$3.50 or Less Meals For 4 Using A Basic Garden???

[TheRootedNomad]

My mind has been spinning for weeks with how my grocery budget stretches once we get the family garden growing. With the high costs of groceries our garden will be bigger this year and well used. I'm looking foward to all our fresher meals.

The $5.00 meals for 4 thread did so well I thought we could try $3.50 meals, hopefully less, if using basic garden ingredients to supplement. I figure it might help expand our reciepes for those of us that garden and could inspire some others to garden.

Here's a couple of mine. I'll post a few more later on.

$2.89 --- 1 lb italian sausages (usually about 5 in the pack)
garden -- 6 bell peppers any color
garden -- 1 onion
00.50 --- half a small bag of white rice

slice the sausage into bite size pieces. Cut the peppers into thin slices or cube. Slice the onion. Put the sausage in a skillet on medium. Turn as it starts to brown. After about 10 minutes (as the juice starts lightly coating the pan) add the peppers and onions. Cook until soft. About 25/30 minutes. (If your afraid the sausage might not cook long enough you can "nuke it" for a minute before you start cooking it. Boil the white rice.

Serve the sausage and peppers on top of the rice or seperate.

Total
$3.39 (we have left overs)

2
garden --- squash
garden --- zucchinni(sp)
00.25 --- oil
01.99 --- 1 lb chicken breast
01.18 ---- 2 boxes chicken rice mix (Aldi)
00.05 ---- blackening powder

slice apprppriate amount of squash and zuchiini to fill a skillet. Put a tablespoon of oil on the bottom. Add blackening powder on top of the veggies and stir fry to desired texture.

Cut chicken into bite sixe pieces and put in another skillet with a dab of oil or butter. As it starts to whiten add rice mixes and water as instructed. (don't need the extra butter).

Total
$3.47 (feeds 6 pretty easily)

3
garden ---- cucumbers
garden --- tomatoes
garden ---- onions
00.25 ----- oil
00.05 ----- oregano
00.25 ----- butter
00.50 ----- lb of pasta (like penne)
00.02 ------salt

cut cucumbers, tomatoes, an onions (1 onion to every 2 cucumbers and 3 tomatoes). Place in a bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a large pinch of oregano. Mix well. (Best if made the night before and left sit in the fridge---gets juicey)

Boil pasta and strain. Serve while warm in a bowls. Add a tiny bit of butter and some salt onto the pasta and mix to melt the butter. Serve salad seperate.

Total
$1.07 (feeds 6 easily)

[joyofsix]

Vegetarian stuffed peppers for my family of eight eaters.

garden-8 bell peppers
garden-2 small onion
garden-zucchini-to taste amount
garden- 2 tomato chopped
garden?-oregano&basil
$0.50- enough to make rice 2 C rice
$0.25-oil
$1.89- 1 12oz block cheese, shredded

Using oil, saute onion and zucchini until soft, add spices and salt&pepper to taste, cook rice, mix with sauted vegetables. Halve and clean peppers, fill with rice mixture a Microwave until peppers are soft (about 15minutes in my micro). Cover with cheese and microwave 1 more minute until cheese is melted.

Total
$3.64 to feed 8

[sunshine]

I have a huge garden, with a variety of foods, so it's pretty easy for me to do this.

Baked fish fillets (we usually fish, but I checked the ads this week and pollack is on sale for $1.49/lb - you'd probably need 2 lbs) $3.00

potato/squash patties from the garden

baked tomatoes from the garden

So, just at $3.00 to feed 4 hearty appetites.

[TheRootedNomad]

How do you make potatoe/squash patties??? We always have an abundance of squash and I'm on the look-out for new things to do with it.

[sunshine]

Potato Squash Cakes

INGREDIENTS

* 2/3 cup shredded potatoes
* 1/3 cup shredded yellow squash
* 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons chopped onion
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon self-rising flour
* 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon cooking oil



DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, squash, onion, egg, flour, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. If the batter is too thin, add more flour; if too thick, add milk. Form batter into 3-inch patties.
2. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Place patties in hot oil, and cook until golden brown on each side; drain on paper towels.

Makes 4 servings

I didn't include the fixings for the patties in the total, but it would still come in under $3.50

[StaceyS]

What a great thread! I don't have time to post a recipe now, but I'll be back!

[sunshine]

Any one else have any recipes to add?

[TheRootedNomad]

Potato Squash Cakes

INGREDIENTS

* 2/3 cup shredded potatoes
* 1/3 cup shredded yellow squash
* 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons chopped onion
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon self-rising flour
* 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon cooking oil



DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, squash, onion, egg, flour, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. If the batter is too thin, add more flour; if too thick, add milk. Form batter into 3-inch patties.
2. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Place patties in hot oil, and cook until golden brown on each side; drain on paper towels.

Makes 4 servings

I didn't include the fixings for the patties in the total, but it would still come in under $3.50

Looking foward to trying this one out!!!


Here's another one I'm looking foward to:

Garlic green beans
corn on the cob
grilled fish
raw veggies with dip


Garlic green beans
green beans from the garden boiled until still a little crisp
put in a tupperware container and pour about a quarter to a half cup of vegatable oil (while still hot)
add about a tablespoon of minced garlic for each pound of green beans (while still hot)
put the lid on and shake well
leave sit in the fridge overnight

grill corn with butter

grill whatever fish you've caught fishing with butter
(as a kid flounder and blues were plentiful where we lived)

cucumbers, peppers, broccoli raw from the garden

This is basically a FREE meal if you garden and fish just looking at the cost of garlic, oil, butter, and dip if you want it.

[Laura2]

Wow I love this thread! I can't wait until I can start gardening at my new house!