Need very low cost meal ideas!

[threecrazykids]

This is something that can work well for anyone and you can develop a repertoire of great recipes if your local market(s) do weekly recipes that feature their sale items.

I follow a coupon blog and one of her most recent additions to her website is a weekly "5 meals for under $30" feature for different grocery stores. The meals are not your usual "brown some ground beef, drench it in cream-o-whatever soup and dump it over noodles or rice" recipes that you usually see when someone wants to stretch a dollar. This week's feature for one of my grocery stores includes:

1. Chicken Cultlets with Bruschetta Topping, Texas Toast and Green Beans
2. Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters with broccoli crowns
3. Crab Classic Pasta Salad served on a bed of lettuce (note: this is actually imitation crab)
4. Chipotle Black Bean Mac & Cheese and a tossed salad
5. Sausage-Pepper Skillet with rice and mixed vegetables.

She not only gives the recipes, she also give the coupon match ups/sale prices for every ingredient. Her meals include 4 servings for about $6 per meal.

You might want to do a google search for couponing websites with meal planning ideas. I was surprised that the recipes were not all sodium-laden processed foods (some were, I don't use all of the recipes).

Would you mind sharing the blog you follow with that feature?

ETA: I think I found it - Living Rich with Coupons

 

[Minnesota!]

Last night was a dinner like this - last few days before payday AND vacation - so using up whatever we have.

I had leftover pork - I had cooked it in salsa the other day in the CP. I had leftover veggies from tacos (peppers, onions, tomatoes) and then I had 1 stalk of celery left. I threw all those veggies in a big skillet with the leftover pork, a half packet of jambalaya seasoning I found back in the cupboard, 2 cups of water, and the rest of my brown rice. Cooked till water was gone.

Kids LOVED it, DH loved it. I did add hoisin and chinese mustard towards the end for a little more flavor. And, I used up all the leftovers, in one pot, without spending money.

Tonight will be whatever I have left of a ham steak with whatever I have left of elbow noodles with whatever veggies and sauce I can find.

One of my faves I have discovered over the years is what we call "spin-aghetti". Boil up your spag noodles, and in the last few minutes of boiling, toss in a package of frozen spinach.

While that is boiling, in a sautee pan, throw in some balsamic dressing, and lots of chopped onion and garlic. Cook till nice and caramelized. Mix with the cooked/drained spinach/spaghetti mix. Throw on whatever scraps of cheese you have.

 

[pls5286]

Thank you everyone! He and I are going to sort through the recipies and the sites and see what works for our family of picky eaters and medical restrictions. I live in a very small town, and we only have 2 grocery stores, Wal-Mart and Ingles. The closest bigger towns are about 30 mins away, which is where we buy our meat.

He was given the opportunity to work overtime this weekend and the boys will go work in the hayfield with my dad. While we live on a farm, the only things grown here are beef cows and chickens, so not a big opportunity to utilize a garden...the deer kill every one we have tried.

 

[DaughteroftheKing]

Breakfast for dinner is cheap.
You can cook scrambled eggs and pancakes to feed a family for probably $2 (a box of mix is $2 and you wouldn't use but maybe 1/4 of it, plus a half-dozen eggs that are just over $1)
Or if you don't have pancake mix or eggs, substitute and make bowls of oatmeal.

Add a fruit by giving everyone a banana (they end up being around .25 cents each at my local store).

 

[lauradis]

I hope your ok.

Honey go to the local churches and food banks too.

my favorite cheap meals are

hamburger (ground turkey is cheaper with beef cube)
rice
cream of mushroom soup

pancakes/waffles for dinner.

7 bean soup w ham hock.

chip beef gravy on toast.

basically what you want to do is use everything in your house up as much as possible, be creative, being broke doesn't have to be horrible.

think rice, noodles, cut all meat in half or non.

 

[mhf]

My husband requests chicken and rice at least twice a month: this recipe feeds 2 adults with rice left over for lunch the next day. Add a sliced tomato from your neighbor on the side for a salad.

1 chicken breast
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup (store brand ok)
1 can full of milk or water or combo
1/2 envelope dry onion soup mix (save the other 1/2 by folding over package and paper clipping for the next meal)

Coat casserole dish with spray or grease. Place chicken breast in bottom.
In a bowl, mix rice, soup, liquid, and dry mix. Pour over chicken. Cover with casserole lid and bake at 325 for about 45 minutes, maybe an hour depending on your oven (mine runs a little hot). Check it early so your rice doesn't get crunchy.

I second the "breakfast for dinner"! yum. And tuna or egg sandwiches: toast the bread and cut it in triangles just to be different.

Tonight, we had our version of Waldorf Salad: chopped up cooked chicken, apples, and grapes with a little mayo. Add a side of saltines or a tomato.

 

[Kriii]

First, go to a food pantry! Second, talk to your doctor or dietician about what you should be eating. I realize money is tight, but a lot of the suggestions would not be healthy if you are diabetic. I hope things work out for you!

 

[crisi]

One of my faves I have discovered over the years is what we call "spin-aghetti". Boil up your spag noodles, and in the last few minutes of boiling, toss in a package of frozen spinach.

While that is boiling, in a sautee pan, throw in some balsamic dressing, and lots of chopped onion and garlic. Cook till nice and caramelized. Mix with the cooked/drained spinach/spaghetti mix. Throw on whatever scraps of cheese you have.

That sounds really good.

We do "mess" in our house - which is eggs and potatos and whatever leftover meat, cheese, vegetables we have in our house.

I think one of the great tricks to eating cheap is learning how to cook - with leftovers or cheap food. You can make soups, chili, rice dishes and pasta dishes with nearly anything - almost anything can go in a tortilla. I remember a friend being amazed when I boiled up some rice, threw the cooked rice in a pot with leftover chili, a can of tomatoes and a can of corn and it turned out delicious. There wasn't enough chili to feed four - but there was enough chili to flavor rice.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Super cheap meal for dinner here tonight and was enjoyed by all. Its not one of our healthier choices so a pretty rare treat but it was cheap.

Hamburger gravy
Brown 1 lbs of hamburger (we buy in bulk at Sams and break down). Don't drain, though mine had almost no grease.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over meat and coat well. Cook a couple of minutes.
slowly add 4 cups milk and cook until think. season as you wish.

We served over rice (super cheap) and had home-made biscuits (super cheap)
we added a green veggie.

Also had homemade banana pudding made with bananas that were getting too ripe. I did pick up the cheapest box of vanilla wafers, but the rest was shelf ingredients and super cheap.

Tonight for Saturday night entertainment is a 1.00 red box movie and home made pop-corn! Cheaper and better than microwave!!!

 

[eatatmidnight]

Someone shared this website with me today. If you have an Aldi, you may get some ideas or inspiration from it.

http://www.iamthatlady.com/25-meals-for-under-150-at-aldi/

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Where I live, there are two farmer's markets nearby - a smaller one in town, and a bigger one at the next town. If you go about 15 minutes before they close, you can often get amazing deals. They don't want to cart the produce and baked goods home with them again, and they may not keep until next week, so they often drop the prices drastically. Make them an offer! I've gotten 3 quarts of strawberries for $1, cauliflower for 25 cents, each etc. just because they really wanted to get rid of the stuff at that point.

If you don't have a farmer's market, maybe there are some farm stands that will do the same?

Also, one thing I have found helpful is learning to make different sauces. It doesn't feel like you are serving the same old thing if this week you top it with mushroom gravy, next week with a mustard sauce and the week after with an Asian ginger-flavoured sauce, etc. If you buy store brand spices in bags, they are inexpensive and the right spices make all the difference.

TP

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Hamburger casserole

1 lb ground beef cooked
1 can of chicken noodle soup
1 can of chicken broth
1 cup of rice
salt and pepper to taste - after cooking

Place all ingredients in a covered casserole dish and cook 1 hr on 350 in the oven. Check at 45 minutes to see if you need to add a bit of water if it's too dry.


My grocery store has a shelf in the produce aisle with marked down veggies/fruits that are just at the end of their saleability. Check to see if yours has that and find bananas to make banana bread for breakfast, veggies for a stir fry with your pork chops (cut into strips) or make into a soup, etc.

I decided to give this recipe a shot tonight, and it turned out GREAT!!

Thanks for this suggestion.

 

[Forum Jumper]

I am looking for a good batter fried zucchini recipe....if someone could share.

 

[kymom99]

My son LOVES this simple pasta dish. Cook rotini or whatever kind of pasta you have. Brown up some Italian sausage, rope sausage, meatballs, etc. and mix in some pasta sauce. Dump over pasta. Cover with provolone cheese or some other type of white cheese. Bake until hot and cheese melts.
I buy pasta when it is $1.00 a box. We can our own pasta sauce. I buy whatever meat is on sale and I don't use a lot of it. The cheese is probably the most expensive part.