cooking on a budget

[mimimensh]

Any ideas about cooking on a tight budget????

[Eeyah]

Cook things in batches, for example, a few weeks ago ground beef was on sale for the big 10 Lb tube. So I made 2 dozen mini meat loaves(muffin tins), 2 trays of meatballs, and cooked up the rest with some garlic and onion. So I got approx 8 meals out 10 lbs of meat - of course I still have to cook sides, but having these ready in the freezer, sure makes things easier.
Another option (depending on the size of your family) is rather than cooking one chicken (or roast) cook two - shred or slice the other one and use it in stir frys, or in the slowcooker for soups etc. I usually do this on Sunday, and then DH takes the leftovers in his sandwiches.
Also, check out stores that discount there veggies (no frills, super store etc) I've often picked up bags of tomatoes for $1 - one may be rotten but the rest are fine Some stores also mark down the bread(Safeway), or see if you have a discount bread store (McGavins has these, not sure about Dempsters). As long as you have the freezer space this can absolutly help with small budgets.

[vibrantflame]

Well depends on how tight a budget we are talking. But here are some of the things I have done.

When money is tight, we buy cheap foods that can really stretch, things like rice, kidney or black beans, pasta etc. You can make a meal just out of rice and beans with some spices thrown in.

Ground beef can be made to stretch a long ways. I have made a large pot of chili (enough to last my family of 4 a week) with just 1 lb of ground beef (and of course loads of beans and tomatoes).

Ramen noodles can make for a cheap meal. If you want more of a main course meal out of them, cook them up and drain them but instead of adding the broth, mix some butter in with them. Tastes really good and you can use the broth for something else.

Keep an eye out at the store for food that is discounted because it is close to expiring. The expiry date is a guideline, not an absolute. You can find good deals on meats (if it is due to expire the next day and you don't want to use it right away, throw it in your freezer...it will keep just fine. Just remember when you do thaw it it must be cooked right away). They even discount canned goods and all kinds of things.

[mimimensh]

thank you for your great ideas.

[gourmetsue]

Crock pots are a great idea too. You can purchase cheaper, less tender cuts of meat and put them in and let them stew for the day. I make chili in mine all the time (vegetarian and sometimes with meat). I'm a big fan of getting veggies on the "clearance" rack at the food shop. I just picked up 4 big red peppers for less than $1. They'll go a long way in a pasta dish (pasta that I got on sale :D).

[mimimensh]

i never find canned goods or bread on sale at No Frills, any suggestions? Thank you gourmetsue for your reply.

[Lynn49]

This reminds me of when we were married..I picked up a little booklet called "364 Ways With Ground Beef"...and back then it was so cheap we really did eat a lot of it!
I love allrecipes.com, so here's a site that might give you some good ideas as well..

http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cooking-...et/Detail.aspx

[mle]

i never find canned goods or bread on sale at No Frills, any suggestions? Thank you gourmetsue for your reply.

For bread, look for bread with the pink triangle stickers on them. These are close to expiry and will be 50% off. If you freeze the loafs, you can defrost them/toast them as you go and they'll still be as fresh as the day you bought them. I don't think they put bread on sale too often unless it's a specific kind because it's something people always buy, like eggs- with or without a sale (and they get more profit without one!). There are also some coupons for demptsers I believe, and perhaps wonderbread but I'm not sure where- you could check in the coupon section/forum of Smartcanucks.

For canned goods I know what you're saying. But the only thing you can do is stock up when there is a sale (most canned goods have a long shelf life anyways, so check the expiry date) and keep them on hand. You can stockpile a lot of things like canned goods, pasta, cereal, and snacks, as long as their expiry isn't too close. You can always contact the manufaturer (ex. Green giant) for coupons by phone/e-mail and check the smartcanucks coupon sections for any as well.

Now for meal ideas, you can try having a "leftover" night where everyone has something leftover from the past couple of days- like the kids get yesterday's pasta, and you get Monday's stirfry. You can also do a simple meal that consists of only a couple of things, like making a pot of soup- everyone gets a bowl, a bun/toasted bread, and some veggies and you're set.

Making a bit of extra dinner can also be used as the next days lunches. If you make an extra bit of say, pasta, you or your kids can have it for your lunch the next day. Packing a lunch, even occasionally, instead of buying already saves money, as does eating food you've already made instead of buying lunch specific foods- like eating that pasta instead of making a sandwich or eating snacks. It's usually healthier too!

Good luck & happy eating!

[nagem]

The frugal life has money saving recipes
http://www.thefrugallife.com/freezer_meals.html

http://www.thefrugallife.com/recipefavorites.html

http://www.thefrugallife.com/school.html

[recessionisnotfun]

Last night I fed 3 of us (2 guys included) for a whopping $3.00.
The chicken we got at walmart, 4 pieces legs with thighs attached rang in at 1.00 a pack. I bought a lot of them as was everyone else at that price lol. 2bags of liptons sidekicks chicken rice 0.79 (on sale, plus buy 1 get 1) and 2 cans of corn on sale .50 x 2, so total $2.79.
Theres a really good website, I THINK it's called hillbilly housewife but don't quote me. Also, there are tons of frugal meals and videos out there. You can eat healthy for cheap. Get creative and have fun doing it. I like to challenge myself to see just how cheap yet filling I can create meals. My family loves the meals. Add a lot of cheap fillers if you'd like, noodles, celery, beans etc. You'd be amazed at what kind of concoctions you can create
Leftover chicken, I make homemade chicken noodle soup, super cheap and filling. Leftover steak or roast, I make beef stirfry, or stew. Leftover boiled potatoes, I fry them up and cooked scrambled eggs in them, one of my favs. I've spent many hours on the net learning ways to save money, and boy has it paid off Have fun cooking

[recessionisnotfun]

Oh and like Eeyah said, I also buy meant in bulk, divie it up into smaller portions and freeze.

[mimimensh]

Stock up on the 1$/$ chiken thighs at no frills (last day today).They are really good and I made many dishes with it.

[sitb]

we really have had to crack down our finances since having our baby and especially now that we have to buy lactose free formula..its not cheap!

some things I do. I buy a lot of our stuff at costco.specially hamburger.its cheaper than superstore.then i just separate the meat.

a couple cheap meals:

homemade hamburger helper.
ingredients:
2 boxes of kraft dinner
hamburger
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
seasoning salt

fry up your hamburger.while you are doing that cook your kraft dinner like normal. add the hamburger to it.then add your soup and seasoning salt to it.its actually very yummy and its cheap!

one dish chicken:
chicken legs
salt and pepper
garlic powder
butter

put your chicken legs in a casserole dish.you dont want them spread out.season with garlic powder,salt and pepper. add about a inch of water. just enough to have some on the bottom. put in preheated 350 degree oven and cook for 2 hours with a lid on.then add 2 tbsps of butter and cook for another 30 min to an hour. thats it!!

chicken in a pot:

chicken thighs
one pkg dry onion soup mix
seasoning salt
chicken boullion

arrange your chicken thighs in single layer. add dry chicken boullion on top...do not be cheap on it as this is what gives it a lot of flavor.then sprinkle your onion soup mix on top.then season with seasoning salt. then add water to your pan. bake in 350 pre heated oven for 2 hours. you can also add diced potatoes to it.

these are some of our favorite recipes here. and you can get the chicken thighs at costco for a decent price.

another one of my favorite recipes. its actually one i made up myself.

Take a small pkg of stew meat. cook it in a pot with a bit of water in it and 1 or 2 beef boullion cubes(i personally like 2).once meat is cooked add a pkg of onion soup mix. then add 2 cans cream of mushroom soup. serve over rice or egg noodles. we love it with egg noodles here.

[lady_arianna]

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

love this blog

[recessionisnotfun]

we really have had to crack down our finances since having our baby and especially now that we have to buy lactose free formula..its not cheap!

some things I do. I buy a lot of our stuff at costco.specially hamburger.its cheaper than superstore.then i just separate the meat.

a couple cheap meals:

homemade hamburger helper.
ingredients:
2 boxes of kraft dinner
hamburger
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
seasoning salt

fry up your hamburger.while you are doing that cook your kraft dinner like normal. add the hamburger to it.then add your soup and seasoning salt to it.its actually very yummy and its cheap!

one dish chicken:
chicken legs
salt and pepper
garlic powder
butter

put your chicken legs in a casserole dish.you dont want them spread out.season with garlic powder,salt and pepper. add about a inch of water. just enough to have some on the bottom. put in preheated 350 degree oven and cook for 2 hours with a lid on.then add 2 tbsps of butter and cook for another 30 min to an hour. thats it!!

chicken in a pot:

chicken thighs
one pkg dry onion soup mix
seasoning salt
chicken boullion

arrange your chicken thighs in single layer. add dry chicken boullion on top...do not be cheap on it as this is what gives it a lot of flavor.then sprinkle your onion soup mix on top.then season with seasoning salt. then add water to your pan. bake in 350 pre heated oven for 2 hours. you can also add diced potatoes to it.

these are some of our favorite recipes here. and you can get the chicken thighs at costco for a decent price.

another one of my favorite recipes. its actually one i made up myself.

Take a small pkg of stew meat. cook it in a pot with a bit of water in it and 1 or 2 beef boullion cubes(i personally like 2).once meat is cooked add a pkg of onion soup mix. then add 2 cans cream of mushroom soup. serve over rice or egg noodles. we love it with egg noodles here.

mmmmmmmmm, sounds good, will try that. Thank you