Please help me with our budget

[New-mom-to-be]

I posted a couple of months ago because I needed to reduce my grocery spending. It's gotten better, but not much

Well, I have realized we really need to cut back on things, so I need ideas for really inexpensive meals that aren't elaborate or difficult to cook.

We earn a really good living, but between the new mortgage, and two car payments, and the rising cost of gas which makes groceries more expensive and the hot Texas summer which makes not running the AC impossible, I would like to have more of a cushion at the end of the month than we currently do.

In addition, we will have a 400 a month daycare cost once I go back to teaching in October.

[leezza]

I would suggest the food/cooking section of this board.....

One of the sections I like best is the crock pot area, lots of great idea's for one pot meals. That way you don't heat up your kitchen either.

leezza

[suki]

summertime in texas means... GRILL!

Find inexpensive stuff and grill it. Whatever is in season, on sale or available at the farmer's market... Grilled veggies are great!

One of the cheapest and easiest things I do... buy the big cheapo bag of chicken quarters (about $4 for a huge bag), stuff them in the crockpot with nothing else. Let them cook until the meat is falling off the bone. Pull the meat off the bone and freeze into manageable packages. Then, add bbq sauce, throw on a bun... bbq chicken sandwiches. Place between 2 flour tortillas with cheese and whatever else... chicken quesadillas. Add to corn tortillas with cheese and top with sour cream sauce... chicken enchiladas. You get the picture... quick, easy, cheap!

Right now, I'm all about shopping the sales for meat. Anything under $2/lb, I'm buying and tossing in the freezer. I got a great deal on country style pork ribs...$1.59/lb. These I can put in a crockpot and cook slow all day, or I can toss them on the grill. I bought 15 lbs of them! I bought pork steaks on sale and repackaged them for serving 2. I buy a lot of bulk or family packaged meats and do this.

Corn is in season... 4 ears/$1, it's great roasted on the grill. Buy some and cook it up... freeze the rest for another day!

Really, in the summer, you can reduce your food budget a lot buying in-season fresh produce.

[New-mom-to-be]

thanks for the chicken thighs idea

that would never occur to me

[heartofmine]

Pork roast cooked in the crockpot and done like the chicken is good to if you can find any on sale.

Choose vegetables and fruits that are in season and instead of the grocery store look for fruit markets or roadside stands selling them.

[Tamerama]

What has really helped me is making a meal plan. And not making a meal plan for 5 days because that leaves 2 days of trying to find something to make and then just going "To heck with it..lets go out!"...I plan for 7 and then I actually cook 7 and save money by not going out. So. my grocery budget doesn't show it but we are really saving a lot by not eating out!

[Monroe on a Budget]

One of the cheapest and easiest things I do... buy the big cheapo bag of chicken quarters (about $4 for a huge bag), stuff them in the crockpot with nothing else. Let them cook until the meat is falling off the bone. Pull the meat off the bone and freeze into manageable packages. Then, add bbq sauce, throw on a bun... bbq chicken sandwiches. Place between 2 flour tortillas with cheese and whatever else... chicken quesadillas. Add to corn tortillas with cheese and top with sour cream sauce... chicken enchiladas. You get the picture... quick, easy, cheap!

I've done this too. You can cook them with chicken bouillon cubes if you want more flavor, but the last time I boiled down some chicken I did it plain, just as she said. One of the dishes I made was chicken nachos! I also used some of it for a casserole.

One of my standard made-from-scratch dinners is a pound of shredded chicken mixed in with white sauce (check your recipe book) add in a cup of cooked frozen peas. This can go over rice, over potatoes, over biscuits (whatever is handy that day).