Stuck in a Rut

dear dora, we make pumpkin/squash fritters and it is cheaper and i guess a lot more nutritious too because it is veggies. i just add shrimp paste a little salt and sugar, an egg and flour, mix together and deep fry. you can shape it into balls or like pancakes.we call this dish as "okoy" in our dialect. ann

When the grocery store has pork loins on sale - I buy a few and freeze them. I throw them in the crockpot with an inch of water and by the end of the day I can shred it and add bbq sauce. It is a huge hit with my family.

dorannmwin, I wonder if you would want to consider going Chinese with your meals which is really more economical, nutritious and most of all no wastage. A basic Chinese set meal for 4 would consist of a dish of stir fried / boiled vegetable of the season, a meat dish of chicken, pork or beef, soup and sweet dessert (optional). Not forgetting plain boiled fragrant Thai white or brown rice. A sample menu of the above would consists of: - Stir fried cabbage/lettuce with garlic in oyster sauce - Steamed minced pork with preserved veg/ fish with minced garlic and ginger slices - Boiled lotus root and pork rib soup So as you can see, the food is relatively versatile and plenty of variety that you can play around for a week without hurting your wallet where you will cook according to demand. The one thing you will need to pick up is the various basic Chinese cooking technique of boiling, steaming and stir frying. The works on the soups can be resolved with the use of the slow cooker which really need extended cooking time. The menu if you look deeper is relatively or rather very economical where it explains why Chinese restaurants are very successful around the world especially in States and Europe.

hi dorannmwin beans thats what came into my head, like refried beans, with enchiladas, three bean saldad, baked beans with brown bread, chilli beans, bean soup, and lentils they are so good for everyone and have fiber and all sorts of good for you things in them.Clam chowder and tuna salads hope this helps a bit.

Meatloaf, glop (egg noodles mixed with ground beef, onions and whatever), tuna casserole, macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken soup, idk...

I cook with little money and eat very well. It is true that I love to cook though. I don´t know if you like legumes. They are very cheap, specially if you buy the real thing (dry beans, lentils, chicken peas), soak them overnight and cook them until tender. I have a pressure cooker and lentild take 10 minutes to cook. While they are cooking I fry the onion and all the nice things I add. I make lentils when I have some leftover rce as I like them with rice. Caseroles and stews are not expensive and you can use the least expensive meats. I make many dishes with chicken and my chicken has several lives. How about a shepheard´s pie? It´s VERY easy to make. And also check puddings (you can make a pudding out of any veggie you like) and serve it either with rice or with potatoes on the side. Luck!!!

You can make a variety of hamburger skillet meals. Think of Hamburger Helper and then try to duplicate what's in them. It usually isn't hard. Potatoes are fairly cheap right now and so are eggs, so use them in cooking. If you look up "egg casserole" you'll see a lot of variations on a theme... breakfast for dinner is good sometimes. Fresh vegetables are good right now, too. Watch for sales on them and use them in your meals in casseroles or main dishes.

We have been eating a great deal of eggs with hash browns. I cook some hamburger meat and put into the hash browns and add cheese to the hash browns. It is really good and not too expensive.

i so know what you mean. i feel the same way. maybe something with chicken?

hey you can cook Manwich for me ANY time...I love that stuff LOL

I'm in the same boat.. but with more people to feed. Honestly though, I don't think it's the meals that are expensive, it's all in how you do your shopping. Personally, I get food stamps, and on the first of the month I go to Walmart and spend all the food stamps on a month's worth of meat. I buy the 4 or 5 packages of ground turkey (each are 1 meal) and 4 or 5 packages of chicken bre*sts, at Walmart you get like 10 pieces for $10 or less if you buy the right package, each package is 2 meals worth and after I prepare the first meal I put the rest in a ziplock baggy for the next day or a couple days later, or I freeze it. I'll also look through to see if any meat is on special just to mix things up. So now for the whole month I know I can make any chicken or ground turkey (which we use same as ground beef) meal I wish, and only have to buy the other stuff to go with the meal. I also stock up on side dishes so no matter what I can still make some baked chicken (I use different seasonings each time to make it taste a little different) or a meatloaf if I have no other ideas. For a twist on spaghetti, if your family likes alfredo sauce you could make chicken alfredo. Just cube up the chicken, throw on some broccoli (I buy frozen veggies instead of fresh because it's cheaper.. and not the steamable kind, I just buy the walmart brand because I have a microwavable steamer.. but if you don't you can use a metal collander over a pot of water and cover it.. but the microwavable steamer is a good investment) and serve over linguini noodles (I also do this with shrimp when I have extra money for it). Or you could make Ziti which is just the noodles, sauce, and some riccatta cheese mixed into the sauce. Then there's what I call goulash which is elbows, sauce, and ground beef (and I throw in some canned corn).. we haven't done that in awhile, think I'll do that this week, thanks for reminding me. I could go on and on because we've been living frugally for years.. what choice do I have with 5 kids? If you want more ideas let me know, I've got tons of them.

im not sure but i dont think i seen the slum gully in here...hamberger fried in onion, then added to cooked macaroni, then a big can of tomatoes, whole tomatoes you scrunch or chop up a little and mix in. my sons gf has been making some great cheap salads here. she puts anything in them. big bowl, drains a can or two of corn, throws in some lettuce, tomatoes, canned black olives, chopped onion and a little dressing. its great. she even put a can of salmon mixed in once. yummy. just about anything. ive found makes a good salad or soup.

Speghetti can be used many different ways, all cheap. I will often serve left overs cold in a salad, just like you would make a tuna or chicken salad but add speg. for more bulk. I also add it to hot vegatables the trick is a lot of seasoning to make it tastie.

Once a week, I will roast a chicken (in the oven . . . I used to crockpot it but hubby decided the roasted one tastes much better). So I'll get a chicken that's on sale (usually one market will have it on sale) . . . and then I'll cut it in half (for faster cooking), put the usual olive oil and seasonings and throw it in the oven. One night we'll eat the pieces as is - with a veggie side and a "carb" side. The rest I'll use in some way during the week . . . toss pieces in a salad (we like chinese chicken salad, or chicken mango salad) . . . make a filler for burritos . . . toss pieces for a taco salad . . . toss in veggie soup . . . chicken wraps . . . whatever. Having cooked chicken is nice to have on hand during the week!!! Stir fries or soups or salads are a good way to use up vegetables before they go bad. I like to keep different dressings and condiments on hand too- that way you don't get bored of the same old salad or stir fry all the time.

1.Chicken Pot Pie 2.Chicken with rice and brocc, caul. and carrots covered with a cheese sauce. 3. pizza casserole 4. Ranch chicken 5. Corn chowder, really good. 6. cheesey jos, like sloppy jo's with cheese sauce, then use condiments like you would for a cheeseburger. If you would like more info. PM me.

chicken isn't expensive, at least not around here...

Shepherds Pie was one of my favorites when I went through one of my financial crunches. Potato Soup was another. I made Cornbread to go with the Potato Soup which made it more filling. I ate a lot of Hamburger Helper too. I had a counter-top grinder, so I sometimes bought roasts on sale & ground them myself to get a better flavor. I found that adding cheese to almost any meal not only changed the flavor, but made it more filling & I didn't get hungry as often. I also ate a lot of cereal...the non-sugary kind.

I find that if you check up the sales and Im sure you do, you can buy cheaper cut of meat with bones that you can cook slowly and keep the broth to make soups. Include the veggies with the meat so it all cooks at the same time, thus saving on electricity. I can buy beef, pork, chicken and just any type of meat at a very low price when I wait for the sales. I stock up. I'll take a roast and cut it bite size to make a pork casserole. I'll do the same with chicken or will cook my chicken, then keep it in small portions in the freezer. Ive made a meatloaf and shepherds pie with Angus Roast because it was cheaper than ground beef. (oh it tasted simply heavenly) Casseroles are easy to make and you can always use leftovers. OR throw it all in a deep dish and pour tomato juice over it. HTH

O so sad this trafic i now its to bad now a days its to bad for vehicules cant help it cars are so much on road do noe what to do and specialy it was your avesary congrats enjoy your anversary bubye....