Hello Mamas!!!
The economy has hit us hard, and my grocery budget has been cut in half! I am seeking some new recipes that are cheap, and healthy that my kids will love! Thanks!!!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
Hi Megan 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. Krista
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.
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.
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/
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hi, Megan,
We have a large family, too, and cooking enough to feed everyone and not blowing up your bank account is always a challenge. I rely on the website http://www.recipezaar.com to help me figure out new, inexpensive things to make that won’t kill our budget.
The best thing about this wesite is the recipe sifter. Go to recipes and then click on “open the recipe sifter”. Once you are there is lets you click on several different options like:main dish, inexpensive, chicken, crockpot. Then it sifts through all the sites recipes and only gives you the recipes that are an inexpensive main dish made with chicken and prepared in a crockpot. So it does all the searching for you. I always sort them in order of rating, because people make the dishes and then get back on and rate them from 1 to 5 stars. So, I look at the tried and true ones first.
It has literally saved my budget and my mind.
Hope this helps,
Lisa
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.
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!
Hi Megan, 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
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.
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.