Need help with a 2 week menu.

I have decided that my house spends way too much money on food all the time. And it's mainly because we don't plan ahead and either buy only what we need for one meal or go out to eat. My budget is $200 but if I can get it to $130 that's my ultimate goal. What are some good cheap meals? What are some tips for getting within my goal? I'm bad about clipping coupons and forgetting them, what are some other ways to save other than not forgetting my coupons?

Thanks for any and all advice

Buy your food in bulk

EDIT hit send too early lol

Buy your food in bulk and plan out your meals. I can cook a pound of hamburger or some chicken breasts about a million different ways lol. I wont list any unless you'd like some ideas, let me know here or thru PM, if you dont wanna derail your thread lol. I cant eat pork bc it kills my stomach but besides chicken and hamburger we also eat steaks, seafood etc as other meals too. Its just you, your gf, and your son right?

Thats only 3 ppl so meals dont have to be big and extravagant, as in you dont have to cook a ton of food to feed an army. If you do cook alot then save the left overs. Try not to cook too much of something that cant be eaten again as a leftover. Buy frozen veggies in the biggest bags you can find and then open the bag and only defrost as much as you'll eat in the microwave. Buy the biggest packs of hamburger or chicken breast you can and then seperate them into seperate packs and freeze them. Also if you buy a big beef or pork tenderloin when its on sale then cut it up into individual steaks or pork chops.

The most important thing i can think of is PLAN out your meals and stick to the plan. If you know youll wanna eat out at least once every two weeks or once a week them plan that day too. That way you dont go out on a randomn nite and throw off your whole 2 week plan.

We do that too. I am really trying harder to PLAN AHEAD!! Plan your meals, and make a grocery list. Then stick to it, and also cook your planned meals. One trick I found for making weeknight dinners easier, is to buy hamburger and ground sausage, in a 2.1 (hamburger to sausage) ratio. For each 2.1 dice one onion, garlic if you like, mix with meat. Then brown meat until done. Divide into two bags and freeze and vacuum seal. Then you just have to thaw, and you can make all sorts of stuff quick and easy. Sloppy joes, chili, (or a bag of frozen French fries and make chili fries..yum), tatertot casserole, enchiladas, hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes, stuffed noodles, stuffed Cresent rolls. Buy hamburger and make into patties, freeze and vacuum seal in packs of however many you eat in a meal. Then hamburgers are at your finger tips to throw on the grill. Also, cook ahead a few pounds of just ground beef, and add taco seasoning and water, cook to directions on seasoning pack, separate into bags, and freeze. Then dinner is as easy as pulling out the meat the night before, and throwing in the microwave to reheat. You can have tacos, nachos, tosatados, Mexican pizza, taco omlettes.... I am always game for new dinner ideas. Put a roast in the crock pot, then dinner is mostly ready when you come home. If its a pork roast, you can make pulled pork sandwiches. I'll chime back in as I think of more, its getting late and I am tired.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

We do that too. I am really trying harder to PLAN AHEAD!! Plan your meals, and make a grocery list. Then stick to it, and also cook your planned meals. One trick I found for making weeknight dinners easier, is to buy hamburger and ground sausage, in a 2.1 (hamburger to sausage) ratio. For each 2.1 dice one onion, garlic if you like, mix with meat. Then brown meat until done. Divide into two bags and freeze and vacuum seal. Then you just have to thaw, and you can make all sorts of stuff quick and easy. Sloppy joes, chili, (or a bag of frozen French fries and make chili fries..yum), tatertot casserole, enchiladas, hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes, stuffed noodles, stuffed Cresent rolls. Buy hamburger and make into patties, freeze and vacuum seal in packs of however many you eat in a meal. Then hamburgers are at your finger tips to throw on the grill. Also, cook ahead a few pounds of just ground beef, and add taco seasoning and water, cook to directions on seasoning pack, separate into bags, and freeze. Then dinner is as easy as pulling out the meat the night before, and throwing in the microwave to reheat. You can have tacos, nachos, tosatados, Mexican pizza, taco omlettes.... I am always game for new dinner ideas. Put a roast in the crock pot, then dinner is mostly ready when you come home. If its a pork roast, you can make pulled pork sandwiches. I'll chime back in as I think of more, its getting late and I am tired.

---

Good ideas and time saving to boot. :gj:

However, I've gotta ask one thing...

What are your cholesterol numbers? :P

DooLittle. I wanna live with you lol! All that red meat is making me drool haha.

Yeah, any cow product is a friend of ours... Cheese, ice cream, milk, red meat...nice medium rare steak, mmmm...lol. Cows are good and were made for eating!! :D. We are not really fish and chicken fans, no fish, minimal chicken. We eat LOTS of fresh fruit and veggies. Some pork, and everything in proportion. Another idea for the pre-cooked ground meat (if you aren't a fan of meatballs) is spaghetti. Also, OP was on a budget, groceries are expensive, and ground beef is the cheapest meat. Another money saving tip is to buy meat in bulk family packs, and break down to dinner size packs, and vacuum seal,cheaper that way. If you have Safeway's where you live, they frequently do BOGO on different types of meat.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

You wanna save moolah, huh? try the

value pack of top raaaaamenn!! Just kidding. I'd say yeah, buy food in bulk, also, freeze uneaten bread!

Buy whole chickens and make that meat work for you. A 4-5 pound roaster will feed 3 people with some to spare plus all the bones and meat scrap to make soup for around $8. Learn to break the chickens down efficiently to give you more options of how to cook it. Cook up plain, white rice with some carrots, celery, onion and a bit of the chicken stock you made from the bones before you finish your soup and season it with salt and pepper. Frozen vegetables are fine, and in-season, fresh vegetables are generally inexpensive. You can feed 3 people for about $11-12 and have a small pot of soup for lunch the next day.

Same principles apply to turkey...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RobNJ

Buy whole chickens and make that meat work for you. A 4-5 pound roaster will feed 3 people with some to spare plus all the bones and meat scrap to make soup for around $8. Learn to break the chickens down efficiently to give you more options of how to cook it. Cook up plain, white rice with some carrots, celery, onion and a bit of the chicken stock you made from the bones before you finish your soup and season it with salt and pepper. Frozen vegetables are fine, and in-season, fresh vegetables are generally inexpensive. You can feed 3 people for about $11-12 and have a small pot of soup for lunch the next day.

Same principles apply to turkey...

---

The breaking down of a chicken is a good tip.. The ONE flaw I see with that is "picky" eaters. I rarely buy WHOLE chickens due to the fact I don't like the wings and no one else does.

Another good tip would be to buy a PRIMAL then cut your own Sub-Primals. I know SOME Sam's clubs will do this for you if you don't know how.

IMO Bulk is the best way to go, But to be honest on such a low budget you can't expect to eat a "good" home cooked meal every night. I try to get a good home cooked meal twice a week but at least once..

In the end, make friends with Banquet meals. ;)

It's also good to make meals that is more than enough for the family for four nights of the week and then it's an organized left over free for all come Friday. That elevates a lot of the "McDonald's is easier" routine.

Hamburger helper is a GOD SEND if you buy bulk HB and freeze it one and two pound portions.


Browsing on Tapatalk from my iPhone :)

Cheap quick meals:
Beef stroganof
Tacos or taco salad
Lasagna
Sloppy joes
Baked chicken and veggies
Stews ( that can be thrown in crock pot )
Stuffed peppers
Meatloaf
Mexican lasagna

I could go on and on. I love to cook ( though I'm no master ) but we have a home cooked meal almost every night of the week. We have a family of 5, so I know how to eat good ( healthy and yummy! ) on a budget. www.allrecipes.com is one of my favorite websites for recipes, as I like to try new things.

I always buy meats in bulk, or atleast try my hardest. Frozen or fresh veggies is what I always buy. Cheaper and healthier than canned. Watch your local grocery store flyers for sales.

If you want recipes to anything I've listed above, I'll be glad to share :)

One thing that I have found helps a lot is your starch item. Rice is mine of choice as it is easy. I bought a rice steamer and set it with the build in timer so it is basically ready for supper. More rice and less meat cuts costs quickly. It still is healthy and the steamer makes it very easy. I often do kebobs of some sort, marinate them during the day and toss them on the BBQ, This with rice and a veg is quick (10 min to prep the meat in the am and rice) and 10 min to cook or less. Easy and quick.

Breaking down chickens is a great way to do this..I can post a video of how to do it efficiently if you'd like me too. just let me know, I'll probably go to the store on Sunday.

Buying family packs or primal cuts of meat and breaking it down is also a good way to cut costs.

Also in order to keep the quality of meals up I usually eat pasta one night a week and that should be less than $5 for a meal. Breakfast for dinner is also great and inexpensive. Bacon and eggs or pancakes are just as great at 7:30 pm as 7:30 am

Damn heather you got some good ideas up there too!

I wish my mom cooked like doolittle or heather lol!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by heathers*bps

Cheap quick meals:
Beef stroganof
Tacos or taco salad
Lasagna
Sloppy joes
Baked chicken and veggies
Stews ( that can be thrown in crock pot )
Stuffed peppers
Meatloaf
Mexican lasagna

I could go on and on. I love to cook ( though I'm no master ) but we have a home cooked meal almost every night of the week. We have a family of 5, so I know how to eat good ( healthy and yummy! ) on a budget. www.allrecipes.com is one of my favorite websites for recipes, as I like to try new things.

I always buy meats in bulk, or atleast try my hardest. Frozen or fresh veggies is what I always buy. Cheaper and healthier than canned. Watch your local grocery store flyers for sales.

If you want recipes to anything I've listed above, I'll be glad to share :)

---

I like allrecipes too! They have a cool "spinner" app. I really like meatloaf too, I actually use a handful of uncooked oatmeal in mine instead of breadcrumbs. And you cam microplain carrots and zuchinni into it for some extra veggies. How do you make your Mexican lasagne? With pasta? I make a sort of "pie" in a pie pan, layering soft tortillas shells, taco meat, and nacho cheese sauce, then when done layering, top with grated cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes. Then you can serve with green onions, sour cream, and diced tomatoes. If yours is different, please post I would like to see it! :)

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Alright this thread seriously needs to stop lol

Im not sure what makes me drool more... This thread or the Female Keepers thread... :rofl:

We will get ya some napkins..... :D

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...ilantro-101154 - Black Bean, cilantro, cumin, & garlic.

throw in some cheese, and slap into a tortilla. All the ingredients are inexpensive, I find you really don't need to add any salt, and it's healthy :)

On a note about stuffed peppers... sometimes they can be expensive, but if you get them at a good time, stuff with brown rice and chorizo (cooked down with an egg to make it less saucy), with permesan cheese.. so good! And filling.

I love cooking. But my meals face two huge obstacles.

1. I spend 2 hours driving to and from work each day, and sometimes I hit up the gym for an hour on my way home as well. This cuts into my time like CRAZY!

2. My boyfriend is often on shift work at night, so when I make dinners I need to make dinners that reheat decently, and I always try to make leftovers so that he has something he can take to work the next day as well.

What this has forced me to do is really analyze what it is I'm doing. I will typically write out about 2 weeks worth of meal ideas for dinner (breakfast and lunch are typically 'fend for yourself' kind of thing at our place, haha). Then I'll take that list and break it down, analyze the ingredients and figure out what I can make back-to-back to use my time and ingredients the best way possible.

For instance:

Chicken Stir Fry one night (Veggies, chicken and rice)
Tacos the next night (Veggies, chicken, tortillas)
Taco pizzas the next night (Veggies, beef, tortillas)
Meat pasta (Beef, veggies for salad, pasta sauce)
Stuffed shells (Pasta sauce, salad, shrimp, spiniach)
Ham & Spiniach quiche (Shrimp, ham, spiniach)

.... Each meal tends to share a common ingredient, so I'm only prepping or cooking something once. Typically because I'll make more at one time, I can buy in bulk, and use leftovers in meals the following day or make extra dinner that we can portion for lunches.

A great idea is to find simple recipes that you enjoy, and price them out! See what it takes to go into it. Then keep a master list of what each meal costs to make. If you're having a bad week, then go by your cheapest meals!

My favorite and cheapest is:
1 lb of lean ground beef ($6-8)
1 chopped onion ($0.25)
seasonings such as parsley, salt, pepper, soy sauce, a touch of hot sauce, etc
2 cups of uncooked elbow maccaroni (under $2)
2 cans of Cambells Tomato soup ($3)

Cook the beef, onion and seasonings together. Drain off excess grease. Add the two cans of cambells tomato soup. Keep on heat until it's thoroughly warmed up. Don't burn it, haha. At the same time, cook the pasta in it's own pot. Once it's all done and drained, combine the two and toss to coat.

Serve this with some veggies or a salad and you're good.

This serves my boyfriend for two helpings at supper, one helping for me, and enough for us to both take lunch the following day. So about $3 per serving?

Stuff like that is pretty quick and easy to throw together. Just take notes! Even if it feels like you don't have time. I write down dinner ideas while I"m at work on post-its, haha. Go home, go through some recipe books, tweak things and make myself a master 'Go To' list for meal ideas.

Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier for sure.

And don't worry about getting it 100% right every time. Some weeks ARE going to be more expensive for food. So do the best you can, but don't feel bad about yourself if you can't make the goal every time. Food is a very hard thing to budget.

Ok im done drooling. I'll share some of my favorite recipe ideas to help instead of drool lol:

Chile is one of my favorite things to make! Take 1lb ground beef and brown it in a pan then drain most of the grease but not all bc that adds some flavor. Dice 2 green peppers, 1 medium onion, 1-2 cloves of garlic and a jalapeno pepper. Add it into the pan and let them get soft. I add some water and put a cover on and let it go for awhile. Then once theyre lookin good add 2 8.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes and 1 or 2 cans of kidney beans. I use kidney but you can use others like navy beans too. I then add like 2 cups of water or until it gets to the right thickness. It will thicken up a bit while you let is simmer too, keep that in mind. Then just add chili powder to taste. Add a dash of cumin, garlic powder, or onion powder too if youd like. Also if you like it hotter add some hot sauce. I served it in a bowl over shells (as in the pasta lol) or rice. Sprinkle mexican cheese over it. And if im feeling really ambitious ill make some corn bread to go along with it too haha.

Another good recipe for chicken is my version of like a teryaki chicken. Cut up chicken breasts into bite size cubes or strips and cook them in a large frying pan. Add whatever veggies you like. I usually do broccoli, green peppers, onions, and sliced carrots. Put them in the pan with the chicken and cook them until they get soft. Also put in the pan teryaki sauce, soy sauce, minced garlic, a squeeze of honey, and anything else you think may taste good lol. I usually make it up as i go to an extent. Once it all cooked and smelling good serve it over rice.

For a mexican twist on chicken cook chicken breasts in a skillet. Once theyre almost cooked pour a can of salsa right into the pan over the chicken. Use any type you like, mild med. or hot) depending on heat preference. Add a chopped jalepeno or some hot sauce if you want some more kick. Chop up an onion and a pepper too if you want some more veggies, even though i know theyre already in the salsa lol. I usually take out the breasts and sprinkle mexican cheese over them. Then serve it with rice and beans. Spoon some of the salsa/veggie mix right over the rice and beans. The bland rice and beans takes a bit of the heat from the salsa depending on how hot it is.

I hope some of these help ya out! If ithink of more ill put them up. These are 3 of my favorites. By no means am i a gourmet chef but i like to think my style of wingin' it works pretty well lol. :D

That's how you learn to cook good Mike, experimenting! Beans are great for cooking with as they have lots of protein, and are usually cheap. I have a recipe where you brown a pound of hamburger with 1/2 diced onion. Then cook up as much bacon as you want (recipe only calls for 4 slices but Hubby loves Bacon so I usually use at least half the package). Get a casserole dish and mix together cooked hamburger, cooked and crumbled bacon, 1can of pork and beans (undrained), and two other cans of beans (drained). I usually will use one red kidney and one white kidney, but I believe recipe calls for red kidney and white beans, but use whatever you like best. In a bowl mix 1cup ketchup with brown sugar (sweeten as much as you like), then pour that over the top, cover with foil and bake at 350 for an hour. It makes a bunch so there is always leftovers for lunch. Shrimp marinated in some soy sauce, with a crushed garlic clove, a dash of tobasco, and a dash of lemon juice- grill on Bbq then serve with peanut sauce. Yum. Can't remeber all ingredients and quantities in peanut sauce- peanut butter, garlic, tobasco, water. If anyone is interested I can find it tonight and post it. Oh, and a tip to do meatloaf quick on a week night, make mini ones in a muffin pan. They cook in about 30 minutes!

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Haha yea thats basically how i learned and picked up a few things from working in a kitchen for awhile.

To add to what she said^
always buy your shrimp unpeeled and peel/devein them yourself. Never buy the bags of pre cooked shrimp that you just thaw out bc those are soooo expensive.

I'm guessing this $130 is for the whole month? Whole chickens are by far the cheapest meat. Like 5lb chickens for $3.50 when on sale. I buy beef and pork only when it's on sale and I'll pick up a ton of it. Freezers are you best friend. Stay away from almost anything in boxes, they're usually overpriced. Chili, pasta and soups/stews are all super cheap to make. I make spaghetti sauce, chili and soups 3 gallons at a time and freeze small meals. The big thing is, stay AWAY from most boxed items. The more you can make from scratch, the more you will save.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/...ory?id=9618348

This I saw a while back. Might prove motivational!

Also, when making spaghetti or pizza sauce I usually make a large batch, and freeze some for next time. I do the same when I make split pea or beef and barley soup. I make a double batch, and freeze some. While you are there making it, its basically just a bigger pot to make more. Then you have a easy week night dinner in the freezer.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dart

I'm guessing this $130 is for the whole month?

---

That is for 2 weeks.


Thanks for all the ideas and recipes! Keep them coming.

Just a side note, I raise meat chickens (but I'm out right now) so that cuts down on the costs on chicken.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

I like allrecipes too! They have a cool "spinner" app. I really like meatloaf too, I actually use a handful of uncooked oatmeal in mine instead of breadcrumbs. And you cam microplain carrots and zuchinni into it for some extra veggies. How do you make your Mexican lasagne? With pasta? I make a sort of "pie" in a pie pan, layering soft tortillas shells, taco meat, and nacho cheese sauce, then when done layering, top with grated cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes. Then you can serve with green onions, sour cream, and diced tomatoes. If yours is different, please post I would like to see it! :)

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

---

I make mine pretty much the same way! Soft tortillas layed with taco seasoned ground beef with con queso sauce mixed in. I make like 4 layers, bake it for about 20 mins, then add whatever you like ( lettece, salsa, sour cream, etc. )

I'll share my secret for a bangin taco salad. I use doritos instead of plain tortillas chips and I make a sauce of catalina dressing and sour cream that I mix in with the taco meat. So freaking yummy!

Chad actually makes the meatloaf, cause his is so damn good. He puts shredded mozzarella cheese in the middle!

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and stuffed peppers doesn't have to be expensive. Green peppers are usually $.89 on sale, buy a box of whatever flavor rice you like ( I like uncle bens or rice-a-roni ) some yummy sgetty sauce and ground beef. I top mine with shredded mozzarella and bake them for about 25 mins.

Damn, I'm hungry now.

Lol, I know, makes you want to eat. Gonna have to try your taco salad though. I'm not a bell pepper fan, so no stuffed peppers here. I feed them to my guinea pigs, lol.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChrisS

That is for 2 weeks.


Thanks for all the ideas and recipes! Keep them coming.

Just a side note, I raise meat chickens (but I'm out right now) so that cuts down on the costs on chicken.

---

You should raise some layers too! Eggs are always handy to have around. Egg salad sandwiches, hard boiled eggs to snack on, quiche, omlettes...

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

You should raise some layers too! Eggs are always handy to have around. Egg salad sandwiches, hard boiled eggs to snack on, quiche, omlettes...

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

---

I actually have 4 layers

Another easy and inexpensive meal is macaroni and cheese with keilbasa sausage in it. If you like acorn squash, cut in half, seed, and bake, then turn them flesh side up and put some cooked sausage links, brown sugar and butter in, cook a few more minutes to warm through. I also have a good recipe for a grilled eggplant and portabello sandwich, not the cheapest though. If you want recipe I can post at home tonight. :)

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

I make a mean tator tot casserole that is super cheap. Just cook a bag of tots, brown 1lb of hambuger then layer it in a casserole dish. Tots, burger, (16oz) sour cream, bag of cheese. Sometimea I get crazy and add bacon.

Also, my sisters meatball "recipie" is great. 1 bag of frozen meat balls (italian), 1 can of beer and 1 small box of brown sugar. Toss it all in the crockpoy until the meat is done. These are great alone or over egg noodles.

I make big batches of "baked potato salad" in the summer and keep it in the fridge. 5lb of red potatoes, quartered and boiled until soft, then cooled. Top that with1lb bacon, 2 bags shredded cheese, 1 bottle of ranch dressing and 2 bunches of green onions chopped up. Mix it all over the potatoes when they cool.

I made an accidental chicken and veggie soup with 4c of frozen mixed veggies, 8oz of mushrooms and 4chicken breasts. add 2c of water and a packet of french onion soup mix. (you can add noodles or rice after)

Oh and my cheesey, chicken, broccoli bake. 2c White minute rice, 1 can cream of chicken, 1 can cream of cheese, 1lb of frozen broccoli and 4 chicken breasts. pour rice in bottom of pan with 1c water. Put down chicken and broccoli, cover with both cans of soup and bake at 400 until chicken and rice is done.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

Yum, who could forget tater tot pie! ^^^ I use cream of mushroom, or cheddar soup instead of sour cream, and I brown hamburger with some johnnys seasoning salt. I put it in casserole dish top with tots, then cook to tot requirements(I don't precook tots).

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

All these recipes and ideas I'm not gonna eat the same thing twice for a year! Keep em coming.

Cheap recipe:

I like to have something "special" about every meal, it's just how I am. So, here's one of my special things--homemade noodles.

2 cups of flour (about 1/2 lb, or $0.15 where I buy it at Aldi's)
3 eggs ( <$0.40, also bought at Aldi's)
salt (if you can manage to get a penny's worth of salt in there, you're going to be choking)

Scramble (but don't cook!) the eggs with the salt (about 1 tsp) and make a dough with the flour then work it out thin on a floured surface. (another couple of cents worth) Roll it up like a jelly roll then cut it into thin strips. Drop into boiling water and cook until done, a few minutes, test with fork.

I can take a couple of lbs of $0.99 cent chicken thighs, cook them down with chopped celery (uh, maybe 10 cents worth?) then pour off most of the fat and thicken the broth from the thighs (couple more cents worth of flour) to make a gravy. Take the skins off of the thighs and pick out the bones, chop the meat and toss it in the gravy and pour over the noodles. I usually pair that up with a pound of steamed frozen vegetables.

Noodles cost arround 0.75 or less. Thighs and celery and gravy, maybe 2.20. Bag of frozen vegetables, around a buck at Aldi's. The whole shebang for four comes in at under $4.00 for homemade noodles, nice big hunks of chicken, and a vegetable. And that's with plenty of room to spare for adding a few cents worth of whatever kind of seasonings you want. The cool thing about it is that the thing that makes it "special" is the cheapie ingredient--less than a buck worth of eggs and flour.

I cook the chicken and celery and make the gravy in one microwave dish. The time I save there kinda justifies the few minutes I spend making the noodles in terms of economy of time and effort. Simple as it is, it comes out nice if you like comfort food.

Homemade noodles are one of the cheapest "special" things I can make and they go well with a bunch of things.

It's funny how cheap "special" can be. It costs me less than 10 minutes of hands on time and less than a buck to make fresh homemade corn bread. Same with pancakes from scratch. Homemade iced tea is cheap as heck, I can make a gallon of it for under a buck and it's a great alternative to soda and saves money too.

Got a kid? Hot dog roll ups. I'm not a big hot dog fan, but I go to Trader Joe's and buy the all beef ones, or the Hebrew nationals from safeway. Tube of pilsbury Cresent rolls, and slices of cheese. Cut a slit in the hotdog, stuff a piece of cheese in, and wrap with a Cresent roll. Then bake at 350/375 depending if your pan is nonstick, for 15-17 minutes.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

You can usually eat cheaper on a home cooked from scratch than eating out (a meal, not burger/fries) or buying frozen dinners.

Tips from me are buy dry pastas on sale(10 boxes for $10), buy LARGE bags of rice(get a electric rice steamer for fast and easy rice cooking), and buy bags of potatoes. Not much is better than home made mashed potatoes.

I buy beef in large cheap roasts and cut it up myself into steak pieces, stew meat sized parts or smaller roasts. Watch for sales, I just got a large bone-in roast for $1.69/lb... cheaper than the cheap ground burger meat! Yes, it had bones, but I cut into manageable chunks and fit it into the crockpot with a bunch of cut up potatos, carrots, onion and whatever veggies you like(frozen are cheap, canned on sale). Serve that over rice to make it go way further than eating it by itself.

Don't forget EGGS EGGS EGGS. Eggs are great protein and fairly cheap. Add them to salad, make omelets one night, make quiche... gotta love eggs. Also, dry beans... cook them in your crockpot all day with a little leftover ham pieces and then serve over rice. If you make your own batter from scratch(it's super easy) you can have pancakes or waffles for dinner... do a "breakfast for dinner" one night.

You can have a really good meal with cooked dry pasta(try different shapes for novelty in textures) with a little butter, whatever frozen(warmed) or canned vegetables were on sale and a dusting of parm cheese. Add in things like olives, tomatoes, etc to add variety and fancyness.

Remember you can add salad to any of this. The key to spending less is to NOT get pre-prepared food. A 10 lb bag of potatoes will cost you $3-5. A box of flake mashed potatoes cost about $3. You can see how much further the raw taters go compared, and they are more versatile. That's how it is normally. The less that's done to it... the less it's going to cost you.

(and I make KILLER meatballs from scratch. I cook up hundreds of them in the oven on a sunday or day off, freeze them in small batches and have them as sandwichs, in sketti, or however I like.. NOTHING beats a homemade meatball!)

My Favorites Cheap meals are:
I make home made Mac and cheese and add salsa and chili to it. You can even add Doritos and more cheese on top and brown it it the oven. Oh yes!
Or
Heat oven to 425.f
Spray a baking sheet with cooking Pam
Take a corn tortilla put it on the Pan
Mix up a can of refried beans, left over rice, salsa in a bowl
Spoon the mixture out on top of the tortilla and make a hole in the middle with the mixture. (so it looks like a donut on top of the tortilla)
Put on egg in the hole
Bake for 15-20 or until the egg is cooked through.
Cheese, more salsa, and sour cream in top.
Eye chihuahua! Those are a couple of my favs. You cant tell at all that I'm of Spanish decent. I love my spicy food.



Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

Guys btw! There are some great recipes in here. I'll be using some of these.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Guys btw! There are some great recipes in here. I'll be using some of these.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

---

I know, yum!! New ideas always welcome. One other I forgot, to use precooked taco meat, mix with mac and cheese! Similar to above mentioned with chili.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Hot dish is my go to for a cheap meal. You can make it in any quantity though I normally do 3-5 lbs at a time.

1 lb. ground beef/elk/venison/bison
1 lb. frozen sweet corn
2 cups noodles (I like the egg noodles but any work)
alfredo sauce to bind it together (I use the Ragu Reduced Fat and it tastes wonderful)
Nature's Seasoning to taste

Cook the meat in a skillet, draining any fat. While you're doing that, cook the noodles in a separate pan along with corn so it cooks together. Drain the remaining water, put in enough alfredo sauce to help bind it to a thick consistency, and then mix in the meat. Season to taste. I use Nature's Seasoning but any mixed seasoning you like would work.

I totally forgot tortilla pizza!! I use tortillas for burritos, a jar of pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, and whatever pizza toppings you like. Bake them in the oven ( either on a cookie sheet or aluminium foil ) for 15-20 mins at 375.

Or you can use English muffins. I toast the English muffins first, so they are a little crispy.

Another one I thought of is a pasta bake. Penne pasta, sgetty sauce, either Italian sausage or ground beef, shredded mozzarella. I boil the pasta for about 5-8 minutes, mix with sauce and browned beef or sausage, put in a baking dish or casserole dish, cover with cheese and bake at 350/375 for 20-25 mins. You can also make this a Spanish type dish as well, using taco seasoning with ground beef or chicken, and a salsa and cheese sauce instead of pasta sauce. Use shredded cheddar or montery jack cheese.

Oh!! And shepards pie that I make! I brown ground beef with onion powder and garlic powder, place in the bottom of a baking dish, can of stewed tomatoes, bag of frozen corn thawed, then top with home made mashed potatoes ( this should be layered ). I also sprinkle shredded cheese, usually cheddar or Sharp, on top of potatoes. Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by heathers*bps

I totally forgot tortilla pizza!! I use tortillas for burritos, a jar of pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, and whatever pizza toppings you like. Bake them in the oven ( either on a cookie sheet or aluminium foil ) for 15-20 mins at 375.

Or you can use English muffins. I toast the English muffins first, so they are a little crispy.

Another one I thought of is a pasta bake. Penne pasta, sgetty sauce, either Italian sausage or ground beef, shredded mozzarella. I boil the pasta for about 5-8 minutes, mix with sauce and browned beef or sausage, put in a baking dish or casserole dish, cover with cheese and bake at 350/375 for 20-25 mins. You can also make this a Spanish type dish as well, using taco seasoning with ground beef or chicken, and a salsa and cheese sauce instead of pasta sauce. Use shredded cheddar or montery jack cheese.

Oh!! And shepards pie that I make! I brown ground beef with onion powder and garlic powder, place in the bottom of a baking dish, can of stewed tomatoes, bag of frozen corn thawed, then top with home made mashed potatoes ( this should be layered ). I also sprinkle shredded cheese, usually cheddar or Sharp, on top of potatoes. Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins.

---

X2 on English muffin pizzas, fast and yummy. I like shepherd's pie, but my picky Hubby won't eat it.:( There's veggies in it :eek:

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

X2 on English muffin pizzas, fast and yummy.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

---

My dad uses hamburger buns for mini pizzas! Soooooo good!



Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

I work in the pizza biz so mini pizzas won't go at my house but still a great idea.

Lol. We usually do pizza on friday nights. I get totally burnt out on it. Hubby and daughter not so much.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Try to make a list for a week or two. Then buy all the needed stuff one time so that you can control your budget. Im also having the same dilemma but little by little, I was able to control my budget. Goodluck!;)

Just an update. I went grocery shopping yesterday and came out way ahead. For 2 weeks dinners I only spent $66.06 and about 6 of that was on a pack of sodas and chips for my nephew's birthday party. So we came out to $2.00 a person per meal. I still have to buy lunch meat and bread for our lunches, and still have to figure out what to do for saturday and Sunday.

That's good. Be curious to see what your over all bill is with breakfast and lunches figured in. Do you still stay under your allotted amount from original post? Also curious, what's on the menu? :)

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2