We are working on cutting back our grocery bill, but I'm always stumped on what to make that's tasty, but still on the cheaper side. What are some of your favorite budget friendly meals?
-
1 can black beans
1 can chicken broth
1 can rotel
1 onion
1 cup riceSaute the onion (chopped) in a little oil. Add the chicken broth and rotel and some mexican spices until boiling. add the rice, cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked (about 20 min for white rice, 50 for brown). Add the black beans (you can also add a can of corn if you like).
This makes a TON and you can do so much with it. Put it in some cooked pepper halves and broil with some cheese on top for mexican stuffed peppers. Throw it and some fresh spinach into a pot of broth for soup. Add it + lettuce + cheese + sour cream for a chipotle burrito bowl. Or just eat it as is!
It also freezes really well. 1 recipe usually makes dinner + leftovers + leftovers for freezing for us.
-
Following
-
Ooh I really want to follow. My husband is a big meat eater so its hard to find good recipies that include meats.
-
@T.H.O.U.: same here!!
-
followingggggg!
-
@Mae: Thanks for the recipe!
Anyone else have any ideas to share?
-
I use a website called budgetbytes to get ideas. So far everything I've made from there is tasty.
-
@Bao: I don't know if this is very inventive, but once a week we do pasta. Just regular noodles, a nice sauce in a jar, and then add in some ground beef.
-
Hmmm...I don't know what your budget is but I often make things like Taco salad with ground turkey, salad, and baked tortilla chips, chicken parmesean with chicken breasts, sauce and gnocci, and rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes and veggies. All are easy to prepare and usually have some leftovers one of us can take for lunch which is always a bonus for me!
-
split pea soup!
-1 bag of split peas ($1.50)
-pot of water
-1/2 lb of ham ($7.99/lb)
-1 onion (50 cents)
-couple cloves of garlicboil together for 2 hours of so--nom, nom, nom! (
-
@Mrs. Champagne: That's my kind of budget meal
Maybe I need to find a different sauce, we typically just go for the same thing and it gets boring.
-
@Orvis18: That all sounds yummy!
@keiki_mama: That sounds easy enough, I think I can get the ham cheaper here too! -
@Bao: I live in the bay area and I feel like I get ripped off for a lot of things. I was at my co-op yesterday and saw okra for $11.99/lb. I laughed--nobody is going to buy that!!
If I feel fancy I will sautee and garlic and onions in little oil first, if not, they all go in one big pot to boil, boil, boil.
-
Chicken!!!! We stock up boneless skinless chicken breast when on sale $1.89-$1.99/lb.
I do two different one pot meals. One is chicken, orzo, garlic and whatever vegetables I have on hand!!!
I use my dutch oven and add evoo, then garlic, then the chicken breasts quickly to brown. Pull off heat. Add vegetables then liquid, then orzo. Then I put the chicken back in and throw into oven at 325-350 for 10-15. After 5 minutes I put in leafy greens if I have it. Usually leftover kale or spinach.The other I made the other night and it was SO delish!
Chicken, squash and quinoa casserole:
http://www.fullmeasureofhappiness.com/2011/02/04/chicken-quinoa-and-summer-squash-casserole/And of course pasta! Our cheapeast is using Ragu which comes in a 3 pack at BJs. We use BJs coupon along with manf coupon. We use chicken, peppers, onions, broccoli.
-
@Bao: I like to dice and saute veggies and then add them to the pasta sauce. A few weeks ago we had a huge squash kicking around from our uncle's garden. I shredded a bunch then added some pasta sauce. It lightened up the sauce and yet made it a bit heartier at the same time. I added some linguini and shredded parmesan and was pretty happy. If my husband had been home, I probably would have added a salad too.
-
Pasta puttanesca: can whole tomatoes, anchovies, garlic, kalamata olives, and hot pepper flakes. So cheap, so easy, so delicious.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spaghetti-alla-Puttanesca-241131
(Some people get weirded out by anchovies but i don't taste any fishiness in the dish).
-
Frozen fish! We got a bag of individually wrapped frozen tilapia (6 filets for 5.99!)and make a rub with spices and broil it. It takes 10 minutes. We usually do a veggie side. Today we're having that with twice baked sweet potatoes.
-
Southwest Grits!
cheese grits
can of black beans + seasonings
salsa
sour cream
avocado if you're feeling fancyMake the cheese grits how you like them, warm the black beans and season with salt. pepper, cumin, chili powder (whatever you like). Top grits with beans and add salsa, sour cream, avocado, and whatever else you like!
-
Dang it I lost my post
Ok, abridged:
Sweet potato burritos. I cube and roast mine, and use black beans (personal preference). They freeze well. Big hit in our house:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/addictive-sweet-potato-burritos/Rice and corn cakes with black bean salsa: Really easy to pull together, especially if you use leftover rice. I use Panko and throw in a handful or two of shredded cheese (Cheddar and/or Parmesan, or sometimes Pepper Jack).
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/rice_corn_cakes_with_spicy_black_beans.htmlPasta with chickpea tomato sauce: (I usually shake in some crushed red pepper flakes)
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/chickpea-tomato-pasta-sauce-recipe.htmI also make lentils a lot. Lentil curries (often with diced regular or sweet potatoes) and lentil soups.
This crock pot Santa Fe Chicken is good (minus cilantro, because ew soap). I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts in bulk from Costco (or when they're on sale at our local grocery store) and freeze them.
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/10/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken/I make something really similar to this mushroom ragu over polenta, but I usually add cheese to my cooked polenta, pour it into a loaf pan and let it chill and set in the fridge, and then slice and fry it. I like it nice and crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Also really good with over easy eggs on top (fried polenta, not the ragu, but I bet that would be good too).
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/best-budget-recipes-00412000074866/page8.htmlA couple times a month I do hashes: diced roasted sweet potato, cooked quinoa, spinach, garlic, sometimes crumbled sausage. Top with a cooked egg.
I also find things like spaghetti and meatballs to be very economical, especially if you take an afternoon to make your own meatballs/sauce in bulk and freeze them.
-
I've never paid that much attention to the cost of individual meals, but if you have some favorite dishes there are usually ways to make them more budget-friendly with a few tweaks. For example, skinless, boneless chicken thighs tend to cost less than chicken breasts and can be used the same way in lots of dishes like casseroles and curries. They're also good on their own if you spritz them with a bit of olive oil, dust with some spices (I particularly like Old Bay Seasoning) and a dash of salt and pepper, and cook in the oven at 350-375 for 15-20 minutes. Serve with a side of rice and some veggies.
If you can bulk-cook and freeze things, that also helps -- I just made over 4 lbs of yummy bolognese sauce, since the bulk packs of ground beef were $0.50 cheaper per pound than the regular packs. I had some for dinner and then packaged up the rest in DH-and-me-sized portions and froze them. Super easy and quick to thaw and put over pasta with a side of veggies.
I often tend to be wary of recipes tagged as "budget" because a lot of them are full of processed ingredients, but there are definitely ways to trim costs and still eat healthy foods!
-
@lovehoneybee: So many good ideas!!
We also do hashes! My favorite combos are:
potato, apple, onion, sausage
potato, pepper, onion, sausage or chicken
sweet potato, pepper, onion, black bean, chicken
potato, zucchini, mushroom, onion, chicken -
I'm not sure if your local stores carry it but ours typically carry marinated fajita meat (beef or chicken). It is always a ton of meat. We bought some yesterday and it was only $6. We had fajitas for dinner last night, my husband had it again for lunch and I had a fajita salad (we will do the same tomorrow). We plan on grilling quesadillas tonight and I am trying to think of a recipe for a way to throw it on pizza tomorrow night. Like I said, it is a ton of meat. We normally get tired of it before we run out but it is definitely budget friendly!
-
@lindseykaye: The black beans over cheese grits sounds really, really good. I'll have to remember that one! My MIL does a shrimp and mushroom saute over cheese grits (but I dislike shrimp...)
Maybe I need to find a different sauce, we typically just go for the same thing and it gets boring.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite1
23 comments