Affordable (ie, cheap) meals

[HottyToddyChick]

Can y'all toss me some ideas? I'd like to stay away from prepackaged as much as possible, so nothing like hamburger helper. The less prepackaged, the healthier, right?

So far I'm thinking of things like soup over toast, tuna melts....

 

[HK]

It's not really a meal but if I don't feel like a big lunch, I eat popcorn. You can buy the kernels and pop them yourself in a saucepan, and it only takes a handful to make a bowlful so it's very cost effective

 

[pjbleek]

grilled cheese....meatloaf.....macaroni and cheese.....pasta.....chicken and rice....chicken wings (home made are better than take out)....

 

[Maulds]

Bag of salad and cook a couple chicken fillets to throw in with it. Breakfast for dinner...eggs, bacon and toast.

 

[sundvlfn17]

You could try baked beans and hot dogs or maybe even over bread.

 

[Natasha]

grilled cheese....meatloaf.....macaroni and cheese.....pasta.....chicken and rice....chicken wings (home made are better than take out)....

Ummm, when's the last time you bought chicken wings, PJ??? They're expensive as hell!!! LOL

Look for sales on boneless skinless chicken breasts and stock up. You can use them for ANYTHING and a lot of times can get them for $1.99 per pound. Ground turkey you can get for about $1.99 per pound...takes some getting used to if you haven't had it before, though. Bulk rice and pastas...you can mix in chicken and some type of cheese sauce w/ some veggies and be good to go. Wal-mart has several stir-fry vegetable mixes in the frozen section for $1.78 per bag.

 

[AnitaBeer]

Simple - Croissants and sandwich stuff. Or regular bread too, but croissants are so much better mmm. And it's a nice twist.
Chicken breasts and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Veggies. I buy frozen they are pretty cheap.
Fish...any kind, but usually I buy this salmon that is only like $7 for 5 or 6 fillets. Veggies. Can never have enough veggies stocked up! lol And usually rice.
Tattertot casserole - hamburger, cream of celery/mushroom soup, whichever veggies you like in it, velveeta/store brand ceese, and of course tattertots.
Spaghetti - well you know how to make it I'm sure. Actually lots of pasta things are cheap. Fettucini Alfredo, I usually just buy a jar of alfredo sauce, but if you know how to make it I'm sure it's cheaper. Bowtie noodles with cheese and corn mixed or peas.
Tortilla wraps - basically a sandwich in a wrap.
Hmmm I'm sure I can come up with more. I like cheap and have got it mastered when shopping for the three of us when it comes to groceries.

 

[Tim]

Buy a bag of day old bread
A cheap can of tomato sauce
cheap mozzarella cheese

Take slices of bread, spread a little sauce on them and top with cheese. Bake for 10 min or so...

Homemade pizza

 

[Alien Allen]

tuna noodle casserole is not much I would think

looks awful but tastes good

I guess one needs the definition of cheap

 

[Tim]

If you buy chicken, buy the legs or thighs. It's MUCH cheaper. Then skin and debone before you freeze or prepare it.

Chicken and salsa over a bed of rice

 

[Alien Allen]

spaghetti and chilli

You can make lots of it and freeze it

and make a derivative of it for sloppy joes

also depends upon the definition of healthy

 

[Tim]

If you have a crock-pot...

Get the cheapest cut of beef you can find.
Mix with potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, seasonings. Cook it all day and the meat will just fall apart

You can get away with a cheap cut of meat (ask the butcher he will hook you up) when you cook it all day in a crock-pot.

 

[Tim]

Road-kill stew?

I'm sure one of the redneck republicans will have a good recipe for you, just ask AA...






:24:

 

[HottyToddyChick]

tuna noodle casserole is not much I would think

looks awful but tastes good

I guess one needs the definition of cheap

I ate a can of corn for dinner. Cheap. lol

Ideally, I'd like to be able to eat for the month for about 100 bucks.

I like a LOT of these ideas. I'm going to start my list.

 

[Alien Allen]

Road-kill stew?

I'm sure one of the redneck republicans will have a good recipe for you, just ask AA...






:24:

You stupid liberal

You know damn well the right does not give a shit about that stuff

But you bleeding heart liberals probably do

 

[Natasha]

Also, frozen veggies are usually much cheaper than fresh...and sometimes they're even better for you b/c they don't lose nutrients like fresh ones do.

 

[AnitaBeer]

Also, frozen veggies are usually much cheaper than fresh...and sometimes they're even better for you b/c they don't lose nutrients like fresh ones do.

:nod:
I love frozen veggies.

 

[Alien Allen]

any kind of a pasta will do

You can throw in cuts of chicken, cheap meat, seafood

same goes with rice although I am not a big fan or rice. I prefer potatoes

 

[Brujahpriest]

Pasta Primavera is always cheap and easy Pasta some cheese , frozen peas and other veg. Toss in a breaded chicken patty to splurge

 

[AnitaBeer]

Remember that with a lot of meals you can freeze them. So if you make a big batch of something just seal it up tight and freeze it. It should help save money instead of throwing away left overs.