Meals on a budget...?

[LaurenP]

I've searched thru previous questions, and just couldnt find much, everyone suggestions were Ramen Noodles, and Chili.. Which will get old fast! Normally i spend 200$ every 2 weeks for only 2 people, which is outrageous, but cooking a meal is expensive. Im trying to cut back so that i spend Half of that for 2 people, but not having to live of Mac N Cheese.. Any Ideas? or Recipes.. Im not very picky either. just want to have a meal thats not yuck!

[drita]

what about hamburger helper
spaghetti
and shop at like aldis or save alot there cheaper that meijers other well known stores

[scentsnflavors779]

Meals on a budget

see link below ...

enjoy!!

[cookingkay1955622]

One way to cut down is get a good size meat on sale and use it in more then one meal.
You can cook a pork butt in the crockpot, eat it that way the 1st time then the next 2 days make this.

Mexican Roll Ups
This is something I made up its a great way to use left over meat.
Use one of your choice
Shredded Chicken, shredded beef or shredded pork
Put in skillet with 1 pkg of taco seasoning
Add enough water so that you may simmer it, not to much
After simmering like 20 min
Place small amount in to soft burrito shell, I like to use the large ones.
Roll them up and secure with toothpicks
In deep fryer or skillet, brown til golden brown
They will be crunchy
Serve with sour cream, salsa or gucamole
Dont forget to remove toothpicks !!!!

You can also add some bbq sauce to some and make sandwiches

You can do this with chicken and make the roll ups, bbq sandwich, chicken salad , chicken fettciune

Olive Garden Alfredo Fettuccine

1 pint heavy cream
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder, add in more to suit your taste if you prefer
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 ounces fettuccine, cooked and drained

In a saucepan combine butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Simmer this until all is melted, and mixed well. Add the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer this for 15 - 20 minutes over low heat.

Toss pasta lightly with sauce, coating well. Leftovers freeze well.


A good way to heat this back up ( if you have any left image ), put in a skillet, add some more cream or half and half and some cream cheese. Warm and stir.

I have a cooking group with over 16000 recipes, cheap meals, quick and easy and many more.

[professorgrey153]

This is an inexpensive and great tasting dish. The leftovers can even be eaten cold as a salad.

Penne with Roasted Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Sage
Serves 4

?1 medium (about 2 1/4 pounds) butternut squash, peeled,
seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
?1 Tbls. olive oil
?Coarse salt
?1 pound penne pasta
?4 slices bacon, sliced 1/4 inch thick and finely chopped
?2 shallots, thinly sliced crosswise
?1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
?10 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped or torn
?1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
?1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butternut squash on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil; season with salt. Transfer to oven and roast until squash is browned and tender, about 15 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt water and return to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Set pasta and reserved cooking liquid aside.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add bacon and cook until just crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Add shallots, crushed red pepper, and sage. Cook until shallots are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add penne and squash, toss gently, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid as necessary to moisten.
Add cheese and black pepper and cook, tossing gently, until pasta and squash are heated through. Serve immediately with more grated cheese, if desired.

[samuriajack]

rice, with a small $20 rice cooker.
1 cup of reg. white rice and a package of the rice side dish(with sauce)
Add water and wait 25 minutes.

[TheBrain170]

i will make quick suggestions for you, buritoes that come in packages with more than 8, corn dogs, bread, Bologna, cream cheese, toritillas , hotdogs, chili, this will give a lil bit more variety for you.

now think of combining all these to great food! what i have discovered that was delicious is the following:

- tortilla, cheese, and a hot dog, throw that bad boy in the microwave for about a minute and it is very tasty!

- Chili, cheese, and the noodles from the mac and cheese you have, cook it up, i add about 1/4 cup of water to really cook the noodles, cook it to its boiling point and there you go! great "home made food" lol good luck to you, im still learning to cook myself so i know how i feel. THE BIGGEST THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT ALL THE CHEAP STUFF YOU CAN BUY CAN BE COMBINED WITH OTHERS

[mythoughts393]

Do you have a store that sells in bulk in your area? That's a inexpensive way to get stuff like rice, beans, oatmeal, flour, nuts..etc.

I will buy a ham and make a ham and white bean soup that will last us for days.

Rice is so cheap too. I buy brown rice and then add stuff to it that makes it a meal. Like kielbasa sausage, peppers, chicken, onions, garlic...

Potato's are cheep too. I will make baked potatoes and put stuff like chili, sausage gravy, bacon, alfredo sauce etc...on top.

[chefgrille735]

Mac and cheese with ham chunks. You can even use deli ham slices for it.
Or black or red beans and rice. Great for filling torillas and making enchiladas with some cheese.

[wdj843]

Being cost effective when buying food doesn't mean loss of flavor or poor quality meals, just need to be inventive and diversify your ways of making the meals, here are some ideas for you,hope this helps.

Make pasta dishes, get your self a variety of pastas, penne, bow-tie, spaghetti, fresh frozen ravioli, tortellini, cheese or beef filled.
Make a sauce, be it tomato, or cream such as (carbonnara, bacon and onion with a touch of roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese).
Even prima-vera (with vegetables, fresh basil, Olive oil, and a touch of Parmesan cheese), season to taste with fresh pepper and salt)
With these options you will save a bundle and have a variety and have a healthy fresh meal serve it with a nice salad or make the pasta the salad with seasoned grilled turkey meat in it.

Go for lower cost on fresh meats by buying bulk and breaking the meat up into portions that you two can eat, place them in a zip lock bag and freeze them.

Buy flank steaks, shanks, stewing beef for braising or stewing, ground beef, or turkey meats cheap meat but the beef has lots of flavor and the turkey is so versatile to make so many things with it from escalopes to, steaks, ground burger meat, to stews, pot pies, stir-fry's etc.

Buy whole chickens and cut them up yourself and keep the bones for stock to use in soup, stews, or sauces, you'll save big time doing this.

Pork tenderloin or loin in bulk, cut them up into portions and make a wide range of things like picatta, medallions of pork, steaks, paillards with lime juice tastes great and costs under a buck.

Also eggs, make an omelet, quiche, flans, casseroles, there are literally thousands of things to make with eggs, which are relatively inexpensive but put with the right ingredients like fresh herbs serve with a nice salad and you have a great healthy meal for just a few dollars.

Have fun let your imagination go and you will enjoy it I am sure, take care.