Need Cheap Meal Ideas!!!!

I'm sure someone has already mentioned this, but kraftfoods.com is wonderful! They have tons of great meals that are super cheap and quick and easy to fix. Most use stuff you already have in your kitchen. We operate on a limited budget too, so I know how that is! Another suggestion is to buy in bulk. When grocery stores have things like hamburger and chicken on sale, stock up and freeze what you won't use right away. It's a HUGE help, since meat can get really expensive.

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This is one I made up but love because it goes a long way!

CHICKEN, VEGGIE AND RICE CASSAROLE (EASY!)

1½ - 2 lb chicken (cooked and cubed, or ground)
½ c. chicken broth
3-4 c. white or brown rice (cooked)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1¼ c. milk
2 T. soy sauce (optional, but if you don't use it, add salt to the dish)
1/3 c. sour cream
1 c. corn (drained)
1 c. green beans (drained)
1 c. frozen peas (cooked)
(You can add any other veggies if you want, carrots, lima beans, etc. or you can just cook 3 c. frozen mixed veggies in place of the three options above)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook chicken in broth in skillet, cut in bite-size pieces, and set aside. Cook rice (minute rice or rice cooked in a rice cooker) and set aside. If using frozen veggies, cook and set aside. If using canned, go to next step. Combine in a large bowl mushroom and chicken soups, milk, soy sauce sour cream and cheese. Add chicken, all veggies and cheese to sauce mixture. Pour into 9x12, greased (I prefer non-stick spray) baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 min. or until warmed through.

www.Hillbillyhousewife.com is a great site for meal planning......cheaply! I saw that mentioned before. They way we made groceries cheaper is through Angel Food Ministries (groceries at half price www.AngelFoodMinistries.com) and hillbilly housewife can plan your meals around angel food menus.

Most children love Mac and cheese. I tend to make my own buy purchasing the large blocks of cheese when they are on sale (they can be frozen) so paying $3.99 or $5.99 isn't that bad. Boil up the macaroni, slice the cheese down (some people grate it) layer it in a covered dish and add ham pieces or chicken pulled apart. You can micro it or bake it at 350 for 45 minutes. All you need then is to sprinkle some bread crumbs on it to dress it up and add a veggie.
Spag and meat sauce is also one of the less expensive meals as are Chili mac and ravoli (sp) which is cheese or meat filled.
I also know my children loved to do "breakfast for dinner" which involved bacon or sausage and pancakes with applesauce or other fruit.
When Rice a Roni is on sale I buy several boxes. We take fried rice one, cook it up and add chicken I have boned myself my child loves it. We use the boxes of bow tie and other noodle dishes and add boned chicken or turkey as well as adding a veggie.
I buy the chicken when it is reduced in price, boil it up bone it and freeze it for use in these types of dishes.
Good luck I hope I was some help.
Rice pudding is a good breakfast or dessert, filling and if you add raisens and cinnamon tasty.

A cheap meal with lots of variety for me has always been; 1 or 2 packages of ramen noodles [any flavor], a meat to go with the noodles [left over meat, best], & veggies. This makes a large pot when you use 2 packages & as i said before you can change it around however you need it. Fry up a pound of hamburger for a beef stew-like meal with a can or two of mixed veggies or a pound of turkey fixed the same way. [note: if you use ground turkey or ground chicken, make sure you get it a little brown otherwise it just won't taste right] you can use leftover meats for this reciepe too. Say there is only a little chicken & a little pork; mix together with the noodles & veggies & its a meal. If you get a good deal on fresh veggies, you can put them in the water to get to a boil, then add the noodles & when that is cooked; add your meat - done! If you haven't gone before now, aldi's is the best place to start your grocery buys & streching your $. Then walmart or kmart [watch the ads]. Go to kroger or meijer only for what is on sale at a very, very good price; like the 10 for $10 deals. And use coupons!!!! Things that you use that are on sale & if you have a coupon... You get even cheaper!!! Pinch that buffalo until he yells big-time, girl! Have fun.

I don't mean to meddle. You seem like a caring person but try to find some food pantries in your area. Where are you at? Also go online and find a church which does the Angel food Ministries. They have boxes of food for less than $30. Don't worry about doing either one. They are there to help. I go to 4 food pantries. We live on $115 and it doesn't go far. My husband has been fighting the government for 5 years for disability. He just got news yesterday that he was awarded a settlement and we did not have to go to court again. In the past I gave to pantries. 2 that I go to offer cash assistance and clothing for the family. You can also get your children on the Christmas List. One place charges $5 per name the other doesn't. We give still clothes we can no longer wear. Household items still usable but that we no longer need. I even have given food when we cleaned out a house for a friend. Go for it. Just be prepared to show picture id and something with the current address. You might even be able to get food stamps. You should not be ashamed because if you have ever worked or a family member has worked you paid into the system.

Peanut butter or cheese are great for kids. Mac and cheese to and it's cheap. Is there a Aldi in your area. I find I am spending more and more there and the meats aren't that bad either. Cheapest place for milk and eggs here every week. Breads good too. The brands are usually strange names but the food is very good.

We have a Free store downtown in Cincinnati but I have been told it's dangerous going there.

I know it's not summer but the Salvation Army does a nice Bible based day and night camp for kids. You might want to do that in the summer with the older ones. I think it was only $20 per child last year. They do it to offer things to kids growing up in the city to get away from things.

That Angel food ministries is online at www.angelfoodministries.com. They are all over the country and you do not need to have income issues to go there. My in laws all use the service in South Carolina. I have yet to do it but I do know they do like TV dinners for people on the go. Veggie boxes and meat boxes. They do a set for people who like Mexican spicy foods.
Good luck to you and your family.

In our house there's my husband, my nine month old son and me....we all like different things to eat and like everyone else we're trying to save a penny or two.
Here's a web site I use A LOT. It's the web site of Annabel Karmel who is the most well respected author of baby, children and family recipe books in the U.K. All of her recipes are online and we've tried loads of them. The last one we tried was the butternut squash risotto that you can find in the 9-12 month section. It's sooooooooooooo good. Here's the link:
http://www.annabelkarmel.com/usa

All the best.

Well, I am a regular watcher of the foodnetwork and there are two shows that might be able to help. Melissa's 10 dollard Dinners, and Sandra's Money Saving Meals. If you don't get that channel you can find all the recipes on the Food Network website!

Hope that helps! Also, I learned to keep staples in my freezer and pantry and started cooking with ingredients that I have. I always keep things like, pasta, potatoes, canned tomatoes, artichoke hearts, frozen peas and beans, and I learned to improvise and whip up meals from what i have. It really helps save on my grocery bill!

Good luck!
A. V.

Here are my top picks for cheap dinners:

Whole fryer chicken (these are always on sale somewhere) roasted and used for many types of dinners: just roasted chicken, chicken & noodles, chicken pot pie, chicken enchiladas or quesedilas, chicken tortilla soup or white chili

Beans: Navy beans & cornbread, canellini with pasta and tomatoes, cowboy beans (pintos), chili with ground beef

Pasta: The best book for recipes is Bugali on Pasta - so much variety and unique recipes

Soups: Roasted tomato (from epicurius.com), roasted red pepper (in season), pasta fagoli, vegetable with beef, butternut squash, chicken tortilla, chicken & noodles, potato & leek (from Patrica Wells cookbook).

We pair a hearty soup with good sourdough bread and this is a complete meal. Some also pair nicely with hard cheeses or grilled cheese sandwiches. Our family favorite is gruyere and cheddar combination with the roasted tomato or red pepper soup.

Some of the moms in my moms' group have put together a blog of meals that they've "tested" on their families and that they really love. Many of the recipes come from our make-ahead meals play dates, where we throw a bunch of protein, liquids, and spices into freezer bags, and we have dinners for later dates. I bet you're bound to find something that will work for you and your budget. http://momtestedkidapproved.blogspot.com/

I like to put chicken breasts in the crock pot on low for the day with a can of chicken broth. It's SUPER yummy and shreds easily. Then, I steam my Minute Rice, mix together and heat up some frozen veggies. My daughter LOVES it. It's the kind of meal you can make stretch with lots of rice. My daughter has a milk allergy but a variation could be to use some cream of chicken soup as a sort of gravy over the chicken and rice. We just it eat it as is. Sometimes I cook the rice in the chicken broth instead of steaming to give it a little extra flavor.

Another good stretching meal is egg noodles (or whatever kind you have), cream of mushroom soup and meatballs. You could use rice instead of noodles (and above, you could use noodles instead of rice), mix together and it's really good. I didn't think so when it was first made for me, but once I tried it, I was hooked. Make some veggies to go with it and you have a decent meal that will go far for the whole family.

You didn't mention a thing about what your family likes, dislikes, habits or anything. Are you soup eaters, do you have any allergy issues, etc. I've got FILES and loads of simple recipes I share w/ clients all the time, but it's easier when you have something to go on.

I've got quite a few simple chicken recipes that require only 4-5 ingredients and are quick and use ingredients that you probably already have around the house.

I've got TONS of soup recipes. Do you need breakfast ideas, etc.?

In this day and age I'm sure your time to cook has been cut in half as well!! My mom used to make the following meal for us when I was little. I call it "Soup Stuff"

One box of bow tie pasta (cooked and drained)
two cans of sirlion Burger Soup
2 cups (about one bag) of sharp cheddar cheese (I use colby jack sometimes)

Mix all items together and heat through until cheese is melted.

I use generic soup, cheese and pasta. I also stock up on the soup and pasta when it's on sale. We have a store here that often has these items 10 for ten doallars. That would make the meal .50 per person! (Eat your heart our Walmart!) And it only takes about 15 min. to make. If you have left overs, which I doubt you do very often, this also makes a great side dish or lunch for the next day.

Hope you enjoy!!

Married Mom of a 14 month old and a 12 week old

I am a single mom of a 3yr old and 7 yr old. I make homefries and I slice ecrick or Hillshire beef smoke sausage or turkey keilbasa and I add onions and sometimes even green peppers. After everthing is done I melt cheese on top. This meal is filling and you are able to put all your food groups into it. My kids love it and do not even realize the onions and peppers are in side. They can not see it over the cheese and ketchup. Be creative and may be even try yellow peppers. Hope they enjoy it!
God Bless you

Hi M., i am still a fan of crock pot meals..easy..go to krogers, check out thier reduced meat section, they usually have chuck roast or like that for bout $3-5.. prepare night before..throw meat in crock pot (whole), add water bout 1/4-1/2 filled,salt and peppep, carrots, potatoe, onion of some sort (powder, lil dried onions, or fresh sliced). in the morn put crock pot on low for 10 hrs (7am-5pm)or high for bout 4 hrs and low for another 3hrs, thicken juice with corn starch or remove from juice and 2 cans cheap beef gravy over... Fried Apple... peel and slice/chop 3 decent size apples (kind does not matter), put in med frying pan with bout 1/3 C. butter, med/low heat til butter melts. add bout 1/3 C brown sugar, teaspoon cinnamin, nutmeg optional bout 1/4 ts..stir all up, saute bout 15-20 min. its very easy/very tasty..its a good desert or i use it in place of my vegi at dinner sometimes..and don't forget Kraft mac and cheese with Tuna and peas...homemade mac and cheese ( i use velveeta butter and milk) with browned gr meat. jsut some ideas...GL and God bless

I like the Kraft website www.kraftfoods.com. They have budget wise recipes. I've made a lot of them and they are very good!

Hi M. M here is a web site that I get all my reciepes from it is Cooks.com I have found so many good meals on here that cost a little of nothing to prepare.Sure hope it helps you too. K.

sounds like everyone has great recipes and ideas.

the way we save money is to buy things when they are on a super sale and store them. we buy cans and jars 10 at a time, when they are a good price. we buy meat 3-4 times a year and stockpile it in the freezer. same with cheese. etc.

if you have an ALDI nearby start shopping there. they don't have the stuff that you don't need, and all their prices are better.

The cheapest I know of are things like spaghetti & soup. Things you can make in bulk & freeze... My husband & I are trying to save some money on groceries as well & just started buying them at Aldi. This past week we cut our bill by $60! Got all the stuff we'd normally buy & even a little more... There are still a few things we like name brand but most things we don't care. If you'd never been I recommend trying it out. Good luck & sorry to hear about your situation.

Always start your meal planning with the front page of the ad. That's where you'll find the best deals on meats and fruits and veggies.

Try throwing together pasta with roasted/sauteed veggies (squash, zucchini, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes...) and a can of kidney beans. Toss with olive oil and dried oregano and top with cheese. It's cheap and my family eats it!

Make a box of mac and cheese - then add a can of tuna and a can of cream of mushroom soup... waLA! Tuna noodle!

form plain hamburg in a casserole dish... cut it into portions that you can put back into the dish --- press them into flour... brown them in an electric skillet or whatever... put them back into your casserole dish then cover them with a can of mushroom soup... bake them in the oven til the soup starts to boil or gets a tiny bit crusty or light brown... we call it poor man's steak!!!! It is our oldest daughter's most requested dinner!

I made KFC stroganoff --- with what chicken I had left from the bucket the day before... cooked some noodles --- put in a large saucepan some of the gravy from KFC and a bit of sour cream... you could use chipdip instead... heated that... added the deboned chicken - stirred and added the noodles... it was really tasty!

cut hot dogs in half and wrap them into the crescent rolls before you bake the rolls ... we call these hush puppies! Everyone likes them!

homemade chicken noodle soup

taco salad

taco bell -- is my favorite cheap "out to eat" place to go
-- you can always take your own drinks or get water

meatloaf - mr. food adds an envelop of onion soup mix and some ketchup and water - it is very tasty

still thinking... let me know if you need some more ideas...

R.

Mr. Food always has good recipes that are cheap and easy.

There's also a book called "Saving Dinner".

There might be some things on a site called "Hillbilly Housewife".

Don't forget to checkout the Campbell's soup website - they've got recipe's there that are supposed to be good, cheap, and easy.

For what it's worth - and good luck!

One of my friends swears by shopping for meals. Plan a menu for a week or two at a time and just buy the ingredients for those meals and any snacks that might be needed for those two weeks. It should cut back on waste and going back to the store for something you forgot and ending up spending more on stuff that you pick up but don't need. I myself tried this idea and could see benefits in doing so, but I cant pass up a great sale either so I freeze a lot myself. I try to add a lot of fillers to many of my dishes. Buy bulk whole wheat rice. Large bag of frozen mixed veggies. and chicken when on sale. Boil the chicken for about 10 minutes flavor to taste. Add a couple cups of rice to the boiling broth to cook while the chicken is cooking and about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked add some of the veggies. My kids eat this very well, and it is very healthy and goes far. Of course chili is pretty easy and cheap, but you can always add macaroni or more beans and less hamburger to bulk it up. I buy a lot of either the Bisquick or Jiffy baking mix. You can make a lot of different things with this to bulk up a meal. However if I make pancakes with it I add oatmeal to help them go further and it adds a little nutrition to it also. Make extra potatoes and less meat. My entire family loves farmer pie. Brown burger (with or without green pepper and/or onions), put in baking dish, layer on a veggie (we use green beans or peas), layer on mashed potatoes, and sprinkle cheese on top bake in oven until cheese is melted. Some people make this with tomatoes. I have not tried it that way as I know it is a sure thing with my family this way. I guess one way to think when cooking is how to make what you like cheaper which is often by bulking it up by adding noodles, potatoes, beans, rice, oatmeal, or veggies and paying a little more for the whole grain versions are better because you are not adding empty calories. I also read where one person saves the broth off of her meats, and I have done that as well. And most of the time it has really added flavor to some of our favorites.

Try Valutime brands of pasta and other foods. (they make everything it seems like if your store carries it. Our giant eagle carries quite a few Valuetime items - frozen veggies, canned veggies, soups, etc.) It's priced much lower and the food is just as good. The Mac & Cheese, if your kids like that is like 29 cents a box. Ramen noodles are also priced very low and my kids love those things for both dinner and lunch.

If you shop at ALDI you can make this for about $8 and it probably has 20 servings. Great freezer dish, super easy prep.

Brown 1 lb of ground beef/turkey w/ 1 lg red onion, diced.

Add without draining:
2 cans of corn
2 cans of kidney beans
2 cans of pinto/chili beans
2 cans of broth
2-4 cans of diced/stewed Tomatoes
1 can of Ro-Tel (diced tomatoes w/ green chilis)
2 packets of Taco Seasoning
1 packet of Ranch dressing
Stew for at least 1 hr......it's definitely better the 2nd day.
Salt & Pepper to taste.
Add water if desired.

Serve w/ shredded cheese, sour cream, and/or fritos.

P.
Finding Fabulous Babysitters
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Turkey Breast! You can get a large frozen, Honey Suckle Farms Turkey Breast (my family is not big on dark meat, so it is basically the turkey without the legs and wings). A few times a year, Giant Eagle even has them buy one, get one free. They are about $12-18 each, which I still think is one of the best values around. We are a family of 4, and we get 2 dinners out of it, then the 3rd day I make sandwiches for lunch, and then we still always have leftovers that I cut up, freeze, and use later in a casserole or soup. That is 4 meals for one price.
People think turkey is hard to cook, but if you get the breast, there is no neck, no guts or anything to bother with. I put it in a Reynolds oven bag, baste with butter or oil, add salt and pepper and then bake for 3-4 hours.
So many of the other suggestions are carbohydrate based and not so healthy, but if you do the turkey, add a bag of microwave steam veggies, you could easily do 4 HEALTHY meals for $22.

Here's my favorite cheap meal:
Pinto beans and cornbread (can't get much cheaper)
1lb of dry pinto beans, washed and picked through, no need to soak
1 onion chopped
4 C water
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
4-5 slices of bacon
Cook the bacon until about half way done. Add the bacon and the drippings to a Crockpot. Add all the other ingredients, stir and cook on low 7-8 hrs or high for 4-5 hrs.
Serve with your favorite cornbread.
**Sometimes I double this so I can mash the leftovers and make bean burittos.

Stews soups and crockpot meals. Beans are cheap filling and fiberous. Checkout allrecipies.com for ideas. Also if people have leftover pumpkins u can use them. I have made everything from pumpkin chilli to pumpkin orange jello. Might sound odd but all have tasted good and were toddler approved.