Cheap Meal Ideas?

Here are some of my favourites:

Tomato Sandwhiches (2 work out to be about $0.40 depending on where you get your tomatoes)

Big Ham Sandwhich - I get ham for 1.10/100g at the market and buy a french loaf for $1.99. Put them together and put them in the oven to crisp, and I have a HUGE sandwhich for lunch/dinner for less than $4.00

Pasta - Full meal of pasta is generally under $2.00

Homemade Pizza - Buy cheese on sale and use bacon (on sale) and you can get a whole homemade pizza for close to $2.50

Can't think of anymore right now, but I will if I remember... my household (2 of us) generally eat on about $130 a month, give or take maybe $20. We eat cheap, but generally not super healthy :-(

Another to do with the Mr Noodles, boil the noodles, drain, then saute onions, peppers, and celery, in butter, add the noodles and any leftover meat, or I like to use part of a shrimp ring, take the peels off and then add to the veggies, put noodles back in, add flavor seasoning and a little soya sauce, and got a great side dish or meal for one. Double the noodles for two, with a salad, awesome.

I make mac & cheese, except that I replace half of the pasta with cauliflower ( I like the green one as it gives it colour ) and use a little more than half a big brick of velveeta cheese and sometimes add in whatever left-over other cheeses I have in the fridge. A huge head of cauliflower cut up into small florettes makes quite a bit plus the pasta of course, I'd say I can make quite a few meals out of it, now this is my comfort food !

I also boil 2 chickens at a time, so I get broth to make soup every night for a week and will add small chicken and veggie cubes to the soup, but most of the chicken I use to make 3 or 4 big chicken pies by adding veggies cut into little cubes and add peas. I freeze some of course.

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Originally Posted by photoscanningca

Can't think of anymore right now, but I will if I remember... my household (2 of us) generally eat on about $130 a month, give or take maybe $20. We eat cheap, but generally not super healthy :-(

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Seriously? GEEZ... three adults in this house and I feel like I spend that a WEEK. Do you feel like sharing more? I would love to know how you do it! :-~

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Originally Posted by FreebieChick

Really? I've always used Ground beef for my Sheppard's pie, never lamb, so i guess i've been making Cottage pie all these yrs hahahaha :)

Learn something new everyday.

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Me Too! Actually I thought true Sheppards pie was supposed to be made with the left over roast beef you had and grind it up.

if we can get cheap pork chops when on sale, that and a can of mushroom soup (try to buy lots when on for 49 cents) with some garlic and onions is always good
Also soups can be done fairly cheaply, pea soup the (dried beans are about 79 cents a bag)....if you can come up with a meal without meat it seems much cheaper (now if only I could convince my husband we can live without meat at dinner once and awhile!!)

I find it hard to find nice fresh vegetables/fruit that are decently priced, cauliflower was 3.29 the other day, I couldn't believe it and it didn't even look that good.

Me and the hubby had this out about Shepard's pie. Lamb or any wild game can be classed as Shepard's pie, the original is lamb cause some of the wild game comes from the same family as lamb. Beef is for Cottage pie, but what's the difference as long as it tastes yummy!

Another cheaper meal is taking a cheap shrimp ring and taking the shells off saute in butter and garlic, add with fettucine alfredo, turns out good.

We survived one winter on Wild Game, and to hunt is not cheap, but you get a 100 pounds of Venison, it sure fills the freezer. At first I wasn't too fond of it but after a while and learning some tricks, it can be tasty and very healthy for you.

Excellent point about the shrimp rings. The only time I ever buy shrimp is when the rings are on sale lol and I just use them in everything.

brown beans and cornbread. Tastes good no matter hwo often you reheat it. I add a bit of bacon in mine.

Also like taco shells and cheese. My youngest has rare eating disorder so he dont eat it, but makes enough to feed me, dh, and oldest son(teenage boy who can eat a horse by himself.) You just take lb of ground beef and brown it, then add taco seasoning. Then I take the generic shells and cheese and mix it all together. Son adds salsa to his and i add a dallop of sour cream. ITs very good.

How about chinese fried rice ? Now that's not expensive to make, and to stretch it and make it more filling and healthy I use a few eggs in it and some diced zucchini and scallions. If I have left over chicken or pork I'll just dice it up and throw it in.

Of course there is always the Italian version : rizotto where you can use left-over bacon and ham