Any recipes to help the budget??

I now have a huge( as in ex football player) healthy 22 year old nephew living with me. My food budget needed help before but now I am faced with a wonderful sweet bottomless pit in a very hard worker.
Does any want to share recipes to stretch my food budget? Please. In these times I thought we can all use some help.
Thank you so much fishes.
giggyann

okay here s one giggyann. i take one lb chicken thighs and cut them up and marinate in Italian dressing for about an 1 hour or longer. i put it in a skillet with1 bag broccoli and cook it till done and serve with 1 to 2 cups rice mixed in. the rice stretches it and makes it filling. chicken thighs can be as little as 3 dollars a lb here in the us!

Wow, I sure hope the bottomless pit is contributing to the household food fund...

Chicken thighs $3 a pound is cheap??? OMG! I buy the 10 lb bags of leg quarters for as little as 39 cents a pound on sale at the supermarket! Normal price is 79 cents. I put one or two legs per freezer bag and pull out a bag when I need some chicken.

I like to cook them in a crockpot with chopped up veggies, either fresh or frozen, and serve with rice or noodles.

You can also buy a ramen dinner product at the Dollar stores, Family and General, as well as WalMart. It's a buck or less, and comes in several flavors, including a couple of Italian ones, LOL. Nissin Chow Mein. It has noodles, dehydrated veggies, and flavored oil. If you put the noodles and water in a casserole, add some fresh or frozen veggies, mushrooms, tuna or chicken, etc, you will have a VERY hearty meal - and in less than 10 minutes - for cheap! I eat a lot of this stuff. It is very good, and not at all like ramen-in-a-cup.

Well I tend to re-cycle my food. Sounds disgusting but it's not.

My classic one is doing a Spaghetti Bolognese (spello) one night but making quite a large amount (mince beef is cheap her in the UK) and then the following night I throw in more peppers, mushrooms, onions, red kidney beans loads of chilli sauce and have "Chilli Con Carne"

Same thing if I have a Roast...if there are any unwanted vegetables I keep them in the fridge then the next day mash them with potato fry them off and you have "Bubble and Squeak".

Same with rice...if I do too much with a meal. Save it for the next day add mushrooms, peas, scrambled egg, onions (whatever I feel like) ensure I fry it thoroughly so the rice is really hot (dont want to get food poisoning as rice can be dodgy) and have that with something.

If he likes desserts...bread and butter pudding is a classic for using up stale bread.

Loads more ideas where that came from....PM me if you want anymore suggestions.

Snuff

I know what you mean by bottomless pit!!! I have a minced beef meal that is filling. Basic Recipe:
1Lb. Mince, I can Tomato Soup or I pkt Soup Mix, 1 small tin or jar each of carrots & green beans; Rice.
Cook mince, add soup and water needed to make soup, add veg and simmer til everything is hot, Stir occassionally.
Cook Rice and add to meat mix. Takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
You can use any veg you want and add anything else you want, onions, peppers, garlic and use noodles instead of rice. I keep changing it and sometimes make gravy for it instead of using soup. Very fillng! My GS has been known to make a sandwich with the mix as well.

I've been experimenting with some WWII recipes from the home front, but haven't done enough with them to recommend them. I found out the hard way that 1940's hamburger had more fat than the modern "diet lean" with the meat loaf stuffed baked potatoes. Oops.

I do have a dessert recipe that's fairly cheap:

2 cans (15 ounce) sliced peaches
1 box white cake mix
1 stick (1/4 pound) margarine or butter.

Open the peaches, drain most of the syrup, and dump them into a 9 x 13 cake pan. Open the cake mix, and sprinkle/spread the dry mix over the top of the peaches. Melt the margarine and drizzle it all over the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream, whipped topping, milk, or just plain.

(On the cake mix, you need the size box that would produce a 9 x 13 cake -- if your area has the really cheap Jiffy cake mixes, you'd want two of those.)

Fried rice is a good dish. I use Spam in mine--any leftover meat will do also--also mushrooms, onions, carrots, sometimes peas, broccoli or sprouts. Be sure to use refrigerated rice (leftover or freshly made)--it has better texture & quick fries better.

Boston Pork **** roasts are great cooked in a slow cooker with just salt & pepper & either a can of beer or coke or water, but you can use whatever spices you like. You can make bbq sandwiches or wraps, or pork tacos or tamales.

oops! i meant pork "behind" roasts

Here's one my husband always likes that I don't have a name for.

6-8 pieces chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans green beans
salt, pepper, and any other spices that sound good
1 box stuffing mix

1. Put the chicken in a baking pan (I usually use a rectangle cake pan)
2. Mix up the green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and 1 can of water, then season with salt & pepper
3. Pour bean mixture over chicken
4. Mix dried stuffing mix with enough water to make it moist
5. Spread stuffing mix over top of chicken and beans
6. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40-45 minutes

This one is my mom's variation on meatballs that I sometimes make into on big loaf (I can be a little lazy )

2 lbs hamburger
2 eggs
2 cups cracker crumbs
1 cup milk

Mix these ingredients together, form loaf (or if really ambitious, individual meatballs), and throw in pan. Then:

1 can tomato soup
1 can water
1/2 cup brown sugar (less or more depending on taste)
1 tbsp vinegar
1-2 tbsp mustard

Mix the above ingredients and pour over loaf/meatballs.
Bake 2 hours at 325

This one turns out really good if you like Mexican

Mexican Lasagna

1 lb hamburger
1 can refried beans
1 tsp oregano
1tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
uncooked lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups salsa
2 cups sour cream
1 small can sliced black olives
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Combine hamburger, beans, & Spices
2. Place 4 uncooked noodles in the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan
3. Spread half of hamburger mixture over noodles
4. Place 4 more noodles in pan, spread the other half of the hamburger mixture, then top with 4 more noodles.
5. Combine water & salsa. Pour over all
6. Cover & bake at 350 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (until noodles are tender)

Finally, combine sour cream & olives. Spoon over lasagna, top with cheese & bake uncovered until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes)



Oops, that should not have read 21 eggs up there!

Convenience foods are usually more costly then made from scratch.
Avoid "helpers","aroni's" and "instant" anything. The exception to that is currently potatoes. For some reason instant mashed are cheaper then buying and mashing your own. I put some sour cream in them to make them richer.
Here Rice a roni is $1.59 a box, for that price I can get a bag of Mahatma rice that cooks up 8 times the amount of rice.
I do all my baking at the same time to cut energy costs. Last night I cooked a huge roast I got on sale. While it was in the oven I made biscuits ( kids eat them b4 school) ,a butternut squash(for dinner tonight). 2 small lasagna type dishes (hubby takes them to work) 2 apple cobblers(1 for last night 1 for the freezer) , baked potatoes(will go into a hash)and some garbage bread.
Garbage bread is a great way to use left overs ( if you have any). Make a basic bread dough and roll all your left over meats, cheese and veggies in side before baking. Later this week I will make more with caramelized onions left over roast and Swiss cheese.

phatkhat wrote:Wow, I sure hope the bottomless pit is contributing to the household food fund...

Chicken thighs $3 a pound is cheap??? OMG! I buy the 10 lb bags of leg quarters for as little as 39 cents a pound on sale at the supermarket! Normal price is 79 cents. I put one or two legs per freezer bag and pull out a bag when I need some chicken.

I like to cook them in a crockpot with chopped up veggies, either fresh or frozen, and serve with rice or noodles.

You can also buy a ramen dinner product at the Dollar stores, Family and General, as well as WalMart. It's a buck or less, and comes in several flavors, including a couple of Italian ones, LOL. Nissin Chow Mein. It has noodles, dehydrated veggies, and flavored oil. If you put the noodles and water in a casserole, add some fresh or frozen veggies, mushrooms, tuna or chicken, etc, you will have a VERY hearty meal - and in less than 10 minutes - for cheap! I eat a lot of this stuff. It is very good, and not at all like ramen-in-a-cup.

Yup he's doing all the hard work I can't do anymore. He stacked a cord of wood after work yesterday. A couple of weeks ago put in hard wood floors. Yeah!
Thanks for your suggestions. I'll try them and let you know.
giggyann

tia_mia wrote:Convenience foods are usually more costly then made from scratch.
Avoid "helpers","aroni's" and "instant" anything. The exception to that is currently potatoes. For some reason instant mashed are cheaper then buying and mashing your own. I put some sour cream in them to make them richer.
Here Rice a roni is $1.59 a box, for that price I can get a bag of Mahatma rice that cooks up 8 times the amount of rice.
I do all my baking at the same time to cut energy costs. Last night I cooked a huge roast I got on sale. While it was in the oven I made biscuits ( kids eat them b4 school) ,a butternut squash(for dinner tonight). 2 small lasagna type dishes (hubby takes them to work) 2 apple cobblers(1 for last night 1 for the freezer) , baked potatoes(will go into a hash)and some garbage bread.
Garbage bread is a great way to use left overs ( if you have any). Make a basic bread dough and roll all your left over meats, cheese and veggies in side before baking. Later this week I will make more with caramelized onions left over roast and Swiss cheese.

That sounds great will be trying that. Thanks.
giggyann

ground beef browned with either onions (preferable) or onion powder, generic noodles, generic canned or frozen vegetables, generic cream soup of your choice. You can get a lot of variety with this recipe by switching up the particular ingredients and it's cheap and filling.

my famous veggie soup
you get a very large pot
3 large cans of v-8 juice
1 large bag of mixed frozen veggies.
1 medium roast ,or 2 plds of stew meat
1 large cabage
take 1 large onion brown in pot.
take meat,put in pot,add 1 cup of water
cook meat until meat is brown
take veggies,put in pot
take v-8 juice,pour in pot
stir mixture real good.
cook in simmer for 3 hours
the last hour.cut up cabbage,put in pot

you do not need water the juice is plenty

I make this soup all the time,and it goes a long way.

I put in containers,and freeze some.

everytime it gets cold.my friends call me to make this soup.

Re:Any recipes to help the budget??
by kishimojun on Nov 18, 09 1:45 PM
ground beef browned with either onions (preferable) or onion powder, generic noodles, generic canned or frozen vegetables, generic cream soup of your choice. You can get a lot of variety with this recipe by switching up the particular ingredients and it's cheap and filling.

My variation on this is 500g mince, tin of mixed vegies (drained), tin of diced tomatoes, not quite a jar of sweet and sour sauce mix, sliced onion. Cook the onion, brown the mince, and the other ingredients and simmer for a while, serve with rice. Probably sounds disgusting to most people but it really is very nice. We call it Carnival Mince. It is also very nice heated up the next day, served on toast.

Be careful about the fat and calories in noodle bowls - the big Nissin ones have something like 800 calories and loads of fat (for reference - a Big Mac has 500 odd calories) but little other nutrition in them. That said, there isn't much better to make you feel better when you have a cold .

Soups and stews are very filling (and really cheap to make). I'd recommend using dried beans and peas - they are much cheaper than canned or frozen - or fresh if they are on sale. If you also add cabbage and cook pearl barley in the soup, it will add lots more fiber and make the soup even more filling.

Luck o' the Fridge Soup
I have always made a big pot of soup to use up odds and ends of vegetables. You can put in whatever kinds of vegetables you like - just be sure that the ones that cook the longest (like potatoes and carrots) are almost done when you add the ones that take a shorter time period (like green beans). Don't ask me how I know .

Start with stew beef - you can gets tons of it really cheap
coat the beef with flour mixed with pepper, paprika, and a little salt
brown in a little oil in your stew pot

add chopped onions and brown
add chopped garlic

Other things to add:
Cabbage
Pearl barley (add extra water acc to package directions)
beef broth (you can use dehydrated soup base but bouillon makes it really salty)
bottle dark beer (guinness works well)
can of tomatoes
tomato paste
soaked dry beans (follow package instructions)
celery
potatoes (cut in large chunks)
turnips
carrots (cut in large pieces)
dry split peas
3-4 bay leaves
garlic powder
steak sauce
whatever you have in the fridge that needs to be eaten - I've even added some spinach just before serving

simmer until potatoes are done and meat is tender

lmf40 wrote:

Re:Any recipes to help the budget??
by kishimojun on Nov 18, 09 1:45 PM
ground beef browned with either onions (preferable) or onion powder, generic noodles, generic canned or frozen vegetables, generic cream soup of your choice. You can get a lot of variety with this recipe by switching up the particular ingredients and it's cheap and filling.

My variation on this is 500g mince, tin of mixed vegies (drained), tin of diced tomatoes, not quite a jar of sweet and sour sauce mix, sliced onion. Cook the onion, brown the mince, and the other ingredients and simmer for a while, serve with rice. Probably sounds disgusting to most people but it really is very nice. We call it Carnival Mince. It is also very nice heated up the next day, served on toast.

What's mince?
Thanks again everyone.
giggyann

Sorry - I think it would be ground beef.