Cheap Meal Ideas

[lttlmc3]

BUMP

 

[js092097]

I make an enchilada cassarole. You can use beans or hamburger meat. I put 6 corn tortillas in the bottom of a cassarole dish. In seperate bowl mix 1 can Golden Mushroom Soup, 1 1/2 cans Lucks mixed beans, 1 can enchilada sauce. Pour over tortillas. Sprinkle as much cheese as you want on top. Cook on 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

 

[lillygator]

am making this now...
Pasta Salad

1 box pasta 0.69
1 cucumber diced (they were 2 for 0.69)
1 large tomato diced 0.99
green onions chopped 0.99
Italian or Coleslaw dressing to taste...

this will be a side with our wings tonight and there is plenty so I can probably take for lunch on Monday as well as a side tomorrow night.

 

[B&Bforever]

for the ideas

 

[finz2left]

We do a few things that are wonderful, and may already be here since I haven't gone through the entire thread yet.

1) Stuffed Baked Potatoes (add Cheese, bacon, broccoli, ham, chili, leftover pot roast, stir fry etc. ). We buy potatoes on sale and put whatever we have in them to dress them up. With a salad, or lots of toppings, they are a meal by themselves!!!

2) Twice BAked Fries. Take the left over baked potatoes, cool them overnight in the fridge, slice them like thick steak fries, brush them in olive oil and Lawrys seasoning, or Italian seasoning, and bake until Golden brown. best friench fries ever! We serve these with hamburgers or hotdogs, sometimes steaks if we caught a great deal!

3) Potato Soup. Filling and Cheap.

4) Cold Sesame Noodles.

5). Mexican Pork Chops. Find the cheapest chops and cook covered in salsa in the Crockpot. Serve over rice and corn. A big fave here!

6) Fruit Salad -- Go to the Farmers market and load up! A great healthy alternative to a big dinner. And, when we are fancy, we toss in Vanilla yogurt.

7). Grilled Tomato and Cheese Sandwiches. When cooked in a Panini maker, they look gourmet! And, if you have extra fabulous cheeses lying around, toss them on. My fave is Ricotta

 

[bettyann29]

There are some wonderful recipes here!! I havent gone thru all of them yet, but I will sit down tomorrow with a spiral notebook and write the ones that I think I will like.. I've been wanting some new ideas and this is better that they are more economical than other dishes..

 

[Diznejen1]

Thanks to all who have given their kitchens up to us!!
I am like bettyann29, writing down those that my picky family will eat, but Im getting sleepy and I'm only on page 10! See ya'll in the A.M.

Thanks again everyone!!

 

[lttlmc3]

I went food shopping today with DH and we bought tons of groceries, but it didn't cost too much because of all the recipes here! Thanks guys!

 

[NHWX]

This the most brainless way of cooking a whole chicken, and when they're on sale, it's a great way of getting a lot of chopped/shredded chicken for other dinners.

Wash and remove any giblets from your chicken. Place it breast side up in your crockpot and season w/salt and pepper. Cook on low for 6 hours. That's it!

Then you can have chicken ceasar salad, chicken soup, chicken and rice, curried chicken, etc. whenever.

NHWX

 

[goinback]

Great thread! I have lots of recipies......just can't think of them at the moment! I'll post them as I remember, but here is one I can think of:


I make a pot roast on the crock pot(seasoned w/oinion soup mix or a bottle of italian dressing)

The next day, I chop or shred the leftovers, . In a skillet, cook chopped onion, green pepper, and diced potatoes or hash browns until desired tenderness. Add the meat and season to taste.(I like to use steak seasoning)
We top each person portion w/ a poached or fried egg, and a slice of their favorite cheese.(swiss for me!)SOOOOOOOOO good!

I guess it is considered a hash. My family LOVES this dish and gets excited when I make roast because they know the "egg hash" is coming! Even my SUPER picky 13yo loves this dinner. Any leftover meat could be a substitution, but the roast is so tender and flavorful! Also, if I have a bag of refrigerated diced potatoes, I usually use them..makes the recipe super simple!

 

[goinback]

Well....there's always pinto beans and cornbread! I have made huge pots of pinto beans fron the bag of dried beans before, and even with a family of 5 there is sooooooo much more than we can stand to eat. But, it is the cheapest meal I have ever made!

 

[BellaNoche]

Great thread! I have lots of recipies......just can't think of them at the moment! I'll post them as I remember, but here is one I can think of:


I make a pot roast on the crock pot(seasoned w/oinion soup mix or a bottle of italian dressing)

The next day, I chop or shred the leftovers, . In a skillet, cook chopped onion, green pepper, and diced potatoes or hash browns until desired tenderness. Add the meat and season to taste.(I like to use steak seasoning)
We top each person portion w/ a poached or fried egg, and a slice of their favorite cheese.(swiss for me!)SOOOOOOOOO good!

I guess it is considered a hash. My family LOVES this dish and gets excited when I make roast because they know the "egg hash" is coming! Even my SUPER picky 13yo loves this dinner. Any leftover meat could be a substitution, but the roast is so tender and flavorful! Also, if I have a bag of refrigerated diced potatoes, I usually use them..makes the recipe super simple!

I made this last night because I had ALOT of leftover roast. WOW was it good!!!! I made it just like you suggested, we even had the leftovers for breakfast this morning!!!! Thanks!

 

[Praise2Him]

Well....there's always pinto beans and cornbread! I have made huge pots of pinto beans fron the bag of dried beans before, and even with a family of 5 there is sooooooo much more than we can stand to eat. But, it is the cheapest meal I have ever made!

That's my DH's favorite winter meal!

 

[goinback]

Here is another good recipe:

Veggie chicken soup:

4 cans stewed tomatoes
1 lb chicken-cut up
bag of frozen veggies
4 to 6 med potatoes-diced
3 med carrots-sliced(if desired)
3 chicken bullion cubes
4 tbsp butter
water

-puree each can of stewed tomatoes in food processor & pour in pot
-cut up chicken(can be raw or cooked, any type) add to pot
-add bag of frozen veggies
-peel & dice potatoes & add
-peel & dice carrots & add
-add bullion cubes, butter & enough water to make soupy

bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about and hour
season further to taste

 

[kmchar1]

I dice up keilbasa and fry in a pan with a little olive oil. Add onion, green pepper, red or orange pepper, can of potatoes (or fresh if you have time), shredded cheese..and cook until eveything is tender. Sprinkle on some corn bread mix right before it's done. YUMMO. Easy and comforting. Not waste friendly.

 

[mommylovesdisneymore]

all sound so yummy

 

[GotFids]

subbing so I can find it later

 

[tinker*dust]

This is a family favorite:

Toss in the crock pot
1 Roast
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
2 cans Golden Mushroom Soup
1.5 cans of water

The roast is so tender and makes it's own gravy. The first night we usually eat with stuffing, mashed potatoes and veggies.

The next day the meat/gravy leftovers make excellent hot beef sandwiches. The kids and I prefer potato rolls while hubby likes his on a crunchy baguette. Add a little mustard and horseradish. YUM!

 

[MMluvsWDW]

Thank you so much to all for the recipies. Here's my 2 cents.

has anyone done canning. I have learned to can beef and chicken and it has cut down on so many costs and saved a TON of time. I always have chicken ready to be thrown into anything. Beef is easy. Chunk and can. Chicken cook clean and can with a chicken broth created by the boiled chicken. I just buy meat when it's a good sale and all the mess is done in one day. It's also fun with a group of women or mother daughter team! Yes the canner can be a bit expensive but I asked for one for Christmas and it's ended up saving tons. I now can my own chili, meat, black beans, salsa, the list goes on and on...you know what's in it and it's ready on the shelf whenever you need it!

Stir Fry- noodles and any leftover veggies with a mixture of oriental sauces. This is a favorite of ours with the canned chicken!

Chicken Noodle soup-
1/2 onion diced
3 celery staulks
4 carrots
4 chicken breasts
2 pkgs Remes noodles found in the freezer section.
2 large cans Chicken broth

So easy! I use the canned chicken now but I used to boil my chicken breasts about 20 min. in boiling water. Cut chicken when done and set aside or place right in pot with chicken broth.

Chop veggies and add to chicken broth. Bring everything to a boil and simmer about 20 min. Then add Remes noodles and simmer 20 more min. Taste test to see doneness and enjoy!

Another tip I used to use was to Boil a bunch of chicken up and cut. Then divide the chicken into glad containers with chicken broth to cover and freeze. Then when I was ready for Chix. soup I would just pull it out of the freezer.

 

[bkreitzel]

I buy a much bigger roast than we need. Night one, we eat the roast w/ veggies from the crock pot.
Night two, I hunk up the leftover meat and put it in the skillet w/ a carton of french onion dip and a can of mushrooms and serve over wide noodles for a "cheater" version of beef stroganoff. I have also used plain sour cream w/ a packet of french onion soup mix.
Trust me, this is soooooooooooo good!