Seeking Good, Budget Friendly, Healthy Meal Recipes

Hi J.,
We also doing Dave Ramsey's system. I found www.hillbillyhousewife.com thru dave ramseys sight and have so far liked her frugal and fast recipies. We have made the biscuits and a variety of the rice dishes. Hope this helps.

There's a great website online. Google 365 days of crockpot cooking. It'll come right up. I was following that for awhile. She has some fun idea.

Suzi

Hi J.,
You might like to join Cafe Mom. It is a social website for moms. They have many groups, some with easy recipes, crockpot recipes, and more. http://www.cafemom.com/

Dear J.- I did not read the responses BUT I recently came across "The Six O'clock Scramble" by Aviva Goldfarb, a website for inexpensive meals that take only about 30 minutes to prepare. The recipes are simple and enjoyed by adults and kids alike. Since using it, we have really cut our budget and still able to fix great and nutritious meals. Actually, she will send you recipes and other tips on a weekly basis to your e-mail, which is great! Best of Luck. D.
http://thescramble.com/index.php?msg=Congratulations%20-%....

go to www.foodnetwork.com. You will find what you need there. I have a great soup recipe that is budget friendly and very healthy with just 4 ingredients. See below:

Two By Four Soup:

2 lbs. ground round beef
2 cans rotel tomaotes (original recipe)
2 cans Progesso Light Southwest Veggie Soup
2 cans black beans drained

Brown ground beef and drain grease. Add remaining ingreadients and simmer for about an hour. This is a diabetic recipe. It is so good. I serve it with a little shreded cheddar cheese and have Dips Corn Chips with it. It is soooo good.

I actually have a few sites in mind with regards to this subject...

I'm sure this has been put up by others, but this has helped my grandmother who is on food stamps. You don't have to be on food stamps to use this service.
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/

This site has given me so many great ideas to cut back. There are menu ideas too.
http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm

This is the food stamp website. You don't have to be on food stamps to use it, but you can look up recipes based on cost per meal or even dietary restrictions.
http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/

One more, I made this little online cookbook. Alot of them I use and love. Enjoy!
http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=224820

Here is a forum that can help you put a menu for the week together. I am such a big advocate of putting a menu together.. it reduces stress (sounds silly, but really works) and helps with budgeting.
http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=7

I think this is a great post during this harsh economy. Good luck to everyone budgeting!!!

J.,
I think I have been responding all morning. They say that if dinner hasn't been thought of by 10 am that the family usually eats out.

I have been able to feed my family on $200 for 2 weeks for the last couple of years. It does take some planning initially and then every 2 weeks.

Sit down and record everything you have ever made, that your family loves, for instance... I make beef stroganoff, spaghetti, chicken pot pie, paella etc. once you have done that; create a "list" of all your meals (I did it on the computer then printed it off) I also put the meals in catagories (chicken, beef, pork, misc) once you printed it off keep it in your cupboard or a recipe book so you can come to it every 2 weeks when you make your grocery list out. This helps with variety because you can go back and make something you forgot was good. (also keep adding to it)

NOw that you have this list, the grocery list is very easy.

To start your grocery list... begin by deciding on the 12 meals you will fix in the next 2 weeks. One of the keys to this is... if you are going to have Hamburgers 1 night you will only need 3 buns, well look at your other list choose another item that will use the other 5 buns. that way you use up the food you bought. Another way to look at this is... let's say you roast a pork roast. How will you use up the rest of that pork? We do pork and bean burritos/ or BBQ pork sandwiches (used up the buns).

I also display the meals I have planned so that way I know what is possible for me to make that evening, or I can prepare for supper the next evening.

This works for me. I hope it can work for you. I also invested in the "5 ingredients" cook book and the "Taste of Home" cookbooks/magazines (more recipes a family would eat and not too gourmetish)

GOOD LUCK!!!! sorry I didn't give recipes... there are just SOOO many out there.

Here is one of my favorite quick, easy recipes. Prepare a pkg of Velveeta mac & cheese according to pkg directions. Meanwhile, brown 1 lb ground beef, then add 1 jar of Ragu roasted garlic spaghetti sauce. After you add the cheese to the noodles, mix everything together. My mom used to call this "goulash", although it's not what people refer to as the traditional goulash. I serve it with green beans and brown & serve rolls. It would make about 6 servings, I think, and is great left over too.

I took FPU this summer and loved it. When you get to the part about the envelopes and budgeting, DO IT! The envelopes are great for taking a look at what you really spend your money on. It's fun because it's kind of challenging too.

You can go to www.tasteofhome.com and sign up for a "Weekly Menusaver Newsletter" that has low cost recipes. Best of luck to you!

PPs, I went and read each post. OK Ladies I want to come live at your homes. You cook alot better and sounds so Yummy. I have all of your posts saved to my files now...lol
I want all of your recipes.......lol

Good Morning J., I did a quick Google search and came up with so many sites. I picked out 3 for you to check out.

I subscribe to Pillsberry site and get all kinds of hints and ideas too.

http://www.betterbudgeting.com/frugalrecipelist.htm

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Dinner/BudgetRecipes/BudgetR...

http://www.cheapcooking.com/

Good Luck, I loved Homeschooling too. Many MAny moons ago.
K. Nana of 5
PS I didn't look to see if you have others sites from mama's so if these are the same saw--reeeeeeeeeeee

My favorite web site for quick, healthy meals is cookinglight.com. When you get to the web site click on Browse Recipes and then you can narrow down your search by selecting any of the search terms including Quick/Easy (under Conveniences). I have found a lot of good recipes this way.

Hi J.:

Have you started reading Dave Ramsey's book yet? I have it myself and it's a great book.

But you were looking for inexpensive and quick recipes right?
Well, there's a million things you can make with hamburger (I use ground sirloin), I know that's kind of going against what Dave Ramsey says.

Anyway, my uncle used to make this, it's just hamburger, onions, garlic cloves, soy sauce and cabbage cut up, and served over rice.

First brown the meat with the onion and garlic. Drain the grease very well.
Than put back in the pot and add 1/2 C soy sauce, 1 cup water, then cut up the cabbage and place that on top of the meat mixture and when it comes to a boil, cover it and let it simmer until the cabbage is tender.
My adult kids still love it.
Enjoy.
S.

Hi J.,

I ama self recipie making:) I love to cook and invent my oun recipies, everybody loves them so I keep doing it. It would be nice to know what kind of food your family likes to be able to give you my best ideas.
Here are a few simple and healthy ones that are our favourites:
1)
Saute garlic in olive oil (of course you can replace for cheaper version:) sou sauce and teriyaky sauce, about a tablespoon each, add leftover chicken pieces or cooked chicken just until well coated, add sunflower seeds and cranberries. Serve over green salad with tomatoes (I like grape kind but you can chop any other) only put salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil as dressing to the salad. You can serve this dish with garlic bread or toast (whole grain the better).
2)
If you like fish:
Bake your favourite kind of fish in the oven covered with light sour cream and your favourite spices (we like oregano, basil, garlic, and red pepper) add alittle lemos and bake until done.
Serve ovver vrown rice and a salad.

3) Boil whiting fillets, get rid of skin if it has. Boil potatoes and carrots until done, you can actually do everything together, first the potatos and carrots in cubes and then adding the fish.
When everythign is cooked, condiment witrh salt, peper, lemon/vinegar, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of light mayonnais per pound of fish.
(Sautee the grlic in the oil and then add the remainng ingredients that are already cooked) I use the chopped garlic that comes ina jar.
4)
Bake in the oven chicken or breaded chicken of your choice and leftover pasta in different dishes or half and half of a big dish. Pour tomato sauce on top and mozzarella and complete the meal with a fresh salad. Fast and cheap.
5)
Spaghettis with beggies.
Boil the spaghettis with your favourite vegetable mix and condiment with smart balance and light sour cream and parmesan cheese. You can add garlic and basil if you like.

You an tell I am Italian since I love garlic and basil, pesto! Yum!

I have lots more if you want, hope they help!!!!!
Bon appetit!
Mariana

I didn't see this one listed so I will add it. I LOVE www.allrecipes.com. I go there all the time when I need something a little different. It is recipes submitted by real people with real ingredients and it you sign up with them (I never have so can't tell you if it is worth it) they have a recipe box feature where you can save recipes that you like. They also have an ingredient search so if you have a few things that you think would go together but don't know how, you can plug in the ingredients and come up with options. They also have things broken down into subcatagories so you can just look at recipes for the crock pot or just desserts or whatever. They also have reviews of the recipes from other people who have tried to make the dish which can be very helpful. I have gotten so many good ideas from this website! Here is one of them.

Meatball Casserole
2 eggs
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 box Augratin or Scalloped potatoes

Mix together all except potatoes and form into 1 inch meatballs. Cook at 425 for 15 minutes. Prepare potatoes as directed on box placing meatballs on top of potatoes. Cook all as directed on potato box.

Simple, easy, CHEAP, and super yummy! You can make up a large batch of the meatballs and then freeze whatever you don't use for an even faster meal later. Let me know if you have any questions.

J.,
i don't have a "lot" of great recipes like you describe, but my absolute favorite meal IS in fact, healthy, easy, and pretty cheap!
~~~~~~~
cut up and lightly pan fry boneless chicken breast in a Tb of olive oil or vegetable oil, and a Tb of soy sauce

add frozen mixed veggies of whatever kind (a cup or two's worth) -they have oriental veggies that are great, or just regular mixed veggies

add 1/2 c kikkoman stir fry sauce (or other seasonings)

*meanwhile...

make your rice, according to directions

when rice is almost done...

push chicken/veggie mixture to side of pan and add 2 eggs to empty side, scrambling as they cook

once done, stir egg into chicken and veggies, then once rice is done add that and mix well.

~~~~~~~~~
okay you'll have to forgive the cooking for dummies instructions- i save recipes i like on my computer so i just write them for myself to see. anyway, you can tweak it, i've made it dozens of times and it's always a little different (and i've only used kikkoman stir fry sauce once - every other time i've just used soy sauce or teriyaki or whatever i have) of course you can add onions, mushrooms, whatever comes to mind. hope you like it :)

I'm sure you'll get lots of responses, but this gal really saved my life. She has several books to choose from with companion shopping lists to go to the store with (yay!) and everything always takes 15 min or less to prepare and 15 min or less to cook.

www.savingdinner.com

Vegetariantimes.com has some wonderful recipes. You can sign up to have one emailed to you every day. To keep it simple and cheap, just use the ones that require ingredients you already buy and use for other dishes - not any of the fancy or exotic ones that you'd end up wasting some of or might be hesitant to try. And if you're not a vegetarian, substitute or add in meat for the recipes you like!

Also, a good bonus to this is that most of the recipes use whole foods, not processed ones. Carefully check the ones on the sites from manufacturers like Kraft or Campbell's. Of course, they will push their own foods and many of them MAY have added high fructose corn syrup, sugars, sodium, and other chemicals, making them more of a food-type product than a food. You'll stay fuller longer with real, whole foods. There is also a great book called In Defense of Food that helps you make the most out of nutrition and identify good foods so you're not wasting your money on fillers. It does not advocate a diet or provide recipes but helps you make good decisions when faced with so many options at the market.

Here is one that my husband and I love right before or after the gym. It's so healthy and light, yet it fills you up. It's a spinach salad with a warm apple/raisin topping:

Fresh spinach (preferably organic) -enough for the # of salads you plan to make
apples, sliced with skin on (one apple feeds about 2 people)
raisins (Earthbound Farm Organic makes huge, jumbo raisins that are soo good and juicy)
brown sugar (about 1/4 cup for every apple you use)
butter/marj. (about 1/4 cup for every apple you use)
raspberry vinaigrette or pomegranite vinaigrette dressing

1. put apples, raisins, brown sugar, and butter in sauce pan or skillet on med. heat. Stir often. Heat until apples are soft, but not mushy--about 10-15 minutes. (The amount of brown sugar and butter does not have to be exact. You can add it according to your preference)

2. place apple/raisin mixture on top of bed of spinach and pour dressing on top.

This goes really well with Whole Grain Take and Bake Bread (or any kind of whole grain bread) with Extra Virgin Olive Oil/parm/balsamic vinegar on the side for dipping. The whole grain is much healthier and fills you up longer.

For an extra side with this meal, sometimes we make cheesy potato soup with it:

Chop red potatoes with skin on into about 1-inch pieces (amount depends on how much you are making). Steam potatoes until tender all the way through (or boil if you don't have a steamer tray). While steaming, make sauce:
amounts based on about 4 servings:
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter
about 1 cup milk
5 slices or about 2/3 bag of shredded cheese
salt, pepper, and parsley to taste
Mrs. Dash Hot and Spicy if you want some extra flavor

1. Melt butter in med size pot.
2. Add flour and mix until smooth.
3. Add milk and stir/wisk on med-high heat until mixture becomes thicker, more sauce-like. You can add more milk if it gets too thick.
4. Add cheese, spices to taset.
5. Add potatoes to sauce and sprinkle parsley on top.

Hope you enjoy!
And, congratulations on working on your finance make-over!

www.savingdinner.com has budget friendly menu mailers you can purchase. I have been using her menu mailers (and other programs like freezer packs) for about two years now and I LOVE it. I think in all that time there have only been 2 recipes that we didn't like. Each Tuesday you download a complete shopping list and menus for 6 dinners... it follows the seasons and you won't get bored... This is a fantastic service for those of us who aren't top chefs... It's actually made me a good cook... LOL.

Good for you about getting your financial house in order. It's well worth the effort.

Try Hillbillyhousewife.com lots of living on a budget and easy meals. They actually budget for every meal of the week ( breakfast lunch an dinner). Also - Aldi.com has menus and recipes.

J.,
Have you seen www.savingdinner.com? There are several meal plans to choose from, but being on FPU I would reccommend a one-time purchase of her book "Saving Dinner". I just checked on amazon.com and you can get a used copy from $6.75. What I really like about these meals is firstly they are all prepared by a professional nutrionist (ie, no junk) but her cookbook is also broken down into seasons so you can take advantage of the seasonal produce (cheaper/on sale) and she also gives suggestions for side dishes (my personal weakness - never know what to make with it!), and each week's menu's have grocery lists that you can either copy down, or print out from her website.

Once you've finished your debt snowball, she has several different meal "makers" that you can sign up for online and have e-mailed to you - always with a grocery list. Some of her meal makers include recipes for low carb/diabetic, heart healthy, low budget, etc - there's even one for crock pot cooking!

Hope this helps!

I too am a last minute meal maker. I have to cookbooks taht I love for quick easy recipes.
1. Desperation Dinners: Home cooked meals for frantic families in 20 minutes flat bu Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross This book even has tips on what to have stocked in your pantry and how to best organize things so the meal making is quicker.

2. Campbell's Collection: 3 cookbooks in 1, You can't go wrong with campbells soup recipes. The majority of them are very quick and easy.

Hope this helps.

Yeah for you for starting the Total Money Makeover! Dave Ramsey ROCKS! What works for me and my family is sometimes on the weekend I will make a big pot of vegetable soup or chili. I will freeze part of it and we will eat on the other part for a couple of days. Then within the next week or so, I will defrost what I had put into the freezer. We then have meals again for a couple of more days that I don't have to prepare. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup are a big hit in our house. Especially this time of year. Changing things up and making breakfast one night here and there is also a treat. Some pancakes, scrambled eggs, and even sausage would go a long way. If you have any leftovers you could make breakfast burritos the next morning. I have a great recipe for BBQ. Kind of like "Manwiches", but better. That is not too hard to make and goes a long way. You can also freeze what you don't eat for another time. If you like that, let me know and I can send it to you along with any other recipes you may need. Good luck!!
-M.

Congrats on starting the FPU course! My husband and I are also taking the course at our church. I've been a micro-manager of our menu for a while...a few of the recipes we like (as well as our daughter) are:
Veggie Quesadillas - saute some onions and peppers. Once tender add a can of drained and rinsed black beans and drained diced tomatoes (you can cut up a fresh tomato if you'd like). Season as you wish, I usually use just a couple dashes of hot sauce. Put mixture on a flour or whole wheat tortilla and top with shredded cheddar cheese. It's cheaper to buy a block of cheese and shredd it (tastes fresher too). Top with another tortilla and bake at 400 until cheese is melted. I usually brush the top with a little olive oil and throw it under the broiler to brown (watch closely not to burn).

That's one idea. I can give you more if needed...

J.-
This website is really handy, too. You can plan your meals and select them and the ingredients can be added to a shopping list. Then you can go through and delete the stuff you already have on hand. It's really helpful... Good Luck!

http://www.mealsmatter.org/index.aspx

Casseroles are awesome = ) LOL I always find a few recipes in the Kraft "magazine" that comes in the mail. You can of course look on their website. Also Campbells has good recipes. Also you could always have one night be "breakfast night" with pancakes or french toast and eggs etc... Or a soup night, etc... Also Hamburger Helper works sometimes too! LOL Just think of things your family likes, and try plugging them into recipe finder websites, and you'll find all kinds of new recipes to try! Good Luck!

Okay this is easy actually. Crock pot dinners are so quick easy and makes the house smell like you cooked all day. Go on the web and pull up kraft recipes or Cambell soup recipes or my favorite the food network.
You can fix healthy meals for a family of 4 under $10.00 usually, Make homemade pizzas. Get Bar-B- Q pizza off the web easy and sooo good kids love it, let them help with their choice of toppings. If you buy in bulk like a family package divide and freeze it goes further. Make spagetti sauce and freeze left overs.
Grilled cheese and Ham and soup. Oh yeah I know it's hassel but cut coupns and save up to 10% off your bill. Good luck

I have four kids and a hubby... I used to love to cook but there is always someone complaining, so I don't love it as much as I used to and it's expensive.... So for my family we have a lot of pasta dishes, rice, potatoes...casserole stuff... Most of my bunch likes tuna, so that is a cheap meal option...Tuna noodles made with cream soup and cheese, maybe mushrooms. You can add veggies to it or serve them on the side, peas are a good option with this. I also make homeade pizza with salad, spaghetti (you can sneak a lot of veggies in on your kids in the sauce and they never even have a clue)and broccoli. I try to keep the fat content down and the veggie, fruit and protein up... Lots of chicken breast meals, grilled, baked, chopped into a casserole. I buy the individually frozen chicken breast, I can get a bag with about 6 for around $7, served with rice and a veggie or fruit salad and I can feed my family of 6 for usually $10 to $12, sometimes less. Be creative. The more color the better... Frozen bell peppers (red, green and yellow) jazz up color,flavor, and vitamins, and don't cost much. Let kids help make the meals too and they are more likely to eat it if it's something they claim not to like....

Check out the Taste of Home web-site, where you can do an "advanced search" and search for recipes that are "quick", also by ingrediant, number of ingrediants, etc. On the site once you sign up, (takes less than 2 minutes) you have an online recipe box. Maybe that way you can find recipes you like for several days, have the ingrediants on hand but still be somewhat 'last minute'.

Some of the responses that you have already received have some GREAT ideas. I was going to suggest the use of a crock pot...you can start the meal first thing in the morning and just let it cook all day long. Also look at things that will do for more than one meal...for instance...a roast the first night and hot roast beef sandwiches the 2nd night. Or make a BIG batch of spaghetti and make it into goulash the 2nd night. My husband does a lot of our grocery shopping and he tries to do his meat shopping first thing in the morning because that is when you will find things marked down in the meat dept. Keep an eye on the ads and make your meals around the bargains of the week. Make it part of your daughters homeschooling experience...sit down together with the weekly grocery ads and have her help you add up what it is going to cost you to get food for the week!!!
Congratulations on taking the steps to getting your financial house in order!!!

I am solely responsible for our menu too. One thing I like to make is chicken parmesan. Take chicken patties, pasta sauce, mozzerella cheese and some angel hair pasta. add a salad and you are set! kraft has a lot of good recipes too. kraftfoods.com try there for ideas. i also cook one day a month and freeze casseroles and all those good things. it would be fun to get your daughter helping in the kitchen also. have her make a meal out of some ingredients. simple ones for her age are pastas, tacos, and pizzas. All fun to make too. Hope this helps ya out!
A

J.:

Hy-Vee has a weekly menu they will e-mail to you. I found some great ideas in the Taste of Home Magazine "Simple & Delicious". Readers send in their recipes. They give the cost per serving, meal, prep time and cook time-normally 30 minutes or less. I have a husband, 2 daughters & a picky son at home. We have found recipes that we all like. I have involved the kids in helping me pick recipes to try hoping it would make them more willing to try new things. There are pictures of the dishes on the back of the magazine. I give each child 2-3 issues along with some note cards that they note the issue, recipe they want to try, page number. This makes a quick reference when I'm trying to put together a quick dinner. Also, makes it easier to compile a grocery list. I hope this helps. Good luck! M. R.

You've gotten lots of good websites and advice. I used to be such an impulse buyer when it came to mealtime, buying stuff and thinking, "maybe I'll make this" or "I should make this sometime" but then I thought to actually start planning my menu (I actually plan for the entire month and then do shopping for two weeks at a time, though most people probably don't go that far in advance). It does take some effort and thought but is certainly well-worth-it. It saves us probably $150 - $200 a month in grocery bills. Though, at first, it does feel like you're spending more because you're being more specific. Don't give up! You can do it! I use allrecipes.com and Better Homes and Gardens (bhg.com), as well as getting the Kraft magazine (though I don't find as many recipes in there that I actually use but that's just because of dietary preferences). Better Homes and Gardens has a section of recipes that use 7 ingredients or less.

Wow, I just spent the past 20 minutes cutting and pasting everyone's advise and have decided over Christmas to begin to research all web sites with my teen daughters, time to teach them to write grocery list, budget, and cook!

So thanks for the blessing you were to me today!

With colder weather, my family had been begging for soup.
Potato is a favorite at my house.(4 in house)
take 2-3 large baking potatoes, clean really good and cut up small. Put either on stove top in water or in crock pot (depends on how much time you have before dinner!)
Add in your favorite seasonings: italian , greek or tuscany blend are my favorite-choose one. Add some sea salt, white pepper (black floats and kids think icky!) 1-2 cloves garlic through press (I keep a big one in freezer and use it a clove at time ) Add 2 chicken boulon cubes. Cook until potatoes are done. Remove from heat, add either plain soy milk, or skim milk, just until the soup is white in color. Then take out larger portions of the potatoes and put in blender. Dump into a bowl as you go. Even blend juice. You will end up with soup that is right consistency, and juice left over. Be sure and blend the juice that is left and keep it. If you put the soup back in the crock pot or on stove, it will thicken . Add the juice, every hour or so, to keep it soup consistency! My family puts a little cheese on it, and will eat 2 bowls easily! Healthy, cheap, and smells great cooking!
We painted and redid our porch Thanksgiving morning and this is what they wanted for their Thanksgiving lunch!

Oh and fun dessert recipe, if you have to take something somewhere and want to make it inexpensive yet amazing. Go to dollar store and get one box brownies, one box thin mints. I also like to go to family dollar and get the 3 throw away pans for a buck with lids! Use pam baking spray on the pan, make brownies according to direction and cook. 5 min before done, take out of oven, and lay the thin mints on top of brownies and back in oven for 5 minutes. Let cool, cut into small decadent pieces. Amazing!
L.

Manwich is cheap and macaroni and Hamburger,canned bisquits rolled out with pizza sauce Cheeese and a piece of peperoni for the kids and Steamfresh Veggies you put in the micro are good but a little costly.also I heard Hen House has full menu deals for Dinner and they are mostly under $10 each so for $70 you have meals for dinner all week, so all you have left to buy is Breakfast food ,Milk and eggs and maybe some Lunch stuff. Worth a shot to try Hen House. I an going too for a week and see if my grocery bill is less.Good -Luck and hope it helps.

My children still ask for ''stir fry'' which actually was an attempt to make something out of nothing. Cook pasta-- any kind-- while it is cooking, take a fry pan- put a bit of oil or margarine in it and add vegetables, protein ( meat, cheese or egg) - and any thing from the frig. that looks like it would taste good in there - pour the contents over the drained pasta - it's ''stir fry''

Blessings,
J.

Aldi's website has a good meal planner, and there's a great cookbook called Desperation Dinners! that you can buy or get at the library.

Hi J.,
I can help you. I am a Homemade Gourmet consultant and we specialize in meal planning along with delicious, quick,easy and economical homecooked meals. If you would like more information, email me at ____@____.com.
Thanks!
A.

Try the More with Less cookbook. It's great. You can buy it cheaply at Plowsharing Crafts, or even cheaper on-line. Otherwise, send me your e-mail off the board and I will be happy to e-mail you some of my favorite easy & cheap recipes. :)
Also, Angel Food Ministries has really saved our food budget...
A.

Hi J.
My husband and I have 4 children, I've been a stay at home mom for 15 years and we've also gone through the Dave Ramsey's progeam... Do it whole heartedly -- we are debt free because of Dave!!
A new recipe for you : chicken breasts boned and skinned
1 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup parmasan cheese
1 tsp(or to taste) oregano
the more breasts you use the more sauce you will make.
. first beat down the breast, not too flat like 1/2 inch
. place into baking dish (I use a glass one--big)
. mix together 3 ingrediants
. spoon 1/2 of mixture all over the side facing up
. place under broiler ( watch--5-6 min...until top is browned)
. flip the chicken over and spread remainder of mixture allover that side
. broil again, whan that side is browned, sprinkle alittle extra parmesan on top put back under broiler30 seconds or so and its done.

we ate this quick chicken with mashed potatos and a veggie, or our favorite it chunked up and placed on a salad with good seasons italian dressing.. or on bread w/lettus/tomato/onion/mayo as a sandwich.... it's delicious!!
Recipe can be tweeked to your liking, We like extra sauce on ours so I always double sauce even for just 6 breasts.
Enjoy !!
K.

J.,

I was so excited to see your request!! I am a Pampered Chef Consultant and my fellow consultants and I have worked up a Meal Planning Show that will teach people how to do meal planning as well as provide resources to help!! The Pampered Chef offers a variety of recipes $3/serving (or less) that are simple and healty. I would love to practice with you and get feedback as to what helped you the most since you are just starting to meal plan. And, if you were interest in saving some money on holiday gifts this year you may be interested in hosting your own Meal Planning Party to earn Free, 1/2 price, and discounted products.

Good for you for taking this step! Meal Planning has to be one of the BEST ways to save $ each month!!

Please let me know if you think I can help you at all!!
____@____.com or ###-###-####

Good Luck!
S.

Hello
I would like to share my budget meal.

My husband and I like to eat pinto beans over yellow rice with bake chicken legs.

Enjoy!
D. Vernon

I try to do the same, but have a child with food allergies, so not always can do unplanned meals other than chicken nuggets/hot dogs. I have been throwing frozen/boneless chicken breasts in the crock pot and dumping a bottle or 1/2 bottle of bbq sauce over it. Whola - dinner made easy, just throw together a side dish or salad. The chicken gets quite tasty, but the first time I found out that stirring it midway through works better if you have quite a few breasts.

H.
mom of 2 works fulltime, hubby works 3 days a week but does not cook. he is home with the children 2 days a week.

Hi J.,

I also homeschool and have 3 girls in the neighborhood. My husband and I are just finishing a similar finance study at our church called Crown Finanicials. It has been 10 weeks of putting together a budget and plan to work off our debt. I heard of Dave Ramsey's program, but haven't read his book. I will try the planned dinners to see how much that helps in our grocery budget. Keep in touch, maybe we can get together with the girls at the local park by the library.

J., Go to the Kraft Foods web site and sign up for their magazine. It's free and has lots of ideas for easy quick meals in it. Not everyone of them is a keeper but I have gotten several out of there (the lazgna one is really easy and feeds us for 2+ meals). Also, check out crock pot recipes, you can find a lot on line. I cook pork steak in mine all the time, just brown the pork steak on the stove and trow it in the crock pot with BBQ Sauce (I use a whole bottle) and cook all day on low, they are great. Good luck and my husband and I are thinking of getting Dave Ramsey's book and giving that a try so let us know how it goes!