Cheapie but Yummie Dinners

[vettechick99]

Sorry if this thread idea has made its way around already, I haven't come across it. But I just was looking at the pork neckbones thread (never thought I'd say those three words together) and it got me thinking about low-cost recipes. And since we are all trying to cut costs - and assuming we all eat on a regular basis - maybe everyone could post their favorite cheap, homemade meal!

Maybe something that could feed 4 people for under $5-$7??? Include ECG (estimated cost of grub)

Looking forward to some new ideas!

 

[ohanaMAMA]

my family loves chicken and noodles

I buy a can of chicken $1.99
a can of cream of chicken $.49
a can of cream of mushroom $.49
a package of egg noodles $.99
can of green beans $.59
jar of applesauce $1.99
total= $6.54/4=$1.63 a person

I usually have the following on hand
a sleave of saltine crackers
some cheap-o parmessan cheese spagetti topping
butter
garlic salt.
milk

boil the noodles and drain. in a separate bowl mix the can of chicken (dont bother to drain) the soups and enough milk to rinse the cans out. poor over the hot noodles and mix well.

crunch the crackers up really fine.. really pulverize them. In a separate bowl mix the melted butter and the crackers, the cheese and the garlic salt.

in a casserole dish I sprayed with Pam or something usually cheaper pour the noodle mixture and then top with the cracker mix. heat in a preheated oven until bubbly on the sides and cracker stuff is browning...

CHEAP CHEAP but pretty yummy. serve with a can of green beans and maybe some apple sauce.

 

[GoofItUp]

I immediately ran and got some recipes my mom wrote down for me when she gave me a Longaberger recipe box last year. She is the QUEEN of cheap, EXCELLENT TASTING food! (Our family owned a dairy and had 4 kids, so she kind of had to be!)

AUNT GALE'S MEATBALLS

3 raw potatoes, shredded
3-4 eggs
1 onion, chopped
2 lbs hamburger

Mix together and form by 1/2 cup into meatballs. Place single layer in pan.

2 cans tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Mix together and pour over meatballs. Bake 1 hr at 400 or 2 hrs at 350.

I don't really know the cost since my family raises our own beef and I haven't bought meat out of a store except 3 or 4 times in my life. That would be the main cost as the other stuff is cheap. This makes a large pan of meatballs, too!

 

[vettechick99]

This is my favorite lately...

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (always get lots when they are on sale for $1.99/lb) - $2-3.00
1 can cream of mushroom soup - <$1.00
3/4 cup uncooked white rice - $1.00/bag (enough for several uses)
1 cup water - practically free (unless you live in Atlanta)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix soup, water, rice, paprika and pepper in 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Season with additional paprika and pepper. Cover.

BAKE at 375°F. for 45 min. or until done. Serve with frozen green beans or some toast! Serves 4 for around $5.00.

I'm going to save everyone's recipes in Word...I'll share them later on!

 

[Southern4sure]

This is a very quick and easy, but very, very good dish. Where I live, (Alabama) I can make this dish for about $5-$6

1 1/2 lbs of hamburger, chuck, or ground round
2 cans of french cut green beans.......well drained
1 cup of cheddar cheese - shredded
1 can of crm of celery or mushroom soup (based on your taste)
1 med onion - chopped
4 - 6 serv. of prepared mashed potatoes - instant or scratch is best.

brown hamburger with onions....drain and add soup to the pan, mix well and spread in a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish
layer drained green beans on top.
layer mashed potatoes.
sprinkle cheese on top.

Since everything is cooked, heat in the oven till heated and cheese is melted. Serve with salad and bread.
P.S. I have on ocassion layered canned sliced mushrooms.

Southern4sure

 

[extremesoccermom]

My favorite is one I haven't made in forever but I think I will do it this weekend!

1 pd hambuger (1.49)
1 box Mac and Cheese (.34)
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes (.50)
extra cheese American or cheddar - Whatever (2.00)
salt and pepper
Salad fixins

Brown hamburger and prepare Mac and cheese as directed. Then mix together. Stir in Tomatoes, juice and all (can use any of the newer flavored varieties for different flavor or add a little Taco Seasoning). Add cheese and stir to melt. Serve with the salad.
Now I'm really hungry.

 

[Mic]

Not exactly using pork neckbones, but...

1 lb. of hamburger
1/2 of an onion(diced)
1 can of diced tomatoes
8 oz. elbow noodles(or the mickey pasta sold at WDW!)
a few squirts from a ketchup bottle(@1/8-1/4 cup)

In a large skillet,brown ground beef and onion, drain. Add can of tomatoes, 1-1/2 cans of water, and ketchup. Add a few spices to taste(Basil and Oregano, or use Italian diced tomatoes). Heat to boiling. Add pasta, and lower the heat once it starts to boil again. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, depending on how soft you like your pasta. Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese while still hot. I add a salad and some fruit to make a complete meal.

Another favorite...

5-6 Chicken leg quarters(always on sale)
Almost any fresh vegetable(corn on the cob and baby carrots work great)
1/2 cup mozzarella or parmesan cheese(or a mix of the 2)
Seasoning (I like seasoning salt, pepper, a little paprika, garlic salt, basil,etc.)
1-2 tsp. flour
2 tsp. water

I line a lasagna dish with aluminum foil(or use the Reynolds kitchen bags). Mix the flour and water and pour into the pan. Add the chicken, and season to your liking. Place the vegetables around the chicken, then sprinkle the cheese on both. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 60-75 minutes. We bake potatoes in a separate pan to complete the meal.

 

[CheapMom]

3 words
Cream Chipped Beef
cheap and good- not just for breakfast anymore

 

[vettechick99]

My fiance loves this one...

Jambalaya with Sausage

Zatarans Jambalaya Mix ($2.00)
1 lb mild or medium sausage link ($2.00 or free-ish if you know a hunter - we have tons of deer sausage and ground meat in the freezer.)
Box of cornbread (2/$1.00 - you'll need egg and milk too)

Saute your sausage in olive oil or 1/2 inch water til cooked. Slice into half moon, bite-size pieces. Follow directions for mix and add in meat.

Cook your cornbread according to directions (cupcakes or 8" x 8" pan). The whole meal will be ready in about 20-25 minutes!!!

 

[Cindy B]

All my dinners cost less than $5! (family of four)

Every recipe I have usually uses meat, vegetables and or is a vegetarian meal/pasta.

I have a good calzone recipe that is great. You can fill the calzone with anything you have laying around, meat, cheese, leftover chili/beans, etc.

If you want the recipe, I can type it out.

 

[carone0318]

Wednesday nights in our house are crazy and we don't have much time to cook. Our favorite meal is a pound of pasta with clam sauce. I either buy Progresso White Clam sauce for about $2.69 (the big can) or I make home made red clam, very easy and quick.

I use a 1/2 stick of butter and about 2 Tbsp of olive oil, melt in pan and add a glove of crushed garlic and saute. Then add parsey, salt, pepper and a small can of crushed tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes and add one can of chopped clams, not drained and one can of chopped clams, drained. Simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes. Voila! Done. You can make this while you are boiling the water for the pasta and cooking the pasta.

Small can of tomatoes - $.99
(2) cans chopped clams - $1.29 ea
Most people have the other stuff lying around the house.
I use whole wheat pasta - $2.59

 

[carone0318]

We do the Zataran's Jambalaya too. It tastes just as good as if my dh slaved over the stove to make it from scratch. This is another one of my quickie meals. I just add Hillshire Farms Low fat kielbasa or turkey kielbasa to it. The kielbasa is already pre-cooked and dinner is done in about 15 minutes. Good thread!

I just bought a crock pot last week because my life as a full-time worker and mother of 2 is getting too hectic, so I thought that I'd try it. If anyone has any good crock pot recipes, would love to hear about them - even better if the ingredients are cheap to keep with topic.

 

[frannn]

I take a Turkey Kielbasa when it's on sale for 2-2.50, and a pkg of pasta. Cook the pasta while chopping the kielbasa. Stir fry the kielbasa in a pan, add pasta, chopped peppers or frozen stir fry veggies, onions, and any kind of terriyaki or stir fry sauce. Stir fry until everything cooked through. Then eat! Yummy!

 

[dandave]

Well, you can make the neckbones and rice with country style ribs, instead of the neckbones. Ribs may sound a bit better. It tastes about the same, though. Yumm! Don't forget to serve it with greens and hot pepper vinegar. The vinegar kind of "scrubs" all that cholesterol out of your arteries.

 

[vhoffman]

Here's something my mom used to make for me when I came home from school for lunch. I liked it so much I never realized it was economical.

Creamed Tuna Fish

1 can water packed tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can peas, not drained
toast

Mix first three ingredients together, heat, serve over toast. Can also substitute canned chicken and cream of chicken soup, then you have creamed chicken! The creamed chicken might be better for small children who don't like tuna.

 

[dandave]

And then there's chicken bog:
Boil chicken pieces till they're done, then debone it- or you can just use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Save this broth that you cooked the chicken in. Now is a good time to season your both with salt and pepper to your taste.
In another pot, add a cut up onion and some cut up sausage. Turn this on medium-high heat. Stir it around until the sausage starts to brown. Then add one cup of rice to two cups of the chicken broth. Add in the chicken that you've already cooked. Give it a good stir. Bring to a boil, give it a final stir, then reduce to low heat. Cover, and cook till the rice is done- about 45 minutes.
Serve with whatever vegetable you like. We like pole beans with it.
I rarely follow any recipes when I cook, but it always turns out pretty good. Just remember that each cup of rice will double in volume when cooked. The amount of chicken and sausage you add is up to you.

 

[lucky_bunni]

One of our favorites lately is the anytime grill out. We fire up the charcoal grill and grill our entire meal on it. We actually just did it tonight, and it's about 20F here in Columbus, OH. If you are afraid of the cold, avoid this in the Winter.

Fire up your charcoal grill, I suppose you could also use a gas grill, but we prefer the charcoal for flavor. Then we get the following fresh ingredients:

1 lb Fresh Green Beans $2
2-3 lbs Potatoes (pick your favorite variety) $2-$3
4-6 Boneless Pork Chops $4

** You can also make fresh baby carrots, red & yellow bell peppers, celery, or asparagus. Just use the same process as the green beans.

For the green beans: Clean and prepare by snapping off stems. Lay a large sheet of aluminum foil out and place green beans on, salt & pepper to taste, and use about 2-3 tablespoons of butter/margarine cut in pats. Dispurse butter equally over green beans and close foil up to make a square and relatively sealed pouch.

For the potatoes: Cut large potatoes into fifths, smaller (like red) potatoes into thirds or halves. Place on foil like green beans and add 3-4 tablespoons butter cut into pats. Enclose in square foil pouch like green beans.

Now put green beans and potatoes on heated grill. They should stay on the grill 35-45 minutes, depending on well and soft you want them. While they are grilling, prepare the meat and heat your oven to 200F so you can put the vegetables in to keep warm while the meat is cooking.

For the pork chops: Make a mixute of about 1/2 cup of olive oil or melted butter. Add your favorite spices to the mix. We add cayanne pepper, garlic salt and some parsley. Then take a fork and jab the pork chops evenly and repeatedly. One of our friends taught us this little trick for tenderization, and we use it for meat all the time now. Place pork chops on a plate and evenly pour olive oil mixure evenly on each. Then repeat the jabbing process again to drive the oil and spices into the pork. Flip sides and repeat.

Take vegetables off grill and put into oven, place pork on grill. Depending on thickness of pork chops, grill 7-8 minutes and then flip and grill 5-6 more minutes. Just make sure the chops are thoughly cooked.

Then we eat and enjoy... not a lot of kitchen stuff to clean up cause you used throw away foil pouches.

Pretty cheap dinner and it's all fresh ingredients. Takes a little time, but once you put the vegetables on the grill you can go do other stuff. The smokey grill taste in the all the food is excellent and a real pick-me-up for Winter blahs!

 

[ohanaMAMA]

Dan... hooray for chicken bog. However sooo many people around here do " plate sales" with chicken bog I hardly EVER cook it.

another quickie cheapie is spilit pea soup

1 bag of split peas. $.99
1 package of pre chopped ham chunks $1.49
1 carrots finely diced $.49
1 small onion finely diced .$59
salt and pepper to taste

in a crock pot pour in all ingredients. Add water to cover. set to high. Log onto disboards or whatever takes up about 3 hours.
salt and pepper to taste Serve with flour bisquits or fresh bread and butter

we ate this A LOT in Alaska... hot and filing. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

 

[mommytotwo]

Baked Fried Chicken-

Box of Chicken-$2.99
Bread Crumbs-1.50
Parmasean Cheese-2.00
Seasonings-Garlic Salt, Pepper, and Oregano


After cleaning chicken, Mix-bread crumbs, cheese, and seasonings together. Wet chicken and coat it with the bread crumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake it at 450 degrees for an hour to an hour and a half. Flip it over after 30 minutes so that both sides gets coated brown.

Hint-Place foil onto baking sheet, and spray with Pam-so that it's easier to clean up.

Will make around 12 chickens-depending on how many are in the box.

 

[tink2dw]

This is one that my family loves! Even the picky eaters.

Quick Hamburger Soup

1 lb Hamburger - seasoned with onion powder,garlic powder,italian seasoning as it frys to your taste.

In your soup pot add -
1 can of corn not drained
1 can of green beans not drained
2 cans of white potatoes not drained
zuccinie chopped in wedges
frozen peas
1/4 cup ketchup
add fryed hamburger
salt
more onion powder
more garlic powder
and a lot of pepper it gives a depth to the favor but you need to taste test this step

Bring to a boil
Corn Starch to Thicken sauce if it is to thin.

This soup changes everytime you make it with whatever vegi's you have. It is great with fresh, canned, or frozen vegi's in any mix you like.

Seasonings can change to your tastes as well.

Serve with low fat crackers or toast.