frugal food?

[binny]

I had a friend ask me the other day what would be a good menu plan for a family that is struggling financially. Not that they need help like the food bank or anything theyre just trying to put more money towards bills and such so theyre trying to cut corners.

I told her a few things that I know of ( tater tot casserole being one my kids will eat but still is inexpensive to make) but I would love to hear others.


Do you have any frugal recipes that you would be willing to share?

Thank you

 

[worm761]

my friend makes a soup that is delish! all it has in it is hamburger meat, barley, beef broth, french cut green beans. sooo yummy. and really not expensive.

i stretch meals because i just dont have time to cook everyday. i make beef stew then use the left over stew to make beef pot pies.
a cheaper meal i love is chicken noodle soup. boil a chicken then bone it and add to the broth. make your own noodles, add carrots, celery, and onion.

 

[Patty3]

Growing up I knew a family that ate meatless spaghetti 4 nights a week, just a box of pasta and a jar of Prego. Another suggestion is egg salad or grilled cheese sandwiches with a bowl of soup.

 

[Jasminesmommy]

Sloppy joes
BBQ Chicken
Fried Chicken legs
Jacks pizza

 

[diznygirl]

Stir Fry - Top Raman noodles, bag of stir fry veggies - add chicken or beef.

Hamburger and Rice - Brown hamburger and add lipton inioon soup mix, diced tomatoes, peas and white rice.

Chicken and rice - same but without the onion soup mix.

 

[poohtown]

shepards pie - hamburger, corn, whipped potatoes

taco mac & cheese - hamburger, mac & cheese, salsa

pasta (all kinds)

meatball stroganoff - hamburger, egg noodles, gravy

baked potatoes are always good, with or without toppings

 

[Cindy B]

Use Master Mix (recipe in Tightwad Gazette books)

Master Mix can be used in place of Bisquick, pie crust, and pancake mix.

Black beans in the bag with some sugar, limes, and a pot make a fantastic meal for less than a $1

The reduced meat aisle is fantastic (go early in the am when the meat shift comes on usually either 6 am or 9 am). Use that for foods.

I make a mean egg/sausage casserole with reduced sausage, eggs and bread. It cost about $2 to serve 8.

I make my own salad dressing (again Tightwad Gazette)

Chili is a cheap meal as well. Kidney beans can be abotu 40 cents a can, ground turkey can be had for 99 cents here, onioins (neglible cost). Its amazing what you can do.



We always had meatless spaghetti, we never knew you could put meat in it.

My parents made this interesting casserole, which could be inexpensive. They used cooked egg noodles, cottage cheese and cooked bacon. Cook the bacon and crumble it (99 cent turkey bacon works great). I dont use a whole package, like maybe half. Put that in a pan with cottage cheese, and the cooked egg noodle until the cheese is hot/melty.

We also do breakfast for dinner. See the leftover sausage from one night, and use the Master Mix for pancakes

I make my own Hot pockets and fill it with leftovers (usually the leftover chili form the other night)

 

[disykat]

When I cook I tend to cook pretty frugally. I like to cook whole chickens that I buy on sale, have a meal, cube some leftovers for a casserole, and then boil bones for soup - things like that.

However, my biggest money saving tip is to always have some prefabbed food on hand that I bought on sale (like hamburger helper, macaroni and cheese, top ramen, etc.) or make double bathches when I coook and always have leftover soup etc. in the freezer so that whenever I am tempted to blow off cooking and eat out there is something really fast and easy to make that is CHEAP!

 

[Planogirl]

Good suggestions so far. I would also add:

Homemade soup
Roasted turkey (it can feed you forever if you don't get sick of it)
Stuffed potatoes
Tacos
Macaroni&Cheese and Ranch Style Beans mixed together (a favorite of DS)
Grilled Cheese sandwiches
Louisiana style mixes from Tony Cachere or Zatarains such as Jambalaya or Red Beans & Rice (you can always add just sausage and/or dark meat chicken)

A good thing to watch for is stores having buy one, get one free sales. I just bought some meat from a local chain that was doing this and saved quite a bit. But watch those prices when they do these to make sure they're not marked up!

 

[luvthatduke]

A few supermarkets near us sell meat and cheese ends.
It's the little bit that's left over after they've sliced a block,
loaf or roll of something.
They're very inexpensive per lb., and you get a variety
to choose from.
I buy a pack of ham ends & make ham salad for DH - he loves it!
Usually I find the pepper ham ends, which has tons
of that grainy pepper on it, and really makes a delicious spread
for sandwiches.
The cheese ends are good, too - just thick.

 

[powellrj]

beans in the bag can go really far, dark chicken meat (like legs and thighs), breakfast for dinner meals (french toast, pancakes,eggs and toast) most pasta meals ( one chicken breast can strech to feed a famliy when noodles are added).

Meat can be a large expense so use it as an addition to your meal instead of using it as you meal. Example one steak can feed your family if you use it with lots of grilled onions and peppers as a filling for tortillas.

 

[jellymanoffspring]

A box of Ditalini pasta (looks like cut up straws)
cooked as directed on pkg.

a large canof tomato sauce
a can of sweet peas

heat sauce in pan with some salt, pepper and oregano to taste
add drained peas...heat and pour over cooked pasta