feeding an army on a poor person budget.

JoMoMOMx3

generally we cook dinner for two families, as were living with my parents and its just easier to cook one meal than it is to fight over the kitchen so each family can cook separately. So unless one family has other plans I do the cooking. There's 9 of us total. 5 of those being kids, and one of the adults eats about as much as my toddler.
So.....that said I need some suggestions for CHEAP yet healthy meals I can throw together. Preferably fast, simple ones or crock pot meals (my fav!) as my DD has gymnastics 2 days a week, technology club once a week, my husband works late hours...so the simpler the better!

JoMoMOMx3

anyone?

jkwolly

Turkey is a cheap lean protein! Consider buying a larger one and roasting - you can serve many meals and freeze what you don't eat!

becky10rp

Rice and Beans
Whole wheat pasta with veggies (frozen vegetables aren't too expensive)

Jodyraedoula

Chicken stry fry. .. I just bought an electronic skillet and I found that has inproved cooking time it just gets so hot...
Sweet Potato hash and eggs with toast. I pre cook the potatoes in the microwave just a little then shread them. I use coconut oil. Salt paper. Then I scramble eggs and serve it together. Make spaghetti sauce and serve it over spaghetti squash. Spinich is cheap and I use it a lot as salad. I have cooked for 12 people and oat meal is cheap! Eggs, chicken, rice, beans. Whole foods are way cheaper then anything out of a box... I make most all my own stock, cream soups, and I can make bread but I dont do that offten dinner rools can be made for about 110 calories a rool and will help keep you full. One tip I learned in a once a month cooking class was to limit options. ... you can buy staples such as breakfast you eat oat meal or eggs, lunch is left overs soup from the crock pot or a sandwich. Those are my tips.

Mygsds

I also agree with the turkey. Tons of leftovers because it makes a ton of gravy and make mashed potatoes. Also cheap. Next day cook the carcass and you have lots of flavorful stock to make soup. We have turkey several times of year because we can get it for $.49 -$.59 per pound all year long. Also, 3-4 large sweet potatoes make a nice addition for dinner. Hope this helps..

BarbieAS

Get your proteins in bulk (and freeze) and buy seasonal produce, and try to cook from scratch more than from a box or pre-packaged foods. That will slash your grocery bill easy. (Not saying you don't already do that, that's just what I do! )

Soups and chilis can go a LONG way. You could easily feed a family of 9 with one large chicken, half a package each of carrots and celery, an onion, some chicken stock/water, and a package of egg noodles, for example. You can make it all ahead (except for maybe noodles if you're using them) and then just re-heat at dinnertime.

Some cuts of beef and pork (pot roast, etc) are a bargain per pound (especially on sale), and they cook up beautifully with veggies in a crock pot. Just make the plates veggie-heavy and can be a very healthy meal.

Eggs are a really cheap protein, too. Try making a veggie heavy fritatta (might need 2 for 9 people).

Bulk rice and beans are yummy, and you can go nearly any direction with them flavor-wise and addition-wise (you could add a bit of some kind of sausage, veggies, spices, cheese, etc etc etc) and have a great meal.

carlywifeybrown

Pork mince, lamb mince, beef mince, turkey mince.

W're on a very tight budget our household, and I use mince for everything. I always make burgers, or meatballs - often bulking these out to get more for our money by grating some courgettes into the mix (this also makes them healthier).

Mince is the answer to all tasty one-pot dishes; chilli, bolognese, shepherds pie, curry meatballs, burgers on the BBQ - you name it!

tinavflynn

This past week I bought an 8lbs pork roast. It last 3 days, granted there's only two of us, but still. Along with that I bought a 5lbs bag of red skin potatoes, which lasted the same amount of time. I'll also check what the weekly special is on meat and buy in bulk and freeze. Always be on the lookout for the weekly specials at your grocery store! Hope this helps. :flowerforyou:

mandasalem

I buy the HUGE packages of chicken thighs when they're on sale, then freeze them up individually. I cook them in the crock pot rolled in spices and they turn out great. Add some carrots or sweet potatoes and let them roast right along with it. Also a fan of pulled barbecue chicken in the crock pot, and can go all white meat for more lean- but the calorie difference hasn't been significant enough between dark and white meat for me to make the switch on most things.

kiniece

generally we cook dinner for two families, as were living with my parents and its just easier to cook one meal than it is to fight over the kitchen so each family can cook separately. So unless one family has other plans I do the cooking. There's 9 of us total. 5 of those being kids, and one of the adults eats about as much as my toddler.
So.....that said I need some suggestions for CHEAP yet healthy meals I can throw together. Preferably fast, simple ones or crock pot meals (my fav!) as my DD has gymnastics 2 days a week, technology club once a week, my husband works late hours...so the simpler the better!

3 INGREDIENT CHICKEN SOFT TACOS
get out your biggest crock
put 6 large chicken breasts in (after you've sprayed the crock with Pam)
add 1 or 2 cans of Rotel (hot or mild) (I usually do this with 3 large breast, 1 can of Rotel and 1 pckg of TB Seasoning for our family of 3)
and 1-2 pckgs of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning.
Cook on low 8 hours (maybe a little longer depending on whether or not the breast were frozen and how hot your crock gets)
Remove chicken and shred, drain off any excess liquid and add shredded chicken back in to keep it moist...turn crock to warm and SERVE
on warm tortillas& all the fixuns (refried beans, sour cream, shredded fiesta blend cheese, hot sauce, etc...)
EASY AND SOOOOO GOOD
:drinker: :flowerforyou:

onefortyone

I love making stews in the slow cooker. We got some venison from hunting season last year, and today I'm going to sear off the meat with onions and garlic, chop ALL the veggies (carrots, potatoes, parsnips, green beans, corn, whatever we have basically) and slow cook it in water/beef stock (I actually use gravy powder because I'm a lazy cheat lol) for a few hours. It tastes exactly like beef stew to me, and I can pretty much eat as much of it as I want, and it's super cheap. You can use whatever red meat is on sale for the same effect, I imagine

kiniece

generally we cook dinner for two families, as were living with my parents and its just easier to cook one meal than it is to fight over the kitchen so each family can cook separately. So unless one family has other plans I do the cooking. There's 9 of us total. 5 of those being kids, and one of the adults eats about as much as my toddler.
So.....that said I need some suggestions for CHEAP yet healthy meals I can throw together. Preferably fast, simple ones or crock pot meals (my fav!) as my DD has gymnastics 2 days a week, technology club once a week, my husband works late hours...so the simpler the better!

3 INGREDIENT CHICKEN SOFT TACOS
get out your biggest crock
put 6 large chicken breasts in (after you've sprayed the crock with Pam)
add 1 or 2 cans of Rotel (hot or mild) (I usually do this with 3 large breast, 1 can of Rotel and 1 pckg of TB Seasoning for our family of 3)
and 1-2 pckgs of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning.
Cook on low 8 hours (maybe a little longer depending on whether or not the breast were frozen and how hot your crock gets)
Remove chicken and shred, drain off any excess liquid and add shredded chicken back in to keep it moist...turn crock to warm and SERVE
on warm tortillas& all the fixuns (refried beans, sour cream, shredded fiesta blend cheese, hot sauce, etc...)
EASY AND SOOOOO GOOD
:drinker: :flowerforyou:

8 Can Taco Soup (you can do this in a crock as well! I also add the leftover shredded chicken from my other recipe to make it more filling)
Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15.25 oz.) can sweet corn, drained
1 (12.5 oz.) can white chicken breast, drained
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large pot.
Heat until warm, stirring occasionally.
Serve with tortilla chips.

ettaterrell

http://www.budgetbytes.com/

Swimnessa

I like the cooking light website, BUT some of their recipes can get pricey. However they have a 103 money saving recipe slideshow. Here is the link…

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes-00400000056656/


I am cooking for 5, 2 small kids, my husband and I AND a 17 year old male exchange student who also happens to be an elite swimmer who needs to consume close to 10,000 calories a day! I am finding these recipes to be manageable, most everyone is enjoying them and many can be whipped up in under 45 minutes. We have baseball 5 days a week, and I find that if you plan everything out on Sunday it makes the week go MUCH smoother. Feel free to friend me and I can give you tips and tricks for eating healthy, cheap and FAST!

I know it is not an easy thing, it has been something I have been tweaking for the past few years but just started to get serious about my health.

vharding7

http://www.budgetbytes.com/

This. She is awesome, it's truly budget conscious with not only recipes but tips too, and the recipes that I've tried so far all have been really yummy!

Flossiesdoll

Try Jack Monroe's blog, A Girl Called Jack, for great ideas about eating well with little money.

bethlaf

brown rice and vegetables
eggs
ground turkey ( save a lot carries it)
lots and lots of vegetables.

i currently cook for 6 - but when everyone is together through the summer is 9 people,
we use between 3-4 bags of frozen vegetables
for nearly every dinner

go to the bread store - we get cheap whole grain bread there

Lentils and Rice - seriously brown rice and lentils can be seasoned in ANY way that you would season ground beef

PennyVonDread

Eggs, Oats, Rice, Potatoes, Canned Tuna, beans, hotdogs, bulk/Costco meat for best prices per pound, generic bagged cereal, frozen/canned/fresh vegetables are all pretty good so buy whatever is on sale. Ham (fresh or canned) for ham with beans or cabbage and in ham hash. Jello is kind of a filler food, but if you add fresh fruit to it you can keep things interesting and get some fiber and nutrients out of it.

Basics are good. Oil, spices, and chicken with a starch and veggie can be tasteful for few ingredients if well prepared.

Also, crockpots and one-pot meals are your best friend in those situations.

Mangopickle

Bacon, egg and vegetable fried rice. Buy all the ingredients in bulk. 5 lb boxes of bacon ends are the cheap way to buy bacon. Remember bacon is only a seasoning, you are just replacing the bits of roast pork in the dish. 4 slices is plenty to season 8cups of rice. Invest in a good rice steamer and buy Jasmine rice in 20lb bags. Make the rice when you leave for work in the morning so you can fry it that night. You will probably have to do it in 2batches in a large pot. Use frozen mixed veg. About $1.25per person

My husband and I lived off this when we were doing the Dave Ramsey plan. We paid off our mortgage in 2 yrs and 11 months with the money we saved. Steamed rice is also the perfect base for tons of crock pot meals. With that many people two large crock pots would be ideal. You need 2 chickens to feed 9 people. Get someone to shoot a deer for you. Our deer meat costs us .90 to 1$ a lb after butchering.

nikiafter

Bump

ValeriePlz

Cooking dried beans and legumes is about the cheapest and most nutrient-dense meal you can make, I think.

I have The Indian Slow Cooker (a cookbook) that shows how to make delicious meals in the slow cooker with these dried beans, and the Indian spice blends she recommends are perfect. It is the first time I have ever made Indian at my house as good as a restaurant.

sandst101

Love this one around here. Basically ground beef, corn, pasta, and cheese: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/southwestern-corn-skillet/cf317974-fd09-494a-ae39-d53639e64888?src=SH

SapiensPisces

Buying whole turkeys or chicken will save you money and you can freeze whatever you don't immediately eat.

Also, things like picnic hams that you can cook in one big batch, shred, and use for multiple dishes later are helpful.

RaeLB

I don't have to feed anyone but myself but I have a very tight budget.

I buy bags of beans, lentils, chickpeas, rice, pasta etc - usually $1-something per bag
I buy whatever fruits & veggies are on sale
A block of tofu is $1.15 at my grocery store
I read the sale flyers and look for coupons

I spend about $40/month on groceries (this is just for myself)

AsaThorsWoman

Wow Rae. That's amazing. I wish I could peek in your journal to see how your'e managing. I have my daughter constantly and my boyfriend at least 2x a week. My goal is $250 but on a good month I land close, but usually wind up around $310.

We do eat Paleo, so bulk beans, lentils, grains etc are definitely out.

And I do induldge some of the Paleo bells & whistles. Coconut flower, nutritional yeast, a wide variety of oils, vinegar, spices, occasional organic grass fed beef, stevia, stevia, and more stevia, etc it is a bit pricey.

I get frustrated when I spend more on a single ingredient than a couple pounds of meat. But, that's the stuff that makes the food taste like heaven.

Interesting thread.

Following.

130annie

Thanks....bump for later