What kind of cheap food or meals you eat?

tifferoni326

I make meatloaf and everyone loves it, even my father who hates turkey (says its nasty)

1 lb-1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1-3 eggs depending on preference
1 pkg Knorr vegtable soup mix
ketchup..which gets spread on top of the formed loaf to form a nice crust

I also love the refried ban soup recipe I got from someone- fat free refried beans and like 8 oz V8 hot and spicy, mix and heat

Also I mix a couple servings of cooked pasta, canned tuna (in enough amount to noodles so that its a tuna casserole not a noodle casserole w tuna) and cream of mushroom soup

turkey burgers are great

O I will also take a pita, split it in half and stuff it with cooked chicken breast, mozerella cheese and bbq sauce, this is really good and extra pitas last forever in the freezer

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vessa

wow, how fantastic, all these great meals. Funny on the hamburger helper thing, I love that stuff, husban does not understand it. He eats it if i make it, but I only buy hamburger helper now that I don't like, stroganoff not even allowed in house! I pray someday I am stronger, but I think it is a pain how I can eat very high fat/salt/calorie foods easily, and choke after 2 bites of a salad or orange. Well, I guess that is why it is called a "tool" not an answer. Thanks for all the neat ideas. I just recently decied to switch over to 98% ground beef instead of ground turkey, 2.5 grams of (i think, dont quote me)fat in 4 oz. compared to 17!!!! grams of fat in 4 oz. of ground turkey. Like the gal who said all her food costs more, I same way. My husband and daughter can eat maybe $35 combined in a week, mine is twice that if I'd get what I really want. But as mom & cook, I want to give them best, you know, do i have to give up getting girl a new toy so I can have fat free cheese? Thats my dilemma. Thanks everybody!

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GoMe

You might want to try this version:

HOMEMADE HAMBURGER HELPER


1/3 - 1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 can French Onion Soup

2 cans water (use can from French Onion Soup)

1/2 bag frozen veggies of choice

1 box Mac 'n Cheese

2 slices American cheese

Brown, crumble and drain the meat in a large skillet that has a lid. Add soup and water. Add the veggies and bring to a boil. Stir in the macaroni (add a bit more water if needed to just cover the contents). Bring to a boil again; lower heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer 15-20 minutes or until liquid is mostly absorbed.

Stir in the cheese packet and top with the sliced cheese. Cover again for another 3-5 minutes. Stir and enjoy!!

GoMe

This is an old Weight Watchers recipe. It's really good, filling and makes a lot.

TACO SOUP

1 lb. ground turkey (or lean ground beef)

1 large onion, chopped

1 pkg. Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix

1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

1 can pinto beans

1 can Chile Hot Beans

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can stewed tomatoes (Mexican flavor)

1 can stewed tomatoes (any flavor)

Brown meat and onion; drain. Mix Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix into meat. Then, without draining, add all of the other ingredients. Simmer one hour.

brandottie01

Red Beans and rice. We use one pack of pork sausage for about $2 1 bag red beans $1 and rice $2 and we eat that for about two nights. Of course I season with Toni's (a spice in Louisiana), chili powder, salt, garlic powder, pepper and onion powder. We also serve with cornbread sometimes. You put the beans to soak in water overnight. Add sausage in the morning, and spices and turn on Low until soft. (usually I have it on from 7AM until 4PM). Cook the rice and serve the beans over rice.

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Brandi
Louisiana
banded 8/8/07:clap2::whoo:

lessnless

I wanted to recommend a website I came across some time ago: Hillbilly Housewife. In addition to recipes, there's a section with a week's menu/shopping for...like...$50.

Hope this helps.

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Jachut

Aldi started out here in Australia about five, six years ago ans seriously I think we coudlnt afford to eat without them!! I find I have to be careful though because they're big on processed food and not huge on fresh healthy food and the fruit is TERRIBLE!

But I do Aldi first for some meat, milk, yogurt, snack foods for the kids, cat food, cleaning and bathroom products (for everyone except me, lol, I wouldnt wash my hair with that crap!), washing powder etc etc. Then I will head to a fruit and vegetable wholesaler nearby and we have a meat wholesaler too, we're very lucky where I am and the 4 Aldi's nearby bring down the prices in big chain supermarkets - we really couldnt afford to move out of this area or our groceries would double.

Nonetheless these are the things I do to keep the price down. I stick with basic fruit and veg - apples, bananas, oranges in the fruit bowl, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, basic salad ingredients and some frozen vegetables, I stick with boring plain lunches like sandwiches and crispbreads with things like cheese and tomato, tuna etc. I clean EVERYTHING in the house with cheap shampoo - truly it works better than almost anything (especially on the shower doors) - and vinegar (straight hot vinegar to clean the boys toilet, cuts that lingering pee smell dead), we eat basic meat and 3 veg meals, a chicken breast, mashed potato and pumpkin and steamed veg, we dont eat a lot of fish except for what Doug catches becuase its so expensive, we eat a lot of things like roast lamb becuase whilst a leg of lamb may be $26 here, we get 3 entire meals out of it - a roast dinner, a shepherd's pie and something like lamb souvlakis. Same with a roast chicken - the rest goes in the freezer for sandwich meat for the boys lunches or I eat it in salads for lunch. I never ever buy things like lean cuisines, we dont eat any packaged food like that, we dont do dessert so no ice creams etc, breakfast remains cereal, toast, eggs, those basic choices, and deli items are kept for entertaining, not everyday eating.

I dont buy orange juice or any other drinks, we have water, water or water in this house, or milk but none of us are milk drinkers. I also make a lot of things for the kids like cakes and cookies. And takeaway is a rare treat, I'd sooner make baked beans on toast than spend $25 on fish and chips. Doug takes leftovers to work and my kids take lunchboxes to school (as does everyone here anyway, schools dont have big lunch programs, you can get a lunch order but there's no eat in cafeterias)

We still manage to eat quite interestingly and well, probably one meal out of the seven in the week I'd put more effort into something special. I do quite a few vegetarian things with lentils, I make a lot of soup with heaps of veges, whenever I buy a jar of spaghetti sauce, I'll add a can of tomatoes and some tomato paste, heaps of grated zucchini and carrot, a can of kidney beans and just 500g of mince beef and turn what would have been ONE meal with the mince beef and jar of sauce into something healthier, full of beans and vegetables the kids cant even taste into about three full meals on spaghetti (I sometimes have stir fried zucchini strips instead of pasta). Lentil patties, lentil dahl, a chick pea and apple curry, lentils and pulses are really cheap! And delicious.

Even so, our grocery bill still comes in at around $250 to $300 per week for five of us.

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Jacqui

FairyFacade

Just something I realized post-band I spend a crap load on fresh fruit & veggies, and I eat it so slow, and DH doesn't eat it at all.. so I now buy frozen bagged veggies & fruits. You can even seperate them into ziplock bags in sizes you'd eat, then defrost them the day before. Everything comes in frozen bags now. I think it's cheaper, and you don't have to restock all the time from stuff going bad.
Same with canned items, except I've yet to find a way to keep leftover canned veggies&fruit from getting gross.

Make a big meal that you can freeze & reheat for yourself. DH likes pizza and take-out, so he gets that a lot.. I'll either pick the top off a slice of pizza, have a couple bites of his chinese take out.. OR I reheat a cup of chili that I made weeks prior and froze.

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skyeblu79

I don't have many recipes on hand, but I do have some tips that I have found to save money.

The closest Aldi's to here is about 30 miles away, so I try to go there once a month. Here we also Compare Foods (Mexican grocery store) that has great prices on fresh vegetables and fruits.

I have a Costco card and get somethings there. I share the Costco membership w/a friend to cut the cost in 1/2 a year. We both get a card, so we can go w/out each other.

I use a lot of coupons. I try to mainly use them during triple coupons or when items are on sale anyway. I can usually cut my grocery prices by a 1/3. The only downfall is sometimes I tend to get stuff we don't have to have or wouldn't normally get. Kroger and Harris Teeter always have double coupons here.

I have found too, sometimes when I am in a rush I stop by Harris Teeter after work. That time of day usually after 3:30 or 4:00 they reduce the rotisserie chickens down by $3.00 or $4.00. It feeds the 3 or us (adults) for $2-$3. So far they've been fresh and not really dry. I have become a big fan of Harris Teeter's. I can normally grab some discounted fresh produce to add to the meal that day or the next. They do tons of clearance's, you just have to look for the yellow tags. I have found mornings and nights are the best time for meat specials. I just freeze them.

Superwalmart is good for some stuff. I usually get my sf powdered drink mix there or the Dollar Tree. Occasionally I find somethings in the Dollar Tree. Some locations have refrigerators. My coworker was telling me she gets her turkey bacon there. I don't eat bread anymore really, but the have the Nature's Own Whole Grain bread for $1.

I hope some of these ideas may have helped.

Last thing, there is a website, Slickdeals, and there are posts from food to electronics. Most of the stores that are posted aren't around here though. I found out about the Amazon food deals on there. They do new deals every month. I just weed through it for the good deals and healthier options. I got a really good deal on steel cut oatmeal on there. I had to buy a lot to get it for a good price though.

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igirls

This isn't really a recipe, but a tip. As a stay at home Mom you can go to the store in the mornings. Go to the grocery store Monday morning. All the expensive meat items that they loaded up on are often now Manager's Specials. Most of us working Moms did our shopping on the weekend. When I'm off on a Monday I usually go. I can get several different packages of meat under $5.00. I like bone in chicken breasts and then marinate them during the day with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil salt and pepper. Then bake them for about an 1.25 hrs on 350. Even if I make more than we eat one night, they reheat great.

crazycat

Here's a soup that is really cheap and easy to make.

Get a bag of mixed dry beans put it in a crock pot.
slice up one pkg. of polish saugage and fry up.
I also like to put in meat balls with it too.
One can of tomatoes.
I use chicken broth in place of water for the beans.
Thats it....no need for any seasoning or anything. Its very good for getting in your protein. It makes a lot.

Also....get a broasted chicken, eat off it the first night, then for the second night boil the rest of chicken bones. Take out the bones and make a chicken taco soup, ect.

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StacieS

I use turkey meat for almost everything, it's cheaper that hamburger meat at Walmart super store.

Also, we buy a bag of boneless frozen chicken breast every two weeks. There are just two of us, but we can make about five meals (ha...we like chicken.) Chicken soup: boil chicken, cut up and add your veggies and swansons broth. Or chicken salad: bake with italian dressing, cut up and put on green salad (my fav.) Then there is bbq chicken, just bake in oven and brush on bbq about five minutes before you take it out, make baked potato and veg and you'r all set.

Sometimes we buy a small roast and have it with potatoes and carrots, then I use left overs to make beef stew (which we eat for two more meals.) These were all pre-band, so I'm sure I'm going to have to make changes here and there .... when I can eat solids again. =)

Oh, and get veggies and fruit at your local farmers market. Usually A LOT cheaper and fresher than in stores. We go about once a week and it's kinda a fun outing.

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Wheetsin

I don't eat cheap, and I love making meals with 20 ingredients, but I will try and help you with some suggestions. With the caveat that I couldn't tell you what I pay for something unless I pulled out my receipts, if I had them, so I'm guessing on the costs.

First - I've never heard of putting noodles in chili, so I guess my suggestion would be to use white beans/northern beans, which I adore, but these would likely replace something nasty like kidney beans, and not pasta. But hey - they're both white.

I often cook turkey chili with sweet cornbread (one box cornbread mix, one box cake mix). I think ends up being a pretty cheap meal. The ground turkey is probably about $5, a few bucks for the tomato sauce and seasoning packet... a buck or so for beans, maybe a buck or two for the mixes.

I also make a Mexican pork chili - pork loin (about $15 or $20, but this makes a HUGE batch of chili, so I usually only make it to take to family things), tomato sauce (ew cans, so what, few bucks?), some red pepper, etc.

Chicken can be made in tons of ways. And it's what, $5 or $6 a pack? (skinless, boneless). My husband prefers dark meat. Lastnight I fried some thighs (cheaper than breasts, I think) in olive oil (I did slice a few garlic cloves to sautee into the oil beforehand, but you could skip that or just use powdered), topped them with some random seasonings BUT you can also just slowly add canned/boxed chicken stock "with herbs" until the stock reduces and carmelizes, this makes a very easy, very tasty glaze for the chicken. Add some frozen veggies or steamed fresh or something, or some mac & cheese...

My favorite crockpot meals are either lechon asado (cuban pork roast) or this thing I don't know what it's called, I read about it on here a year or so ago. For the lechon, it's a pork roast with a half bottle of Goya brand "Mojo Criollo" (about $3 or $4 for a wine-sized bottle, get 2 - 3 uses depending on the size of the pork roast and the size of your crockpot). If they have them I add extra juice from Seville oranges, or bitter orange, but not always. I also add in sliced onion. I usually just make it with cuban black beans (canned, about $1) and rice (don't know, $3 for a huge bag?) for hubby.

Other favorite crockpot meal is chicken cut into cubes, and 1 - 2 (depednign on how much chicken) cans golden mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup. Then add either a cup of mayo or sour cream, don't remember which, and a handful of shredded cheddar. Hubby loves this over rice, I actually eat it hot like a soup.

Burgers (I make turkey + hamburger for hubby since I don't eat red meat) are always cheap, and I usually throw on a few FF turkey dogs to snack on or have for future meals.

If you have a place like Sam's, their frozen fish fillets are generally decent quality and cheap since you're buying in bulk. Maybe $10 - $20 per bag, but you're getting at least 10 fillets. I pay $7 per fillet for the fresh Costa Rican tilapia. (You can get Chinese imported cheaper, but don't).

Where do you find most of your cooking budget going? I could easily spend $125 on one of my "way home from work" grocery stops, but I'm buying hubby wine to have with dinner, desserts, fresh herbs and spices, I don't buy generics, lots of fresh fruits, etc. If I look at just the basics I'm buying, I'm spending $30 or so? Maybw teice or three times a week. But factor in that I'm paying more for it than I have to because I choose to go to organic grocers, local stores, or even Target. I'm sure if I went somewhere like Walmart, bought generic, used coupons, etc I could get a lot more for my money.

When I was a baby, before my mom went back to work, they were on a very tight budget. I remember them getting by on lots of fillers, like mac & cheese with tuna stirred into it, or eggs with hot dogs cut up in them. breakfasts were eggs, toast... both very cheap. Omlette. Things like that. Lunches were mostly sandwiches.

Wanna know something sad that's kind of hard to admit? Pre-op, between DH and I (I rarely cooked pre-op), we'd average about $1950/month of just food,mostly eating out because seriously, we'd eat breakfast/lunch/dinner out at least 5x a week. And there wasn't too much room on that average between high and low, maybe a low around $1700 and a high around $2200. On food. To think about that now so completely disgusts me.

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renewedhope

OMGosh!!! Wheetsin, after reading your post, just out of curiosity, I pulled my last bank statement and added up all of the eating out. $1109.00. That is only what we spent using our debit cards or checks. That doesn't count cash. I had no idea we were spending that much eating out. Makes me sick at my stomach. Well, I know where to cut costs now. Thanks for the eye opener. WOW!!

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Renewedhope

Banded October 24, 2007
Dr Querry
Texas
H255/S242/C170/G145

Couch To 5K-Week 10 day 2

Angelyco

This sounds REALLY good. Can you try to find out if it's mayo or sour cream (I would assume it's sour cream, I've heard of similar recipes)? Also, I don't have a crockpot, so do you think this could be made in a pot on the stove if the chicken is cooked beforehand?

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