Ugh! We got hit with a pretty hefty oil bill (damn winter) so I could really use ideas for cheap meals for the week. What are your go-to budget friendly meals?
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lasagna and chicken curry!
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@chopsuey: Ooo lasagna is a great idea! Makes for tons of leftovers for lunches. Thanks!
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Pasta and sauce, Mac n cheese, grilled cheese and tomato soup, homemade waffles...
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i love this site for inexpensive meal ideas! we've made a few of the recipes and they've been great
http://www.budgetbytes.com/ -
Rice made with chicken bouillon and chicken chunks, pasta sauce, Korean seaweed soup, homemade chicken noodle soup, lasagna, chicken and broccoli rice... I could go on and on lol
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@chopsuey: Can you share your curry recipe?
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Tacos made with 1/2 ground meat (either beef or turkey) and 1/2 black beans.
I also like taco soup/chili - use canned stuff (diced tomatoes, corn, beans, etc) and just a little meat or no meat.
Pasta with chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, onion, other veggies you have... add some parmesan on top. Nom nom.
Pasta carbonara - pasta, eggs, salt and pepper, garlic, etc.... not healthy but so good.
Breakfast for dinner! Eggs are cheap. Or make a quiche! I usually toss in all the random leftover stuff in the fridge - lunch meat, cheese, onion, veggies, whatever. It's a great way to use up leftover veggies and stuff closer to the end of the week. I usually make mine crustless, just spray a pie pan with nonstick spray first.
Red beans and rice - with or without sausage. I add celery, green pepper, onion, and lots of spices.
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@rahlyrah: I get this from Hmart (other asian stores should carry it too). I usually just throw ingredients in without measuring, but I'll try my best with the recipe I use.
http://www.hmart.com/shopnow/shopnow_newsub.asp?p=077377113152
Ingredients:
chicken/beef
potatoes
onions
carrots
frozen corn
frozen peasI use a 2.5 qt pot, usually 2 large potatoes cubed, 1 medium onion chopped, a handful of baby carrots chopped, 1lb of chicken cubed.
Throw the above in the pot, add water to the top of ingredients. Cook for 15-20 mins. Add 1/2 of the curry sauce, add more if you want a thicker consistency (I like my curry thick and not watery). Cook another 10-15 mins. Add corn and peas. Cook another 5. Serve over rice!
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@skipper2010: chili!!
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Sausages are a great meat when we are looking for aomething cheap. Sliced up and saluted with veggies over rice or pasta.
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We consistently attempt to keep our grocery bills down without sacrificing healthy-eating but it sure is hard! Our go-to's for especially tight weeks are:
tacos
chili
pasta with frozen broccoli (frozen veggies are my cheap alternative while still eating healthy)
Lettuce wrapsOnly buying meat on sale - but using that meat in regular meals, but less than normal. i.e. 1/2 lb of hamburger..
Rice served with black beans and shredded chicken. We add sriracha for some pizzazz.
Another favorite is this "healthy hamburger helper" - my family loves it:
http://thenourishingcook.com/the-new-hamburger-helper/ -
Mac and cheese, sandwiches, eggplant parm
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@mrs. bird: that's one of my favorite foodie blogs! Her teriyaki meatball recipe is super yummy. I tweaked it a tiny bit to use ingredients I had on hand but it was great.
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Do you have anything in your freezer or pantry you need to use up?
Buying a whole chicken is very cheap - make stock with it and with that you've got the base for soups and risotto. Add in whatever veggies you've got on hand, or whatever is on sale.
Beans and lentils (especially dried ones) are cheap and a good protein source.
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homemade black bean burgers!
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Veggie burgers, rice and beans, veggie chili, some
of my favorites! -
@chopsuey: Yum! Thanks!
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Brown rice with whatever veggies are on sale!
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We do a lot of the meals already mentioned. One other idea is breakfast for dinner!
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Great ideas! Thanks everyone! This was helpful.
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A good place to grocery shop is the ethnic grocery stores, if you have those in your area. They're usually much less expensive for the same ingredients.
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Rice and beans topped with cheese, either by itself or wrapped up in a tortilla shell. Breakfast for dinner (bacon eggs and hashbrowns) stuffed peppers are pretty inexpensive too. Just green bell peppers, hamburger, tomato sauce and rice!
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Soups or stews? Cook a big ole batch and freeze leftovers?
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My go-to quick and inexpensive meal is a Mexican rice and chicken casserole. I buy a whole, cooked rotisserie chicken and have leftover chicken for sandwiches. It makes a lot and therefore only a couple dollars a meal.
Mexican Rice and Chicken Casserole
-one package of yellow rice (cook it up!)
-one can of corn
-1 cup shredded cheese
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 can water, 1/2 can milkMix the soup with the water and milk in large bowl. Throw in chicken, rice and corn, mix and transfer to casserole dish. Cook uncovered for 30 mins at 350 degrees. Stir in cheese, sprinkle some on top and cook for additional 5-10 mins. It makes enough for two dinners and leftovers! So yummy!
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