweet-potato-veggie-burgers-with.html

Is there a reason you eat that many beans? Do you really like them, trying to cut cost or vegetarian?
4 boys and that many meals with beans. I could not stand to be in my house. One trip to Disney in the motorhome after they all ate Taco Bell was enough for me. Rolled down the windows and hoped they stopped farting soon.

 

[sk!mom]

Is there a reason you eat that many beans? Do you really like them, trying to cut cost or vegetarian?
4 boys and that many meals with beans. I could not stand to be in my house. One trip to Disney in the motorhome after they all ate Taco Bell was enough for me. Rolled down the windows and hoped they stopped farting soon.

I'm going to assume that your question was genuine and not snarky. The Op asked for money saving recipes.

1. Those wouldn't be eaten day after day.
2. We don't find that beans bother our digestive systems. Maybe because we eat a mostly plant based diet.
3. Why? Because plant based is much healthier, we feel better and save money.

This weeks actual meal plan...
M- spinach quiche and salad
T- Black Bean Burgers, lettuce, tomato and zucchini fries
W- chicken Caesar salad
Th- Caprese sandwiches and Greek yogurt banana splits
F- black bean nachos with homemade salsa
S- Chicken pot pie
S- oat flour pancakes (new recipe) and Greek yogurt splits. Not much protein in this meal but we will go out to lunch tomorrow and will likely all eat meat at lunch.


So in a typical week...beans maybe twice.

 

[agmmbolam426]

Thank you everyone for the ideas. There are several recipes out there that are budget friendly and still healthy. The only thing about the refried beans is that a lot of refried beans are made with lard which is really fattening. So, if you are adding beans to be healthier you might be better off using black beans or white cannellini beans, etc. I actually have a great recipe for low fat black beans that I will have to find if anyone is interested. I am a firm believer in buying store brand items. I actually heard years ago that the store brand is usually packaged at the same factory as the name brands! If I ever list a name brand item in a recipe you could of course replace it with a store brand. I understand that everyone's idea of budget meals are different and I would gladly welcome any ideas each of you have. After all if any of these recipes help save a little bit of money for a fellow diser to get an extra mickey bar or souvenir in Disney or help save money to go to disney it was all worth it!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Quiches are easy and budget friendly.

Soups are also great. We like Ham and Potato Soup. You basically peel and dice potatoes like you are doing mashed potatoes. But cook them in chicken broth...can also use water and boullion to save money. In separate pan make a roux...equal parts butter and flour. Add milk...when it starts to boil, add it to the potatoes along with ham or bacon or even broccoli. Makes a ton and kids love it.

Putting that on the menu soon!

Jumbo baked potatoes are a favorite cheap dinner at our house. I bake them in the crock pot and let everyone top their own. We usually have a salad or veggie soup on the side.

How do you cook them in crockpot?

Best money saver...eat less meat and very little prepared/ packaged food. We cook almost solely from fresh ingredients and eat very little meat.

Some of our favorite meals-

Black Bean Burgers- DD16 and I like them better than beef. DH and DS love them but wouldn't go that far. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/black-bean-burgers-recipe/index.html

Black Bean Nachos

Black Bean Tostados. (We really like black beans)

We also do steel cut oats for breakfast. A week's breakfast for DH and I is just over $2.00. I like this recipe.

I am going to give this a try. I have always hated oatmeal due to the texture. This may be the solution!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Old El Paso makes refried beans in many "styles"--vegetarian, fat-free, and spicy, probably more. I add the fat-free ones to my taco meat, I also like the creamier texture. Plus, I have 4 kids, two of them teens--anything that stretches the budget and adds good protein is on my list.

Meat is a really expensive part of any meal, so if you can go meatless, or at least less-meat, you can save. Soups, fried rice, and pasta are all good ways to stretch a meal and use less meat. Another thought is, if you have Market basket near you, they have a pasta that's a complete protein--it's more expensive than the regular, but I stock up when it's on sale. I ifnd I eat less because it's very filling.

Another favorite is, if I can find good meat and cheese ends at the grocery store ($1.99 a pound), I make bread dough, then chop up the ends and make crazy bread. Sometimes I add chopped roasted red peppers, broccoli, whatever you have on hand. Spread the bread dough thin, put in the fillings, and roll up and bake.

 

[sk!mom]

Spaghetti squash is another good meal since pasta sauce is a good way to go meatless or stretch meat. Our favorite recipe for Spaghetti squash...
http://dandydishes.blogspot.com/2011/10/spaghetti-squash-au-gratin.html#.UF8exxB5mSM

Veggie pizza or this tart...

http://www.annies-eats.com/2009/09/28/tomato-mozzarella-basil-tart/

Another favorite is Omelet night. I put out a variety of veggies- spinach, mushrooms, peppers, salsa. Cheese, potatoes and everyone makes their own.
Easy recipe
http://igameals.com/ziplock-eggs-omelet/

Now with the weather cooling off I'll make more soups and chilis. I'm hoping to find some recipes that would be good in the crockpot. To this day I've never found a single recipe for the crockpot that has become a favorite and is made often. They just always get a verdict of "it's ok."

We have salad as a side several times a week. Best tip there is skip the bagged salads. I have a salad spinner- washing and tearing lettuce doesn't take long. This week a large head of romaine was $1.88. That is enough for Caesar salad one night and a couple of nights of side salads.

Shredded cheese is about the only convenience item I buy. The store brand is normally on sale and I get an additional 10% off store brands since DS works at HEB. Shredded often works out to less than a block of cheese.

 

[scbelleatheart]

I'm going to assume that your question was genuine and not snarky. The Op asked for money saving recipes.

1. Those wouldn't be eaten day after day.
2. We don't find that beans bother our digestive systems. Maybe because we eat a mostly plant based diet.
3. Why? Because plant based is much healthier, we feel better and save money.

This weeks actual meal plan...
M- spinach quiche and salad
T- Black Bean Burgers, lettuce, tomato and zucchini fries
W- chicken Caesar salad
Th- Caprese sandwiches and Greek yogurt banana splits
F- black bean nachos with homemade salsa
S- Chicken pot pie
S- oat flour pancakes (new recipe) and Greek yogurt splits. Not much protein in this meal but we will go out to lunch tomorrow and will likely all eat meat at lunch.


So in a typical week...beans maybe twice.

No, not snarky! It just reminded me of boys and beans. They never mixed well. I see the meal plan and it very well thought out.

 

[bookluvingbabe]

Eating local and healthy is really important to us but we also are trying to keep the budget within reason. All of our meat comes from farmers we know. We don't eat much processed foods.

I can get a 5 pound whole chicken for $15. That is enough for lunch for my son all week and a few dinners as well. I need to be better about saving the bones and making broth though.

Grass fed ground beef is $4 a lb. I took a pound of that browned it with onions, squash, carrots and mushrooms, added a ton of smoked spanish paprika and then added yogurt at the last minute. Sort of like stroganoff. Enough for at least 2 meals.

Liver is cheap so we do that once a month or so. Tongue used to be cheap but it is up to $7 a pound now and I won't go that high. I know a bison farmer who will sell it to me for $4 a pound but I need to special order it. I'll do that soon.

Eggs are the cheapest, healthiest whole protein I know of. Making a crustless quiche tonight with onions, squash and various cheese ends.

The biggest money saver I know of is not wasting food. We still ned to get better at that.

 

[coffeecassie]

To cook potatoes in the crockpot, poke a few holes in them with a fork and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Sometimes I toss in a pat of butter and sprinkle them with salt.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

To cook potatoes in the crockpot, poke a few holes in them with a fork and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Sometimes I toss in a pat of butter and sprinkle them with salt.

Great, thx!