I need cheap meal ideas...

[DebB]

but somewhat healthy ones too. $$$$ is super tight the next 2 weeks and I don't have a lot to spend on food. I am looking for CHEAP meal ideas but I still need it to be as healthy as possible.

My 3yo won't eat veggies AT ALL....so I need some recipes where I can sneak some in (she will usually eat them in something just not as a side)

Thanks
Debbie

[AndreaD]

Our cheapest ideas-
- a big pot of Chilli (sneaking some veggies into this would be easy!)
- Other bean dishes
- Soups- most soups are rather inexpensive- toss in whatever veggies and meat you have on hand
- Potatoes- Oven Fries, Baked Potato Bar,

[karendg]

Pasta is cheap. You might find some ideas here. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

[JavaJackie]

Spaghetti and other pastas. Yellow rice and black beans. Also a really big roast is expensive, but I can usually have roast one night, veggie beef soup the next and beef stroganoff the next. So divided into three meals that's not so bad. Pancakes or biscuits and gravy for dinner is also pretty cheap.

[Amanda Williams]

Bean and Cheese Burritos
PB&J
Soups and Cheese Sandwiches
Eggs and Toast
Bananas

[deleise]

Pastas or grilled cheese and tomato soup are my cheapest.

[Anjie in PA]

I would second the ideas you've already been given ... if grocery money is low here pancakes, eggs, and grilled cheese are things we fall back on. If your family will eat tuna, I have a recipe for tuna balls that is very nutritious and economical! My girls love it. You need two cans of tuna, some finely chopped veggies (I use carrots, spinach, and onion, but you can use whatever sounds good to you), eggs, bread crumbs, cheese if you want, seasonings you like (I use garlic, paprika, and pepper), and a little Miracle Whip. Mix it all up, form it into meatballs, and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.

[DD in IL]

Poor man's spaghetti. I don't put in meat but I do like a lot of parmesan on it. My dh likes the meat so I just add meat to his sauce. Beans and cornbread are cheap meals with a lot of protein and fiber. Canned or home made soup over rice or potatoes stretches out a meal.

[kimintx]

Have you tried this (miserlymoms.com) website? I visit it when I have a tight grocery budget.

[Kelly in Kentucky]

Biscuits and gravey are cheap. So are other breakfast foods like eggs and pancakes, waffles, and muffins. Bean and cheese burritos are also easy on the budget. What about baked potatoes? Potato soup? Tacos? Egg salad sandwiches? Grilled cheese and tomato soup?

This is a very easy and cheap recipe that I can share. I just call it Beef and Noodles. Original, huh? :lol:

Boil several handfuls of macaroni and drain when cooked. While that is boiling, brown about 1/2 lb. of hamburger. When all that is done, melt about 1/4 cup of butter in a skillet and add the macaroni and beef. Add salt to taste and mix well. It is nothing gourmet, but it is still rather tasty.

HTH! :)
Kelly

[Michelle]

Also, if you have fruit available, smoothies are healthy and inexpensive.

I throw in one cup of yogurt, and several pieces of "old" fruit, a tomato and sometimes an avocado. Dh throws in eggs :p and other veggies that are already chopped and in the fridge.

[Heidi in IN]

Some old tricks from my aunt who raised 4 kids on her dh's Christian school teacher's salary in the 70s and 80s--

Get a whole chicken and roast it--then shred it up and you should have enough meat to use for several meals---

for mexican meals using the chicken--mix in some rice and cook it in the seasoning with the chicken to help fill everyone up.

brown up 1 lb. of hamb and add instant potatoes to give it more bulk and to make the 1 lb. stretch further for a dish where it won't show---speghetti, lasagna, etc.

Topped Baked Potatoes with just a bit of meat and lots of cheese makes a hearty but filling meal.

Serve lots of potatoes and rice with each meal.

Get creative with those leftovers and what you have in the back/bottom of your freezer.



When I need to stretch meat--I always go for the stirfrys since I can stretch 2 chicken breasts out for the 4 of us, but like your kids, my dh and my dc end up picking out all the carefully chopped veggies I did. :unsure: It usually isn't worth my trouble in the end.

[AngieCott]

Well, I'll give out my chicken stretcher again! ;) I bake a couple of chickens with rotisserie seasoning for one meal with roasted carrots and potatoes and homemade gravy from the drippings. After we eat I remove all the extra chicken meat from the bones and set it aside. Hopefully there is still a good bit left. I boil up the remaining carcass in a huge stew pot to make a large pot of chicken noodle soup and chicken and dumplings. The leftover chicken, veggies and gravy are made into a chicken pot pie for the next night. Sometimes there is even enough chicken left over to make a batch of white bean chili for dh. Doing this I can get around 5 meals out of two chickens.

[Karen in MI]

for this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Cheap-Fast-Good-Beverly-Mills/dp/0761131760/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0183311-5756829?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194363021&sr=1-1

It might have some ideas to inspire you.

HTH!

[Darla]

A very inexpensive recipe my family likes is Lentil Stew.

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped or grated carrot
1 cup Picante sauce
1 1/4 cup lentils
1-2 teaspoon cumin
6 cups water

Saute onion and carrot in a small amount of olive oil. Add water, picante and lentils. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30-45 minutes. *I put in 1/2 brown rice when it comes to a boil and cook 45 minutes. Top with grated cheese, sour cream, green onions, etc. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

We eat this for dinner one night and then wrap the leftovers in a flour tortilla with grated cheese for a "lentil burrito" for lunch.


We are on a really tight grocery budget this week, so I "shopped" my frig and pantry before heading to the store. I have 1/2head of cabbage, onion, chicken stock, canned tomatoes, various dried beans, rices and whole grain flours. I purchased a large bag of carrots, potatoes,apples, bananas, grated cheese and 1 lb. sliced smoked turkey (dh has to take lunch with him). We had the lentil stew last night. Tonight I am making a minestrone soup with the cabbage. Tomorrow night is leftovers and baked potatoes. Thursday I'll make pinto beans and enchiladas made with brown rice, sauted green & red peppers (already had), grated carrots and onion. :yum: Friday night I will make homemade pizza.

I am blessed to have a bread maker and it has really helped when the budget is tight. Just wanted to encourage you to get creative with ingredients you have on hand by showing you what I am doing this week.

Blessings,
Darla

[Gwen in Texas]

Hey, girls. I originally was going to ask Sheri this question specifically, because she has mentioned feeding her family on a tight budget. But then I thought I didn't want to limit myself and miss out on anyone else's advice. ;) if you feed your family on a small budget, would you mind posting what you eat throughout the week? Snacks, drinks and desserts included? Thanks.

[Kristine In Indiana]

I try and watch what we spend on food. Some things that help me save:
we eat a lot of popcorn, beans, rice. There's an awesome refried bean recipe at allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Refried-Beans-Without-the-Refry/Detail.aspx
I make homemade yogurt and the kids eat that as a snack. We also shop at the bread store and so they sometimes have raisin bread or multi grain bagels. We drink mainly water throughout the day, juice in the morning and milk at lunch and dinner. I've been shopping more at Aldi's and I watch sales and clip coupons (only things that I would buy anyway, or things that I can get free)

I also like to buy whole chickens and make several meals out of it. Same goes with whole hams and I also buy a boneless ham in the meat section and have it sliced at the meat counter for free. It's so much cheaper than lunch meat (dh takes sandwiches in his lunch everyday.)

I'll be curious to hear what others have to say.
Kristine

[Merrilee Morse]

We do the same as Kristine; whole turkeys and hams for lunchmeat. Big one time expense, but you can get so many meals and sandwiches out of them! I bake my own treats, cookies, pies, muffins, rolls, bread. I love to bake, much more than I like cooking. A big one for me is to shop local, shop seasonal. IOW, go to your local farmer's market, buy produce from people you know (if you get to know them, they often give discounts to regular customers!;) ) and only buy what is in season for your area.

[Heather P]

I have been doing the emeals for a couple of weeks now and I know it has cut my grocery bill down some. You pick a plan you want (lowfat, regular, low carb, etc) and they put together the meals and grocery list. Easy and good food! We are doing the low fat menu right now and so far everything has been a hit with my family. It is $15.00 every 3 months and if you are interested I have a 25% off coupon. Not sure if that is what you are looking for but that is something that is helping our budget right now for sure! The website is here (http://www.e-mealz.com/)

[Tammy Watson]

We try to do a simple meal plan and shop at Costco(I get flour, sugar, butter, cheese, ground beef, chicken(whole and frozen, organic tomato paste, sauce and diced tomatoes-with those items I can make many different things) and then I try to go the farmer's market each week for fruits and vegtables (organics at a great price) I then try to make most things from scratch. We go to lots of baseball games(once or twice a month) in the summer so we try to make sammies, get peanuts and cracker jacks from the store and take them to the ballpark. And then I go to Trader Joes for all of the extras

Now my plan is to meal plan for all three meals a week so that I can check what we have and what I need and stay on a plan. It is hard for me but I try to get the kids help so they will know how to meal plan and then they get to pick a few meals so they are happy with it and don't try to change things more expensive plans at the last moment

Tammy

[Vickie/NC]

Gwen,


Take a look at www.mainstreetmom.com. Click the cookbook corner link. There are ways to cut your food budget there.


I am watching this thread as well. I spend too much on food. My husband says it's those costly snacks!

Have a great day, Vickie

[Cassandra]

Hi there, here are some resources that have been very helpful for me. I use recipes and ideas from Hillbilly Housewife, and the owner of that site has opened a new more healthy site called Frugal Abundance. Also, a great cookbook called "Not your mother's slow-cooker", has some great ideas for breakfast that you can start the night before with grains and such that are frugal and nutritious to boot. (We do not eat much cereal here because it is WAY too expensive for the nutritive value and for how much food you actually get in the box. Plus, the kids are hungry an hour later...) There are also great recipes for every meal of the day in that book that happen to be efficient for time and money. :O) Those are the best!

As far as other specific meals and snacks: We used to eat a lot of eggs when they were still cheap... Now we use potatoes as much as possible for side dishes and even as baked potato lunches. They are a great base for lots of healthy toppings. We try to have at least 2 meatless meals a week for supper as well, because it is cheaper and healthier. We do lots of soups, lots of mexican foods and dishes, which can be made with rice and beans instead of meat, and they are normally less time consuming to prepare as well.

For lunches we like to do leftovers (since dh isn't a big fan...), and we have pasta done lots of different ways. You can hardly beat pasta for a cheap meal! :O)

We eat fresh produce for snacks, which are both easier on the wallet than the boxed snacks and easier on the body.

We drink water all day long. The only time they get something different is with breaky, and that's either milk or juice. I will say that I have had to change our way of eating since we have had more children and a smaller budget being a one income family. I do a lot of homemade, whereas I used to do more from boxes and mixes. It certainly took a while though to get used to! There's a learning curve there with getting to know your cooking style, your family's tastes, how to be creative with what's on sale, etc. I'm only just now really getting into the swing of things. I always take my weekly ads and plan a menu around what's on sale and what I already have in my pantry and refirgerator/freezer. It took me about a year to really get to know the sale cycles in my area. I did try shopping only every two weeks, but it didn't fit our needs with fresh produce and plus I was always lamenting missing out on the sales that were going on the week I WASN'T going to the market, lol.

Lastly, to be honest, we don't actually eat as much as we used to. That took some getting used to from the kids, but I did cut out some of the snacking. It used to be a free-for-all around this joint, now we have more structured eating times. We actually sit at the table and eat a snack together, so it isn't consumed mindlessly while playing and such. We have also tried to eat healthier in the last few months, and I really must say that eating more nutritionally dense foods truly does curb their appetite for longer. We can actually make it from breakfast to lunch now without 3 snacks! :O) (We were serious grazers...Moo)

Okay, I feel like I went on for way too long. I'm still learning in this area and it's so fun to trade tips and suggestions. It's how I've learned everything I know now! Thanks for the thread!
<><
Cassandra

[elisainfl]

This is my first post!!

With four little ones, I'm wondering how we're going to afford to feed them in a few years, but . . . .

www.afullcup.com has helped me so much with couponing and I'm learning to stockpile things when the deal is worth it.

Also, I've started shopping at a produce stand too! Who can beat 19cents/lb.for sweet potatoes??-- If I cook up ten or so, they'll be gone in just a few days!!

Elisa

[Darla]

:hi: sweet friend!

Check this out: http://likemerchantships.blogspot.com/search/label/%2750s%20budget%20menu.


Our family's food budget is fairly tight these days and let's just say we eat a lot of beans, beans and more beans! Good thing we like beans. :D I, also, keep my Zo busy.

Love ya',
Darla

[Sheri]

I answered, but lest anyone thinks I am ignoring you...here's a partial reply!

Homemade bread is cheaper and better for you than bought, homemade pancakes, panini, waffles, biscuits, rolls, cinnamon rolls all fall into the same category.

Bread is a good filler, serve it with dinner.

meat is a flavoring not a main dish.

Use things to extend the meat. Porcupine meatballs...use more rice than normal to make it go further. Use half a pound in spaghetti sauce rather than a pound.

Potatoes are a favorite around here. Baked potatoes are a great lunch.

Three words: Beans and rice = a complete protein = GOOD for you.

Breakfast: Muffins are cheap, easy and healthy. If you happen to have juice on hand use it in place of milk or water, it's good for you and you get a few more vitamins.

Milk: In almost all cooking water can be substituted for milk. Keep powdered milk on hand to add to most breads.

Lunches: PB&J is good for you, inexpensive and easy. We always just have sandwiches or leftovers.

Leftovers: Don't cook more than you need. We seldom actually have leftovers. We cook what we NEED, not what we want. there is nothing wrong with portion control.

Snacks: Snacks aren't really all that necessary, often times they are a sign of boredom. Carrot sticks or celerty sticks are good healthy snack to have on hand and they take a while to chew!

Cheese: High quality cheese makes a difference. You don't need much to add a lot of flavor. We buy Cabot Aged White Cheddar. It's a tiny bit more expensive, but lasts longer and tastes GREAT.

[Nicole M.]

I stumbled upon this website this week and it has some great ideas! I haven't tried any of them out yet, but most of them sound great! I just wanted to pass this along.

http://www.momadvice.com/food/aldi_meal_plan.aspx

[stacy z]

i was thinking about this thread as i was preparing dinner this afternoon...

a few weeks ago our grocery store ran a special: .99/# chicken legs or chicken wings in family-sized packages. a bought 2 of each using some and freezing the rest. today i got out those chicken wings to make our chicken soup. with carrots, onions, celery, seasonings, and rice that i always have on hand, this meal feels almost free! ;) if i figured out the actual cost per person, i am sure it would very low!!

stock up on sales and freeze it! :thumb:

plan for left-overs: i make a large pot of sauce for a spaghetti dinner one night and use the left over sauce another night for baked zita. both meals are very inexpensive since i make the sauce from scratch. and more healthy because i add in fresh onion, mushrooms, celery, grated carrot or zucchini, and even a tablespoon of wheat germ (thickens the sauce a bit and is vertually undetectable!) i also buy the ground beef in larger quantities for a discount, divide into smaller packages and freeze some.


i usually buy one large meat item that i use for several meals during the week. a bone-in turkey breast, a ham, roast, brisket...i plan my menu around that, usually making one meal soup which really stretches your meat!

okay, i am rambling now! thanks for your great suggestions everyone! :)

[Gwen in Texas]

Thank you all for your help! :)

[Jennifer in SC]

I have been doing the emeals for a couple of weeks now and I know it has cut my grocery bill down some. You pick a plan you want (lowfat, regular, low carb, etc) and they put together the meals and grocery list. Easy and good food! We are doing the low fat menu right now and so far everything has been a hit with my family. It is $15.00 every 3 months and if you are interested I have a 25% off coupon. Not sure if that is what you are looking for but that is something that is helping our budget right now for sure! The website is here (http://www.e-mealz.com/)


I'm checking out this site right now. It looks great. :clap:

[Hollie in SC]

This is my first post!!



:hi: Welcome, Elisa. :D

[Becky Jane]

One of our favorite cheap eats around here is a big stir fry...with just lots of cabbage, bok choy, onions, garlic and a tiny bit of chicken or beef (or not)...cooked quickly over high heat and hit with some dashes of Chinese 5 Spice powder and a few dashes of sesame oil. I can make a HUGE platter of this (without meat) for about 2 or 3 bucks TOTAL and my crew gobbles it up! :)

[Jana in SoCal]

Two words: soup night.

Every week we have soup night. I make homemade bread and homemade soup. Tonight I made split pea--it's so easy and inexpensive.

[DebinNC]

I'm actually doing better on my budget by following the menus at

www.menus4moms.com

I wasn't sure I would, but it's really helping me to stay focused! I find the recipes to be so basic, that if I want to make a substitute here or there it's easy to do. She often includes a fruit along with dinner, but if it's too expensive to buy, I substitute it with something else that's fresh or canned. I can fiddle around with the side dishes, too.

I am notorious for grabbing this or that because it's on sale and I might need it sometime. So, now I've got a pantry full of this and thats that don't match up!! Sticking to her menu and shopping list has been so great AND it frees up so much of my meal planning time.

There are lots of meal plans out there that can be sent to you, but you have to pay for the luxury. That kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it???? Menus4moms is free.

Of course, it doesn't include lunch or breakfast items, but alot of really good advice has been given regarding those 2 meals here.

[Victoria]

Grocery prices these days are ridiculous to say the least. I need help gals trying to find some simple, no-fuss, inexpensive recipes for my family. I'm guessing alot of you all are looking for the same. Why don't we post our recipes?? Thanks a bunch. I will post some of mine later.

[CJ]

Tricia just had a good post on this at her Blog:
http://mommyx12.blogspot.com/2008/06/gas-and-grocery-prices-and-what-we-are.html

[SandraC]

Someone posted this recipe recently- http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Refried-Beans-Without-the-Refry/Detail.aspx I think these would be yummy in some wraps with salsa and cheese. I am cooking some right now and plan to do this with any leftovers.

Sandra

[AmyT]

This site has lots of inexpensive recipes

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index.htm

[Kristine In Indiana]

Someone posted this recipe recently- http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Refried-Beans-Without-the-Refry/Detail.aspx I think these would be yummy in some wraps with salsa and cheese. I am cooking some right now and plan to do this with any leftovers.

Sandra


That was me! We LOVE this recipe and I've make them about once a week. Whenever I have to take a dish somewhere, I make a batch, put it in a big pan, top it with sour cream, a jar of salsa, shredded cheese & cilantro from the garden and take a bag of chips. Everyone loves it!

This is another good site: http://www.livingonadime.com/
and I just found www.supercook.com you type in ingredients that you have and it gives you recipes.

www.allrecipes.com also has a section on budget cooking: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cooking-on-a-Budget/Detail.aspx

[Alice R]

This is my #1 recipe to save money.

Ray Ray takes credit.

spaghetti, linguine or any pasta.

Cook it and drain it. Return to pot.
When it is very hot, put on a lot of butter.
Then, put on Parmeasan cheese or whatever cheese you like (we use parmesan and romano). It make a cheesy butter sauce.
Then coat with tomato sauce (in the same pot).

The kids LOVE it and it is much tastier than just plain spaghetti and sauce.

The cheese, I guess, it kinda expensive but we buy pounds of it so I don't really feel the cost of the cheese. :lol: (we eat a lot of Italian) It's also healthy. Pasta and sauce are good for ya.

[Suz MamaFrog]

Here's one of our favorites. It's fairly cheap, versatile and :yum:

1 16 oz. can corn
1 16 oz. can kidney beans
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
chili powder, to taste
chopped onion, green onions, and/or green pepper, if desired

1. Drain the "juice" off the canned veggies into the sauce pot.
2. Heat till boiling.
3. Add the fresh veggies and chili powder. Simmer until veggies are tender.
4. Add the canned veggies. Heat through.

Serve over baked potatoes, cooked rice, salad greens, tortilla chips or wrapped in tortillas. You can top with Cheddar cheese, salsa, and/or sour cream, if you like.

The simpler you keep this, obviously, the cheaper it is to fix. We really like it as a topping for baked potatoes or cooked rice.

HTH!

Blessings!
Suz

[Gwen in Texas]

Are you just looking for dinners? Here's what we do:

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner (scratch waffles, pancakes, or biscuits--freeze leftovers for quick breakfasts)

Tuesday: Whole chicken in crockpot

Wednesday: Beans (from dried, in crockpot if I think far enough ahead)

Thursday: Soup with leftover chicken and broth from carcass

Friday: Baked Potatoes or Pasta

Saturday: Burgers

Sunday: Biscuits and Gravy (gravy made from pan drippings of Sat. night burgers, biscuits are scratch)

Repeat. :)

[Kristine In Indiana]

This is a recipe that I usually take to pot lucks and ALWAYS get requests for it. This is just a cut & pasted version from what I e-mailed someone else a while back.

Mexicali Chicken (this is the original recipe)
2 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 can stewed tomatoes or salsa
1 can chili beans
6 oz. frozen corn
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups rice
shredded cheddar cheese
Cook chicken in olive oil and cut it up or shred. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour rice and stock into a baking dish. Place chicken on top, add everything else except for cheese. Cover and bake 30 minutes or until rice is tender (depending upon the kind of rice, it may take longer) Remove foil, add cheese and let it melt. Serve.

Ok, this is what I did today: I used about two cups of chicken, 2 cups corn (that I froze from my dads farm), 1 pint salsa, 3 cups chicken broth, 1 cup rice (that was all I had or I would have added more, it was Basmati rice, about a cup and a half of chili beans that started out dry, but I cooked them the day before. I cooked it on the stove because I didn't have enough time in the crock pot. (I could have added everything to the crock pot and cooked for at least four hours on high, I have done it this way before and it turns out fine) I cooked it on the stove for about 45 minutes and then let it cook in the crock pot for an hour and a half. I added the cheese before I brought it. (it was a mixture of mozz. & cheddar cheese)

This recipe can really be several dishes, I like it best baked in the oven. We sometimes have it with sour cream, chips or corn bread. I will use leftovers and roll in tortilla shells. I have also used hamburger in place of the chicken and beef bullion instead of chicken. Anyway, hope all of that makes sense.

Kristine

[ami*]

I think we are getting ready to go in to survival mode around here. My only give will be the grocery budget, so I have got to get serious/creative.

I am going to do something like this (seven days in a week) -

Rice Night
Pasta Night
Baked Potato Night
Bean/Lentils Night x 2
Pancake Night (traditional or latkes)
Pizza Night (homemade...I think I can do it for under $5 if I am choosy with the veggies)

And, like Gwen, repeat.

I just have to find cheap recipes to fill in. I want to vary it a bit and the rice, pasta, and bean nights make that very possible. As I find keeper recipes over the next few weeks, I will let you all know! :D

[Carrie Bozeman]

One of my favorite inexpensive recipes is pasta (any type) with butter and parmesan... then you add a fried egg (runny) on top, and bacon bits (I like the real bacon bits in the jar, obviously real fried bacon cut up would be :yum: too, but it's more expensive and takes longer to cook up).

Then you just cut the egg in and mix it all up. Mmmmm! It's one of my hubby's favorites too. Very filling, super quick and cheap. You can't beat that!

[SandraC]

That was me! We LOVE this recipe and I've make them about once a week. Whenever I have to take a dish somewhere, I make a batch, put it in a big pan, top it with sour cream, a jar of salsa, shredded cheese & cilantro from the garden and take a bag of chips. Everyone loves it!

This is another good site: http://www.livingonadime.com/
and I just found www.supercook.com you type in ingredients that you have and it gives you recipes.

www.allrecipes.com also has a section on budget cooking: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cooking-on-a-Budget/Detail.aspx

Kristine, you are just a gold mine! I am going to check these out and try the recipe you posted. Those beans are delicious! I was thinking as I was eating them that they would be great to take to a potluck supper. I am so glad you shared your good experiences doing that. We had some left last night, so we are going to enjoy eating them again.

Ami, I hear ya! We've had two months of unexpected expenses and the grocery bill is easiest and fastest one to cut, so I am going to be trying to cut our costs there big time for a month or two to make it up. And... trying to get dh to agree not to run the air-conditioning as much. This one isn't so easy. :unsure: I like it too, but I am turning into a female version of Jeff Foxworthy yelling at my family to turn somethin' off!

Sandra

[Victoria]

Hey Gals,

You might want to try Miserly Moms website too!!! I cant post the link from my laptop now, but anyway, it definately has some cheap, recipe ideas.:clap:

[Merrilee Morse]

Sorry if any of these are repeats; here are a few of the websites I have used for economy meals for years:

http://www.cheapcooking.com/index.htm

http://snider.mardox.com/

http://www.menus4moms.com/

http://frugalabundance.com/

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index.htm

http://miserlymoms.com/

[Sarah]

I will buy a lot of chicken when I find it on sale and I can stretch it forever. Chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes and rolls, chicken pot pie, chicken on top of fettucini alfredo. Or I'll buy a ham and have ham and beans, ham and potato casserole ham and cheese wrapped in crescent rolls. I guess I just stretch whatever meat I can get that is cheap or on sale.

[Rachael]

We make a lot of Mexican style dishes. Corn tortillas are very cheap, as are refried beans. A giant can of crushed tomatoes and a big bag of cheese from Sams, you're set to go. Add in lettuce, jalapenos, or chicken or beef... you have quite a few yummy meals or casseroles that even picky kids enjoy!

[ami*]

I found a decent deal on fresh sweet corn today at the Farmer's Market. We're going to try these this week:

Corn Fritters
2 cups corn
½ cup milk
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
Butter or maple syrup

Mix together all ingredients; beat well. Fry in fat, similar to making pancakes. Serve with butter or maple syrup.

Also, I made these Orange Muffins (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Muffins-2/Detail.aspx) today. They baked up big and the orange flavor was great (I added all the zest I could from one orange...not sure how much it was). One batch makes 12 = 3 days of breakfast for us if we each eat one. :)

[Alana]

Would you please post the meal that cost the least to prepare from your menu?

THANKS!:kiss:

[Robin in Colorado]

This one was a favorite of ours when I was growing up. When my dad fixes it for me, it still is.

One bag of pinto beans, prepared according to the package directions (ignore the ham seasoning).

Serve with the beans :

from-scratch cornbread

non-pickle relish (think green-tomato relish, or pear relish... check a produce stand or some little old lady from church)

cold milk

sliced sweet onions

sliced tomatoes

if you have okra or squash, slice, dredge in corn meal and fry until crisp-tender


This is my FAVORITE summer time meal, and my kids love it, too, and it is cheap as all get out. And living southerly, you should have no problem finding the fixin's.

[CaitlinAZ]

black bean, corn and avacado tostadas
bean and cheese burros
veggie pizza -its cold!! good for summer
lettuce wraps with peanut sauce
toasted pb and j
grilled cheese with tomato and ham
panini on french bread with whatever you have on hand
tuns malt or meatball boats

[Alana]

Sounds yummy! Thanks Robin!:yum:

[MichelleTN]

Ramen Noodles :roflol:

Sorry I couldn't help it. Dss really like these (I try not to serve them often). But in this heat and with money like it is around here we had them for supper last night.

Seriously I am glad you started this thread.

Robin that sounds great :yum: :yum:

[Robin in Colorado]

Thanks, ladies. To step it up a notch, add in some biscuits and home-made white gravy, and the joy of your tastebuds will be unbounded! :lol:

[Robin in Colorado]

Hey, I just thought of another one! We had this weekly when I was a child. My mom took night classes and Daddy cooked dinner on those nights; he cooked this every time. Here is the recipe:

Vacation Taters

Peel and dice enough potatoes to feed your family. Fry in a cast-iron skillet until crisp-tender.

Mound on plate, squeeze yellow mustard on top. Serve with "sweettea".


(Yes... no meat, no veggies, just taters. :yum:)

For variation, you could serve with gravy instead of mustard.

[JavaJackie]

Yellow Rice and black beans
biscuits and sausage gravy
angel hair pasta with marinara sauce
Pinto beans and corn bread
Baked potatos with broccoli and cheese

[Dee in NY]

Chicken fajitas

For a family of 6 we spend about 10.00 for the meal

3lbs chicken breasts(boneless, sliced thinly)
2 packages of fajita seasoning
shredded cheese
sour cream
tortilla shells

We use the left overs to make quesadillas for lunch the next day.

[MichelleTN]

Robin I do the tators too but I do add in just a small amount of browned ground beef or sausage. And don't add the mustard, ds1 and dh add ketchup and ds2 and myself add hot sauce.

Another cheap meal we like is egg noodles cooked and drained. Then add in a can or 2 of cream of chicken soup. Don't heat it, just add it to the hot noodles and stir. Then sprinkle in a little paprika and black pepper. :yum:
Sometimes if I have cooked a little to many noodles but I don't think I really need another can of soup but it is not creamy enough like it is I add in dollop of sour cream.

[Lisalyn]

Hey, I just thought of another one! We had this weekly when I was a child. My mom took night classes and Daddy cooked dinner on those nights; he cooked this every time. Here is the recipe:

Vacation Taters

Peel and dice enough potatoes to feed your family. Fry in a cast-iron skillet until crisp-tender.

Mound on plate, squeeze yellow mustard on top. Serve with "sweettea".


(Yes... no meat, no veggies, just taters. :yum:)

For variation, you could serve with gravy instead of mustard.

Robin,
These taters were a staple in our house growing up. :yum: Just add in onion and skip the mustard :p. Ketchup only! :D

Great with white beans and cornbread..... :yum:

[Michelle B.]

Kids favorite: pasta with olive oil-green beans or peas

My fav: Refried bean burritos with fresh tomato on top

Dh's favorite: *Stuff* This is a grad school creation. There's no exact recipe, but here's the basics. Brown ground beef, add some onion/garlic if you have any, add a can of rotel (or diced tomatoes), add a can of crm of chicken or mushroom soup and maybe some sour cream if you have any. Serve mixed in hot rice-feel free to go heavy on the rice. Great with a little extra tabasco. It's sort of like stroganoff. To serve as leftovers I've been know to top it with cheese and throw it in the oven-hint heat it first in the microwave then add cheese and leave it in the oven just long enough for the cheese to melt.

You can also add whole kernel corn to this to stretch it out-frozen or canned

[Lisalyn]

Cheap meals....

Tacos with the basics: ground beef, onion, lettuce, cheese, cheap taco seasoning and hard shells. Everyone will eat these.

Spaghetti with meat sauce: ground beef, onion, jarred sauce doctored with a little added tomato paste and seasonings and spaghetti noodles. Serve with french bread.

Weird Red Beans and Rice: My creation since noone here will eat the real thing..... :eyes:

Canned red beans heated through, then add chunky salsa. Cook down until juice is thick. Serve over brown rice, topped with sour cream, cheddar cheese and more salsa.

Beefy Mac and Cheese: Add cooked ground beef and onion to any regular mac and cheese, from homemade to Kraft.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuits:

Turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, melted american cheese on a biscuit-good for any meal around here!

ETA: We do eat more than ground beef, but you asked for cheap! :D

[MichelleTN]

Dh's favorite: *Stuff* This is a grad school creation. There's no exact recipe, but here's the basics. Brown ground beef, add some onion/garlic if you have any, add a can of rotel (or diced tomatoes), add a can of crm of chicken or mushroom soup and maybe some sour cream if you have any. Serve mixed in hot rice-feel free to go heavy on the rice. Great with a little extra tabasco. It's sort of like stroganoff. To serve as leftovers I've been know to top it with cheese and throw it in the oven-hint heat it first in the microwave then add cheese and leave it in the oven just long enough for the cheese to melt.

I fixed this tonight. My boys loved it. I fixed it with rotel and they said it was kinda spicy (I think the rotel was the hot one :eek1: :blush: ) but they liked it and both ate a ton of it.

Thanks for sharing

[Suz MamaFrog]

Mexican Casserole

1 can corn kernels
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
salsa OR chili powder
hot cooked rice

Heat veggies and salsa or chili powder until heated through. Add to cooked rice. Put in a casserole pan and bake for 10 minutes or so. (If you're really wealthy that week, you can top this with cheese....:lol: ) Serve.

This is actually rather healthy, as the beans, corn and tomatoes form a complete protein-rich vegetarian meal.

HTH!

Blessings!
Suz

[Jen M]

Sloppy Joe's a la Mommy:

1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 cup catchup
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
4 burger buns, toasted

Brown meat and drain
Mix in the other ingredients (besides buns ;) )
Simmer for a few
(I add the pepper and onion just before it is done simmering, to keep it crunchy.)
Serve on buns
Eat :yum:

[ami*]

Let me know if you want any recipes or need help with any of these "notes"

Corn Fritters and whatever might be fresh from the garden

We like Navy Bean Soup (beans, celery, 2 pieces of bacon, salt, pepper, etc.); I buy bacon on sale and divi it up 2-3 slices per bag and throw it in the freezer. This meal is less than $2.

Pasta with butter/garlic or just pasta with sauce. I am fortunate to live close to a huge tomato product factory, so I bought TONS of cans from their outlet a few weeks ago. Pasta sauce was less than .50/can.

Spanish Rice (yumm-o!)

Pancakes are cheap

Do you have the cookbook- More with Less? I bought some bags of lentils and am going to try some of those recipes soon.

Fried Rice with egg (but no meat)

Red Roasted Potatoes with whatever fresh garden veggies I can scrounge up (I steal from my dad's garden! :lol:)

Baked Potatoes with ? whatever

I am going to try a new recipe for a taco stack using 1/2 lb. ground beef and corn tortillas (they are cheap! I hope to find some more recipes using corn tortillas)

Last night we had popcorn.

I'm just full of exciting meals! Now you know why I never post on the meal thread! :lol:

My family will eat things like egg salad for dinner. It's pretty cheap to make.

Chicken Rice

Homemade Pizza is pretty cheap if you use some veggies from the garden and go lite on the pepperoni and cheese (I make my own sauce and crust)

Someone posted a recipe for pinto beans awhile back that looked good. I haven't tried the pizza beans yet, but plan to soon.

I try to think of these as my core foods (because I can get them for cheap)

Potatoes
Rice
Beans
Eggs
Bananas
Carrots
Whole Chicken/Thighs/Leg Quarters on sale
Oats

I have been 1/2 ing the ground beef in all my ground beef recipes. It works. :)

[Tammy Watson]

Black Bean Soup

2 cans black beans- drained (you could use dried beans also)
1 C Rice (cook per directions)(I have also done it in the soup and that works out it is just really thick)
1 can tomatoes (mexican or plain and I add seasonings for each person at table)
1 can corn (drained) (I have also used frozen)
2 can water or to desired consistancy

I cooked it on the stove low for at least 2 hours but you can do it quicker, I just like it low and slow

Serve with cheese on top

with corn bread and a salad

Tammy

[laurie in ok]

Great thread!

[SandraC]

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index.htm These recipes are supposed to be really cheap to make. I will often just make breakfast for supper- waffles, eggs, little bacon, etc.

HTH,:)
Sandra

[rachelmn]

Can of baked beans and jiffy corn bread.
Creamed eggs on toast. Make a basic white sauce and ad chopped up hard boiled eggs. Serve over cheap ripped up toast. :yum:
Bean burritos

[LisaW]

Hillbilly Housewife.com has some great low cost recipes...
I usually make pancakes or omelettes and just through whatever leftovers (meat or veggies) into it...
Fried corn cakes with beans is cheap too... My kids like it because I told them the pioneers lived off of it... ;)

[LisaW]

Of course, I forgot to add in pasta... A cheap sauce and you have a meal..
I like to buy the store brand seasoning pack and a can of tomato paste and let is simmer for awhile... Makes great spaghetti...:yum:

[TinaAK]

Our meal tonight was cheap: pizzaburgers(brown ground beef, add pizza sauce. Place mixture on hamburger buns, top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.) and serve with carrots and strawberries(or other fresh fruit).

[Cate]

Chicken rice soup is VERY inexpensive if you have had a chicken and have the carcass leftover.