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meals on a shoestring

Posted: Nov 5, 2010

I'm making a big effort to try to pinch pennies here and there. I would like some ideas of meals prepared on a budget; ground beef, ground turkey, hot dogs, eggs, canned tuna, bologna...

I'd like some ideas on saving on household cleansers (floor soap, window cleaners..) also. My mom and grandmother used things like baking soda and vinegar, made hot dog casserole, but they passed and I never got to ask.

Any tips, recipes, ideas?? I'd appreciate it.

(just a single mom with 2 little ones, and a large dog, trying to get by. ; )

;

meals - mh

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When my kids were little, I used to have breakfast for dinner (usually pancakes). They thought it was a treat but it was actually a money-saver meal.

meals - nikki

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Buy the mac n cheese when it's on sale (I got Kraft @ a dollar each!), tuna when it's on sale and cans of peas n corn.

Nikki's super cheap tuna casserole:
prepare mac n cheese per instructions.
Drain tuna, peas and corn
Dump it all together, top with crushed chips (not necessary!) and bake til the top is toasty and it's warmed through and through. Makes a good meal for 4.
Costs about 2.50 to make, maybe less.

cleaner - norma

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I use this recipe for an all purpose kitchen/bath/glass cleaner

2 C alcohol
1/2 C ammonia
1 tsp of liquid dish soap
juice of 1/2 lemon

add water to make 1 gallon. It works well on the stove, glass and countertops.

I use dilute ammonia and very hot water for the floors. Not much into the overly scented (and priced) commercial floor cleaners. This has always worked well. I have cermanic tile floors and a toddler and a dog who licks the floors (??).

Generic ammonia and alcohol are really cheap too.

for hotdogs - jk

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I take a pack of hotdogs, slice them up. Take a whole onion and slice it up, dump barbecue sauce on it to cover, dilute it with water a bit and generously pepper it with black pepper. Heat it up and serve it over fluffy white rice. Kids love it! I also do chicken drum sticks the same way.

I have a generic sheppard's pie too: brown up the ground beef,(or turkey or chicken) add one of those brown gravy packs (powdered or canned by the instructions) add some kind of veggie (kids like peas in it) and cover it with either instant or home made mashed potatoes (or even tater tots), top with cheese and bake. Yummy and cheap.

Hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls - RLee - served wtih baked beans

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I buy canned baked beans and sautee an onion to add and serve with pickles and/or cole slaw.

meals - mt2

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I buy Hillshire Farms kielbasa or polish sausage (it seems it is always on sale, sometimes 2-for-1), slice it into bite size pieces, fry it up, and put barbecue sauce on it. My boys loved that when they were little. I usually served mac and cheese with it.

The cashier at the grocery store said she buys a pound of chipped ham (usually around $3/pound), fries that and puts barbecue sauce on it for sandwiches. Haven't tried that yet but plan to soon.

I also made breakfast for dinner, scrambled eggs, toast and fruit, or pancakes and sausage. We were in such a hurry to get out the door in the morning that I could never cook breakfast in the morning, so breakfast for dinner was a treat.

A lot of homemade cleaning supplies can be - sm

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found by just googling them. That is where I found a lot of what I use.

I make chicken soup - lasts the 2 of us 4 days - recipe inside

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1 chicken
4 potatos
4 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 package generic chicken soup mix (like Liptons). I like the taste of the generic better. It's really that seasoning thing they put in that adds the flavor.

It's pretty easy and basic. Boil chicken til done remove and cool. Add the rest of the ingredients, boil til done, add the chicken back at the end so it won't get over cooked. I think i pay $4 or 5 for a whole chicken and under a buck for the potatoes and carrots. Don't know how much the celery costs, but the meal lasts us 4 nights.

I'm a fan of whole chicken. - depression granddaughter

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My grandmother raised 4 children during the depression. She knew how to stretch food! When I was first married and we were poor, poor, poor, she told me to buy whole chicken and eat it all week. It's hard to find old stewing hens these days, because chicken is grown quickly to get to market fast. But, if you can find a bit old stewing hen, maybe at an Asian market, that's great. If not, look for sales on the whole bird. I first make a basic stock by cutting the bird up. Use even the neck and back for the broth. Add some celery, whole peppercorns, carrot, onion, parsley.. whatever you have. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer and cook for about an hour until the meat is tender. If you have a stewer, it will let out what grandmom called "scum". Skim that from the surface as it cooks. I don't add salt at this point, because I'll use the broth in different ways, so I salt when I use it.

When the broth is done, strain the liquid and put in the 'fridge for several hours or overnight to let the fat rise and solidify. Let the meat cool and then remove it from the bones. Now you have the basics for a bunch of good meals. You can also save the chicken fat from the broth, schmaltz, for cooking. I don't do that, but lots of people love the flavor of that fat.

Use the broth for soup bases. You can make simple noodle soup with it, or add some potatoes and whatever else you have to make a thick hearty soup. You can put in some of the chicken, too. I like to use the dark meat in soup.

You can also mince up the chicken or run it through a food processor or chopper. A couple of handfuls will make chicken croquets for 4 people. Mince with onion, celery, carrot, add a bit of mayo, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and an egg. Mix it all together well, roll into balls or little cone shapes. Roll in beaten egg and then breadcrumbs, and deep fry. You can make a gravy for that, as well after frying. For a lighter version, spray with cooking spray and bake in the oven. These don't get as crispy as the fried version, but they are still good and definitely healthier.

The chicken can also be used to make chicken and dumplings, which is another dish that goes a long way. Make a gravy using the broth, add chicken, veggies. Bring to a boil, make your fave dumpling recipe, and drop by big spoonfuls onto the boiling goodness, cover and let cook for about 15 minutes or so. Yummy!

Lots of things can be done with the chicken. I mix it in with spaghetti and make a cream sauce for it all with flour and milk and seasonings and cheese. Top with some buttered breadcrumbs or breadcrumbs mixed with olive oil, and run under the broiler to toast.

Then, of course, there's chicken salad, Chicken Helper, etc.

A whole chicken bought on sale goes a long way!

I make what I call Stewp. - Lane

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It's actually stew but I use Hot and Spicy V8, rotel tomatoes, hamburger meat, corn, potatoes, and a bottle of tobasco. I then freeze it and can make enough to last me two weeks when I freeze it in many containers. The longer you freeze it the hotter it gets and that's great for the winter.

Check out HillybillyHousewife.com - Happy MT Robin

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http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes

She's got some really, really good frugal ideas in there.

Here's my 2 cents. - old and frustrated

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Tuna casserole (make a big batch and have it two nights). I make a spaghetti sause and ground turkey with onions and garlic mixed with macaroni with some cheap cheese - (another two nighter). We have breakfast once or twice a week for supper. Don't forget soup and sandwiches, on a cold winter night that really hits the spot and kids love grilled cheese. Another thing I do is make a meatloaf and with the leftovers I had some spaghetti sause and have spaghetti with the same meat (the Hunt's sause is usually pretty reasonable) Coupons - I have discovered you can actually save quite a bit and you can get a lot of them on line for free! Good Luck!!

Thanks for posting this link - I had forgot about it - bad cook

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I saw this a long time ago and forgot all about it. Thanks for the post.

I make hamburger gravy and rice a lot and other meals - Backwards Typist

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If the kids don't like rice, you can use it over mashed potatoes. For 2 adults, it takes 1-1/2 lb of hamburger and 1 packet of gravy mix, or 1 can of beef broth thickened with cornstarch or flour. Quick and easy. (I also stretch the gravy a bit by adding a little extra water).

Chili is also a good cheap meal.

Smoked sausage casserole using sliced potatoes layered with sliced sausage and sliced onions.

Stews or soups. I make hamburger soup using canned mixed veggies, beef broth, canned tomatoes.

Ham and string beans using leftover ham or a slice of ham cubed with green or yellow beans and quartered potatoes. You just cook the potatoes as usual in whatever pot you use for soup, add your can or beans and ham until warmed up.

Vinegar is great as a cleaner. Mix 1 cup vinegar and 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap in a spray bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with water. Straight vinegar for your shower curtain or door. I clean my SS sink with baking soda and vinegar. Makes it shine.

You can find so many tips for cleaners on Frugal LIving. I don't have the website but if you Google it, it will probably pop up.

Meals - GT

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This saves us a little money and we get one meal a week, usually on Friday, and I don't have to cook. It's just my husband and I so this works great. All through the week, I put any leftovers in a freezer bag and we have soup and salad one day. Of course, it has to be leftovers that would be good in a soup. We've had quite a few different varieties and most of them are really tasty.

Meal standbys - RLee

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As other posters have stated - we have breakfast for supper sometimes. I buy Banquet Brown & Serve sausage patties and/or links as they are usually 2 packs for $3 with 8 in a package (cheaper than bacon). I make homemade homefries to go along with it as well as eggs and toast. Another good money saver is corn chowder served with crackers (cheap, easy, and more than one meal). In the past I have googled Bisquick's impossible pie recipes and have made them. There are endless possibilities to these impossible pie recipes. I make quiche and serve with a grilled cheese sandwhich in a pinch.

Meal I like to make when low on funds. - PJ

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My mom always made boiled potatoes and either hot dog or hamburger gravy when I was growing up. In fact, I think I'll make some for my family tonight.

This is a meal I go to whenever I have spent my pay check on bills and am waiting for the next one to buy groceries.

Start your potatoes boiling first, so they will be done about the same time as your gravy.

If making hot dog gravy, slice and fry the hot dogs first for the best flavor. If making hamburger gravy, you want to fry the hamburger and leave it in generous chunks for the best effect, but make sure all the chunks get cooked thoroughly.

The gravy is really easy to make. You just start with a roux, using equal parts of butter and flour (1 T butter to 1 T flour). Melt the butter, stir in the flour until smooth and bubbly, then stir in milk to desired gravy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste (not much salt for the hot dog gravy, but you will definitely need it for the hamburger). Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then add in your fried hot dog pieces or hamburger.

Mash up the boiled potatoes or leave them in chunks if you want, and then serve the gravy over them.

It is cheap, easy to fix, and quite yummy. Hope you enjoy! :)

re: Hannah - gal from that era

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I was raised on hot dog casseroles, bologna and potato casseroles, potato chip and tuna deluxe and other now extinct foods! I buy and use a lot of bologna, but I get mine thick sliced at the deli, not those packed up lunch meat ones.

I don't remember the step by step recipes, but try this: Go to one of those stores that sells used (ancient)books. I collect old books and have seen many, many cook books from the 50s and 60s and 70's that have exactly the type of food stretching recipies you are looking for.

I personally want to thank you for this post. It reminds me of how blessed I am to have food on my table, no matter how meager the meal. I am printing out these suggestions and meal suggestions and going to put them to immediate use!

Bless you all!

We get several different variations of a meal out of this recipe - RubySoho

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If you and your family like Mexican food, you'll love this recipe.

We pick up a 3-4 pound chuck roast and put it in the crockpot with a couple of roasted chipotle peppers (you can pick them up canned really cheap), 1 lg (28-32 oz) can of stewed tomatoes, 1 can of vegetable broth, 1 tbsp cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. I usually rub the roast with a combination of cumin, salt, pepper, and about 2 tbsp of chili powder before I submerge it with the other ingredients into the crockpot.

After about 4-6 hours, the meat will be fork-tender, shredding apart, and really flavorful. I transfer it to a large baking sheet and use 2 forks to shred it apart.

We have carne asada tacos from this one night just adding white cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, or whatever you like on your tacos, then homemade taquitos with sour cream and guacamole another night, chimichangas for lunch, and still have enough left to serve it up in burritos another night.

The initial cost of the roast where we live is anywhere from $6-10. Tortillas are really cheap, and my husband makes homemade guacamole with avocadoes from the Hispanic market across the street (where they're usually really cheap).

For the initial cost of about $15 including the cost of the canned roasted chipotle chiles, etc., we get at LEAST 4 meals out of this, which averages out to about $4 per meal for two of us.

Who says eating cheap has to be boring? No us, that's for sure, lol! We're always looking for good reasonably healthy cost-cutting recipes, so thanks to everyone who posted!

That sounds awesome. - Happy MT Robin

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Thanks for posting those ideas, RubySoho. I may have to try that tomorrow when I get my check and hit the store.

Had lots of Cheap Eats as a kid and now - sm

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One of the dishes I still make is lentils and rice. Cheap comfort food. Lentils cook up quickly (unlike other beans) and can be spiced up different ways. Sometimes I'll grate some carrots into them. You could put in a little meat to stretch it too, or make a lentil soup with some tomatoes and whatever else you want. Really, any kind of bean dish is a good cheap meal.

Eggs in egg salad, poached eggs on toast, scrambled egg sandwiches, breakfast burritos. I've even made creamed eggs on toast. We used to do breakfast for dinner too. It was a treat for us when we were little to have pancakes for dinner.

Any kind of soup. Again, good way to stretch your expensive ingredients like meat and use cheaper ones (like rice, potatoes, or carrots) for filler. If fresh veggies are more expensive or out of season, you can go with canned or frozen.

Recently I've been buying ground turkey in the little plastic covered rolls. Here it works out cheaper per pound than ground beef. In most recipes it seems about the same to me. I also tend to cut the amount of meat called for in recipes, say 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound of hamburger rather than a whole pound.

I've also got a good recipe for what I call Mexican Ravioli. Cook a bag of frozen ravioli according to the directions. Drain and mix with a can of corn, a can of rinsed black beans, and a can of enchilada sauce. I also add some olives, but these can be expensive. Toss in a little shredded cheese. Put it in a nonstick-sprayed baking dish and top with some more cheese. Bake until bubbly and the cheese is melted on top. I don't have exact measurements, but I think I got this from Taste of Home. They have a lot of budget recipes on their website.

Okay, I think I'll quit writing my novel now! :) Good luck pinching the pennies.

Oops forgot--tuna patties instead of salmon. Yum! - nm

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x

food network - love to cook

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You can go to foodnetwork.com and there is a show called 10 Dollar Dinners. My children and I love to watch the food network and they have a ton of great recipes. The one show I told you about, the host Melissa has a lot of money saving tips on her part of the website.

Another good but cheap meal I remember eating when I was a kid was Chicken A La King. You just make a white sauce, equal parts margarine and flour until bubbly and then wisk in milk. Once it thickens, add a bag of frozen mixed vegtables and some cooked shredded chicken. Serve over toast. You can also make chip beef by making the white sauce and putting the sliced beef lunch meat (I use Budding) in the white sauce and serve over toast. Great with a few scrampled eggs on the side.

I find that making things from scratch and not buying the expensive pre-packages meals (which are full of additives and sugars anyway) is a big cost saver.

You can go online and search for campbell soup and Minute Rice. There are lots of cost efficient meals on their websites also.

Also, I have a membership to the local BJs, which is one of those warehouse places and we buy in bulk. I freeze meat into freezer bags portioned for meals and dried and canned goods. This really saves me a lot of money, especially on snacks like trail mix and granola bars for the kids. Hope this helps some.

I forgot about Chicken ala King, and there's always corned beef hash! - RubySoho

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When I was on SSDI a few years ago and supporting my daughter and I getting paid minimally just once per month, I had some leftover roast chicken. I was talking to my cousin about ideas to use it and she suggested Chicken ala King. I had never made it before but had had it and liked it. She gave me basically the same recipe (including the starter roux) you just described, and made it that night over buttered toast tips. Oh my gosh, my daughter and I both loved it. In fact, we liked it so much that even after I went back to work we would have it 2-3 times a month just because we liked it, lol!

Another cheap and filling recipe is homemade corned beef hash. Use as many potatoes as you need, peel and dice into bite-sized pieces. I usually take 1-2 cloves of garlic and dice them up as well as about 1/4 of an onion, and lightly sautee them in oil over medium heat. Once the garlic and onion are lightly sauteed, I add the diced up potatoes and lightly brown them for a few minutes, then cover with a lid and cook for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. Once those are just about completely cooked, I open up a can of corned beef (the fun kind that comes with its own "key," LOL!), dice it up and stir it into the potatoes and heat through until done. REALLY cheap and REALLY tasty, too. I've also used leftover roast beef to make this, and I've talked to others who have used leftover chicken and love that, too.

Chicken ala King and corned beef hash...What memories those bring back!

As far as coupons - wimt

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I've been going to pocketyourdollars.com. They match up the sales at the store to the weekly Sunday coupons. I shop on double coupon days, sometimes going through with two orders in order to use the max amount of coupons. I've been able to save an unbelievable amount on my groceries doing this. It takes some time, but it's worth it when you spend $40 on a whole cartful of food.

RE: SHOESTINGS. KEEP 'EM COMING - Ceci

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I'm a Tex-Mex gal and want to add one.

It's called picadillo (pick ah deeyo) and sopa (so pah).

1 pound grn beef
half an onion diced
a clove or 2 of garlic diced or crushed
potatoe 1 or 2 diced
cilantro
salt and pepper
jalapeno (or not) finely diced
half a can of stewed tomatoes
a little pinch of cumin (or not)

Should be a little "broth" when it's done, not soupy, just like a bit of broth at the bottom.

Brown the beef add the rest and cook until the taters are done.

Sopa:
brown either uncooked white rice or a small pasta (like elbow or mini shells) with a little bit of oil
add about a tablespoon of finely chopped onion, a clove of crushed garlic and one small can of tomato sauce (not paste!). Add just enough water to cover and SIMMER slowly until pasta or rice is done. Add water if needed.

** I like my sopa cooked with chicken broth instead of water! Hope you try it, you'll love it!

Serve with tortillas. Tastes even better the next day!

If you want, I can post my recipe for charro beans. Pinto beans with some extras. I use just beans instead of meats a lot.

Yes, please post... - RubySoho

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My husband turned me on to sopa last winter and I LOVE it, so I'd really like to see your charro bean recipe if you don't mind posting it.

Thanks!

Thanks - suzanna

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Such great recipes from everybody! Very appreciated. Can't wait to try. Thanks so much.

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