Need some suggestions for cheap meals?

Question

I have $50 - $70 (on a good paycheck) to budget for groceries. My fiance & I are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d financially, & I would love some suggestions on cheap but tasty meals that are filling, and preferrably can stretch out enough for us to take to work the next day for lunch.
I do most of my shopping at Aldis, and hit the sales at Krogers, and check the weekly ads. I've learned that brand-name coupons still force you (most of the time) to pay more money than you would if you just bought generic. So I'm cued in to those tips. But I'm not that creative on how to come up with tasty meals that go far. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Beans, Potatoes, rice, eggs, Raymon Noodles.Pasta dishes.

Answer 2

Hi iamme There is NO NEED FOR TAKEOUTS!! Have a look at the site below. It has been developed with budget meal planning in mind. You should find some ideas to tide you over until the end of the month and then you can use the meal plans to budget for next month. The idea is that for every main meal, you will get a leftover meal. You don't mention how many people you are cooking for.

Answer 3

A whole turkey is your best bet, especially when they're on sale (New Years, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas). First you roast it and stuff it (buy day old cheap bread), then strip all the meat off for sandwiches, tacos, wraps, pasta sauces (you imagination is the limit). Freeze in baggies for week to week meals. Then take the carcass and boil it up with celery, carrot and onion, salt and pepper and you have stock for a big pot of soup. It is the all time cheap way to eat as you can get a turkey for about $20.00 that can provide 2-3 weeks worth of meals (as long as you like turkey!).

Tacos - replace hamburger with turkey, prepare as usual
Pasta sauce - Sautee an onion, celery (whatever veggie is on sale), throw in turkey and a plain pasta sauce.
Cream sauce - sautee and onion, celery and mushrooms, throw in turkey, rosemary, salt pepper, milk, thicken with flour.
Sloppy joes - save turkey drippings and make gravy. Use the little bits of meat that fall apart, mix with gravy and a bit of BBQ sauce, serve on a bun.

Soup - take your stock and throw in what you have - veggies, pasta, rice, whatever is on sale. You can't go wrong with home made soup!!

I hope this helps. I have had to live on a tight budget too and I found you can make so many things with a whole turkey. If you need any more ideas, put up another post and I'll dig out some recipies! Best of luck!!

Answer 4

I understand.

For breakfast buy oatmeal and eggs.
For lunch make something like soup or meat sandwiches.
Also, you could make potatoes and rice, or buy some nachos and cheese. Try going to Sam's Club and buying Bulk food, sometimes it can be more expensive though. Bring a Calculator.

I hope I helped!

Answer 5

Do you like Asian meals? There's Quick and Easy cookbooks out there that are GREAT!!! I have the Thai, Chinese, Korean. The recipes are easy, most ingredients are already in your kitchen, they look great when you make it and the taste is AMAZING! Crockpot cooking goes a long well as well, meals can last a couple days.
Hope this helps

Answer 6

Even shopping at Aldi's can be more expensive than it has to be. Do not buy boxed items like Noodles N Sauce, Mac N Cheese, Frozen dinners, pudding mix, canned soup, etc. All of these things can be made cheaper from scratch. My new favorite website is hillbilly housewife (see below) and she has page after page of recipes and ideas on how to provide for a family on a shoestring budget. Also, take a look at your cleaning products. They are also expensive. Most things in your house can be cleaned with vinegar and water solutions (floors, windows, sinks, toilet, etc)- this is safer and healthier for you as well. (Although I must confess I like the convenience of store cleaners). Look up the websites I mentioned below and they will give you a ton of ideas and recipes to make your budget go further. I truly commend you for actually taking a serious look at your finances and trying to come up with ways to save rather than simply go in debt. Good for you!

Answer 7

Spagetti and meatballs

Baked Chicken, rice, and vegetable of your
choice.

Beans and rice

Chili

Beef Stew

Tuna Casserole or Salad

Pasta Salad

Chicken Salad

Answer 8

i do alot with hamburger and chicken.i buy the family size packs and and break them down to how many i need to feed per package,then freeze the rest.i also buy a roasting chicken and cook it for the first meal,then you can make leftovers with the rest.like,noodles with chicken,chicken salad,chicken sandwiches and finally chicken stew in a crock pot.with hamburger i make meatloaf,meatballs,use with hamburger helper and lasagna etc.all the meat that you have cooked originally can be eaten within 4 days after cooking.when i was working i would cook on the weekends and freeze the dinners and heat them up during the work week.

Answer 9

chili, soup, spaghetti, fried rice, tuna fish, grilled cheese, stews, chicken and noodles, shepherds pie, salisbury steak and meatloaf. all of these things can be stretched to feed a family and have enough to take for lunch the next day.

buy BIG hams and make sandwiches and soup with the leftovers, do the same thing with turkey or roasts. Instead of ground beef, use ground turkey it's less expensive and healthier anyway.

Answer 10

I think making a stew or a soup is a good way to stretch a budget. You can make a good soup with not too many ingredients, and make a big pot, which can be one or two meals, plus lunches. And it really fills you up too.

Answer 11

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