Economic meals

Pasta for sure! It is very cheap to boil some noodles and toss them in some pasta sauce. Even adding hamburger doesn't make it that much more expensive. When it comes to saving money on groceries, we try to buy in bulk. That way, instead of buying an item once a week or once every 2 weeks, we only have to buy it once a month, sometimes less. Some of my favorite things to buy in bulk are dry noodles, dried spices, canned goods, and toilet paper. I will also buy a 10 lb roll of hamburger and then freeze it in 1 lb increments. That meat combined with the chicken I always buy and sometimes other proteins is always enough to last my family all month long.

 

Adding soups to meals helps in keeping the food cost down. We often cook chunky cream soups such as potato and onion soup paired with either a piece of meat or salad. Pasta soups with vegetables and some pieces of chicken are also economical. A combination of soups and bread are also good. On hot summer days, you can make cold pea soup, pumpkin soup, or cold soba noodle soup.

On cooler days, it's easy to choose from a variety of hot soups from clear soup to cream soup, wanton soups to pasta soups. Take your pick.

 

Chili spaghetti, pasta and peas (look on 'Claras depression cooking' for this recipe- it's easy cheap and delicious). You could also ham and beans, pancakes, scambled eggs and toast, or make a simple "stroganoff" (cook drain burger then mix in can of cream of mushroom soup) over bread. Some vegetable meals could be fried potatoes and onions, mac and cheese. These are all fairly simple, easy, inexpensive meals. You could also get a whole chicken and cook it in a slow cooker, (or in a pot on stove with a little water over low heat for a few hours), then take meat off bones and use for many meals. There's always hamburger helper, we love that stuff, and cheap. Lastly, you could cook a bag of cheap egg noodles then drain, stir in a half sick of butter and some Parmesan (or any) cheese with salt, good cheap side, filling and yummy.

 

Ah, hamburger helper. That was my bread and butter when I was single. So many different options and so cheap! I still love to eat it once in awhile but my husband can't stand the stuff. He is strictly a homemade meals lover. I occasionally still buy it so my son and I can have it for lunch. Our favorite is the Velveeta Cheesy skillets!

You have some great ideas. I'll have to try the egg noodles idea. So easy but sounds very yummy.

 

I actually don't think Hamburger Helper is the way to go.

It's often cheaper to buy the plain pasta, seasonings, and the meat and make a healthier dish on your own. The difference in cost doesn't seem like much, but it adds up, AND you're not intaking nearly as much sodium or chemicals/preservatives.

 

When I'm saving up, I'd usually just buy packs of different types of sausages which I can either cut up and toast or enjoy individually with some rice and eggs. I like using this method the most because I can cut it up and make fried rice out of it or just slice it horizontally and potentially get more meals out of just one, and if I'm feeling a bit more hungry then I'd use up one whole piece or even two since they aren't that expensive anyway. Not only that but having different types of these also provides for variety so you won't get too tired of them and it's also very easy to prepare since I just leave them inside the oven for a few minutes which I then use to do some chores or get some work done.

 

I was surprised how much food a small little box of Rice A Roni makes. I hadn't eaten that stuff since I was a kid, and bought some recently to make. I needed to use our largest frying pan, which is like 18 inches, because it would have overflowed in any of our other pans. For only $1 a box, it's kind of hard to beat. All you need to add is a couple tablespoons of butter and some water. Although I also like to add some fresh meat and/or frozen veggies too, to beef it up more. I like to saute some diced chicken and toss that in along with some frozen broccoli or a brocolli/cauliflower/carrot mix.

Polenta is also really filling, and it's easy to make into a meal, topped with a meat sauce and some parmesan/romano. You can also reserve some of the polenta (without the sauce) to slice and fry up for breakfast with some butter and maple syrup.

There was a series of videos on Youtube from a few years ago, focusing on a "$4 challenge". They were recipes that could feed a family of 4 for under $4. One of them was a simple recipe of cooked rice noodles, tossed with sauteed fresh ground pork and green onions, seasoned with some soy sauce. Rice noodles are kind of expensive and hard to find in my neck of the woods, so I would probably just go with some angel hair or thin spaghetti instead.

 

I'm starting to test out mixed rice and potatoes especially after I found a new cute way of cooking that makes the end product taste great. You could try this some day:

Ingredients:
Three big potatoes.
Some rice.
Onions.
Tomatoes.

The procedure:
Peel and chop up the potatoes into extra small pieces. If you can make 100 from one potato then that's the right size. Just make 'em small.
Get your onions ready, fry them brown.
Slice your tomatoes, add them in and cover up for a minute. Stir up the mixture to create some reddish goo or soup-like substance if you like.
Add in a spoonful of cayenne and salt.
Pour in your potatoes and rice then stir.
Boil the stuff.

Very simple, ain't it?

I was doing that once in hurry and the result was something which tasted so good that I made it a habit to cook my rice and potatoes that way ever since.

 

I don't know how to cook, so my "economy meal" would be just buying canned goods or cooking fried egg or hotdog. I also buy the rice and 1 piece chicken meal at the convenience store near me, and it only costs $1.50, so that's pretty cheap as compared to eating out.

 

I usually buy bulk grains, dried foods and nuts. They keep for a long time. All I need to do is "fluff" them out a bit with a few vegetables and fruit. Since I am mostly a vegetarian, I don't have big needs. From time to time I buy frozen fish that I keep in the freezer, often for a few weeks before I remember that it's there. I don't have any trouble living in a simple and frugal way.

 

Soups, beans, veggies, eggs, all of that is super cheap and you can make a number of meals. I eat a lot of beans (the ones you have to soak), it is high protein and healthy carbs. I make a big pot of ham and beans and it lasts me a week. I make white beans, garlic, onions, and tomatoes, and olive oil all mixed up and eat it. I also make black beans, tomatoes, tuna and corn. You can make a big thing of minestrone soup for cheap, chicken and veggie, veggie soup, hamburger soup and it only costs a few bucks to make. Plus I'll make chicken broth and then put eggs in it to cook slightly and have egg drop soup. All of it is healthy.

 

I make a lot of pastas and rice for most of my meals. Especially if you make it over some sort of meat or chicken, you can get 2 or sometimes even 3 meals out of cooking one time. Pasta and rice does fill you up as well and it's extremely cheap to buy at the store. I think I spent $10 on a 15 pound bag of rice, which has lasted me over two months.

 

I have to disagree with you on hamburger not adding a lot of cost to an economical meal. In the past year I've watched hamburger go from $2.49 a pound to a little over $4 a pound where I live. Add to that cost increase that nearly 1/5th of the weight is just saturated fat and hamburger is no longer welcome in my household. We have switched to ground turkey which I find rather tasty if its seasoned properly. And ground turkey can still be found for $1.99 a pound if you know how to shop!

 

I like to make many of my foodstuffs from scratch. That's how I save a lot of money. When I don't have to pay for someone, or a machine, to prepare food for me, I can use the extra for other things I need.