Ideas for cheap meals?

[CrystalbusyMom]

Hi! I am a soon to be Mommy of 3 and we are on a tight budget. Any ideas to stretch our food dollars would be appreciated! Thank you!

[marnay]

One of my most favorite quick cheap meals is called "The Stuff"

1lb. hamburger
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can whole kernel corn, or peas or green beans
1 box macaroni and cheese dinner

brown hamburger and drain, add cream soup and vegetable. While doing
this make the macaroni and cheese according to the box directions. Once
both hamburger mixture and macaroni are ready, combine them. Serves 4-6

You can spice this up any way you like. Add onion to the hamburger,
garlic, Italian seasonings.. whatever it is yummy!




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Naydene & Delaney
DOB 4/21/99
Delaney's Page (http://www.delaney.lookscute.com)

Delaney's Doggies! (http://www.mastiff.thedogzone.com)
marnay1@earthlink.net

[*Debbie*]

I love rice & beans - it is one of my favorite meals

My kids love "Macaroni & Cheese, Tuna & Peas"
just add a can of tuna and a cup of peas to a box of macaroni and cheese.

We eat a ton of turkey - we cook a decent sized turkey and eat it all week! Turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing are all pretty cheap.

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Debbie debbie@storknetmail.com
Steve DH of 11 years
Liam Richard 8.7.93
Cailin McKenzie 10.23.94 - 11.2.94
Gillian Kerry 5.10.96
Taryn Kelsey 7.19.00
Taryn 6 months (http://www.3daviskids.homestead.com/Taryn6months.html) updated 1/13/01

{Edited by moderator to remove old smiley}

[Raven]

There is a recipie that my step-father came up with when he was a batchaler. It's called "Glop", yup that's what he calls it. It's a full meal in one pot.

What you need is a dutch oven, two boxes of generic rice a roni, a bag of some kind of frozen veggie, and either ground turkey or beef.

What to do:
1. brown your meat.
2. add the rice stuff, water, and veggie.
3. cover and cook at a simmer. stir occationally.
4. when rice is tender serve.

This also reheats well and when you are cooking it you can add season salt if you like.
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Unity Keller 3/29
Dh Matt Keller 4/30
Ds #1 Hiro Bernard Keller
5/3/00
20lbs 6oz. 27 inches
Baby #2 EED July 26, 2001
-Life can not be lived with out dreams to reach for.

{Edited by moderator to remove old smiley}

[AlexMom]

Lemon Chicken -
I swear this is really good! Even picky dh and 2 yr old niece love it.

You can use any pieces or types of chicken you want (boneless, skinless, or cut up). Brown chicken, add 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1/4 c. milk, 1 whole lemon with rind on - sliced, and 1 Tbs. of lemon juice. We also add sliced black olives, but they are optional. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 10 - 15 minutes.

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Sarah (SAHM & Army Wife)
Alexander Ryan 5/14/00
@ birth 20.5", 7lbs. 14oz.
@ 6 mos. 28" 16lbs. 4oz.
Alex's little corner of the Web (http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/alexanderryan)

[SusanH]

<font color=indigo>I usually make beans and rice by frying some onions, garlic and peppers, then adding crushed tomatos and black beans. Sometimes I add chili powder too. But if I'm really in a hurry, I'll just heat up the beans with some salsa - it's tasty and quick.

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Susan, proud mama of Susanna Jane, 2/3/00
(previously known as "Schrody2")
Co-moderator of the Attachment Parenting Forum
my home page (http://members.home.net/sharkavy/)

[SmileyMommy]

my hubby loves this one:

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb. (or so) ground beef
dash worcestershire sauce (optional)
small onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste

brown beef and onion, drain, add other ingredients. Serve over rice, noodles, or on a really tight week, a piece of bread.


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2 precious children in Heaven:
m/c Feb/00
baby Faith, born at 22 weeks, December 28, 2000, with us for a few moments
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

{Edited by moderator to remove old smiley}

[Keri]

This is fairly cheap and really easy...

Chicken Paprika

Bake chicken in oven till almost done. I use boneless skinless breasts, but I'm sure any pieces would work. Can also season them at this time. In the meantime, combine a can of cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup (generic is best) with about a cup of sour cream and a good amount of paprika. Pour this mixture over the chicken and continue to bake covered until the chicken is done. Can serve over rice. If you have them, adding canned mushrooms adds a little extra flavor. Oh, bake on 350 and it takes about 30 minutes or so.

Sorry this is so rambly! I don't have the actual recipe here! Oh, and I've found out that the fresh chicken breasts from the meat counter are actually cheaper than the prepackaged kind! They're bigger too, so I usually cut them in half length wise (like butterflying them) to get more chicken pieces.

Good luck in your search!! I think we've all learned something!!

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Keri B.
Rhianna Grace 11/22/99
The Big ONE!
#2 EDD 8/26/01

[garrysmom1]

Those recipes helped me A LOT!!!! I'm so glad I can rely on this site! I have cooked up 3 of them already!! My dh just loves it and it's easy and fast!

One of my dh favorites are:

Crab Cakes

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c sliced green onions
1/2 t dry mustard
1/2 pound imitation crab blend, flaked
additional dry bread crumbs
vegetable oil

Combine eggs, 1/2 c crumbs, lemon juice, onions and mustard. Fold in crab blend. Shape into 8 cakes; coat with additional crumbs. Brown in hot oil until golden on both sides!

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Dawne (34)
Garry (41)
Garry Jr born 8/7/99

[mommybess]

A few stand by's for us:

hot dogs in a blanket, wrap hot dogs inside a biscuit and bake. Serve with bar b qued beans.

buttered noodles - cook noodles (any kind) melt butter over them and sprinkler with parmesean cheese and slt and pepper, you can also add a box of frozen peas and carrots into noodles when cooking.

grilled cheese sandwhiches with tomato soup

chicken and yellow rice - use leftover chicken and toss into rice while cooking, you can add frozen veggies into this too

Oh and another good one is parmesean chicken,
bread boneless skinless chicken (use thighs to save money)and fry and then cover with spaghetti sauce, serve with noodles.

try breakfast for dinner - french toast or pancakes are cheap to make.
Hugs
Tracy

[MeganAnne]

I am vegetarian- so no meat recipes, but I picked out some good, tasty recipes for ya'll

Enjoy!

PS_ the recipes that call for pie crust- i just make my own. If you would like a quick & VERY easy (and cheap) pie crust recipe, please let me know and I will be happy to post one.
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Black Beans & Rice

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup uncooked white rice
1 1/2 cups low sodium, low fat vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 1/2 cups canned black beans, drained


Directions

1 In a stockpot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 4 minutes. Add the rice and saute for 2 minutes.
2 Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Add the spices and black beans.

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Black Bean Pie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1/3 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (9 inch) unbaked 9 inch pie crusts
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2 Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and green pepper until tender. Sir in beans, salsa, red bell pepper, chili powder, cayenne and black pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
3 Spoon half of the mixture into one of the pie crusts and cover with half of the cheese. Repeat with remaining beans and cheese. Top with remaining crust.
4 Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

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Vegetable Pot Pie

Ingrediants

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of potato soup
1 (15 ounce) can mixed vegetables, drained
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (9 inch) frozen prepared pie crusts, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2 In a medium bowl, combine potato soup, mixed vegetables, milk, thyme, and black pepper.
3 Spoon filling into bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, and crimp edges to seal. Slit top crust, and brush with beaten egg if desired.
4 Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

[LiviaLove]

Caesar salad with grilled Chicken or shrimp....it is so good we have eaten it three nights in a row:

Romain lettace
Croutons
2/3 cup corn oil
2/3 cup parm. cheese
dash of whestersher (sp) sauce
dash of lemon juce
dash of Mustard
3 cloves garlic mix and throw grilled chickn on top.

[JennB2]

MeganAnne - would you mind posting that pie crust recipe? TIA!

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Jenn
Married to Bret 4/97
Proud mommy to
Julianna Marie 9/1/2000
8lbs 6oz and 21.5 inches at birth

{Edited by moderator to remove old smiley}

[MeganAnne]

Here is the pie crust recipe: (sorry for getting this to you so late, I will e-mail it to you too!)
********************************************
Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, chilled
3 tablespoons ice water


Directions
1 Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.

2 Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

3 Roll out dough, and put in a pie plate. Fill with desired filling and bake.

[Kanga N Roo]

Here is my budget helper. I was spending something like 600.00/mo. at the grocery store but now only spend 250.00 to feed a family of 4 I bought a book called once a month cooking and did exactly as it said. It takes you step by step through the grocery store and my family loves everything we have made so far.

Here is my quick and inexpensive beef stroganoff hamburger helper style.

1 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can beef broth
sour cream and worcestershire sauce.
egg noodles

Brown the beef, add the soups and 2 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce.
Bring to a boil
Add 2 cups of egg noodles(roughly have a package)
simmer until noodles are soft add 8 oz sour cream stir well and serve.

Always a favorite.


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Dianna
Mommy to Gage (6-20-97) and Collin (4-12-00)

[This message has been edited by Kanga N Roo (edited 01-08-2002).]

[Zoemakes5]

Mine ideas aren't recipes, but ideas. First, one of the best things we did was purchase a stand-alone freezer. It allows me to take advantage of many of these ideas on a regular basis. We keep our's right out in the garage...smaller models are available, too.
The way I save money on groceries is to, as often as possible, buy the larger box/bag/container and use ziploc bags or rubbermade/tupperware to keep it good; use coupons whenever possible (as silly as it seems, I save an average of 20% on each of my trips); buy generic as frequently as you can, especially on the "grain" things (rice, noodles, cereal, bread, etc.) that don't seem to taste any different (actually, in many areas, the "generic" is packaged in the same facility with the same food as the "name brand"); fix larger portions, freezing leftovers for lunches; shop the sales, stocking up when things are on sale; peanut butter is a nice protein that isn't terribly expensive; buy things with less packaging and make packages yourself (I learned this the hardway with my boys' lunches....I would always buy them the individual bags of chips, whether in multipacks or individually, and paid way too much!); if you have a butcher around, buy beef and pork in sides (or half-sides) or go in with someone else to be able to buy....we do this at least once a year and get roasts, steaks, liver (yuck!), hamburger, etc. at about 1.75/pound; look toward non-grocery ads, often they will try to induce you in the door by offering cereal, canned goods, etc. at very low costs; having breakfast for dinner can be a lot cheaper; buy the frozen bagged chicken....lots cheaper; buy chunk cheese, instead of the pre-shredded stuff; buy frozen concentrated juice, instead of the bottles....can't think of any more 10-cent wisdom to share...hope it's helpful!!!

[neza]

I posted here once already, but the best thing I do to save on groceries is buy only 2 or 3 kinds of meat. I buy pretty good stuff, too, but I buy it on sale and a lot at a time. I buy chicken either whole (for roasting or on my grill's rotisserie), bone in thigh/breast for baking or boneless breast (usually @ $1.89/lb) which I freeze individually and store in big zipper bags. Cube steak is a treat for swiss steak suppers.

For beef I buy very lean ground on sale for under $2 and freeze in patties for easy thawing. I sometimes buy roast on sale because it makes good leftovers and is a no-brainer to cook.

I only buy pork in whole boneless loins which I slice and freeze myself. We don't eat a lot of pork, though, so a loin lasts a LONG time.

My menus usually center around the protein, so getting it cheap and having enough on hand is really important. I have done this to some extent even before I got a deep freeze.

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New mom @ 38
Happy wife to Tom
sarah lynn 2/12/01
who is just silly all day!

[gsob]

reat recipe....

6 chicken breast
2 cans of Cambell chedder
cheese soup
2 cans filled w/ holland white
cooking wine
Lots of sliced mushrooms can or
fresh

just throw everything in your crock pot and let it cook for about 5-6 hours on low depending on your crockpot. This comes out so good, it's like a marsala sauce. It's not a thick cheese sauce it's more like a light whit wine sauce. You can throw it on pasta or white rice. It taste like a meal from a fine italian restraunt enjoy!

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Andrea 30 Dh Bobby 29
DD Gabrielle 11/13/01

Gabrielle (http://www.picturetrail.com) username=gsob1

[Jime´s mom]

I´m Latin, so rice and beans are a essential part of our diet. Cook some beans with enough water, garlic, origanum and salt, to make a taty "broth", and cook some eggs in water. Then serve the "beans' broth" with the egg and some rice, it´s a very tasty, cheap and delicious soup.
Fry some leftover beans with a little oil, add chopped onion, cilanter and red pepper, then add the rice, and it tastes good, it´s called "Gallo Pinto" in my country.
Cook chicken breats (with bones) with water, salt, and anything that makes a tasty broth. Then cook as much rice as you need using the chicken broth instead of water, add anything you use to make a regular rice. After the rice is cooked, add the chicken (into very small pieces), some shredded carrots, green beans, peas, or any fresh or canned vegetable you want, mixed it well. You can make regular rice, add some chopped ham, hot dogs, or anything you have, fry some shredded cabbage and carrots and some green onions in a little margarine, add soy sauce and mixed it with the rice.

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Leonor
Proud mother of Jimena
5/30/00
18 months stats:
22 lbs. 31 inches.

Jimena (http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/jime)

[huntergirl]

My favorite cheap (and BIG) meal is veggie lasagna. I can make two pans (at *least* 8 servings each) for less than $15. Add a tossed salad & garlic bread, and dinner is served!

Lasagna noodles $0.99
Marinara sauce, two jars (I make my own but have seen on sale for $1.99/jar) $3.98
Mozzarella, one pound (I buy a 5-pound block, shred & freeze it) $1.49
Ricotta, one pound $3.99
Frozen spinach $0.59
Zucchini, half pound $0.40
Mushrooms, one pound $1.99

Cook the noodles so they are still pretty firm. Drain & set aside. Drain the spinach & stir together with the ricotta. Chop the zucchini & mushrooms & mix together. In two 9x13 pans, drizzle a bit of marinara, then layer: noodles, ricotta/spinach, zucchini/mushrooms, marinara, mozzarella, and repeat. Bake at 350 for about an hour, until hot & bubbly. If I'm freezing it in portions, I bake it first; if I plan to serve it whole, I freeze it unbaked.

A few weeks ago, I found ricotta on sale for 1.99 a tub, so I got two of them. I had the noodles, mozzarella, spinach & zucchini already, and the mushrooms were also on sale, so I made *four* pans of lasagna for about $20!
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Hunter

Proud mommy to:
Emma, 11/6/96
Alison, 5/5/98
Ingrid, 11/11/99
Jack, 3/28/01
Zachary, 3/28/01

[This message has been edited by huntergirl (edited 01-16-2002).]

{Edited by moderator to remove old smiley}

[ElsieB]

This is such a great thread! I have made many of the recipes here and they have all been wonderful.

Leonor--you must be from Costa Rica! It's been way too long since I had gallo pinto--and boy am I craving it now!

A couple more to add (since I have gotten so much from here):

<u>Casserole for the Crowd</u>

2 lbs. ground beef
1 C. chopped onion
1 (12 oz) can corn, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 C. sour cream
1/4 C. chopped pimiento
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Accent
1/4 tsp pepper
3 C. cooked noodles
1 C. buttered cracker crumbs

Brown meat. Add onions and cook until tender. Add next 8 ingredients and mix well. Stir in noodles. Pour into casserole dish. Sprinkle with buttered crumbs. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

<u>Chili Hominy Bake</u>

1/2 C. chopped onion
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp chili powder
1 can chili con carne with beans
1 can hominy, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef and onions; drain off excess grease. Mix in other ingredients except cheese. Bake in covered casserole dish for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered for 5 minutes more (or until cheese is melted).

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Elsie
Mommy to Thomas (6-15-99)
BabyB due 5-21-02 ~*~It's a GIRL!~*~
Visit us! (http://www.angelfire.com/sd/Bustamantes/index.html)
Co-Moderator for Stork Club 2 and Food for the Family

[Sarah#4]

Hi! Great recipes on here! I have one tip too....if I happen to be running low on ground beef, I add around half to a full cup of rolled oats to stretch the ground beef further...of course to do this a lot more liquid needs to be added. This works super for any ground beef on pasta type meals, I also use it in meat balls. Just add the rolled oats to ground beef after it has been cooked and add more tomato or stock or whatever liquid you are using in that recipe, nobody even notices that it is not meat!

[bkaye]

Love this!
2-4 cube steaks, lightly season flour and put meat in on both sides, lightly brown in a little oil on both sides, set meat on paper towels to drain and stir in one envelope of beefand onion ( or just onion ) lipton soup mix, 1 1/2 ( or so ) cups of water, stirring good and then add one can of cream of mushroom soup stirring together ( you may have to whisk ) once mixed together well put meat in the gravy mixture, turn heat up a little, once to a low boil then turn down to a simmer and cover for 15-20 or so.
I serve this with mashed potatoes and it is oh so yummy!!
HTH

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Me 30 SAHM
Dh 28 USARMY Recruiter
09-20-01 Gabrielle Elizabeth 8 Lb 2 Oz
@2months 11lb 11Oz
@4months 15lb 1 0z
come see her ~ http://members.tripod.com/nathanbrendababy

[This message has been edited by bkaye (edited 02-25-2002).]

[Eureka]

This is not so much about the food itself, but if you don't already, use coupons and combine them with sales to get food for cheap. I have gotten tons of rice a roni for example, for 16 cents a box, canned veggies for 24 cents a can, etc.

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Erica
DS born 12/11/00

[katy]

First, a couple of ideas. So many recipes call for cubed (or shredded) cooked chicken. Instead of buying boneless skinless, buy whole fryer chickens (don't buy roaster chickens--they're usually more expensive per pound, and I have no idea why other than that they are bigger and they have the little pop-up timer!). Put it in a stockpot, cover with water, and put in scraps from veggies that you've stored in the freezer. When you use celery, save the leaves and ends. When you use carrots or onions, save the peels. These things, while you don't want to eat them, still are packed with flavor and are perfect for making broth. Also add a couple of cloves of garlic and some seasonings (parsley, thyme, salt & pepper, etc). Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for an hour or so. Remove the chicken, cool, and shred it. Store it in individual packages--whatever size you need for a casserole or other dish. Allow the broth to cool. Skim the fat off the top. Line a colander with cheesecloth (you can find it pretty cheap if you look around). Put the colander over a bowl or pot big enough to hold the broth. Pour the broth into the colander to strain the veggies and herbs out. Ladel the strained broth into individual freezer containers. Use whenever a recipe calls for broth. This tastes so much better than canned, it's cheaper, it has less salt, and you get the cooked chicken! Plus, I just love that I can use "scraps" that I would otherwise throw away.
Use broth to add to water that you cook rice in. That really makes rice much more interesting, and you don't even need butter. Also, of course, it's a great starter for chicken soup.
You can do the same with beef, but make sure you get something with lots of bone, or ask the butcher for soup bones.
And of course, you can just use the veggies for veggie broth, but you might want to use more than what I listed for more taste.
Also, whole chickens are SO much cheaper than cut-up or boneless skinless. Invest in a good boning knife, and learn how to use it. It seems impossible to split and bone a chicken, but it's easier than you'd think.

Now for a cheap recipe:

Beef Skillet Dinner

1 lb ground beef
2 c. chopped onion
1 Tbsp oil
3 c. uncooked bowtie noodles
3 c. tomato juice
1/2 c. sour cream
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. celery salt (opt-don't go out an buy this if you won't use it for anything else!)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c water

Cook beef and onion in oil. Place uncooked noodles on top of meat mixture. Combine tomato juice and sour cream. Blend well. Add remaining ingredients. Pour over noodles, taking care to moisten noodles well. Do not stir! Bring to boil. Turn heat low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Tater tot casserole

1 lb hamburger
1/2 c. onion
1 (32 oz) bag frozen tater tots (store brand)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (store brand)
butter
green beans
cheddar cheese

Cook hamburger and onions together. PLace in a casserole dish with beans on top. Spread cream of mushroom soup over beans. Mix together. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over soup. Place tater tots over cheese with a few teaspoons of butter on top. Cook at 350 degrees until bubbly. Amount of cheese, beans and tater tots used depends on size of casserole dish and individual desire.

Check with local churches, clubs, and anyplace else that might have put together cookbooks. Those often have simple, cheap and delicious recipes because they are submitted by people like us!

[merrily]

Our favorite cheap meal is baked beans in the crock pot.

beans .29 at Save A Lot or Aldi
ketchup .79 for 28 oz bottle
2 hot dogs .69 package of 8 bought on sale & frozen in portions for later
molasses,dry mustard, vinegar, dash of cayenne and thickener.

dh usually makes cornbread/muffins or wheat bread from scratch to go w/ this meal.

We don't use coupons except for cereal, because we can't eat most convenience foods, so we cook lots from scratch.

[Quoth]

Homemade soup and some crusty bread! Healthy, filling, cheap, and easy to freeze if you cook in large quantities.

Here's my auld Granny's lentil soup recipie.

Lentil Soup
3/4 of a cup of red lentils
2 large carrots
1 large potato
Turnip - about equal amount to carrot (do you get turnips there? The big purpley skinned/yellow fleshed kind?)
1 large onion
Ham stock cubes (1 per pint of water added)
1 bay leaf

You'll need a huge pot, or 2 smaller ones. Rinse the lentils and bring to the boil first to soften. Add as much water as you want depending on how thick you like your soup. Add the stock and the bay leaf.

I chuck everything else in a food processor and chop very finely, until it's almost grated in appearance. Add to the lentils, bring to the boil and simmer for at least an hour until it's nicely thickened. You can add more water if you feel it's too thick.

Chicken and pasta soup
Leftover chicken, or two chicken breasts chopped into tiny pieces.
2 carrots
Turnip - about the same quantity as carrot
1 leek or 1 large onion
1/2 cup pasta shapes (I like the tiny ones designed for making soup)
Chicken stock cubes (1 for each pint of water)

Chuck all the veggies in the food processor and blend until very finely chopped, again so they look grated. Poach your chicken (if it's not already cooked), drain and put everything but the pasta in a pot and cook through. Add your pasta towards the end of cooking time for however long the shapes take to cook. If you're freezing this soup set aside what you plan to freeze before adding the pasta to what you plan to eat that day. You can add the pasta to the frozen soup when you defrost it.

I have loads of soup recipies if anyone's interested. Home made soup is a great Winter warmer on a cauld Scottish night and it's so easy to make and freeze. I'm by no means a master cook but I do make good soup.


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Me - Quoth, DH - Sheepdug.
From Scotland, land of haggis, whisky, Nessie and er...rain.
Expecting our first baby - EDD 7th September
Mum & Dad to Meg (Border Collie)

[This message has been edited by Quoth (edited 06-13-2002).]

{Edited by moderator to remove old smiley}

[~MIKAVA~]

This is a great tasting meal,if you like chicken & dumplings you'll love this.And it costs about $12.00 to make including the frozen biscuits.It's CHICKEN & ORZOS.For those who don't know what Orzos are,they are a rice shaped pasta that you will find in the pasta isle at the grocery store.
you will need:
1 WHOLE FRYER CHICKEN(it doesn't have to be very big,I spend at the MOST $6.00)
1 CAN OF CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP
1 CAN OF CHICKEN BROTH
1 BOX OF ORZOS
A HEAPING TBL SPOON OF ONION POWDER
A TSP OF PARSLEY(fresh or dried)
A 1/4 TSP OF BLACK PEPPER
A 1/4 TSP OF SAGE (make it a level 1/4 tsp,you don't want too much)
CORNSTARCH & MILK or FLOUR(whichever you prefer to thicken gravy)
PILLSBURY FROZEN COUNTRY STYLE BUTTER BISCUITS
OK, clean and section the chicken,put chicken in a large cooking pot,add water till it's just covering the chicken,bring to a boil,lower heat to med/high,and cook until done(about 20/30 min)
When chicken is done,remove from pot and put on a plate(SAVE THE WATER IN THE POT!!)this will be the main part of your gravy.Put the plate of chicken in the freezer to cool it until it's OK to handle without burning yourself(about 10-15 min)While it's cooling you can start your gravy.Add the can of cream of chicken, the chicken broth & all the seasonings to the pot.Simmer on med heat.Cook Orzos(follow directions on box)
As soon as the chicken is cooled enough for you to handle your going to add just the meat to the pot(discard the fat & bones)
Now it's time to thicken the gravy.There are different ways to do this,use whichever way you prefer.I usually turn up the heat and get it boiling then I remove it from the heat and add a cornstarch & milk mixture,like a tbl spoon of cornstarch in a 1/4 cup of milk,sometimes I have to use a little more.If you use this don't mix the cornstarch & milk until you are ready to put it in.After it's added, stir well.Also the gravy will thicken a little more when it cools slightly.Once you get it how you want it just add the Orzos and gravy to a big bowl and mix well.I usually serve with Pillsbury frozen country style butter biscuits.We have 2 adults and 2 kids in our house and there are always PLENTY of leftovers because it makes quite a lot( and it tastes even better the second day!)From start to finish it usually takes me about an hour to make and it's definitely worth it!!


------------------
~BARB in FL~(26)
mommy to:MIKEY(5)
KAELYN(2)
VANESSA LANE DUE 9/23
DH MIKE(25)

[ever-blessed]

love this thread.

something we ate a lot when i was a kid was cooked pasta (any kind, but we usually had elbow macaroni) added to a can of stewed tomatoes and kidney beans.

not sure if it was weird that i liked it as a kid, but i really really did. sometimes we just had the pasta in tomatoes if we had no beans. you could add whatever you want, though. i guess it's a cross between chili and spagetti.

katherine

[Leigh]

The cheapest meal ever is:

1 box of mac and cheese
1 can of tuna

Fix the mac and cheese as directed on box then drain and add the tuna.

Also some of my favorites are:

Bean sprout casserole (its actually good!)

brown 1 lb hamburger meat
add 1 can cream of chicken soup and
1 can of bean sprouts
when it starts bubbling add
rice - cover and reduce heat to low until rice is cooked

You can use the same recipe with tomato soup and chili beans instead of cream of chicken soup and bean sprouts

Also there is "sheppards pie"

1 lb hambuger meat
2 boiled eggs
cream of chicken soup
mashed potatoes

*you can also add corn, mushrooms, or peas.

Brown the meat and add the soup and cut up eggs, I usually cook it in a small casserole pan. Top with mashed potoes and broil until potoes brown.

Its really yummy and really filling too!

[goofygirl]

someone suggested i post this here. something about an old thread...

here's my situation. i'm getting married in october. on a whim last week, my FI and i looked at a house and fell in love with it. we scrambled last week like crazy to get the financing and contracts and such and through some pure miracle in itself - we got this house.

we close on the 28th. and we are going to be VERY poor. or at least it will feel like it anyway.

i'm a pretty decent cook. but i need some good dinner recipies for the working mom on a tight tight budget to help us get by for awhile. hot dogs and mac and cheese just aren't going to cut it for that long.

and there is only so many ways to make hamburger...

can anyone help me get a nice collection started?

[KariLynn]

These are relatively inexpensive dinners I make from leftovers or from what is on hand in the cupboard or freezer:

White Chili
Chicken enchiladas
Meatloaf
Saucy meatballs
Tacos
Tuna noodle casserole
Ham Bone Soup
Lentil Stew
Split pea soup
Burritos

If any of these look good, I'll type out the recipe. :)

BTW - Here are my handy hints at stretching a food budget.

PLAN. No two ways about it, planning meals cuts down on money spent on food. Plan your meals one week in advance around the store sales and specials, make your list of ingredients you need and shop only once a week. (Hard to do if you're not used to it, but it also saves $$ on gas!)

I plan my weekly meals around what's on sale, and stretch that into two meals. If chicken is on sale, I'll roast 2 chickens one night, and then have chicken enchiladas another night from the leftover chicken. Another way to stretch a food budget is to have one or two meals a week of casseroles, soups or stews. Smoked ham shank is a perfect example. One meal would be the ham, and from the left overs make scalloped potatoes and ham, lentil or split pea soup with ham, or ham-bone soup.

Look carefully at inexpensive cuts of meat. These cuts of meat may not cost a lot per pound, but they often have a lot of waste, like bones. (A whole turkey is a good example.) Some times boneless skinless chicken breasts are a better buy because there is no waste involved.

I also try to plan on serving one meatless meal a week - usually pasta in a simple sauce with lots of veggies. Dried beans are another good source of protein and are very inexpensive.

[KariLynn]

These are one of my favorites! Use the left-overs on a hoagie roll for a really good meatball sandwich!

Saucy Meatballs

Meatballs
1 lb ground beef
1/2 C minute rice
1/2 C bread crumbs
1 egg
1 T dried diced onion (opt)
1/2 C ketchup
dash worchestershire
salt & pepper

Sauce
1 C Ketchup
1/4 C cider vinegar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix meatball ingredients together and form into 2" meatballs. Place on a greased casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake @350 for 20 min. Mix sauce ingredients together. Remove foil and pour sauce over meatballs. Bake an additional 15 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with white rice.

NOTE: The sauce can be adjusted to your individual taste. My family likes a sweeter sauce, so I add a little extra brown sugar. You can also use balsamic vinegar to vary the taste. I also double the sauce for a meatloaf topping, or to baste pork chops with. Enjoy!

[KariLynn]

Here are my handy hints at stretching a food budget.

PLAN. No two ways about it, planning meals cuts down on money spent on food. Plan your meals one week in advance around the store sales and specials, make your list of ingredients you need and shop only once a week. (Hard to do if you're not used to it, but it also saves $$ on gas!)

I plan my weekly meals around what's on sale, and stretch that into two meals. If chicken is on sale, I'll roast 2 chickens one night, and then have chicken enchiladas another night from the leftover chicken. Another way to stretch a food budget is to have one or two meals a week of casseroles, soups or stews. Smoked ham shank is a perfect example. One meal would be the ham, and from the left overs make scalloped potatoes and ham, lentil or split pea soup with ham, or ham-bone soup.

Look carefully at inexpensive cuts of meat. These cuts of meat may not cost a lot per pound, but they often have a lot of waste, like bones. (A whole turkey is a good example.) Some times boneless skinless chicken breasts are a better buy because there is no waste involved.

I also try to plan on serving one meatless meal a week - usually pasta in a simple sauce with lots of veggies. Dried beans are another good source of protein and are very inexpensive.

[jestie]

a popular fast meal..is "papas con huevo"
or potato with egg.

cut up a potato into tiny cubes(dice) fry the potatos like u would fry french fries..but not toooo brown...then add as many or as few eggs as u like..scramble..salt to taste.

warm some flower tortillas...and make urself some tacos.
add hot sauce if u like.

that is very easy..since u can dice the potatoes early in the day...let them sit in water until dinner time..when dh gets home cookem up..takes about 15 min.


i have lots off egg & such recipies... u can email u some if u like.

jessica

[Webwaddle]

Great thread!

Spanish Rice and Beef

Ground Beef
Can diced tomatoes
Chopped onion
4 slices crumbled bacon
Cooked rice

Brown the ground beef (or turkey), saute the onions, mix that with everything else and bake for an hour. Salt & pepper to taste. Throw in some paprika or chili pepper for a little more zing!

[lathamary]

I'm sorry if someone already posted this but it's 3 am and I don't feel like reading through all the posts (sorry :o )

Brown hamburger and add 1 can of tomato soup per pound of hamburger. Stir. You can stir in ketchup and chilli powder, too, to make it a little mroe tasty, or add your own ingredients. It's cheap and easy.


Being from MN (you betchya), I also have to add a recipe for hamburger hotdish :) This is an old (many generations) family dish we call Goulash:

brown a lb or so of hamburger
add 1 can or jar spaghetti sauce
add some elbow noodles
add some ketchup

this is a dish you need to perfect yourself to your liking. You can add shredded cheese or onions or a whole array of other things - whatever sounds good. That's the fun of a hotdish!

[crittermom]

I admit, we are not on a tight food budget, but I had been for many years (and if I were the primary grocery person, we would be stricter now too).

One of our favorite easy/cheap dinner solutions is breakfast-- eggs or french toast or waffles. Add some fruit and a pot of tea (decaf of course) and it can seem ritzier than it is.

I also love pastas (veggie lasagne is yummy!) , soups and chili.

And speaking of Gallo Pinto...I had a strange craving for it on Friday!

[ShannonB25]

Beans and wieners with mac and cheese

Don't laugh too hard at our family's little budget meal:
"Hamburger and Beans over Rice"

Brown 1/2 pound of hamburger, drain.
Add:
2-3 cans pork and beans
4-5 dashes worshtersheir sauce
dash garlic
2 tsp chili powder

Mix well, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve over steamed rice (or you can mix it in with the rice, which is what I prefer).

Totally cheap and easy meal, plus my son loves it :)

[tandpsmom]

I have a couple of meals for you.

1.) Sheperds Pie

1 lb Ground Beef
1 can tomato soup (we use the generic brand of all the canned items)
1 can green beans
1 can corn
1 box instant mashed potatoes (we use the garlic kind)
shredded cheese (which if you shred yourself is a lot cheaper)

Brown Hamburger and make mashed potatoes at the same time
drain the water off the green beans and the corn ( I recommend washing the green beans so they don't have that canned taste to them)
mix hamburger, green beans, corn and tomato soup in a casserole dish
Mix cheese into mashed potatoes and cover the other mixture with the mashed potatoes.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes

We serve this with macaroni and cheese. It is quite yummy!!!


2.) Tuna and noodles
1 can tuna
1 can cream of mushroom soup
egg noodles
crackers

boil noodles (as many and you want, I usually do half a package)
mix drained can of tuna, soup and noodles together in casserole dish
crumble crackers over the top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I serve this with a can of corn.

3.) Bean Burger
1 lb ground beef
1 to 2 cans pork and beans (your choice)
some ketchup and mustard

Brown hamburger, drain and mix in beans and ketchup and mustard to taste.
Heat and serve.

4.) Sloppy Joes
1 lb ground beef
1 large can tomato soup
mustard

Brown hamburger, drain and add tomato soup and mustard to taste
Serve over hamburger buns or just bread (cheaper sometimes)

Serve with Tator tots, very yummy

5.) Ziti
1lb ground beef
2 cans tomato sauce
small macaroni noodles
mozarella cheese

brown hamburger, mix in sauce and simmer while noodles cook
mix hamburger sauce and noodles in a dish
mix in as much mozzerella cheese as you want and cook at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes.
take out of oven and stir up to make sure cheese is evenly spread out!!!



I hope this helps. These are a few staples at our house!

Erin

[Mom-2-3-girls]

A switch up on the normal Sloppy Joe is to use hamburger, milk, and Cream of Mushroom soup. Use that filling on buns with fried potatoes. YUMMY! :)

soup 40 cents (for off brand)
buns 50 cents at bread store
hamburger just watch sales
and potatoes are cheap!

[karen.jersey]

I'm so glad this one got pulled out from the "vault"! I just printed the whole thread.

My contributions:

Divine Divan

cooked, diced chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
approx 1/2 lb american cheese, sliced (deli or prepackaged)
cooked chopped broccoli (10oz froz pkg or similar fresh)

Basically, layer the ingredients. Start with soup, chicken, broccoli, then cover the layer with cheese. Repeat twice more, ending with soup. Cover, 350 oven for 30-35 min.

(I like this one b/c it helps to get rid of the deli cheese that is on it's way out by the end of the week.)

**********
Biscuit Topped Pot Pie

cooked, diced chicken
frozen veggies
1 c sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
5 or 6 flaky biscuits from the can

In a casserole, mix the soup with the sour cream. Add veggies & chicken (no specific amount--as much as looks good). Split the biscuits in half and layer over the mixture. Cover, 350 1 hour until biscuits are golden.

***********


I'm a big fan of buying the roasting chickens and using the meat for the whole week. With these meals, you can use the dark meat as well as the white meat.

[carissanboys]

Not sure if anyone has had this before, but we had it tonight and I thought it would be a great one to post. My husband's family made it and this was my 3rd attempt at duplicating the dish. Tonight's try was by far the best. It's very inexpensive to make and quite yummy. Not the most nutritious meal, but it's not bad.

Hamburger Pinwheels

Make a batch of biscuit mix. You can use Bisquick, but personally, I think from scratch are much better (and cheaper) and quite easy. I'll post the recipe that I used tonight.

*Biscuits*

2 cups of flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup of shortening, margarine, or butter
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sour cream

In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in shortening (or margarine or butter) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center; add milk and sour cream all at once. Stir just until dough clings together. (you don't have to use sour cream...just increase the milk to 2/3 of a cup...but I find the sour cream makes them really moist)

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently 10 to 12 strokes. Roll dough into a rectangular shape (roughly the size of a cookie sheet).


While you're making the biscuits, take a pound of ground beef (I used the leanest kind) and brown in a skillet with an onion chopped, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Once it's cooked, add some cheese (I used about 4 oz of cheddar) and stir. You can turn off the burner at this point and just let it sit.

Spoon the hamburger mixture into the center of the biscuit dough (center in a line, not all in one pile). Then either roll the dough up or just fold sides up (might be easier to fold since it may be sticky). Then using a knife, cut into slices (pinwheels). I probably got about 8 pinwheels. Place onto a cookie sheet. (I find it's best to place them "standing up" instead of "laying down" meaning biscuit is on top and bottom.) Bake at 350 until biscuits are done (about 15 minutes).

While the pinwheels are baking, you can make a gravy to go with it. If you're familiar with making gravy, go ahead and use whatever method you'd like. I was never really taught how to make a gravy so I kind of wing it. Here's how I made mine tonight:

*Gravy*

In the same pan you cooked your beef (I didn't really have any juice left as I used lean beef) add a bit of water to cover the bottom of the pan and a beef bouillon cube. Stir until the goodies on the pan are lifted up and the cube is dissolved. Then add a Tbsp. of butter or margarine and stir until melted. Stir in 2 Tbsp. of flour until it forms a paste. Then add as much milk as needed to make the amount of gravy you need. Stir with a whisk to try and dissolve the flour into the milk. I added a little salt and pepper and stirred until thickened. Afterwards I poured through a strainer to get rid of all of the bits of flour and onions.

I served the pinwheels with broccoli and cauliflower and had a complete meal. Very inexpensive (ground beef is pretty cheap and I always have onions and baking items on hand). It looked quite nice on the plate (my husband said it looked gourmet, but he's easy to please :)) and was really, really yummy. An easy meal, but very filling. Both my kids liked it. I'll be making this more often now.