Cheap Meal Ideas

[barbmouse]

bump

 

[Darcy03231]

Here are some good breakfast casserole recipes (we eat them for dinner too).

Southwestern Breakfast Casserole

1 (8½ ounce) package corn muffin mix
8 ounces sausage
2½ cups fat-free milk
1/8 tsp balck pepper
3 cups (½ inch) cubed white bread
1 cup chopped onion
8 eggs
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes w/green chilies undrained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese (divided)

1. Prepare corn muffin mix according the package directions; cool; crumble muffins into a large bowl. Stir in bread. Set aside.

2. Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage and onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain.

3. Combine milk, pepper, tomatoes and eggs; stir with whisk until well blended. Add sausage mixture. Stir well. Stir into bread mixture. Spoon half of bread mixture in a 13 x 9 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with one cup of cheese. Spoon remaining bread mixture over cheese. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight (you can also freeze it at this point).

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake casserole at 350° for 20 min or until set. Top with remaining cup of cheese and bake an additional 20 min or until set. Let stand for 10 min before serving. (If frozen, take out of freezer and thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours. Uncover and let stand 30 mni at room temp before cooking. Bake as directed). Makes about 8 servings.

[U]Peaches n' Cream French Toast[/U]

10-12 slices coarse white bread w/crusts removed
3 eggs
2 cups half & half
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Dash of ground nutmeg
Dash of Cinnamon

For the filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 fresh peaches sliced (or one 16 oz can drained sliced)

Arrange half of the bread on the botton of a buttered 11 x 7 glass baking dish. Mix the 3 eggs, half & half, sugar, and vanilla. In a separate bowl beat together the filling ingredients, except the peach slices and set the filling aside. Pour half of the egg & half & half mixture over the bread slices. Pour in all of the filling. Place peach slices over the filling. Arrange the remaining bread slices over the peaches and pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread. Sprinkle nutmeg & cinnamon on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 6-8 hours. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake covered for 60 min. Remove cover and bake for an additional 30-40 min. Serve w/warm maple syrup.

Breakfast Burritos


12 oz ground cooked hot italian sausage
½ cup sliced green onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
2½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 - 7-8" flour tortillas
4 beaten eggs
2 cups milk
1 tbls flour
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
few drops of tabasco

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, pepper and onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain.

Ina large bowl combine eggs, milk, flour, garlic powder, salt and tabasco. Put 1/3 of a cup of the sausage mixture at the end of each tortilla and add 3 tbls cheese to the top of the mixture. Roll tortillas and place in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan, seam side down. Pour egg mixture over the tortillas. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Bake uncovered at 350° for 45-50 min. Sprinkle w/remaining cheese and cook for 3 more minutes. Let stand for 10 min before serving.

 

[sl_underwood]

To save money, we buy alot of stuff in bulk and freeze it alone or make several meals ahead of time and freeze them. We make waffles from scratch rather than by eggo, freeze them and the kids can easily pop them in the toaster and have breakfast. We also eat alot of oatmeal for breakfast. For lunches, we tend to eat last nights leftovers and for my hubby who usually cant make it home for lunch, in the winter I make large pots of chilli and he takes it to work with him each day (he loves chilli and cant get enough) I tend to plan my meals based on what I have and whats on sale, it usually saves me alot of money. Our grocery budget for a family of 5 (and 3 extras during the day twice a week) averages out to under $100 a week. I would love to lower it even more though so keep the recipes coming!

 

[Belladonna]

be sure to clip your coupons and go to the grocery stores that double the dollar!!

 

[off to neverland]

Darcy03021, those recipes are awesome! Thank you so much for posting them!!!

 

[pbharris4]

Beef & Cheese Quesidillas

1 lb lean ground beef, cooked and drained
1 pkg of Flour Tortillas (smaller ones)
a BIG bag of shredded cheese (mexican, cheddar, colby jack..whatever you like)
Jar of fresh salsa, pico de gallo or jar of salsa
Ranch or Mexi-ranch dressing
shredded lettuce if you want too

In a skillet on medium lay 1 tortilla, top with some cooked ground beef, and plenty of cheese to bind it together. (You don't want to use too much or it'll be hard to flip over) . Lay another tortilla on top. When cheese seems to be melted..flip over and warm up the other side.

When warmed put a little take the dressing and squirt a little bit into a circle or zigs zags or whatever and garnish with pico de gallo and a little shredded lettuce. Cut into 4 pcs. I had this at Wolfgang Puck Express (it was much bigger though) and I always have that stuff on hand. DH and 1 DD loved it. My 3 yo wasn't a fan.

 

[lillygator]

bumping this back up to see if anyone has any more ideas.

 

[HeatherC]

This may be similar to some of the others, but I just finished making this for dinner. Should get at least 2 meals out of this for 5 of us.

SAUSAGE STOOP - cross between soup and stew

1 1/2 lbs. sweet italian sausage browned and chopped up
Celery, onions and carrots browned and seasoned with salt and pepper.

After you brown the sausage, add 1 can of tomato paste and cook for about 2 minutes more to make a sort of paste.

Dump in crockpot with the celery, onions, carrots and the following:

1 large 28oz jar of diced tomatoes with italian seasoning
1 jar pasta sauce
2 small cans of beef broth
1 can great northern beans undrained


That's it....let it cook all day and then about a 1/2 hour before serving add either 1/4 cup of white rice or small pasta.

This is pretty much my go to meal when it's cold outside and I want dinner done ahead of time. Kids have off tomorrow for teacher inservice so we'll also eat it for lunch.

I also add whatever else I feel like....can of corn or some frozen green beans, kidney beans, etc.

It makes a huge pot and is very affordable.

HeatherC

 

[lillygator]

These are a couple from my WW collection. Could be cheaper if you go with the regular soup instead of the more expensive FF.

Busy Day Crockpot Chicken and Rice (3.5 PTS)

1 LB boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
1 can 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 box chicken flavor rice-a-roni

Put chicken and soups into the crockpot, turn on low for 8-10 hours. When you get home, cook the rice according to package directions. Serve the chicken and gravy over rice.
Easily Doubles! Per Serving: 173 Calories; 2g Fat; 28g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 66mg Cholesterol; 317mg Sodium.

Chicken Stroganoff (4 Points)

1 pound frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup
16 oz. carton fat free sour cream
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Put frozen chicken in bottom of crockpot. Mix soup, sour cream, onion soup mix and pour over chicken,. Cook on low for 7 hours. Makes 6 servings. (serve it over rice or noodles, but be sure to add those points)

4 points 6 Servings


Corn, Ham and Potato Scallop (6 Points)

6 cups peeled baking potatoes -- cut in 1" cubes
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked ham
1 15.25oz. can Green Giant Whole Kernel Sweet Corn -- drained
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 teaspoons instant minced onion
1 10 3/4oz.can condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

In 3 1/2 to 4-quart Crock-Pot slow cooker, combine potatoes, ham, corn, bell pepper and onion; mix well. In small bowl, combine soup, milk and flour; beat with wire whisk until smooth. Pour soup mixture over potato mixture; stir gently to mix. Cover; cook on low setting for 7-9 hours or until potatoes are tender.

Info: Potatoes cook more quickly when cut into small pieces; cubed potatoes will cook faster than quartered potatoes. The 1-inch chunks of potato in our recipe work well as they do not get too soft during the long cooking time. Also, leftover cooked roast beef or turkey can be used in place of the ham.

6(1 1/2-cup)servings. Per serving: Cal 320; Total fat 7g; (sat 4g); Choles 30mg; Sod 1010mg; Total Carbs 49g; Fiber 5g; Sugars 6g; Pro 14g. POINTS: 6

Crockpot Black Bean Soup (2 Points)
8 (1-cup) servings; 2 points

1/4 lb. chorizo
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 tbsp. dry sherry
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 bay leaf
15 oz can black beans, undrained
15 oz can FF chicken broth
juice of 1 lime
2 tbs. minced cilantro
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper

Discard chorizo skin. Crumble meat and brown in a non-stick skillet for 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and peppers. Sauté over medium high heat 5 minutes. Add to slow cooker. Add sherry, cumin, bay leaf, beans and broth. Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours. Remove lid. Scoop out 1 cup beans and press with the back of a fork to mash. Return to pot. Add lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered just to warm through, about 5 minutes.

Yields 8 (1-cup) servings; 2 points per serving.

Pork-and-Black Bean Chili (6 Points)

1 LB lean boned pork loin roast
1 (16-oz) jar thick-and-chunky salsa
2 (15-oz) cans no-salt-added black beans, undrained
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

Trim fat from pork; cut into 1-inch pieces. Combine pork and next 7 ingredients in a 4-quart electric slow cooker; stir well. Cover with lid; cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours or until pork is tender. Ladle chili into bowls; top with sour cream.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups chili and 1 tablespoon sour cream.
Points: 6; Per serving: CAL 379; PRO 36.7g; FAT 9.4g (sat 2.8g); CARB 45.4g; FIB 14/2g; CHOL 62mg; IRON 6mg; SOD 405MG, CALC 136mg

Red Beans and Rice (3 Points)
Makes 8 servings

1 lb. dried kidney beans (2 cups), sorted and rinsed
1 large green bell pepper, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
7 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
2 cups uncooked instant rice
Red pepper sauce

Mix all ingredients except rice and pepper sauce in 3 1/2-6 qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 4-5 hrs. or until beans are tender. Stir in rice. Cover and cook on HIGH for 15 to 20 min. or until rice is tender. Serve with pepper sauce.

Per serving: cal 250, fat 1g, sat fat 0g, chol 0mg, sod 460mg, carb 57g, fib 10g, prot 14g Points: 3

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes (4 Points)
Makes 24 sandwiches

3 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 can (26 1/2 oz.) sloppy joe sauce
24 hamburger buns

Cook beef and onion in Dutch oven over med. heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Mix beef mixture and remaining ingredients except buns in 3 1/2-6 qt. slow cooker.
Cover and cook on Low 7-9 hrs. (or HIGH 3 to 4 hrs.) or until vegetables are tender. Uncover and cook on HIGH until desired consistency. Stir well before serving. Fill buns with beef mixture.

Per sandwich; cal 155, fat 9g, sat fat 3g, chol 30mg, sod 270mg, carb 8g, fib 1g, prot 11g
Points: 4


Smothered Chicken with Pierogies (7 Points)
Serves 4, 7 points per serving

1 dozen frozen potato and cheddar cheese Pierogies
1 can (10 ¾ oz) low fat cream of chicken soup
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 2-quart casserole with nonstick coating.. Thaw Pierogies in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and place in the casserole dish. In a large saucepan, combine soup, mushrooms, peas, and chicken. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes or until heated through. Pour over Pierogies. Bake 15 minutes.

 

[lillygator]

I got these off Miserly Moms:
Quick and Easy Ground Beef and Mac Dinner


1lb of ground beef (.99 a lb. on sale)
1/2 cup of elbow Macaroni(pennies, .89 a big box)
1/2 onion(pennies again)
1TBS Garlic Powder (A thing of garlic Powder less then 2.00 normally)
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce (.25 )
1 can diced tomatos (.25 to .30)
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Boil the Macaroni as directed
Brown Hamburger with diced onion till juices run clear.
Add Garlic Powder and cook 3 more mins.
Then change to larger pan if you have to, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and Macaroni.
Salt and pepper to taste, cook together on medium heat about 5 mins. or until hot.


One Pan Potato Dinner


I make this dinner when I need to use up those 10lbs/$1 potatoes in my pantry.

8 large potatoes (33 cents)
1/2 c. margarine (12 cents - Aldi)
lg. green pepper (25 cents or less)
lg. onion (10 cents)
lb. ground turkey (49 cents - Aldi) or lb. smoked sausage (99 cents)
1/2 c. frozen peas (10 cents)

Quarter potatoes ealry in the day (or night before) and boil in salted water until cooked but firm. Allow to cool enough to handle and peel; dice in large dices and refrigerate.

At dinner time, brown turkey or sausage cubes in Dutch oven. Melt margarine and saute onion and green pepper. Add cold potatoes, mix well. Lower heat to medium and cover; allow potatoes to "brown". Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Season with salt and pepper.

Sometimes I need to add more margarine (a margarine/oil combo tastes great, too). Depending on the number of potatoes you need to use up, this recipe can feed quite a crowd! I make this to serve 5, and add a salad or another cooked green vegetable. I often serve sale applesauce for contrast. Total cost: $1.39 (ground turkey), $1.88 (smoked sausage).

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I don't know if htis has been listed yet or not - but fried rice.

This is one of those things you can modify based on what you have. It works best with leftovers. Indeed, the rice must be COLD to start or it will stick. Leftover white rice from Chinese takeout works great. About the only thing you REALLY need to add is the rice, otherwise add what you like/have on hand. I even make this for breakfast sometimes. It's quick and inexpensive, especially if you go heavy on the egg (compared to what you get from a Chinese restaurant. You can't go too heavy on the eggs, as they have to be cooked like a thin omlette)

Here's what I use:

eggs, no more than three
toasted sesame oil
high quality soy sauce
non-stick spray
cold, cooked white or brown rice
mirin (amazing stuff! avoid the kind with added sugar if you can find it. It can be used to add flavor to SO many dishes. You can find it in the Asian section)
leftover meat, chopped small: Anything you like really. even something like barbeque chicken can be great. Chick-Fil-A nuggets also work, leftover pork or beef (maybe not ground beef so much)
leftover veggies: most anything you like as long as it isn't very wet: sauteed green squash, froen peas and carrots, green beans chopped up, snow peas chopped up, spinach, (broccoli isn't the best), ONION and green onion are great

1. Chop up any meat or veggies that is too big.
2. Crack eggs in a bowl and scramble as you would for an omlette.
3. Heat the skillet on high heat. I use a nice hot skillet for this. Add the oil and non-stick spray. Add eggs. This works best if you cook the eggs omlette style, and then chop them up - so that there isn't any egg stuck to the bottom of the pan. (if using raw onion add with the eggs so it has time to cook)
2. Add meat, veggies, rice. Immediately add a little mirin and soy sauce tothe rice. If the rice is really dry, add a few drops of water.
3. Stir fry just until everything has had time to get warm, well before the rice has begun to stick.

If you omit the soy sauce, add a little oil (like canola or butter), and use Jasmine rice, you get more of a Thai style fried rice.

 

[lillygator]

I had to go searching for this thread! Thursday is my grocery shopping day this week and I am determined to get my bill down and have a weeks worth of meals planned.

 

[lillygator]

can anyone tell me about boiling a chicken?
I have never done that before. You just throw it in a pot?

 

[bellebuzzandpooh]

I haven't had a chance to read the entire thread yet, but here's a quick recipe we use for "Asian Noodles".

Cubed Chicken
1 bag frozen stir fry veggies
Whole wheat spaghetti noodles

Boil the noodles according to package directions, but in the last 3 minutes pour in the bag of frozen veggies. This will cook them until they're bright and crisp but not overdone. Then drain the water off.

Cook the chicken in a skillet.

Mix 1/4 cup light Italian dressing, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup of terryaki sauce, and 1/4 cup oyster sauce in a pot and heat until it simmers. (I also add some fresh garlic and ginger to this.) Simmer it for 2-3 minutes and it will start to thicken a bit.

Toss the cooked chicken in with your veggies and pasta, then pour the sauce over top, mix it until it's all well coated and you're done! Mmmmmm...

 

[Passions71203]

Could someone post a good chili recipe that uses dry beans?? (Yes, this would be the first time I have ever used dry beans in anything... I know I need some cooking help! )

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

Here's another easy soup. We called it Albondigas in my family but it really isn't.

Take a large can of V-8 juice and put it in a soup pot. Add to that one V-8 can full of water heat to a boil and the reduce to a simmer. Add chopped onion, carrots , celery and potatoes. Make meat balls from ground beef or turkey, egg, bread crumbs and seasonigs. (i use season salt, garlic powder,pepper and just a pinch of cumin. Drop the meat balls in the soup and cook on low for about 30 minutes. I have also added small pasta like stars to it and omited the potatoes. Serve with warm flour or corn tortillas.

Another one my DD loves is porcupine balls. I get the recipe off cooks.com. But basicly its meatballs mixed with rice and cooked with tomato soup and water.

 

[themarquis]

wow-- this is a great thread! Can't believe I haven't seen it before.

I'll have to post some recipes when I get the chance.

 

[Temair]

subscribing

 

[roadtripper]

I was just going to search for the old casserole thread to post this recipe, but this one will work here, too!

Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese

1 T butter, melted in a 1 QT casserole dish
1 1/4 c elbow macaroni-- UNCOOKED
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1 cup cubed muenster cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups milk (I use 1% and it is fine)

1. Stir the uncooked elbow macaroni into the casserole dish to coat with the melted butter
2. Add cubed cheese, salt and pepper, stir to spread cheese around
3. Add milk, but DO NOT STIR
4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly
Serves 3 or 4 kids

I have doubled this for parties, and it all disappears!
So easy, and so yummy! Add a salad, and you have a meal (at least during No Buy October, you do )

 

[kimnscott]

subbing