Lolling for budget meal ideas like our parents made

[Krischaser]

I have to make some changes and since I had to teach myself how to cook (mom did everything in microwave or mcds) so I am looking for some budget friendly meals like my friends mothers use to make. Thanks

 

[disneydreamersx4]

My inlaws taught me this meal with pasta and peas called pasta pisello (pronounced pazill it is pasta with peas), good for a no-meat night and inexpensive.

1 pound small shells or Barilla's Pipette pasta (it makes a great pasta to cradle the peas)
10 oz box frozen peas
1 small or medium onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
grated cheese

Get your pasta ready to cook while in a separate pan you sautee onion and garlic in some olive oil, enough to cover the pan plus some extra. Put your frozen peas in with the onions and cook them til the peas are cooked, we like them with a little crunch. Add salt and pepper. Drain your pasta then pour your peas mixture in with the pasta pot. Sprinkle grated cheese on your serving.

Another meal is rice with lentils or you could use spaghetti broken up into small pieces

Recipe can be doubled

1/2 lb dry lentils (rinsed)
4 cups water
1 can chicken broth (12 oz)
1/2 lb bacon, cooked or 1 ham bone (can certainly be made with out this)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups long grain rice
3/4 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil

In a 6-8 qt pot heat oil then add onions and celery, cook until tender. Add rest of ingredients except for rice (cook that in separate pot). Bring to boil then simmer about 45 minutes.
If mixture gets thick add one to two cups water.

Put some rice in a bowl then add lentils to cover. We usually double the recipe and have leftovers.

Bake a ham, then there's green split pea soup using a ham bone. Also use some of the ham meat for fried rice dinner.

Make your own dough for pizza, much cheaper than take out.

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[TiffanyK]

Disneydreamersx4, I love the sound of the pasta and peas recipe! It kind of reminds me of one that Clara from Depression Era Cooking made. She has a bunch of youtube videos of her making recipes that got her family through the Depression.

I have a list of low-cost meals on my blog. There are lots of other low-cost meals on my blog that aren't on this list. I should do an update since that list is a 1 1/2 years old.

 

[FINFAN]

This is easy ans budget when the spinach ison sale:

Easy Spinach Quiche

Pillsbury pie crust ( thaw to roll out, you only need 1 so the box of 2 works for 2 dinners)look for coupons or use store brand as well
2 packages of creamed spinach, again thawed (one of our grocers puts this on sale for $1 each, I stock up)
4 eggs,beaten
8-12 0z of swiss or provolone cheese ( I prefer to mix the 2 and use closer to the 12 oz)I throw the cheese in my mini chopper...saves on grating
salt/pepper to taste..I use sea salt

pre-heat oven to 375
combine eggs, spinach ,cheese into a large bowl, add s/p
pour into pie shell
bake for 25-30 minutes until golden on top


it's awesome because there is really only the mixing bowl, pie plate and and cheese bowl to clean, you can get the items on sale and freeze them ( except eggs) I can usually make this dish for under $4...and quickly..almost like using the microwave

 

[ah1126]

Last night we had Cubed Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Corn and Greenbeans.

To make the cubed steak, I coat it with flour, then brown it in a skillet with a little oil. Then I put it in a oven safe dish and mix up a packet of brown gravy mix. You need enough gravy to cover the meat. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

 

[mtblujeans]

I don't make anything that comes out of a box. If you pick up a Betty Crocker cookbook, you will find just about every basic recipe you need. Brownies and chocolate chip cookies are just as easy from scratch as they are from a box mix....alot of recipes are. My BC cookbook is very worn and has coloring pages stuck in it from my kids (in their 30's now) as they colored while I baked or cooked and I left the pictures in the page I was using that day. It still makes me smile to turn to a recipe and find a picture my kidlings colored for me while I was baking for them.

The Betty Crocker recipe for pancakes is very simple and tastes just like Bisquick pancakes.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 egg
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (I shake the carton or stir the buttermilk before using)
2 tablespoons shortening, melted (or vegetable oil)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat egg with mixer until fluffy; beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth.

Cook pancakes until puffed and bubbly-looking and dry around the edges, then turn over. Makes about 10 pancakes.

 

[tar heel]

I've made pancakes from a Betty Crocker book for about 30 years, and they do NOT taste like Bisquik pancakes. They are so much BETTER!

BTW, my recipe calls for regular milk, a tablespoon of baking powder and no soda. I usually triple it for our family.

 

[mtblujeans]

I've made pancakes from a Betty Crocker book for about 30 years, and they do NOT taste like Bisquik pancakes. They are so much BETTER!

BTW, my recipe calls for regular milk, a tablespoon of baking powder and no soda. I usually triple it for our family.

In the cookbook, there are variations to the recipe and the buttermilk version is one of those variations. I have always used that recipe because I really like the taste of Bisquick pancakes but I don't like using Bisquick. Like you, I usually double the recipe for my family.

 

[cirquelovers]

When I was teaching my Brother how to cook I taught him the art of casseroles! You can make almost anything into a casserole. The easiest way is with a can of cream of____ soup as your sauce. You can use pasta,potatoes or rice, any meat and any vegetables you like, whatever sounds good to you. He became very good at it and still makes them for his wife now that he's married! The campbells website is very helpful and easy to work with.

 

[estherhead]

We were poor growing up but had two giant gardens so there was lots of canning. Because of this my heart yearns toward gardens & canning but I have actually found for me, it's not very cost effective and takes a tremendous amount of time, which as a working mom I simply don't have.

So I now shop with coupons for frozen veggies (like Birdseye, for example) you can often get them free! And we split a cow every year with my sister for a local farmer. It's mostly hamburger & roasts so I do a lot of chili, taco meat, pot roast, bbq shredded beef, and beef stew in the crockpot.

I have a Kitchenaid and homemade bread is a cinch. And you make make the dough & freeze part of it for super quick rolls: just take them out in the morning and put in a pan and when you come home at 5 they are thawed & properly risen.

And two loaves of bread equal: one for sandwiches & the other for french toast the next morning.

We make our own pizza dough too & it freezes well (thaw the same way as the rolls). To come home to homemade pizza dough is awesome. It's soooo much cheaper & just as fast as delivery!

I found good recipes at the hillbilly housewife for lots of things.

We also like to do breakfast for dinner a lot. Cubed potatoes into hash browns, eggs into simple omlets, etc. It's cheap, fast, and kids LOVE it!

I'm not sure if this is the depression era you were looking for, but it helps us survive financially & health wise. If it isn't practically done by the time I get home from work, I have a hard time not wanting to order out or make convenience foods. So doubling batches & freezing stuff, and my crockpot are absolute life savers in our house.

You can freeze homemade pancakes & the quiche recipe from above, too! I always triple make the pancakes on weekends & freeze three in a baggie with wax paper between these. 45 seconds in the microwave & my kids (and dh) have really cheap & yummy breakfast furing the week.

Invest in a Betty Crocker cookbook (as already mentioned) that has pictorial step by step instructions and learn to make pie crust, pancakes, bread dough, cookie dough (just make a few at a time & freeze the dough in 2 tablespoon balls for homemade cookies anytime!) You will be soooo glad you did!

 

[mtblujeans]

...We make our own pizza dough too & it freezes well (thaw the same way as the rolls). To come home to homemade pizza dough is awesome. It's soooo much cheaper & just as fast as delivery!...

I have never understood....is pizza dough really just bread dough? Or, is there something different about it? TIA

 

[estherhead]

I have never understood....is pizza dough really just bread dough? Or, is there something different about it? TIA

The difference is that pizza dough is just very simple bread. My bread recipe includes egg, honey, etc. Whereas my pizza dough recipe is just yeast, flour, water, a bit of sugar (it helps the yeast), olive oil, and salt. And you don't have to let it rise & re-rise. You just have to let it rest.

We make it & then I take half & make it into two small circles and wrap them in saran wrap & freeze. Then the morning I want to make pizza I just sit them on my counter. When I come home they are ready to go. I roll 'em out, put jarred sauce on it & toppings while the oven heats. We can have pizza 30 minutes after I get home, with only 10 minutes of hands on work.

Also, if I don't add oregano & garlic to the dough (I do this often cause it's YUMMY!) and it's just plain, I use this same dough to make my cinnamon rolls.

Just roll it out thin, soften butter & spread it over the dough, sprinkle on brown sugar & cinnamon, and roll it up & cut it into slices. Put them in a round pan and let them raise until double. Bake at 350 until browned and bubbly.

 

[shirleyb]

My mom could stretch her grocery budget like nobody's business. Part of that was because we had an orchard, and a huge garden and grapevines, etc so that a lot of things were canned or frozen, however, her real key was turning a leftover into a meal.

For instance, leftover ham would become ham potpie, ham and bean soup, and/or ham, green beans and potatoes, depending on how much was left.

Left over chicken or turkey would get turned into a soup.

Leftover mashed potatoes would be formed into patties and fried up. (my favorite)

Sloppy joes are a cheap meal, add some veggies and you can feed the whole family for probably less than $5.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

My mother was a lousy cook (and my father just didn't cook at all), so I don't have any good budget recipes from them. Instead, I have had to learn on my own. A couple of my favorite budget meals are breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs, bacon/ham, toast, grits/home fries) and homemade soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. When I make a big batch of homemade soup, I always make sure to freeze at least two portions that can be thawed later for a quick, week night meal.

 

[Pigeon]

Yup, the Betty Crocker cookbook or the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks are good for that decades-old cuisine. Great for cheapish, bland food with no exotic ingredients. Boring, but solid. Go to the public library and get some older editions out to see which one you like better.

 

[crazelion]

Yup, the Betty Crocker cookbook or the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks are good for that decades-old cuisine. Great for cheapish, bland food with no exotic ingredients. Boring, but solid. Go to the public library and get some older editions out to see which one you like better.

Some of the easiest cookbooks to follow. I love my Betty Crocker cookbooks. I love that have simple no exotic ingredients. It not budget to buy ingredient if only use it once are twice.

 

[pat fan]

aaahhhh...the lost art of cooking frugally and making a meal stretch! This was us growing up....a preacher's family of 4 living on $25 a week, and you know what? I never knew we were poor and I never went hungry. Here's a couple of my mom's goodies...

Chicken Coach Wheel Pie
1 3-4 lb. chicken (or a package of thighs or whatever is on sale)
1 lg. package frozen mixed veggies
2 stalks celery
2 lg. onions
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic salt
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. margarine, melted
Cook chicken 1 1/2 hrs covered in water. Save 6 cups of broth and add next 6 ingredients. Simmer 1/2 hr. Remove meat from chicken while simmering. Add chicken meat to broth mixture. Mix margarine & flour. Add to chicken mixture. Stir until thick. Pour into casserole dish. Bake at 350º 20 min. Top with biscuits and increase oven to 400º. Bake 40 minutes or until done.
Biscuits
4 c. flour
2 tsp salt
8 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tblsp. melted margarine
2 c. grated cheese
Mix first 5 ingredients. Divide in half. Roll each half into rectangle. Brush with margarine. sprinkle with cheese. Roll into log and cut into 1/2" slices.

Baked Beans
1 lb. dry beans. (Great Northern) Cover with water in a pot and soak overnight.
Boil 20 minutes and then place in bean pot or crock pot.
Add:
1/2 sq. salt pork (or a few slices of bacon) chopped.
1 1/2 c. sugar (brown is best)
1 tsp. salt
1 onion, chopped
Cover with water. Bake in 350º oven 5-6 hours. Or cook in crock pot on high 1 hr., then low 6-7 hours.

I also recommend a Betty Crocker cook book. No kitchen is complete without one! My mom gave each of us one for a wedding gift

 

[NHWX]

I think a lot of had moms with the same budget-inspired cooking styles. I grew up with stretched hamburger (bread crumbs and an egg) and half powdered milk and whole milk (disgusting, don't bother trying).

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ and the associated cookbooks have good recipes for bread that take very little time on a given day.

http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/ has some recipes for reasonably healthy and frugal food. I made a big batch of baked potatoes yesterday and then shredded the rest for hash browns last night.

For me, it comes down to "don't waste it". Leftover crockpot cooked roast beef became BBQ beef on last night's baked potatoes. Stale bread = croutons or bread crumbs for topping on casseroles or breading chicken / pork chops. Slightly dented apples become applesauce for homemade pancakes.

It does help that I have a large chest freezer and two teenage sons. What they don't eat can usually be frozen. Otoh, having two teenage sons means that food can fly out of the house too!

Good luck!

NHWX

 

[brymolmom]

Not recipes...but some budget friendly dinner ideas:

- Do a meat/potatoes only a couple times a week or however many fit into the budget, you don't need a big meat every meal.
- Pancakes for dinner - one of the best deals around- throw on some breakfast sausage and toast or even some hash browns and you're still on teh very low per serving.
- Make LARGE portions and save leftovers - have a leftover night per week. Often making a larger portion is fractionally more expensive than a smaller one (especially if you can pay less per pound for a bulk package). Bonus is that cleanup is about the same as for a single meal - but you get 2 meals out of it.

 

[lady_bug_888]

These are a few ideas that are simple and easy to make. My mom made these growing up as we didn't have much money and I made them as a young adult when I was really hard up for money.

1) Weiners and beans (a staple in my mom's house!)

Open 1 can of brown beans (any flavour is fine) and place in a bowl. Add about 2 hotdogs (pre-cooked is best) that have been chopped into bite size pieces. Stir and microwave approximately 3-4 minutes on high.

2) Macaroni bake (a very cheap meal that can last multiple meals)

Boil 2 cups of macaroni. Drain and place in casserole dish. Fry 1/2 pd.-1pd. gr. beef and add to casserole dish. Add 1 can of stewed tomatoes (I usually buy ones with italian spices or garlic mixed in). Mix everything together and Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 min.

3) Cheese and tomato sandwiches (my favourite of these three)

Place one slice of cheese and a slice of tomato on top of a slice of bread. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Bake or Broil in oven until cheese is melted.

This last one is really yummy with tomato soup!