whats your cheapest meal that you..

[tammy88]

what thecheapest meal you fix, that you just love!! i want your ideas and recipes..

[DAAC3DEC]

It is my favorite, and it goes very fast, so I usually double or triple it-

SKILLET LASAGNA

1 box bowtie pasta (89 cents)
1 container of cottage cheese ($1.19)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce ($1.00)
1 small bag of frozen spinach (79 cents)
2 cups of mozzarella cheese ($1.99)
= $5.86
cook pasta, drain put back in large pot, cook spinach, drain put in pot and add all the other ingredients and mix well.

[miss_thrifty]

1/4 pound of lean hamburger meat cooked and drained with onion soup mix in it 2 tbsp or more :
1 pkg of hash browns : $1.09
1 can of cheddar cheese soup $1.15
1 can of nn tomato soup $.59 cents

depends on how much your meat was: all under $5.00 for a full 4 quart cp

[Odilia]

I saw this on a Food Network show and had to try it. It's delicious, easy, and very cheap for our family. We have chickens for eggs and a family milk cow for milk, cream, cheese, butter, etc... With dairy prices so high, it may not be that frugal if you have to buy the ingredients.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci...ml?rsrc=search

Maman's Cheese Souffle Recipe courtesy Jacques Pepin, The Apprentice, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus more to butter a 6-cup gratin dish
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups cold whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 extra-large eggs
2 1/3 cups grated Swiss cheese, preferably Gruyere (about 6 ounces)
3 tablespoons minced fresh chive blades

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Butter a 6-cup gratin dish, and set it aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour, and mix it in well with a whisk. Cook for 10 seconds, and add the milk in 1 stroke, and mix it in with a whisk. Keep stirring with the whisk until the mixture thickens and comes to a strong boil, which will take about 2 minutes. It should be thick and smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in the salt and pepper. Allow about 10 minutes for the white sauce to cool.

Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl, and beat well with a fork. Add the eggs, the cheese and the chives to the cooled sauce, and mix well to combine. Pour into the buttered gratin dish and cook immediately, or set aside until ready to cook.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the souffle is puffy and well browned on top. Although it will stay inflated for quite awhile, it is best served immediately.

My other most favorite meal is homemade soup and fresh-baked bread. I make the soup cheap by using what's on hand, and HM bread costs pennies/serving. We have soup once a week in the summer -- more often in the winter. In the summer, the HM bread is usually made on the stovetop (English muffins, flatbread, tortillas...). In the winter, I'll bake biscuits, rolls, or loaves of sourdough or whole grain bread.

[Ani]

Tuna Casserole

1 lb elbow macaroni (0.99)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (0.59)
1 can corn (0.33)
1 can tuna (0.39)
small bag of chips (0.99) - optional
1 cup of cheese (0.99 or less) - optional

Cook the elbow macaroni according to package directions. While it's cooking, open all 3 cans, draining the corn and tuna. Mix the corn, tuna, and cream of mushroom soup with the cooked macaroni. The macaroni will heat the other ingredients. Top with crushed chips and cheese if you desire.

$4.28 w/ optional ingredients
$2.30 w/o optional ingredients

This feeds hubby and I for two meals, and hubby is a big eater.

[FrugalMomof3]

I would say spaghetti w/meatballs.

I use bow tie pasta, cooked per the package instructions.

For spaghetti sauce:
1 jar of marinara sauce
2 tbl spoons of pesto sauce
2 tbl spoons of goys sofrito
Dash of spanish adobo seasoning
1 package of meatballs

Combine all ingredients and let simmer for about 30 min, to 45 minutes.

Once meat sauce is done and spaghetti has been drained combine everything and stir, then serve.

[Little Birdie]

Here's one of the cheapest...

Beefy beans and rice

$2.50 1 pound ground beef
$0.33 1 onion
$1.40 1.5 pounds black beans
$0.12 package Old El Paso taco seasoning (I only buy these with coupon)
$?.?? 2 cups white rice (I bought a huge bag; I don't recall the price)
$0.00 2 cups beef broth (reclaimed from other meals and stored in freezer)
$0.00 2 cups water
$0.00 2 banana peppers from friend's garden
$0.00 4 or so tomatoes from friend's garden
$0.99 shredded cheese on sale this week (aug 26 - sep 1) at Walgreens

So it cost me about $5.50 to make this last night. Last time I made it I found ground beef at $1.99/lb but used jarred salsa instead of free garden veggies.

It's really filling with all those beans, and it has a lot of beef flavor. I came up with this to please my meat loving husband.

This made enough to feed all three of us last night and tonight. We have almost half the batch left. I will package and freeze it for lunches.

Soak and cook beans per package. Brown beef and diced onion in skillet. Cook rice according to package, but substitute beef broth for some of the water.

When the beans have 30 minutes or so left, add the beef and onion mixture to the beans. Add the spice. With about 5 minutes left, add the veggies.

Serve the beefy beans over, next to, or stirred into the rice. Top with shredded cheese.

[Neeley]

I have never thought about what is the cheapest meal we make. Normally I can make this one for the $10 range and has been a hit not only with us but with everyone I have served it to(and last week I served this to about 25 people and they loved it).

Poppy Seed Chicken over rice

I get two boneless skinless chicken breasts for each person and boil them until they are fully cooked. Lightly grease a casserole dish and place the chicken breast in it. Then take one or two large cans of cream of mushroom soup(one lagre can for every four pieces of chicken), a can or two of mushroom pieces and pour all of it over the chicken. Next sprinkle poppy seeds over the top. Now you need to take some Ritz crackers (or the store brand of the Ritz cracker) and crumble over the mixture, completely covering it all. Finally take a few tablespoons of melted butter and pour over the top of that. Cook in a 350* pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes - basically until it is hot throughout. Serve over rice.

***A short cut for this recipe is to use the Tyson or Banquet pre-cooked chicken strips or cubes instead of the full Chicken breasts. If you make the chicken substitute the chicken is already cooked and you just skip the boiling step and go straight to the layering in the casserole dish.

[foxxyroxie]

Dash of spanish adobo seasoning

Don't you just love this stuff!! I use it in everything. Gives food such a nice flavor!! I rarely use the season salt in my spice cupboard anymore.


Goulash

1 (16 oz) box macaroni ( $ .50)
1 lb. ground turkey ($1.00)
2 cans diced tomatoes ($1.20 -- that's if I don't get them cheaper)
Adobo seasoning
Black pepper
Parmesan cheese (as condiment) $ .10

Brown ground turkey and season. Cook macaroni, drain. Return cooked mac to pot. Add turkey, diced tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parmesan cheese. For under $ 2.00 I can feed two hearty eaters (me and BF) and have some for leftover for his lunch the next day.

[TheRootedNomad]

One of the most cost effective meals I serve is chicken - n- rice with stir fry veggies.

~I bag frozen Kroger brand stirfry veggies (.79 on a good sale)
~about a 1/2 lb. cut up chicken breasts. (about 85cents worth - can get boneless skinless chicken breasts for 1.69 a pound )
~2 boxes chicken rice mix (Aldi brand rice-a-roni @ .59 a box)
~lettuce out of the flower bed or melon out of my sister's garden


~Put a tiny bit of butter in a skillet on high and throw in the chicen breast pieces which are cut into small bite-sized pieces. Turn them until they are white (or starting to golden) on all sides.
~Add rice out of the boxes for about 30-45 seconds and then add water and seasoning as directed on the box.
~Fry up the veggies in a drop of olive oil and some blackening powder

This feeds all 4 of us once and there's enough for popin company or for a second night of rice-n-chicken for the boys with a new veggie. It takes less than a half hour and costs just under $3.00 for the 4 of us.

[jinx]

Heres a cheap meal that will make 2 cassaroles that generously serve six peoplen each.
Ziti cassarole.

Tomato sauce (Homemade)
3 cans kitchen ready italian tomatoes
79cents per can
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
dried basil and oregano to taste.
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 to 2 tomato cans filled with water
1lb italian sausages. 2.79 per pound
2 lbs pasta - ziti works best. 2/1.00
mozzerella cheese about 2 cups. Forgot the price.

in sauce pan heat olive oil, lightly brown garlic. Add tomatoes, water salt, pepper, basil, and oregano, stir until mixed. Add water. bring to simmer. Brown sausages and add to sauce let simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours remove sausages and cut into pieces. set aside.
Boil pasta until slightly hard. Pasta will cook more in the oven later.
In 2 large cassarole dishes place drained pasta, pour sauce over pasta and mix throughly. Be generous with sauce. place 1/2 the sausage pieces over the top put a little more sauce on top and sprinkle with 1/2 the cheese.
Bake at 350 until cheese is melted.

Total price without the cheese is about 6.00. these cassaroles serve at least 6 good size portions, with extra sauce on the side. This is one of my cheapest ways to feed a crowd.

[jinx]

Oh I forgot I didnt figure in the costs of the spices and garlic. because those are these things most people have at home

[tammy88]

thanks everyone
i hope no one minds that i write these down to keep = )

[DorothyBeverly]

Ramen Noodle Frittata

2 (3 ounce) packages chicken-flavored ramen noodles (about .40)
6 eggs (.50)
2 teaspoons butter (pennies)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (.50)

Place noodles in a saucepan filled with boiling water, reserving the seasoning packet. Cook until tender, and drain.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and seasoning packets from the noodles. Mix in noodles.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the noodle mixture, and cook over medium-low heat until firm, 5 to 7 minutes.
Cut into fourths, and turn over to brown the other side for 1 to 2 minutes.
Sprinkle cheese over the top, and serve.

I know the combo of eggs and Ramen doesn't sound good..but is so yummy. I serve this with fried potatoes.

[i.m.cheap]

Scrambled eggs w/ cheese and grits (serves 4)

8 eggs (80¢ at $1.19 a dozen)
3 slices American cheese (purchased on sale, around 10¢ a slice, 30¢)
enough grits for four servings, (Wal-mart's great value brand, 15¢)

Scramble eggs in skillet with non-stick cooking spray. When eggs are almost done, top with sliced cheese, and cover skillet to melt cheese. Cook grits in salted water according to package directions. Serve with toast (buy bread at bakery outlet, four slices, about 20¢), and orange juice made from frozen concentrate (four 6 oz. glasses, 75¢)

Total cost for this meal (plus butter and jam for toast, if desired) is $2.20, or 55¢ a serving. We eat this for dinner about once a week. You can even add some spinach and onion to the scrambled eggs to "fancy it up" a little. Any kind of cheese may be substituted for the sliced American.