Omg where do you guys live?? USA? Your food is so much cheaper . i live in canada and it seems food prices are almost double , triple in some cases(cheese)

Rice and Black Beans with onions and garlic & if u can chopped green bell pepper!

I went crazy on beans and rice for a whole month .. You could always add salsa and dash of sour cream ?

I wish our prices were that low! A bag of cheese is at least 8$ can of tuna is 2.99

@chelsee89- my family is currently trying to transition to plant based, and I made some lentil sloppy joes. They were SO good!!! My kids even ate them!! I love using lentils because they're so versatile. You could make burgers, chili, soups, whatever :)

Following ?

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I buy a decent sized ham ($15 or so), and make it one night for protein with veggies. Since it never gets fully eaten, I c"save the last of it (usually around 2/3) and use half for the next meal (usually macaroni and cubes ham, again, with veggies) and then on the meal after that (just ham).

Pitta bread pizzas are a hit in our house. Just use any topping you like, I use passata with cheese, then you could add whatever you have in, ham, chicken, onion etc so quick and easy to make!

Following! Hope u get some cheap ideas

I always go to hamburger helper and beans and rice.

@madl

I make some soups without meat and eat that over some rice but I'll def make more meatless meals

Thank you!

I like making manwich meat for manwiches and then using the leftover meat for spaghetti or some other oasta dish. Super tasty!

Have you ever tried veggie based meals?? They are much cheaper (and healthier) than always buying meat. We do lots of bean burritos, vegetarian pho, lentils go a long way and are protein packed and super filling. Also, brown rice is a really good staple to have. We make brown rice bowls with lots of different veggies. Potatoes are also a great staple to have!!

breakfasts;

-oatmeal with apples

-eggs and toast

-toast with peanut butter, fruit

lunch and dinners;

-pb and j

-home made chicken salad

-quesadillas, with rice and beans on the side

-home made bean and cheese burritos

-homemade soup of any kind;

-cabbage and potato

-chicken noodle

-lentil

- potato and broccoli w cheese

- chili

-my fave cheap meal formula, lol;

mashed potatoes or rice or pasta with whatever meat you find on sale, with whatever veg is on sale

Potato ash - basically corn beef and vegetables. Tastes yummy, cheap goes a long way and re heat able

Chicken noodle soup, potatoe soup, chicken tortilla soup. I also put a whole chicken in the crockpot and then make chicken salad out of it. Hamburger helper (it disgusts me but DH likes it) you could make homemade pizza - buy the pillsbury dough and jar of marinara, cheese and toppings. Buy blocked cheese and shred it yourself. Also print out coupons ?

Spaghetti, tacos (we use ground turkey it's usually a little cheaper than beef) pork chops are usually pretty cheap.

Y'all are great! Thanks!

Anybody have a good lentil recipe? I have tons and can't spice them good. Helllp ?

Vegetable stir fry.

I buy a huge bag of bulk rice for

about 10$, lasts forever.

Teriyaki sauce

Mushrooms

Onions

Red pepper

Broccoli

Garlic

Cook the rice, cook all the veggies in coconut oil or whatever oil you cook with, season with whatever you like. Mix together teriyaki sauce, water and corn starch to thicken sauce and put sauce in with the veggies until thickened. Then serve over rice. Delicious and cheap!

If you like your sauce a little sweeter then just add some honey or plum sauce.

Quick one for us is complete chicken dinner. Chicken some kinda veggie amd potatoes all cookes in one pan for 34 min

@red how do they heat them up?

Making me hungry with this these lists.

That's what we are going to start doing. Dh family is Muslim so I'm going to ask them to teach me how to make their frozen stuff also.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate it

Every few months my parents buy some packs of tortillas and beans and beef and whatever else they want in their burritos. They spend a whole Saturday cooking everything and rolling burritos and they put them in the freezer. Quick easy meals for 6 children that last for months.

Following

$50 got me a block of.cheese, eggs, milk, dish soap, tortillas, and a bag of frozen chicken breast. Fml.

Thank you everyone

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Cowboy casserole!

Can of black beans

Can of kidney beans

Can of rotel

Ground beef

Rotel

Brown beef and mix the rest in, layer beef mix, cheese, beef, cheese.

Pour cornbread mix over bake at 375 until cornbread is done.

We love it.

Here are some things that I have made. When we are on a tight budget. We make chicken or potatoe fluatas whith queso fresco and some sour cream. Also gorditas or sopes with just beans and some queso fresco. Also mexican enchiladas which consist of just carrots and patatos for the filling. Dh says that's how most people make them in Mexico. These are all really cheap to make.

I love to make soups and freeze them they are cheap and you can eat on them for days. My favorite is vegetable beef soup you can use hamburger instead of beef tips, can of corn, can of green beans, can of tomatoes, cut up cabbage and onion then I use v8 for my base its like 9$ and I get 2 meals out of it and feed 3.

Right now I'm doing freezer veggies and just grill chicken. Lol

Enchilada casserole and spaghetti squash lasagna. Yum! You can get great budget friendly recipes on Pinterest . That's what I do and it makes life so easy!

Awesome! Thanks!

I went to Aldis for the first time a couple of weeks ago and they had chicken thighs for 45 cents a pound! We bought 6 big packs for under $20.

We cut them up and separated them in freezer bags into cubes for soups, sliced for stir fry, big slices for frying. We deboned everything and used the bones for soup.

Chicken stir fry

- cut up chicken ( sliced is easier and quicker )

- sliced onions

- frozen veggies

- soy sauce / hoisin sauce or use a little sugar

- sesame oil

- chicken broth/ chicken bouillon

-Heat up some sesame oil over medium heat with just enough to cover the pan.

- cook the chicken until half way done then add onions.

- add a little soy sauce, hoisin sauce or sugar and chicken broth. If using bouillon add a cup of water.

- add the frozen veggies , cover with lid, and steam for about 5-8 minutes or until veggies are the way you like it.

- add any additional spices you like then serve over rice.

@effer..???good one! Thankfully though, we only use health care during baby making time..and needles.. Lol... I think my Dr probably hates us,and our healthy immune systems. .. ?

After you cook a whole chicken, pick off any leftover meat, boil the carcass to make stock and the next day do chicken soup.

Chili and cornbread is dirt cheap especially if you use lots of beans in the chili.

Chicken adobo- put chicken thighs, equal parts soy sauce, white vinegar, and water in a pot (enough to almost fully cover the chicken), add bay leaves and garlic and cook covered about an hour. Serve with rice and veggies.

1lb ground beef, season with sazon (Hispanic seasoning). Drain, then add 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can corn, and 1 can water. Add 2 potatoes cut up and a packet of sazon. Simmer until potatoes are done. Serve over instant rice. Cost about 6 bucks and feeds four or five :)

Edit: add adobo to taste. You can find these things at the Mexican store ?

Potatoes chicken and green beans stick it all in one pan with butter on top sprinkle with whatever seasoning. Complete meal

Thank you ladies for all the suggestions!

Sausage & Potatoes is one of my favorite cheap meals! It's really yummy. Cut up your sausage and fry it down..once there's grease in the pan add the potatoes and put the lid on for like 20 mins.. top with cheese.. so good

Something else that's pretty cheap is beans and rice

Beefy Mac - Brown ground beef & add a cheesy taco season envelope then mix in a box of Mac and cheese.. top with green onions.

Spaghetti

Tacos

Chili

Soups

I forgot grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup! At Dollar General Market you can get cans of tomato soup for less than $1 each. Bread is $1 and cheese is $2-3! So easy, cheap and delicious!

Red beans and rice! Cook a diced onion with sausage until translucent, add a can of kidney beans (I mush mine up a little). Mix with cooked rice and add cajun seasoning.

Sounds simple, but it's sooooo good and is one of the cheapest meals I know how to make. Costs maybe $6 and can make a huge meal if you add more rice and beans.

Ramen, frozen veggies and any meat you have a cheap noodle dish!

Shepherds pie (beef, mashed potatoes, corn, onion, cheese)

Parmesan crusted chicken (chicken breasts, mayonnaise, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese)

Cheesy chicken rice casserole in the crockpot (2 chicken breasts, rice, cheese, 1 can cream of chicken, chicken broth, garlic, onion, broccoli)

I buy my meats and produce from my local produce store for super cheap. Rice, pastas, canned goods and seasonings are bought at Dollar General Market. Everything is usually no more than $3 each.

@effer you Americans and your cheap groceries.. Huh?

That list is just about double the cost here?????so not fair!

grilled cheese tomato soup.

Chili dogs

Breakfast

Baked Ziti (meat sauce cheese)

Mac and hotdogs

Hot ham and cheese

Chicken noodle soup/stew whole chicken cream of chicken egg noodles

Potato soup

Chicken legs and thighs are cheap endless possibilities

Loaded baked potatoes

Chili

Pasta with chicken and veg

Chicken and veggie soup

Chicken stir fry

Shepherds pie

Tacos

Taco salad

I'm going to write effers list down! I love posts like these?

Effer, family of 4

You're awesome! Thanks!!

My husband is African and with him I learned to add rice to pretty much every meal. Spice up a can of beans with some meat and cook up rice, cook a chicken with salad and rice, hamburger patties with rice. Everything about $2 per person and the rice makes your belly full, good for those tough budget times.

I also like baking a pot of chicken, potatoes and mixed frozen vegetables... With onions and tomatoes chopped... And seasoned.. Goes great with rice or pita bread

Chicken mixed with chopped vegetables stir fried with noodles... Ground beef cooked and seasoned.. Mixed with plain rice... Pasta lasagna...

Noodles, rice and pasta can combine with different vegetables and meats to make so many dishes... Maybe download a recipe app and find some you like and shop accordingly?

We have a save a lot and aldis here and you can usually get pretty cheap stuff there. That's where we go

Meat ???

Cal I suggest doing some more research if you believe that meat is good for you ?

@clre, no I don't have that store. We do have Aldis and that's where I buy my veggies and fruits and other items

I buy my meat at a Mexican grocery store and they are super cheap with meats.

Thank you for all the ideas!!

Pp, yes pls give me the recipe when u get time! Thanks!!

Sweet & sour chicken.

1lb chicken breast ($3-$4)

Chicken Helper Sweet & Sour chicken ($1.50)

Comes with everything, even white rice. Feeds me, my SO and our son plus some leftovers ☺

Eta: also Birds eye & stouffers skillet meals. They're about $3.50-$4 and you don't add anything to it! They're in the frozen section.

Beef Alfredo (just ground beef with Alfredo sauce and noodles)

Anything with rice. It's pretty filling with just about anything

Lasagna my husband likes it with just noodles meat and sauce so that's not very expensive

Since when is meat bad for you? I can see not eating it for personal choices, but good quality meat is definitely good for you.

Ground beef isn't too expensive OP, tacos usually stretch quite a bit in our house, and I usually make nachos or burritos with the left overs for the next day or two.

I always love grilled cheese and tomato soup, you could even make an awesome home made tomato basil soup for really cheap! I have a great recipe I can share later when I get home.

Also, if you do rotisserie chicken, you could serve the chicken as the main course one night, then use the remainder of the meat and the bones to make an excellent chicken noodle soup!

And as pp said, beans stretch quite a ways too. We're not big on beans, but they're cheap and there's tons of stuff you can do with them.

And I always buy large bags of potatoes for fairly cheap, as there's a ton of different ways to prepare them and add to meals.

Rice and hamburger - cook 6 cups of rice (brown or white, it doesn't matter), add 1 pound cooked ground beef. Served with sauces and/or veggies as desired.

Hamburger helper lol. Chicken breast with cans of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken or celery soup with rice and a little cheese in the oven or crock pot if you can add a frozen bag or can of veggies.

I pick one type of meat for the week, either chicken or ground beef, and buy a 7 lb pack from Sam's. Chicken breast is about $11!

I'll do bbq chicken sandwiches (chicken and sauce in crockpot served on yeast rolls, veggies on the side)

Cheesy chicken and rice (chicken and cream of chicken in crockpot, cook 1 box of zatarans yellow rice, add that and cheese to taste once chicken is cooked and 1 can of corn)

Campbell's roasted chicken oven sauce with chicken, potatoes and carrots.

Chicken tacos/burritos

Chicken pot pie

Chicken fried rice

I meal plan and write my list before I go shopping. We eat leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day. I cook eggs, turkey bacon, and grits for breakfast. Pancake mix is also inexpensive.

Don't eat meat (it's bad for you and expensive). Bean and veggie burritos, pasta loaded with different veggies, soup and grilled cheese, egg sandwich... Get whole foods like a bag of potatoes, beans, and produce. You can mix and match and those all go a long way for your dollar.

Chili (whether canned or homemade) this last for a few days too

Tacos

Soup

Homemade pizza (if you do a dollar store this is very cheap)

Do you have a winco near you? They are pretty cheap with produce and everything.

I like casseroles or soups/stews when low on cash because it makes the meat stretch and we can eat off the leftovers for a few days.

Burritos/tacos are also pretty cheap and easy.

I'm on the top ramen and spaghettiO's (store brand haha) budget right now ugh.

Ravioli (frozen bag of ravioli 3$ and sauce 3$)

Spaghetti (noodles 1$, sauce 3$, sausage 3$)

Chicken quesadillas ( bag of cheese 4$, tortillas 3$, chicken a bag of frozen is usually 7$)

That's all I can think of right now

Burritos!