Need cheap recipes that people will eat..

**alotofgooddeals** · 12-28-2009, 03:29 PM

Hi

This year is the year to figure everything out. My first major frugal category is to cut down on groceries. I have been spending at least $200 plus a week....probably closer to $250....so if I could cut my spending back here I would save $400-$600 dollars a month which would go into a savings account. So I would love to have a thread showing really cheap meals. Another thing that I want to accomplish this year is eating natural as much as I can within reason. I have no problem eating boxed pasta, etc....however i have decided to cut out the dinty moore compleats things filled with preservatives etc... I plan on trying to purchase only fresh veggies but I know that this is expensive... so...let the postings begin...

Thank you....

Also my daughter wanted me to post and ask if anyone had a dog food receipe for her pug...

Thanks!

**pollypurebred39** · 12-28-2009, 03:38 PM

Here's a thread I started, can't get much cheaper then these.

[ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117670"]PA Dutch Recipes - Frugal Village Forums[/ame]

**Josephhgoins** · 12-28-2009, 03:57 PM

I've got a great fried apple pie recipe that my family uses. They are really good, cheap and we actually enjoy making them.

For the dough we use canned biscuits rolled to about 1/8". You can also use biscuit dough, you just need to overwork it a little to toughen it up.

For the filling you can use fresh apples, dried apples, applesauce, or apple butter. Sweeten to taste and add the spice that you like, we always add cinnamon and a little nutmeg.

Roll out the dough to 1/8" thicknes, usually in a cicle. Then put a few TBLS of filling, fold over and seal with a fork and fry in lard or shortening until GB&D.

We make thes at my grandmothers often on her wood cookstove and I am sure this is the best, most economical desert EVER!

**justpeachy92** · 12-28-2009, 03:58 PM

taco rice

1/2 pound ground beef cooked with taco seasoning
1 can black beans rinsed
cooked rice (I make rice following directions on boxthat serves 8 people)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of salsa

cook the rice and meat, blend all the ingredients, and heat through. We serve it on a bed of lettuce, with cheese, sour cream and a side of tortilla chips.

strogganoff (sp)
ground beef
egg noodles
cream mushroom soup
4 ounces of sour cream

cook ground beef and egg noodles.
mix all the ingredients and heat through. Sometimes I will had a little bit of milk (if it appears dry) and some sauted mushrooms if I got a good deal on those.

**alotofgooddeals** · 12-28-2009, 04:02 PM

I will try some of these receipes and see what happens.. My first $100 grocery shopping trip will be this wednesday. I have lots of stuff left over from the holidays as i way overbought... so my first week should be a positive experience...

**pollypurebred39** · 12-28-2009, 04:20 PM

Love fried pies!!! My GF from WV used to make fried pies for all of us when we were room mates.

THANKS!!

**shoiji** · 12-28-2009, 04:49 PM

I used to think fresh veggies and fruit were expensive. But I have found that they are filling. And by not eating processed food you tend to not crave as much food. So it all evens out. Try to buy produce when it is in season or frozen. Canned fruits and veggies are also good pantry items. I have started using canned veggies in soups that I make. A can of green peas pureed added to split pea soup really helps flavor the soup.

Try taking a look at the cooking section on this website. There are many inexpensive dishes listed. Also, crockpots are really useful, especially when it comes to cooking inexpensive meats.

During the winter I like roasting root vegetables in the oven. I can then eat the vegetables plain, in soup, with noodles, on pizza, etc. They also freeze well, which makes a quick meal when you do not feel like cooking.

**tervsforme** · 12-28-2009, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by justpeachy92

taco rice

1/2 pound ground beef cooked with taco seasoning
1 can black beans rinsed
cooked rice (I make rice following directions on boxthat serves 8 people)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of salsa

cook the rice and meat, blend all the ingredients, and heat through. We serve it on a bed of lettuce, with cheese, sour cream and a side of tortilla chips.

This sounds great! I have some taco seasoned hamburger in the freezer, the next time I make rice, I'm going to make extra and try this. Thanks!

**CAJudi** · 12-28-2009, 06:17 PM

I think the place to start is to write down a list of meals/dishes your family likes. If beef stew is on the list, you can certainly make this healthier on your own! For example, I bought some beef at the store today to cut up for stews. It's a great way to stretch your protein and add lots of veggies to your diet.

Do the same with other foods your family enjoys. Keep in mind that legumes and whole grains will give you complete proteins at a much lower cost compared to meats. Fresh, in season fruits and veggies will be the best value. If not in season, compare frozen to fresh prices. Tomatoes can be had very economically any time of the year in cans, so I'd recommend having those in your pantry.

Overall, I'd say start with what you like, and go from there. There are tons of recipes out there, but if your family doesn't like them, they won't help you save money

Once you've got a list of things your family likes, build a menu plan. Then, stock your pantry, frig, and freezer accordingly. If you've got ingredients in the house, you'll be much less likely to feel the need for convenience foods.

**nuisance26** · 12-28-2009, 06:29 PM

~Here are a couple of thread with great meal ideas and recipes: [ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67560"]Some Cheap Meal Ideas - Frugal Village Forums[/ame] and
[ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78413"]Favorite Cheap Recipe? Cheap meal??? - Frugal Village Forums[/ame]

**Lady_V** · 12-28-2009, 06:31 PM

[ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13"]Kitchen Basics[/ame]

[ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=234"] Frugal Cookbook[/ame]

[ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=340"]Meal Planning[/ame]

**Grainlady** · 12-28-2009, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by alotofgooddeals

Hi

This year is the year to figure everything out. My first major frugal category is to cut down on groceries. I have been spending at least $200 plus a week....probably closer to $250....so if I could cut my spending back here I would save $400-$600 dollars a month which would go into a savings account. So I would love to have a thread showing really cheap meals. Another thing that I want to accomplish this year is eating natural as much as I can within reason. I have no problem eating boxed pasta, etc....however i have decided to cut out the dinty moore compleats things filled with preservatives etc... I plan on trying to purchase only fresh veggies but I know that this is expensive... so...let the postings begin...

Thank you....

Also my daughter wanted me to post and ask if anyone had a dog food receipe for her pug...

Thanks!

You don't say how many and what ages are in your family to spend so much on food. Do you have any special needs (gluten-free, lactose intolerance, etc...) There are a lot of discussions about saving money on groceries. I'll have to find some and link you to them.

My sister-in-law made a rice-based dog food for her pug/poodle mix pooch. The vet. gave her the recipe, so check with your vet and perhaps he/she will have a good homemade recipe recommendation.

**Grainlady** · 12-28-2009, 08:11 PM

Before the recipes, here's some advice I posted in a thread in "Just Tips" entitled "I'm on $120 per week budget for food" thread:

My first suggestion would be to divide your money into a FOOD ONLY budget, and another amount for non-food items and concentrate on what kind of foods you are purchasing with your food dollars. This will give you an actual amount you are spending on FOOD.

My food budget (2 adults) has been $50/week for many years, and I've built a large amount of food in storage with this amount, including hundreds of pounds of grains/seeds/beans, Emergency Storage Foods (dehydrated/freeze-dried foods in #10 cans), and a well-stocked kitchen pantry. After the first of the year I will be reducing it by 25 percent to $75 every 2 weeks, and my goal is to see if I can't get it down to $25/week. Hubby just had his second significant cut-in-pay this year and 2010 doesn't look too promising.

Quick assessment of your food purchases....

1. Do you purchase individual sized foods or beverages?

When you check the unit prices of individual sizes compared to large sizes that you can divide yourself, you will find you are paying for the convenience, not the food.

-As an example, buy a large jar of applesauce, rather than the snack-size, and use reusable plastic containers for making your own snack-size applesauce for lunches. Freeze them and use them as needed. Better yet, make your own applesauce from those FREE apple slices you dehydrated.

2. Do you purchase a lot of snack food? If so, that may be a place to cut your food budget.

"Snack" foods at our home are dehydrated zucchini slices we grew this summer (we use them like potato chips), dehydrated apple slices (most were made with free-for-the-picking apples), pecans or almonds (purchased in large bags from Sam's Club), air-popped popcorn and fresh fruit/veggies.

3. Are you checking unit prices?

-If you purchase a 5-ounce can of tuna that costs $1.09 a can, you are spending $3.48/POUND for it. If you purchase tuna at 59-cents a can = $1.88/POUND. Either way, they are very expensive when you figure the cost per serving of protein.

-Add a low-costing protein (beans, eggs, etc.) with a high-costing protein to make it go farther (eggs in tuna salad or eggs in salmon patties or salmon loaf, refried beans and ground beef). Adding more carbohydrates (rice, pasta, potatoes) doesn't stretch the protein, it simply adds to the carbohydrates most people already eat too many of.

-Frozen concentrate 100% fruit juices (add your own water) are less expensive per serving than those ready-to-serve juices from the refrigerator case. And MUCH less expensive than individual juice boxes.

4. MEAT - the budget buster!

-Keep meat purchases to $2 or less a pound, OR, $10/week. Check the meat counter for reduced items. I recently purchased a $35 spiral ham reduced to $12.48. It was discounted because the packet of glaze (stuck to the outside of the ham packaging) had leaked. I also had a $2 store coupon for this particular ham, so I paid $10.48 for a $35 ham.

-We have meatless Friday, using low-cost non-meat alternatives - cheese, eggs, beans, etc.

-Low-meat days... (low amounts of meat PLUS low-costing meat alternatives)
*Wednesday - Stir-Fry
*Thursday - International Foods (mixtures of meat and beans often used - Mexican or Italian foods)
*Saturday - Soup and/or Sandwiches
*Sunday - Homemade Pizza or a Dinner Salad

-I mix homemade ground gluten (aka "fake meat") with ground beef or pork. I keep the same flavor, texture, same amount of protein, but cut the cost significantly.

5. Watch those serving sizes.

-Over-eating anything is wasted food dollars.
-Know how many servings of foods you need per day.
-If you eat snacks, make sure they are nutritious and fit into your daily allowance of foods (My Food Pyramid - http://www.mypyramid.gov/)

6. Cook from scratch.

-Purchase INGREDIENTS with which to make meals, rather than relying on someone else to make it for you in the form of convenience foods and highly-processed foods, you will save money. Concentrate your food dollars on ingredients.

-Purchase foods that are high in nutrition. This means more whole foods - grains, beans, fruit, vegetables. Empty calories are generally expensive.

-Make your OWN convenience foods.... These are a few of my favorites that line my shelves. Multi-grain Baking Mix (Bisquick substitute), Multi-grain Pancake Mix, Hot Cocoa Mix, Pudding Mixes, Magic Mix (with which you can make a plethora of things), Gifts-in-a-Jar mixes, frozen Angel Biscuits (heat and serve)...

- Commercial cereal products are a royal rip-off. I make whole-grain cooked cereal (or grain blends) for pennies. I make my own flakes from a wide variety of grains. It's estimated there is 17-cents worth of grain in a box of cereal - you are paying for the convenience, packaging, and advertisement.

7. Don't waste money on foods that have little, or no, redeeming food value.

- Tang may have gone to the moon, but it's food value is ZERO. The same with Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, Soda, junk food...

Hope there is something there that will help you out.
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A good web site: http://extension.usu.edu/files/publi...b__8822711.pdf

Yet one more: http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/browse_authors.php

**rowdy35** · 12-28-2009, 10:47 PM

for convenience and money savings, get a crockpot and start using it. You can buy inexpensive cuts of meat and cook them all day and dinner will be ready when you get home. this will replace the convenience meals and they taste better. just google crockpot recipes. it will save you money and time.

**joyofsix** · 12-29-2009, 06:47 AM

Soups and stews, preferably full of veggies, beans or pasta. I try for soups weekly.
Meatless days. There are tons of things to do with pasta/rice and veggies or beans. We like bean burritos quite a bit and my kids would eat them 3 or 4 x week.
Fresh fruits are an expense but healthy and filling. Buy in season.
I tend to use frozen veggies unless the veg is in season. Most are frozen very shortly after being picked and don't have as many preservatives as cannned if you buy plain.
I serve frittatas and quiches because eggs are cheap and lend themselves to stretching.
Use a crockpot or freeze some meals to cover you for those busy nights. These two things have saved us countless $$ because there's no running to McD's or ordering pizza.
Breakfast for supper is quick and inexpensive.
There are a blue million threads with recipes here. Look around and your head will spin.