Money saving recipes?

It seems from the money saving tips thread that many of us are struggling to keep our grocery costs down these days. What inexpensive meals do you cook? Ideas please!

The only cheap one I can think of at the moment is pasta with tomato sauce, which we lived on in college and still have about once a week! Pretty lame, but I will try and think of some more.

Re: Money saving recipes?

Mashed potato casserole is one of our favorites. Basically, you make up a batch of mashed potatoes (with milk, sour cream, butter, salt & pepper - however you like it), add some thawed, drained spinach, plus dill and chives. Put it in a casserole dish, sprinkle with cheddar, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. It doesn't matter whether I make this for guests or plop some on the kids' high chair tray - it's a basic recipe, but it gets devoured.

I don't know how cheap this really is, but we do a lot of stir-fry. I use a combination of frozen & fresh veggies. DH doesn't like rice (one of the cheapest fillers out there *sigh*) but he likes rice noodles. We add cubed meat of any kind, nuts, and whatever spices & sauces go best with the meat.

We also do a lot of grilled chicken salad. I stopped buying prepackaged salads a while back. The ingredients seem fresher when I make it myself anyway.

A lot of our recipes revolve around chicken breast, but that's because we get it organic & cheap from a friend. When DH was growing up, chicken breast was only for adults! Kids had to eat the cheaper dark meat. That seems so strange to me. But now he doesn't like bone-in poultry, and a lot of those recipes would be cheaper than the chicken breast recipes.

For my kids only (unless DH finds it while scavenging in the fridge) -
I do some mac n cheese, adding tuna and peas (or other veggies), curry powder, and cheddar. They're picky, and this gets them some omega-3s and a small amount of dairy and veggies. I have to admit - I like it, too.

[DCJenn]

Re: Money saving recipes?

Grilled cheese and soup is a big one.

Crockpot recipes because I usually end up freezing half (the upside of a 3 person family)

I have a lot of ground meat recipes that I make that end up w/ a good amount of leftovers.

Jenn

[HouseofWool]

Re: Money saving recipes?

One of my favorite cheap meals is fettucine al freddo.

1 stick butter
1 cup parm cheese
1 cup cream

I can make enough to feed an army for under 6 bucks. I will ususally add in a diced chicken breast or some peas to make it a complete meal.

I also make a lot of tuna noodle casserole.

2 cans of tuna
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayo
peas
8 oz pasta (I usually spring for the dumpling style egg noodles)
french's onions

mix everything except the fried onions together and dump into a casserole dish. Top with the onions and bake until bubbly. About 30 minutes. Again this meal typically costs in the 5-6 dollar range, even with the more expensive noodles.

[Cumberland]

Re: Money saving recipes?

Black beans and rice:
2 cans of BBs mostly drained
one diced onion
store brand smoked sausage, usually turkey sausage
oregano
splash of apple cider vinegar

-saute onion with sausage, add oregano, vinegar and BBs.

Serve over rice. Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream and tons of Louisiana Hot Sauce.

Re: Money saving recipes?

A lot of our recipes revolve around chicken breast, but that's because we get it organic & cheap from a friend.

Lucky you! Our weekly "splurge" is the organic chicken breast from TJ's. It is the only meat I will eat.

Lentil and tomato soup has got me through some winters. Cook up some lentils, a large can of tomatoes, a few choppped carrots, an onion, garlic, some vegetable or chicken stock, and a dash of cumin and coriander and blend together when cooked.

[houseelf]

Re: Money saving recipes?

We do eggs and toast at least once a week. Eggs are such a cheap source of protein and satisfy my son's desire to eat more vegetarian dishes.

Kelly

[houseelf]

Re: Money saving recipes?

Tuna noodle casserole. Quick, easy, cheap, and the kids like it.

Kelly

Re: Money saving recipes?

Chicken chili

chicken (leftover or raw)
1 chopped onion
1 tsp cumin
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chicken broth
15-oz. jar green salsa

I like using raw chicken from the start, but it's not necessary. You could use as much as you'd like, but I like to use 1-2 breasts or 3 thighs, not much. If you use cooked chicken, just shred it and add before simmering. Anyway...

Brown chicken in a little evoo. Remove. Saute onions. Add cumin. Add remaining ingredients. Return chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken, shred, and return to pot. Season with salt/pepper.

This is so easy, cheap, and delicious. Tastes really good with added crushed tortilla chips.