Great Recipes on a budget!

2

Replies

  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Take this opportunity to learn about all the wonderful peasant food the world has to offer and go from there. The web is the most wonderful "free cookbook." Take, for example, fresh pasta. It's very expensive in the store. It's really just a cup of flour, an egg, and a bit of salt. All those wonderful cabbage dishes from Eastern Europe -- filling but inexpensive. Tonight, for example, we're having cabbage sauteed with tiny bit of ham and caraway seed for flavor and homemade potato pierogies. Yes, the pierogies are pretty high in calories but as long as I log them and stay under the daily total they are fine. To start learning about the frugal food traditions google "peasant food frugal" and that will get you started. I also have a cooking blog at www.heidicookssupper.com and most of what I do is pretty frugal.
  • ladyrider55
    ladyrider55 Posts: 316 Member
    I highly recommend do all your grocery shopping at ALDI'S...they are so reasonable I can't believe more people don't shop there! Fresh fruits & vegetables are the key to make homemade foods like Veggie Soup & Veggie Lasagna! All their foods are great, best place to buy canned goods, etc. no matter what kind of budget you're on! I LOVE THAT STORE :bigsmile:
  • breeZrizi
    breeZrizi Posts: 213 Member
    bump
  • MissingMyOldSelf
    MissingMyOldSelf Posts: 689 Member
    Well, my weekend update goes like this:

    Saturday, hubby and I split a hot head burrito bowl for dinner, and got two bags of chips and drinks. Cost: Approx $15. (normally would have cost around $20. Saved $5ish)

    Tried to go to Aldi, but alas, they closed at 7, and I totally got caught up in my belly dance class and doing things around the house. So, next week, I'm going after class and getting our items.

    I had a budget of $100 for the grocery, so we went to Walmart (like normal) and I ended up getting $125 worth of things, so we can be less wasteful, like better food containers for lunches. (the ones I had were in dire need of going to the recycling bin) Hubby FINALLY got it through his head that this budget thing is REALLY happening, and if he didn't like it, he was going to have to go to his mom (who has told me before that no one should "settle" for generic, off brand food. I politely told her that unless she was buying our entire grocery list weekly, we're sticking to whatever I say we get). Instead of his normal lunchables that he gets at about $2.75 each, he bought a loaf of bread, a thing of Miracle Whip, lunch meat, and cheese. Spent about $10. Saved $3.75(ish).

    I didn't buy anything for myself this week, aside from apples, because I'm going to eat out of the pantry and freezer this week. I currently have two meals with brown lime rice, a beef tenderloin (thank God for whomever made crock pots!!!), and steamed broccoli that needed to be made. I also have some lentils that I found in the back of the pantry, and I will be making some curry lentils over rice for a couple of days, and the last day, (Friday), I will be doing a can of soup and salad.

    I have taken inspiration, if you will, from Sandra Lee's "Round 2 recipes", and I will be getting a bag of frozen Italian meatballs, and adding half of them to a large can of tomato soup and grilled cheeses this coming weekend. Next weekend, I will make a batch of Skinny Taste Marinara (all I need is a large can of crushed tomatoes), and I will use a baguette that's been in my freezer, and shred my own mozzarella and have meatball subs with the leftover meatballs.

    Ok, diary over for today :) Thanks so much for all your help, everyone, and I really hope we can all come together with budget ideas for each other, and help save some $$$$$!!!!
  • ShandaLeaS
    ShandaLeaS Posts: 136 Member
    I have found that by watching sale ads and price matching at WalMart I can save A LOT...more so than shopping at Aldi's. And I'd like to say I'm jealous of your milk prices! For WalMart's generic its almost $5 a gallon here!
  • MissingMyOldSelf
    MissingMyOldSelf Posts: 689 Member
    HOLY COW!!!! REALLY!?!?!?!

    I did point to a gallon of organic milk for $5.98 and almost soiled myself.
  • Daysednconfused
    Daysednconfused Posts: 975 Member
    Bump for later!
  • kmamaward
    kmamaward Posts: 11 Member
    Definitley come back later and save some of these amazing ideas.
  • PunyPete
    PunyPete Posts: 14 Member
    Baked beans and tuna, really cheap, high in fibre/protein/good carbs. Downside low in fats.
  • Kifissia
    Kifissia Posts: 136
    To add what other people said, some grocery stores have a reduced rack (mine does on Fridays), you can always find fruits and veggies. Buy veggies and fruits that are in season. Quinoa is very filling and versatile- check out

    http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/cooking-with-quinoa-00412000073996/

    Base your menu on what is on sale that week.

    Make your own peanut butter (it's so easy and you control how much oil you put).

    I'm from $400 a month on groceries down to $260 just from doing the above (and of course eating slightly less and not buying processed or ready-to-eat foods).
  • MissingMyOldSelf
    MissingMyOldSelf Posts: 689 Member
    I think for lunch this coming week, I'm going to take the ramen noodles in the pantry, and make them like normal (which for me, is to take out the seasoning packet ---major step!!!!-- smash the bejeezus out of them, place in a microwave safe bowl -I use those ziplock containers-, add enough water to cover the noodles, but not much more, and microwave for 90 seconds. Add a cup of thawed frozen veggies and half of the seasoning packet and a laughing cow cheese wedge, microwave for an additional 90 seconds. You could add any meats to it, if you'd like, at that last 90 seconds. I've also done a variation to that, where I drain the water from the noodles, add those flavored Philly Cream Cheeses, the veggies, some leftover diced chicken, put in a casserole dish, top with seasoned breadcrumbs and some shredded cheese and baked until brown.

    Another recipe that I always did when I was younger (and single... and saving up all my money to go out on the weekends), was rice, chicken, salsa, and cheese. Mix it all together, bake, and slice into portions. I lived on that for about 6 months.

    By the way.... new goal for the week: eat enough out of the pantry to fit my bread machine in there so it can get off my kitchen counter. LOL
  • Retiredmom72
    Retiredmom72 Posts: 538 Member
    bump for later
  • clarkiee13
    clarkiee13 Posts: 1 Member
    bump
  • lattafay
    lattafay Posts: 8 Member
    Carrot and coriander soup!
    You will need:
    1.2 ltr low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
    1 potato peeled (maybe sweet potato as an alternative?)
    1 onion chopped
    1sp ground coriander (more to taste)
    450g carrots peeled and chopped
    Butter or alternative

    SO!
    Melt a tiny bit of butter in a large pan on a medium heat
    Add onions and cook for about 5 mins until they are nice and soft
    Add potato and coriander, stir and cook for a minute before adding the stock
    Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for roughly 20 mins until the carrots and potato are soft
    (Optional step; i like to add a bit of cracked black pepper and garlic granules at the point)
    Put everything in the pan into your blender, it just about fits in mine
    Give it a good whiz until smooth
    Put back in the pan and back on the stove
    (Optional step; you could add some chopped coriander, i usually don't but it looks nice as a final touch)
    Serve!
    I worked it out that one portion (390grams) it about 120 calories :)

    Enjoy!
  • mrswaite08
    mrswaite08 Posts: 93 Member
    Mom4Liz, I don't have an Asian market that close, but I have a Mexican market about 5 minutes away. I went there once when I was making tamales, and the young gentleman that helped me was FANTASTIC and gave me so many tips and tricks, and I haven't forgotten him! Hopefully he's still there!!! But, I DO remember getting a can of refried beans for about $.75, so I was really happy about that! I'll have to go back and scope out the sales tomorrow morning!!

    Thanks for reminding me about those little stores!! I know the two mom-n-pop groceries close by are a RIPOFF!!! Holy COW!!! I honestly don't know how they're in business, other than the fact that people don't want to drive to the grocery for something small that they've forgotten, but really!?!?!?! $3.35 for a gallon of milk? I can get my generic milk at Walmart for $2.50!

    Here in Maine generic skim milk is running $4.50 a gallon, I'd love to get it for $2.50!
  • allie_rat
    allie_rat Posts: 49 Member
    I highly recommend the recipes here: http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/below-the-line-budget-recipes/
    All the prices are in GBP but I'm pretty sure there's nothing there that would be difficult to find elsewhere
  • okiebug27
    okiebug27 Posts: 22 Member
    bump!
  • maremare312
    maremare312 Posts: 1,143 Member
    Pasta bakes are my favorite. swap half the pasta for broccoli and use a low fat cream cheese for the sauce. Can get 8 healthy servings for £3.50.

    That's a great tip! I've been craving pasta lately and my boyfriend could eat pasta salad for lunch most days I think.
  • janiesue101
    janiesue101 Posts: 84 Member
    Bump
  • iggyboo93
    iggyboo93 Posts: 524 Member
    Take this opportunity to learn about all the wonderful peasant food the world has to offer and go from there. The web is the most wonderful "free cookbook." Take, for example, fresh pasta. It's very expensive in the store. It's really just a cup of flour, an egg, and a bit of salt. All those wonderful cabbage dishes from Eastern Europe -- filling but inexpensive. Tonight, for example, we're having cabbage sauteed with tiny bit of ham and caraway seed for flavor and homemade potato pierogies. Yes, the pierogies are pretty high in calories but as long as I log them and stay under the daily total they are fine. To start learning about the frugal food traditions google "peasant food frugal" and that will get you started. I also have a cooking blog at www.heidicookssupper.com and most of what I do is pretty frugal.

    Totally second this! My husband and I joke that we cook Amish Style - maximize what is in season and stretch what you have. My husband grew up on the family farm in NW Germany. Nothing was ever wasted. Leftovers were converted into new dishes for lunch next day. I make a German version of bubble and squeak with leftover mashed potatoes and cabbage - we throw in a chopped up leftover bratwurst to add more flavor to that. We try to buy as much fresh in season produce as possible. If it looks like I can't use the produce within the week before it goes bad, it gets chopped up and put in the freezer to be used later. We also make our own bread and pizza dough most of the time - the bread machine from Goodwill has been good to us. We spend on average $60/week on groceries for 3 people.

    Some other things we do:
    1. make our own salad dressing - tastes better and we control the sodium
    2. buy in bulk (check prices - sometimes bulk isn't necessarily cheaper) and portion out the food and freeze what we don't use right away
    3. forget about coupons unless it's something we already use
    4. the bulk food section at Winco, Fred Meyer and local organic coop is great
  • Syderelli
    Syderelli Posts: 439 Member
    BUMP! :)
  • Nory143
    Nory143 Posts: 53 Member
    This is another great cheap recipe by skinnytaste. You can put the chicken over salad or rice.


    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/04/easiest-crock-pot-salsa-verde-chicken.html
  • siqiniq
    siqiniq Posts: 237 Member
    We are also on a budget. Tonight we had salmon burgers. You can find the big cans of wild caught salmon on sale for under $3.00 (I got them at Walgreens for $2.49). Take out the big bones and mix the salmon with 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 eggs, some seasoning and form into 8 patties. Bake in the oven at 375°F for 20-25 min, flip halfway through.
    We had them on buns with lettuce, tomato, onions and homemade tarter sauce. Very tasty!

    Leftover patties can be frozen and reheated.

    leave the bones in and mash them. They are an excellent source of calcium.
  • musenchild
    musenchild Posts: 182 Member
    Check out the Budget Bytes blog. She posts tons of great recipes, usually pretty simple, and all broken down by cost. I've made many of her recipes and never had one turn out poorly.

    Just checked this site out. Wow!! I have a new go to place for cheap eats. The black bean and avocado enchiladas sound divine.

    They are!
  • debbieb1971
    debbieb1971 Posts: 29 Member
    bump - the recipies and suggestions on here look amazing x
  • liz253140
    liz253140 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for the budget bytes site. It looks great!
  • SKMC0214
    SKMC0214 Posts: 58 Member
    bfl
  • ellepribro
    ellepribro Posts: 226 Member
    Some great ideas on here! I'm going to echo those promoting the Budget Bytes blog.
    Also, I always plan my meals based on grocery store sales and peruse pinterest for new ideas.
  • KristyHumphrey
    KristyHumphrey Posts: 248 Member
    Thanks for sharing!
  • brismom070897
    brismom070897 Posts: 178 Member
    Tip: whether buying organic or regular milk, I always buy WHOLE full-fat milk and mix half water to it to make 1% milk or more water if you like. Taste fine to me and I get twice the milk for the price of one.

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