Ok...so in this Great Depression we are in, I was just wondering how I can feed myself on a tight budget. No dollar menu drive thrus, ramen, frozen dinners or mac n cheese please. I enjoy cooking real meals on my stove.


Any suggegstions?

And this thread is for everyone, because I'm sure most of us are in the same boat. So everybody please feel free to post recipes for under $10. Or if you have to feed a family of four on a tight budget also...that would probably be around under $20.

Pot Roast 3 in one beef manhattens....beef and noodles and potatoes and corrots make one roast and 3 meals good stuff or turky or chicken same thing

I posted a french toast casserole recipe not too long ago.... I recently made a cheaper version with eggs, dinner rolls and cheapy syrup. (the pricey one uses challah bread, egg beaters and real maple syrup)

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and mix with 2/3 cup brown sugar in bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons cinnamin and 1/4 teaspoon ginger on top.... slice rolls into 1 inch thick slices (knotted are great) and layer in pan. Top with 1 cup milk, 8 eggs, and 1 tablespoon vanilla.

Soak 3-12 hours, bake 40 minutes at 350, covered until last ten minutes. Serves four til they are FULL.

when did Lilith ever become a cook?????? JK '

Just messin' with u

turkey/sausage roll up.

1 Roll Hot Breakfast Sausage
1 Roll Ground Turkey
(fry together)

frozen bread dough..thawed

Roll out bread dough.. fill with meat filling, swiss cheese (really anything you want to throw in it.. peppers,mushrooms..and so on) Fold over and bake..it's YUMMY!

Hamburger is good alot u can do with it meat loaf etc.

Most folks already have the spices, eggs and bread are all you should have to buy! Less than ten dollars. I served it with cheap microwaved sausage and my son and I ate it for two days, plus I took it to lunch once.

TOMBRAIDER'S FULL MEAL CASSEROLE
1 1lb package of ground beef
1 frozen package of spring vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower) or variation on the same theme.
1 package of tater tots
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1(9x12 or 13 baking dish

BROWN ONE POUND OF HAMBURGER (drain)can add onion if desired

pour drained hamburger into baking dish evenly,

combine cream of mushroom soup to one-half can of water mix and pour over ground beef..next

distribute spring vegetables over beef and soup ..next

combine one-half can of water and cream of chicken soup
pour over vegetables ..next

layer 1 bag of tater tots over the vegetbles

bake for 45 minutes to one hour at 350 degrees (depending on oven temps)


a rather inexpensive dish for a family of four,


ENJOY..


..

Frozen turkey is cheap and versatile.

It makes excellent and healthy salisbury steak, just thaw and mix like meatloaf, divide into four patties or loaves, and cook in brown gravy (canned is just fine). Served with mashed potatoes and salad... Would serve family of four for ten dollars.

Good pt Lilith, frozen turkey is versatile as so is Chicken.

I have no idea how much "my" stuff costs to make though having always been on a fairly tight budget, I doubt any of it is that expensive. However, Rachel Ray's magazine has a section (I think it may be new) of meals that come in under $10 for a family of 4 and very little (if anything) comes out of a box or can. Might be someplace you want to peak at.

Here's my cheap recipe. It's low fat, filling and yummy!

One box frozen pierogis, any flavor
2 cans reduced fat/fat free cream of chicken soup
1 can water
1 pound boneless skinless chicken (breast tenderloins work great and are far cheaper than the whole breast or you can use thighs)
One small bag frozen veggie of your choice (I use green beans)
Salt, pepper and poultry seasoning to taste (you can basically use whatever seasonings you like).


Boil pierogies according to package directions. Saute chicken with salt, pepper and poultry season until brown and cooked through. Spray a 13x9 dish with Pam or use a nonstick pan. Drain pierogies and pour into bottom of pan. In large bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over pierogies. Heat in oven 20-30 minutes at 350.

I've never priced this but I think if you got things on sale, it shouldn't be more than $7 or $8 start to finish.

Wow! These all sound very tasty.

Thanks.

I'm so trying your perogie recipe

Actually, the pierogi recipe is from Weight Watchers but everyone I've ever made it for loves it and says they can't tell it's low fat

I got a recipe that is under $5! and takes only about 15 - 20mins

Fried Rice:
even cheaper if you got all the ingredients in stock

Rice, cooked ahead of time....when cooked put in fridge and let chill

meat...any meat you got in the fridge...and you dont have to use alot, amount should fit into your palm
can be:
*bologne
*sausage
*ham
*beef / ground beef
*pork / ground pork
*turkey
etc etc...

salt, black pepper, one egg, soy sauce, green onions chopped, garlic powder

*optional - bell peppers, bamboo, carrots chopped finely

'before rice is put in fridge', mix in salt, black pepper, soy sauce and garlic powder

do all this in one pan:
cook egg(s), scrambled...put aside and add later
cook meat, add a little soy sauce when meat is cooking.
get rice out of fridge, break it apart with large wooden spoon..or whatever utensils you have
add rice to meat into pan...mix, let cook for 3-5mins depending on amount of rice
add other veg's..green onions...etc etc...
add egg
mix it all together....

your done.

im not good at writing recipes, so dont let my long text scare you with this...its really easy...any questions, just ask...

if you have these things in the house, its a done deal...under $5.

estimated cost:
1 egg - 0.30 cents
meat, amount of your palm - $1.50
green onions - $1
soy sauce - $1.99

try: dirty rice & sweet and sour chicken. Cost per serving is: $1.62 per person.-- or, crustless asparagus and bacon quiche, for $1.29 per person.-->2 Tbsp. bread crumbs, 4 eggs, 1 cup half & half, 1 cup whole milk, salt and pepper to taste, 1 cup diced asparagus, 1 cup cooked bacon slices-chopped,1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese. -->pre-heat oven to 425, next,cooking spray on a 10 inch glass pie plate, then sprinkle with bread crumbs, whisk eggs, half & half-milk-& salt and pepper together, Stir asparagus, bacon & cheese into egg mixture.- Pour mixture into pie plate & bake for 20 minutes or so- until top is golden and egg is set in the center.

I made this tonight. I added mushrooms and onions to the ground beef. Layered it to the bottom of the dish, and I combined the two soup mixtures with a half a cup of water and layered the entire soup mix on top of the ground beef. Next, I layered the veggie mix (Cauilflower, Brocolli, and Carrots)...added about nine slices of American cheese on that, and last I put the tater tots on top.

about $2.50 for the ground chuck
$1 for the onion
$1 for the mushrooms
$1.50 for the frozen veggies
$1 each for the two cans of soup
$2.50 for the tots
and about $2.50 for the cheese

Total: about $8.00. And I have a ton of leftovers

It came out pretty tasty.

Good recipe. Thanks.

Thank you for posting this. I was going to email you for the recipe.

Taco Soup

(alot of people call it chili but *shrugs* its good and the girls love it)

1lb ground beef/pork/turkey browned
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can ranch style beans
1 can whole corn
1 can rotel
1 can pinto beans
1 pack of taco seasoning
1 pack of powder ranch dressing
1 bag of scoopable chips

brown the meat, drain and put in crock pot, add all the cans do not drain add the ranch and taco seasoning cook in slow cooker. The longer you cook this the better it gets serve with the chips
(cheap an easy... single parents dream!)


Another one that my kids like

Breakfast for supper...

I make sausage roll ups

1 can of Crescents Rolls
1/2 roll of sausage (any flavor)
grated cheese

flatten the crescents and connect the dots to form a dough spread sausage on top sprinkle with cheese roll up freeze for about 30 minutes cut into pinwheels bake at 350 until brown

serve with scrambled eggs and hashbrowns (i make the hashbrowns home made lol cheaper that way)

Well, yesterday was buffalo chicken quesadilla night.

2-3 cups of cooked chicken, pulled (I used leftovers from a chicken we cooked on Saturday)
1/2 cup hot sauce
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. olive oil
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 package mushrooms
1 package tortillas
8 oz cheese of your choice, shredded

Combine hot sauce and butter in small pan, heat to boiling, mixing well. Pour sauce over chicken, mix well and let sit while you're preparing veggies.

Slice veggies into bite size piece. Heat olive oil in pan, add veggies and cook to desired doneness (I like somewhat carmelized).

Take one tortilla, place in pan over low heat, sprinkle cheese, then layer a couple tablespoons chicken mixture and veggie mixture over the cheese, fold tortilla. Cook until brown, flip and cook until cheese is melted and tortilla is crispy.

You should have enough filling mixture for 6-8 tortillas, depending on how much filling you put in.

While this goes over the $10 by a little, they are really filling and you'll probably get one meal and leftovers for lunch out of it, especially if you serve with sides (salad, oven fries, etc).

Versatile, too, you can use whatever leftover veggies and cheese you have on hand, or a frozen mixture (cook and drain first). Add rice or beans (or both), sour cream, salsa, etc. It's a good use of leftovers.