Okay I have $40 for groceries to last me and DH a week. Help!

[AnW819]

I have $40 this week for groceries. I don't really have anything in the house but soup, canned veggies, flour, sugar, etc. Well...I do have more just can't think of it on the top of my head. Have lots of cream soups (cream of chicken, mushroom,etc.) and seasonings like taco seasoning and beef gravy.

I hope I can do it on $40 this week.

Breakfast will be cereal that we have so I have to buy Milk.

Lunches will be PB&J and I have all that just need to buy bread.
Egg salad (need eggs)
Grilled Cheese (have everything).

Dinners will be????

I can either buy a big bag of chicken (4lbs?) for $11 @ Sams or Ground beef for $1.99 which is pretty much as cheap as it gets.

Broccoli and grapes are on sale for .99c lb. as well.


Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Just need it to stay under $40.

So far I need:
Milk
Bread
Eggs

[savvy_sniper]

Go to the Campbell's Soup website and check out the recipes. There are all sorts of casseroles/dishes you can make with chicken or hamburger, some veggies and canned soups.

[pollypurebred39]

Impossible pies are inexpensive depending on the recipe. I make one with Broccoli & cheese that everyone loves. They have one for cheeseburgers, taco type ones & dessert ones you can have for breakfast & snacks.

Navy bean soup & homemade biscuits
Pasta & sauce
breakfast for dinner
fried rice
bean burrittos

If you have a Wegmans in Jersey they have chicken quaters 49 cents a pound this week

[baxjul]

How about pasta and sauce? That is pretty cheap!

[AnW819]

Yep I have both of those, thats what we have been eating this week! Going to eat some next week to!

[frugalwarrior2]

Potatoes-cheap creme of potato soup (creme soup,potatoes,a little milk,garlic if you like it. Carrots if you have them.
or mashed or potato/cheese casserole, baked potaoes at the end of the week w/whatevers leftover on them

Pancakes/waffles/french toast

Rice add bits of meat to it.
Get a 1. cake mix at kroger. Requires 2 eggs and a bit of oil.
jello-cheap ( .40 at Big lot this week)
drink water/cook w/ milk.

EGGS-make omelettes- may be cheaper than cereal
$40. is plenty here but prices are prob. cheaper.

[AnW819]

Impossible pies are inexpensive depending on the recipe. I make one with Broccoli & cheese that everyone loves. They have one for cheeseburgers, taco type ones & dessert ones you can have for breakfast & snacks.

Navy bean soup & homemade biscuits
Pasta & sauce
breakfast for dinner
fried rice
bean burrittos

If you have a Wegmans in Jersey they have chicken quaters 49 cents a pound this week

We do have a wegmans but I have never cooked any chicken other than chicken breasts. I don't know what to do with the other stuff or if I will like it.

Potatoes-cheap creme of potato soup (creme soup,potatoes,a little milk,garlic if you like it. Carrots if you have them.
or mashed or potato/cheese casserole, baked potaoes at the end of the week w/whatevers leftover on them

Pancakes/waffles/french toast

Rice add bits of meat to it.
Get a 1. cake mix at kroger. Requires 2 eggs and a bit of oil.
jello-cheap ( .40 at Big lot this week)
drink water/cook w/ milk.

EGGS-make omelettes- may be cheaper than cereal
$40. is plenty here but prices are prob. cheaper.

Yeah $40 here in SJ is not much at all...thanks a lot though!

[krbshappy71]

We do lots of spaghetti with hamburger and sauce. Sometimes we run out of sauce so I use canned tomato soup instead.

[lisaflex]

i vote for a whole chix in the CP...and, youll have leftovers for at least 1 - 2 days to make other meals with

what about tuna salad? need tuna, mayo, celery, onion, S & P, peas...serve on wheat bread.

roasted potatoes go far! can usually get a big bag for pretty cheap. i just toss w/ OO and seasoning and roast. add some onions if you have them also.

add a banana to the PBJ..pretty well rounded...right?

[Libby]

Ashley - buy the basics, you've already listed milk bread & eggs.

What about buying:
* 1 bag pasta/noodles
* 1 sm bag rice
* bag dried kidney beans & 1 bag lentils
* 2 cans tuna
* small lean pork tenderloin
* 2 chicken breasts
* bag o salad
* bag o carrots
* 1 bunch celery
* 1-2 med/lg loose onions
* bag of mixed frozen veggies
* chicken blln cubes - smallest pkg avail

Potential meals: tuna casserole, pork tenderloin w/rice another night, l/o pork tenderloin finely diced to make fried rice, salad w/grilled chicken & rice and lastly you can turn all the scraps of leftovers into a soup and/or make lentil soup or add some beans to the rice for more protein in your meal to help you feel fuller.

I'm sure there's more combo's but thats just off the top of my head. If you can, buy produce/fruit from local farmers or ethnic market and get the boxed groc items at the store with the best prices avail. I find cooking from scratch helps stretch the budget so much more.

[McD]

Something we eat that is very filling is what i like to call super burrito. If I have leftover taco filling I use it, otherwise I skip it.

Basically, take a can of refried beans, a can of green chilies, and some salsa--warm on the stove. Layer in soft tortilla shell. Can add as many misc. toppings as you wish--taco meat, sauteed onions, peppers, spanish rice.

You can modify it to stay within budget and the tortilla shells and be used in place of bread to make wraps so you don't get burnt out on sandwiches.

[shp1055]

I make a "cheapie" chicken & rice dish. I boil 2 chicken thighs in about 3 cups of water & season with salt, pepper & onion (or onion powder). Boil for about 30 minutes, remove them from the pot & remove the skin, debone & chop it up & then put back into the broth & add 1 & 1/2 cups rice and cook over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes or all broth is absorbed. If you have it, you can use chicken bouillon instead of the salt for more flavor.

If you buy the leg quarters that polly suggested, you could use the thighs for the above and boil some of the other thighs (2 or 3) to make chicken & spaghetti (you don't have to make it fancy) & use whatever spices you have. Bake the legs & serve with some kind of veggie.

Cut the leg quarters between the leg bone & the thigh bone. If you get a 10 lb. bag for $4.90, you'll have enough for several meals. After you seperate the thighs & legs bag them in ziplocs with two or 3 thighs to a bag & 4 legs to a bag ( that's how many I do) & freeze what you don't use right away.

If you get ground beef for $1.99 per pound, I'd buy a pound of that and a pound of light red kidney beans to make red beans & rice (using the ground beef instead of sausage) and the next day I'd use the leftover beans/ground beef and add some tomato sauce & that Taco seasoning you already have and have chili with beans. Spice it up with whatever seasoning you have.

The cheapest 5 lb. bag of potatoes you can get could yeild baked potatoes one night, mashed potatoes to go with the baked chicken legs (use the gravy mix you already have) and potato soup (using the cream soups you already have and some milk & margarine).

If it were me, I would buy: (these are appx prices in my area)

1 - ten pound bag of leg quarters $ 4.90
1 - one pound bag of long grain rice .79
1 - twelve ounce pkg of store brand spaghetti .75
1 - one pound bag light red kidney beans 1.25
1 pound ground beef 2.00
4 cans tomato sauce (use 2 in spaghetti, 2 in chili) 1.50
1 small pkg chicken bouillon (Dollar Store) 1.00
1 five pound bag of potatoes 4.00

1 dozen medium eggs 1.75
1 loaf of inexpensive bread 2.00
Gallon of milk 4.00

That equals $23.94 plus tax. Tax here is 7% making the total $25.62. Then I'd work in the fruit and/or broccoli or whatever else that works for you. Also, if you have leftovers of the chicken & rice, or the chicken spaghetti or chili, you could have sweep the fridge leftover night.

Hope this helps & I have actually used the above menu on many occassions to make ends meet.

[lisaflex]

hey if i remember correctly - you like chickpeas (ceci beans, garbanzo beans) am i right? if so, boil pasta in chix broth (if you have some) save some of the pasta water. drain can of chickpeas. sautee onion and garlic in OO. add chick peas and pasta and the reserved pasta water. if you have frsh spinach add that too or frsh tomatoes. if not, is good just as it is. and good for you due to the chickpeas

[JerryG]

When grocery $$ is tight, that's when I turn to tortillas. I know you can make sandwiches and french toast w/ bread, but I'll go longer w/ tortillas in the house rather than bread. Tacos, quesidillas, burritos, pizza crusts, sliced and fried for chips. They have more versatility than bread, for us.

[Lady_V]

$40? It can be done... this IS the Frugal Village after-all !!!

There IS a $45 for 4-6 people emergency menu & shopping list

I will have to send it to you in a PM