Looking for Cheap Meal Ideas!

The Kraft Foods Catalog has some brilliant recipes and ideas for making really good, healthy, inexpensive meals. It's free to subscribe and you get a quarterly catalog. Whatever the ingredients are I always buy the store brand rather than the name (Kraft) brand to help cut costs. Best wishes to you!

T.,
I know how it feels to be tight on money. have did it with allot of or rather lack of money at tough times. Having three under 5 in roughly 2 years makes you think about tight budgets and in a hurry. i have did simple meals like mac n cheese with ground beef(aka cheesy mac),chicken, pork or beef cooked with mashed taters and a veggie mixed together . and my husband's favorite of all time: hamburger gravy.
hamburger gravy:
1 can of cream of mushroom(or cream of anything really)
1 lb cooked ground beef (or what ever meat you want to use that is ground)
Cook hamburger till browned add in can of soup and 1/2 can milk. let simmer for 10 mins(or till mixture is thicken to your desire) serve with rice(white) or mashed potatoes

Hello T.,

I understand completely how difficult it can be trying to meet a tight budget. I took the time a couple of months back to read a book called The Tightwad Gazette. It is by a woman who has six children, is a SAHM, with a husband that works one job and they purchased their home with cash, no loans etc. They are not millionaires, just very good with money. I found the book to be incredibly informative, and decided to give some of her tips a try. I LOVE EVERY ONE THAT I HAVE USED!! We began to see a difference in our finaces, hopefully you can too. I have also found that there is a website based on the book, so you don't have to buy the book. It is www.thesimpledollar.com. I believe that you could find the book at your local library though, and it is still for sale on the net. It is an older book so some ideas don't apply now but overall the concepts can be adapted to todays culture.I highly reccommend trying it,even if some of the ideas seem bizarre, or a little out of what your norm would be. Taking the time to read it will take a little time, but save a lot of money -- and it is a quick easy read. They have recipes on the website too.

Frugality is a passion of mine, simply because I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I meet a challange. Something to keep in mind: It IS possible to spend little on groceries, make good HEALTHY meals, and still have fun while doing so. I cook for my husband, two girls and myself (currently pregnant) and honestly have gotten our budget for MONTHLY groceries to between $180 and $200.00 a month. If you include all our shopping .. diapers and all the laundry detergent etc we spend about $280.00 to 300.00 a month on everything. I tell you this to emphasize something - it is POSSIBLE, I have actually enjoyed the challange, and truthfully.. I believe that it is mostly due to ONCE A MONTH GROCERY/BASIC NEEDS SHOPPING combined with a little bit of good ole' thinking outside of the box. I am sure that you have times that it is a little discouraging, but make it fun.. and look at is as an oppertunity to learn something new about yourself and to teach your children the basics of frugality! :0)

OK.. off my soapbox.. sorry :P

My favorite inexpensive recipe is one that lasts for a while, and everyone seems to love. Hope you like it!!

Ingredients Needed
1 lb sweet italian sausage (preferably ground)

2 cups white rice (cooked- actually it takes the same time for rice to cook as the rest of the meal)

1/2-1 can diced pineapple (can be replaced with rings of pineapple - which is cheaper sometimes, just cut up)

1 green bell pepper

1/2 onion

1/2 tsp ground/minced garlic (to taste)

heat pan with SMALL amnt of olive oil, add garlic

place sausage in pan and mix with garlic

dice pepper and onion add to sausage

add pineapple

cook until sausage is well done, and veggies are slightly tender (or to taste)

Mix with rice, and enjoy!!!

*this recipe lasts my family of 4 usually 4-6 meals, It doesn't freeze as great as I had hoped, (it seemed to dry out a little) but if you do freeze it my family loved it when I would just add catsup or cheese to give it a little zing that the freezing took out. It can be varied a lot, add tomatoes instead, or corn rather than pineapple just play with it.

Hope this helps, I have tons of others.Just pm me if you are interested! The best thing you can do is find a recipe that you can vary with different ingredients that are basics, and less expensive. Then you have something that is available quickly - without breaking the bank!

Best Wishes
K.

Hey T.,

My name is J. and I look online for cheap easy meals. It will pull up many different recipes. I also get the Kraft Food Magazine, it come I think every 3 months or so. It has really good but easy recipes and will also have coupons in it.

I also get the sunday paper and clip coupons and make my shopping list on what coupons I have. And you can even go online and search for coupons and print some out off line.
I always go through the sales papers to look for the good deals and low prices. If I have to go to 2 different stores to save some money I am all over that.

I hope this will help and if you are looking for a way to make extra money while staying at home to help your current situation you should check out www.urfuturematters.com I know all about ways to save money because my husband was laid off and my bonuses got cut so our income dropped big time. For awhile we did everything we could think to save money. Then I looked for help and a way to make sure I was not being taken away from my family and I did and I love it. But the feeling that I needed to do something for my family is what drives me. I will do anything I can to support my famly.

Again, good luck and feel free to check out that site and I wish you and your family the best of l,uck in the future. i know it is tough right now but it will get easier.

Sincerely,

J.
Mom of 1 wife of 1

Hi T.,
I love using cooking bags to bake in the oven. You can combine any cut of meat you find on sale and some potatoes and veggies and make a nice meal in no time. Another perk is that the clean-up is very easy! My husband and I also clip coupons. You can really save a bunch. Good luck!

Wow! I looked up your question to see the responses you received and was so surprised to see you didn't have any. I am like you and stretch every penny for food. I will suggest a Vacuum sealer. I have found the day my local market marks down meat and buy in bulk and freeze it. The great thing about the vacuum sealer is you can thaw the meat in room temp. water just before you cook it, if your like me I tend to forget to take it out of the freezer. I have found the best is a whole chicken (as low as $.59 per/lb. I will throw it in the crock-pot (still frozen) and cook it on low all day with carrots and potatoes to make a roast. The next night I boil it down with the left over veggies chopped up to make Soup. Most of the time with the addition of some bullion (and maybe some biscuits on sale) you can stretch the soup to 2 meals. This trick get me 3 meals for 2 adults and one child for about $3.00 total.
Hope you get some more replies, I am interested in other peoples tricks.

S.

I agree with the cutting coupons, I saved $17.00 this week! I go to a double coupon store that has a good sale!

Recipes

1. adding pasta or rice to anything will stretch it for cheap!
2. Pancakes for dinner, yummy, you can add bananas or m&m's or other ways to change it up! Actually a lot of breakfast food is cheap, eggs and toast, french toast, sausage and biscuits, chipped beef over toast.
3. Vegtable stir fry ( I buy a big bag at sams club for under $8 and it makes 2 meals for 3 adults and 1 little one when served over rice!)
4. I agree with the whole chicken and soup. You can also buy a rotisery chicken at Sams for under $5 which is yummy and I usually make chicken salad or chicken noodle or chicken rice soup with the left overs. Or you could make Hot Chicken with gravy (you know like a hot turkey sandwich but with left over chicken served over bread with gravy and some mashed potatoes!)
5. I make "Mexican Chicken" which I just take chicken breasts and poor salsa over it and bake it, I will add some cheddar cheese and serve it over rice (Chicken is always $1.97 a pound at sams, I know I just love Sams, but I think it is worth the small investment for these type of clubs)
6. I take chicken breast and pour a cream of soup over top and then cover with stuffing (stove top make according to microwave directions) and bake it. That is a Yummy Meal!
7. I make a pasta salad with rotoni pasta and Italian dressing and add veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, green onions, whatever floats your boat!) I usually add some pasta salad seasoning from McCormicks. You can serve this with chicken breast or as a side with hot dogs or burgers or whatever you are making. It is yummy and if you use whole grain pasta and light Itailen dressing it is fairly healthy & fils you up.
8. I make english muffin pizza's or tuna melts on English Muffins (just broil in the oven)
9. Homemade Calzones take the canned pizza dough and stuff with cheese and broccoli or whatever you would like, cut a hole in the top to vent and I usually top with some garlic powder.
10. Grilled Ham or Turkey with Cheese
11. Hot Dogs wrapped in creasant rolls with cheese inside!

I hope these help! Have Fun With This Challenge Life Has Thrown To You! Watch Rachel Ray, she usually has lots of good ideas and you can twist the recipes to make them your own.