Cheap Meal Ideas Needed

Hello L. -
Here is a link to a great website with yummy but cheap meal ideas.

http://www.livingonadime.com/samplerecipes.htm

Good luck,
L.

I hope you don't take offense to this, it is very detailed, and you probably already know most of it. when i first got married at 23 i knew nothing about cooking. My husband, though, wouldn't settle for that, so over the last three years i think I've learned a lot. My husband, 19 year old step son, and my 2 young boys eat my cooking every night. But several times a week i also cook for several other people; my husbands three male employees, his other two grown children and their children, the SCHWANS delivery guy and anyone withing smelling distance is at my house for dinner. My husband does not do hamburger helper type meals. So where does that leave me without going broke?
Roast:
1 beef or pork roast; you are going to want an average of 1 pound per person depending on the type of roast
garlic salt
seasoned salt
vegetable oil
1 large pan with a lid
Begin by heating the oil on medium high. Brown the roast on all sides, seasoning as you go. (season it generously, you will be cooking this all day in boiling water) after browning and seasoning the roast pour hot water into the pan(about 2 cups, depending on the size of the roast, you dont want to completely cover the roast) cover and bring to a boil. when the water begins to boil, and it will quickly, turn down the heat to low or warm. Then walk away. this should cook like this for 5-8 hours, you choose. after 5 hours it will be cooked, up to 8 hours it won't overcook. check it from time to time to make sure it is cooking and not too hot, but don't check it too often because you don't want to release the steam built up from the boiling water.
I prefer 7 bone in roasts
This is great with potatoes, which you can quarter and cook with the roast the last hour, or i prefer mashed potatoes. I like to make gravy with the juices from the roast. Also salad and bread.
This entire meal usually costs me 20 dollars and often i have enough for roast beef sandwiches for lunch the next day.
Chicken:1 boneless skinless chicken breast per person
This is my fave, cause it is so easy and impressive
Buy French's "Roast'nBag" seasoning blend for chicken and follow directions. Serve with baked potatoes, salad and bread.
Leftover Spaghetti: Two of my favorite meals combined, but beware it is a heart attack in a tortilla.
Enough tortillas for everyone to have 1-2 burritos
Left over spaghetti or fresh
Grated cheese
Fry leftover spaghetti(with cooked noodles) in butter on high until hot. Place on warmed tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.

>drop biscuits or bicuits are a great bread to serve with dinner because bisquick is inexpensive and they are easy and impressive. Potatoes are a must with my dinners because they are inexpensive, easy and filling. i also try to make meals that can be changed a litte and served for lunch the next day, because otherwise they don't get eaten and are then a waste. I also try to remember to look in my cupboards for food I already have. Oh here is one more.
Easy beef stroganoff: I use 2 lbs of ground beef and usually have left overs
Sour cream
noodles, rice, or potatoes, you choose
brown ground beef
make into a gravy; add milk and 1 beef bullion until meat is covered and bring to a slight boil, stirring often. add corn starch to a glass of very hot water and stir with a fork and then add slowly to meat while stirring constantly. do this until it thickens to a gravy consistency. turn down heat to low and stir in two spoon fulls of sourcream. Serve over your choice of noodles, fried potatoes, or rice. remember to make these before the gravy, once the gravy is done the meal should be ready.
if you want to know more just ask, i am happy to share.

Chicken Spaghetti
In a 3Qt crockpot, put 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts (If you get the big frozen bag, you don't even need to thaw). Top with a can of spaghetti sauce. Cook on low 6+hrs (check it). Shred the chicken when done & return to sauce, serve on top of cooked noodles.
($1 for spag sauce, $1 for noodles, maybe $2-3 for chicken)

Double for larger pot. Toss in frozen veggies near end of cooking if you want more veg in your diet

Asian pork:
Frozen pieces (thin) of pork can also be cooked in slow cooker as above, replace spag sauce with water just to cover, add seasoning (onion, garlic, ginger). Toss in some veggies of choice (small pieces) towards end of cooking. When done, shred pork, drain veggies, mix together with 1T oyster sauce (a Chinese condiment). Toss with cooked rice & serve.

One of our family faves is tuna casserole.

1 12 oz. can of tuna in water
1 package of No Yolks egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom
1 cup of lowfat or skim milk
2 heaping spoonfuls of sour cream
2 heaping spoonfuls of mayo
a little garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste
a cup of frozen peas (not canned!!)

topping:
1/2 cup of dried bread crumbs
3 tbs. melted butter

boil the noodles
drain the tuna
mix the soup, milk, s.cream, mayo and spices. Add more or less milk to make a fairly soupy sauce. It might seem a bit soupy but when you bake it the noodles soak up a lot of liquid.
Add the drained tuna, noodles and peas to the sauce. Put it in a 2 quart casserole dish.
Mix the butter and bread crumbs together and put the mixture on top. Bake at 350 for a half hour or till bubbly.
You can double the recipe for more people (or bigger appetites). This recipe feeds my family of two adults and 2 kids, with left overs for lunch. Sometimes I mix in some grated cheese or if I don't have sour cream I'll use cream cheese instead. It turns out different every time!

How about pancakes and eggs?

Here's a recipe for enchiladas:

ingredients
bag of large tortillas
1 lb of hamburger or a couple of cans of black beans or a couple of cans of refried beans (or a combination of any of the aforementioned)
1 can of nacho cheese (optional)
1 onion (optional)
a little oil (I use olive)
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 can of tomato juice
spices of your choice (to season meat or beans)
chili powder

1. If using hamburger, brown, crumble and season. If using beans, heat up in a pan or in the microwave and season.
2. Chop the onions. Fry them in the oil.
Sprinkle some chili powder into the tomato juice. Pour the tomato juice onto a large plate. Dip tortillas on the plate.
3. Put some onions and some meat/beans onto each tortilla. Add a scoop of nacho cheese if desired. Roll and place into a 9 X 13 pan.
4. Once all enchiladas are placed in the pan, top with nacho cheese and enchilada sauce.
5. Bake at 325 for 30-45 minutes.

This is cheap and fills up those insatiable boy-tummies.

Also - STEWS are cheap and filling. Potato soup is good too. Serve these with a big loaf of French bread or a box of no-name brand saltine crackers.

Two words: Crock pot!

Seriously, you can search online for recipes for the crock pot, or even stove top cooking, for things like stew, chili, spaghetti sauce, that sort of thing.

The great thing about chili, or stew, or spaghetti, is that it's not that expensive to make, and you can make a large amount in a short time.

I wonder if turkeys or whole chickens are cheaper now that we're past Thanksgiving? Cooking whole birds gives you a LOT of meat for less per pound.

I like to cook stew, because I can use just a few vegetables (bought in bulk, thus cheap) and with a bit of prep time, make a lot of food in the crockpot and it tastes good.

Recipes.com is just one website with recipes. You could also try the Food Network website.

Good luck!

here's one my kids love and eat the you now what out of it
make some mac and cheese ,hamberger , and sour cream . mix it all together . then serve my kids call it poor man hamberger helper . but they love it . i hope you try it and like it as much as we do . good luck ..

Hot/cold cereal for breakfasts and cold cut sandwiches/chips for lunch-I think these other clever folks have dinner covered!

Hi L.!

I got the corner market on cheap meals!! LOL! With feeding three grandchildren, my two daughters, and occasional drop-ins, I've had to figure out how to make the meals stretch. Here's some suggestions: spaghetti, chili, any kind of stew, casseroles. A good place to find meal ideas is at www.kraftfoods.com I get alot of meal ideas from there and they're not expensive to make. Hope it helps!
Just Me!
S.

My favorite thing in the world is my slow cooker. I use it for most of my suppers. I cook dinner and get supper ready at the same time. They even have cooking bags for them now, so clean up is a snap. There are a ton of easy slow cooking books out there too. They are all a snap to make and you will have a wonderful meal every nite!!! Another great site is Allrecipe.com. They have a wide range of recipes that are easy. Good Luck!

mack and cheese,, spaghetti, fried potatoes and hamburger type cassarole, augraton(sp) potatoes. potato soup, chili

Tator Tot Casserole
2 lbs. ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or other cream soup)
frozen or canned green beans, 1 cup or so
Shredded Cheese
Tator Tots

Cook meat, mix in soup adding milk to thin out a bit. Stir in beans, place mixture in casserole dish. Top with tator tots, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Top with cheese, bake a few minutes longer until cheese is melted, YUM!

Another great idea...
Bag of McDonald's hamburgers and make tator tots or fries at home!

Grilled cheese and tomato soup

Breakfast for dinner, frozen waffles, make pancakes and scrambled eggs

Hope this helps!

I would suggest stuff like Chili, spagetti , soup and sandwiches , roasts , then with the left overs make a nice beef stroganoff , or vegetable soups. Depending on how many you will be feeding you might check some of the cook books that are cooking for a crowd.

This is called stack-a-meal.
1 lb hamburger fried and crumbled
Mix with it 1 small can tomatoe sauce (6oz),
garlic and parsley to taste.
Cook 2 cups of rice and about 1 1/2 cups of peas.
Then stack on a plate rice, meat, peas and top with shredded cheese.
Then another is a hamburger sandwich.
Use the same meet mixture as above.
Cut steak rolls in half long way and then carve them out to make them look like a boat.
Fill both sides of the rolls with meat and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until toasty.
If you email me, I can give you more.
____@____.com
G.