OK - let's try for some inexpensive, easy recipes.
You must include prices of the ingredients, regular costs to start, but cost saving strategies are welcome with a sale price being a bonus addition. Break it down my cost per serving. Salt/pepper don't count
Here's my favorite meal stretcher, and it's so easy, can be frozen, and feeds many.
$7.00 Package of chicken 3-4 chicken breasts.
$3.00 2 cans cream of chicken soup (you can do the healthy request to make it healthier, it doesn't affect the taste much at all)
$1.00 1 can low sodium chicken stock
$ .50 2 cloves garlic minced
salt/pepper (if you are using regular cream of chicken or chicken stock, don't add more salt)
$1.00 rice (or mashed potatoes if you prefer)
Directions -
Add the garlic to the bottom of your crockpot. Add chicken breasts - salt and pepper the breasts here. Add the soup and the stock, and cook on low for 9-10 hours or high for 5-6 hours. Cook up 8 servings of rice. Shred the chicken breasts - they should fall apart at this point - and stir together.
Scoop over the rice, and serve. Salt and/or pepper to taste.
Serves 8. Servings is $1.44 per person. Get the chicken and soup on sale, and you can do even better. Mashed potatoes will increase the cost a bit.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
1 lb chub taco seasoned turkey meat - $1.50
1 can refried beans - $1ish
shredded cheese - price varies. I keep shredded cheese on hand so the cost is $0 for me. I buy the big bags, $8ish, but it usually lasts for a month so not bad.
tortillas - price varies. I also keep these on hand, so $0 for me. I buy corn tortillas from Costco. $3ish for 100 tortillas.
salad mix - I use salad mix (usually an arugula/baby spinach mixture) on my tacos because I prefer it to iceberg lettuce. I buy a big container, average $3.50.
condiments - sour cream and salsa - Also kept on hand. Sour cream is $3something for a huge tub at Costco. Salsa is $2ish for a decent-sized jar.
I've served 4 people with this amount of ingredients and often have leftovers. I'm not sure how to do price per serving since I keep most things on hand.
My favorite for cheap eating is getting a pork loin on sale. I just got a six pounder for $11 and I had a coupon for $1.50 off the meat department- so it was $1.60 per pound.
I cut off 8 chops, froze 4, and put the small (3ish pounds) roast in the crock pot with rosemary from the garden and some garlic cloves.
The roast is two meals for the three of us, the four chops will make a pork chop rice casserole- rice, onion, red bell pepper, can of tomatoes ~$2.50. One casserole I one meal for 3 with one leftover lunch portion.
The frozen chops will make another casserole or two stir frys. I get a package of frozen veg and make my own sauce ~$3-4 per fry up.
So that's up to eighteen servings for $15-$18.
The kids call this "Mexican Sh!t" and I have posted it before:
1 lb ground beef, browned
Can of Rotel (or salsa)
1 cup rice
Shredded cheese
Make the rice and put it in the bottom of a baking dish. Top with ground beef (browned, mix in Rotel or salsa). Top that with shredded cheese and bake until bubbly. Eat by itself or with tortilla chips.
Cheap, easy, and yummy.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
Another one I like to do in the fall is to get a rotisserie chicken for $5, have chicken sandwiches the first night and then use the carcass and leftover meat to make chicken noodle soup. I usually only put celery, onion, carrot, and egg noodles in my soup and it makes a ton. So that's several meals for less than $10.
Another one I like to do in the fall is to get a rotisserie chicken for $5, have chicken sandwiches the first night and then use the carcass and leftover meat to make chicken noodle soup. I usually only put celery, onion, carrot, and egg noodles in my soup and it makes a ton. So that's several meals for less than $10.
I do that too! Rotisserie chickens make the best stock. Yummmmmm
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
Here is part of a Eating on a Budget speech I did last year for my Effective Speaking class. I realize that the prices may have changed but you can still get good deals if you watch out for the sales
With careful planning, shopping and creative cooking, one person can eat for a week on about $20. I am going to assume that you have a basic pantry and some basic cooking skills. First, the key tip is to plan meals around one key food. Prepare that food in a larger amount than you would usually use the first night. Then you can use it for entirely different recipes later in the week. This isn't the same as eating leftovers, since you are making entirely different meals.
Shopping! Let’s start off with your main item for the week, one whole chicken. You can get a chicken on sale for about $.99/lb. Try to get the biggest one you think you can handle. I try for one about 5 lbs ($5.00). Add in some onions ($1/lb), a bag of baby carrots ($1) and some celery ($1.50). Throw in a box of pasta ($1), a can of refrigerator biscuits ($1) and a few potatoes ($2) and you have most of your dinners and probably a few lunches in there too. Round out your meals with a bag or two of salad ($1.50) and a dozen eggs (1.29).
For the first meal, roast your chicken with some Italian seasonings, one onion, a third of the carrots and some celery. Bake a few potatoes alongside of it. Only eat a quarter of the meat at most. Clean the rest of the meat off the bones. You should have at least 3.5 cups of leftover meat.
Don’t throw away any of the bones or skin yet. Put them in a stock pot or slow cooker and cover with at least 3 quarts of water. Simmer for several hours to make a flavorful broth. Strain and let the broth cool. Skim any fat off the top.
Take one and a half cups of chicken and make a chicken pot pie by thickening some of the broth you just made for gravy. Use some of the carrots, potatoes and onions. Top them with the biscuits for an easy crust. This should make enough for two meals. Freeze one for later.
Take half a cup of meat, dice up a little of the veggies, mix in some mayo and you have chicken salad sandwiches.
For the final meal, use the remaining chicken and broth to make soup. Sauté up the rest of your diced veggies (celery, carrots and onions). Cook and add about a third of a box of noodles as you are serving. This soup should be enough for 2 meals. Now that is a frugal meal plan.
What if you use the ramen as part of your ingredient for the meal? I've done that.
2 packs of beef flavored ramen
pound or ground beef
can of cream of mushroom
brown ground beef, drain.
prepare ramen don't use the beef packet, save that for something else.
mix in the soup and beef.
Top with shredded cheese and serve with garlic toast.
Makes about 4 servings.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I save the flavor packets for other things too. Like adding to green beans or even in the crock with roasts.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
