In Need Of Some Easy,Cheap Recipes

Whatever you're cooking, rethink the way you use the freezer. Instead of packing it with store bought prepackaged stuff, use it as a source for quick go to prep. I like lock close bags.
Example, onions, instead of throwing them away, put them in the freezer.Keep it easy the big and little pieces can go in the same bag. If you serve a roast Monday,you won't serve it againTues.think ahead. If you know you won't eat it the second day freeze it.Don't throw away the gravey or pan leavings either.freeze the meat and gravy in their own bags. Freeze bags flat, they thaw faster than a rock shaped freeze job. Left over gravy with water,little reseason and noodles, you have beef noodle soup. Save anything that will freeze before it gets old. Keep your pen on top the freezer for quick marking.Don't throw away the apples. Core them and microwave them, if the kids don't smell it and decide it would be best to eat it upon cooling, bag it and freeze. Use them as a side dish if you can keep them from the after school snackers. Do freeze the mashed potatoes. They make a great soup or stew thickener. The extra cooked frenchfries, freeze them.Add them to soup or a.m. homefries.When the kids are hungry they'll pop about anything in the microwave. Fried potatoes and onions freeze well. Fry extra if your taking the time. I like to keep my raw and cooked freezer foods seperated as best I can.If your too tired to pick the meat off the chicken throw the whole thing in the freezer and sort it out later.When you clean up dinner, clean out the refrigerator or throw away the onions that went bad. Do look at what your throwing away and rethink it. It will save you time and money later if you freeze it instead of throw it or let it go bad.
Freeze water in a flat container. Pull the ice block out when you need to cool hard boiled eggs.put the hot eggs on the ice chuck and they will cool real quick. Put a somewhat cooled pan of leavings on the ice to quickly seperate the fat.
Use your head and beware of potentionally dangerous ice cracking projectiles.(ATSCooking tip)

Cooked Spaghetti Pasta, Cheese, Eggs, Garlic and seasoning...... cook it in the oven for a bit till it's cooked and set.
Voila.... Serve hot or cold. Love it cold myself with Salad. It was taught to me while I was a lumberjack in my teenage years by a very old and wise Italian man.

Don't forget Sheperd's Pie with cooked ground beef and homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, and mixed veggies. Get decent ground beef on sale, a bag of potatoes, frozen store brand mixed vegetables, and a packet of gravy mix. Rinse and peel the potatoes, cube them and then boil.Drain when done, mash them up and add margarine and milk and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside. Brown the ground beef, drain any grease, add gravy mix and water to make gravy and stir well. Add frozen mixed veggies and stir together until heated. Pour the cooked mix into a large casserole dish, top with mashed potatoes. Some people like to put in half the potatoes in first , then a layer of the meat mix, and then top with the rest of the potatoes. Cook in oven until you have a lovely golden crust and then serve. A nice wedge of lettuce with dressing on the side goes well. As someone said, use your freezer wisely to save leftovers, and also catch really good sales. This is nothing fancy, but it is filling and kids like ground beef, gravy, and mashed potatoes...

We have 5 kids here are a couple inexpensive favorite recipes

Homemade pizza better than take out and way better than frozen aprox 30 minutes start to finish recipe not exact as I usually throw together. Preheat oven to 500

1 c warm water
packet yeast or 1 tbsp from bulk
1 tbs sugar, honey, or brown sugar * more or less to taste

dissolve 5 minutes or until foamy

aprox 3c flour in bowl make dip in center mix in yeast mixture, 2 tsp olive oil mix with hands or mixer until soft dough forms * may need more flour dough should be soft and pliable flour hands to prevent sticking work dough for a few minutes. for soft original crust roll out dough on a pizza stone or pan allow to rise. For a thin crust which is what I like, roll thin and forget the rising. place in oven 5 minutes remove top with crushed tomato thin layer or thick to taste top with choice of cheese(s) and toppings place in oven until bubbly and done to liking remove slice and enjoy. Try it with bbq sauce and chicken, summer veggies deli pepperoni- inexpensive and yummy- experiment with the crust to your liking my husband throws an egg in which makes an interesting crust. My son rolls the rim crust over string cheese for stuffed crust. we buy big bags of mozzarella from costco.

Homemade non tuna casserole

2 cans chicken breast
1 bag cooked egg noodles
2 cream soups * any 2 Iike celery, mushroom chicken etc-
1 can chicken broth
1 can milk
1 can peas and or veg all
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients except 3/4 c cheese in casserole dish top with remaining cheese
Bake at 375 untill bubbly in middle, serve with rolls and salad. Kids love this also good with rice any veggies are good thrown in. Hope these help.

Originally posted by chasingbrahman

Originally posted by jude11
Kraft Dinner + Wienies and Ketchup = "KD Delight"

Dad used to call bologna "Ukrainian Round Steak"

Had to do it.

But try this thread. Lots of great ideas here:

Easy Breads

Peace

edit on 24-1-2013 by jude11 because: (no reason given)

Heaven help us all. That's worse than Heff's hamburger helper nightmare in a pan that even "improves" by the next day.

Take that sad dish,
And make it better.

oh c'mon...you know you like it...

Peace

The finish pasty is an economical meal. They cost about a buck and a half apiece to make. I use butter in the crust so the cost would be less if you made them using margarine. I put potatoes, carrots, onions, rutabaga, and meat in mine but occasionally add a little frozen corn. I can give you the crust recipe and some hints I use if you need it.

reply to post by jude11


Now,Jude,are we talking about the hamburger helper?

Heaven help us all. That's worse than Heff's hamburger helper nightmare in a pan that even "improves" by the next day.

I am guilty as charged and it does improve with age,much like chili does.
When I make chili,I won't eat it that day,but let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Brings out the full flavor of it.
BTW: I learned how to turn hamburger helper gourmet.

The secret? Onion salt.

My new favorite dish is Lomo Saltado - marinated beef stirred fried with onion & tomatoes over french fries with white rice on the side.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

another good one is just to cook some pasta up and when it is hot, put some butter, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese (or grated cheese)... very simple but yummy. You could add some pesto to it and nice thick bread. kids love that kind of stuff.

That's called Noodles Jefferson, and was one of Thomas Jefferson's favorite dishes, or so I've heard.

Vegetable Beef stew is easy and gets better every day.

Hamburger or cubed beef

potatoes

lima beans

rice

corn

(or nearly any other veggie)

flour to thicken.

let simmer until veggies are soft remember to brown the meat before putting it in the pot.

I am making shepherds pie today and some pizzas and while I was cooking it, I was thinking of you...and thought, it would be hard feeding a family of 4 and I just wondered what is your budget?

How much money have you got allocated for shopping?

you stated you were going to the markets today so let us know how you get on?

Originally posted by kdog1982
With the status of my economic situation,I have become the main cook again.
Feeding a family of four.
What I am looking for are some easy to moderate maybe even difficult recipes for a challenge.
I might share a few of mine also.

Main ingredients would be one of the following....

Beef,hambuger
Chicken
Pork

Other ingredients ........

Pasta
Potatoes
Rice
Veggies

We love to experiment and my cooking skills are pretty good.
We also love mexican,italian ,Irish,Chinese and American.

So,any ideas and inputs would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
K

I can offer a few simple meal options, with those ingredients, and a few others.

One I made up for ground beef is really easy. What you do is take enough biscuit dough to cover the bottom of a baking dish (about what 10-12 biscuits would take, with a mix). Spread that in the bottom of the pan (a little cooking spray isn't a bad idea). Brown and drain your ground beef (1-1.5 pounds for a standard dish), and add in a can of drained tomatoes and chilis (like Rotel). Mix that together, and pour over the dough. Top with grated cheese, whatever blend you prefer. Cheddar and colby, maybe monterey jack as well, will work nicely. Bake till the dough is cooked (glass dish helps see that).

For a nice chicken dish, you will need rice, cream of chicken soup, and frozen mixed veggies. I prefer a broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix, and the chicken. Mix cooked rice with some of the soup, and spread in a baking dish. Mix the rest of the soup with cooked, cut up chicken, and the cooked veggies, and place on top. Heat through. Or, you can mix it all in a large pan on the stove, and heat that way, if you prefer.

Both of those are easy, and fairly cheap, and have been popular when I made them. Pretty much any meat and vegetable combo, with some rice or pasta and soup for a sauce, can make a decent casserole.

My husband does a tuna one, using pasta, cream of mushroom soup, tuna, Velveeta, and whatever vegetable you want. He likes peas in it, while I prefer broccoli. Just mix, heat, and eat, for that.

You can also use cream of mushroom with cheaper steak for a nice meal. Take inexpensive round steak, cut up small, and brown lightly in a skillet. Place that in a crock pot, and cover with soup. Amounts will depend on how much you want to make. Cook on low for a few hours, or high for about an hour and a half, and the juices from the meat flavor the soup, making a really nice gravy for potatoes.

I have more than one meatloaf recipe, if you are interested.

reply to post by kdog1982


hi kdog
this is one i love and easy to make everyone loves it..
Chicken Pot Pie
1 - Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers Original Refrigerated Biscuits 16.3 oz (8 ct)2 cans cream of broccoli soup1 cup milk4 cups cooked cut-up vegetables (carrots, broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower, frozen or fresh)2 cups cubed cooked chicken1/4 t pepper..

you can use any kind of Biscuits don't have to be grands

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a 3 quart baking dish, combine the soup, milk, and pepper.

Stir in the vegetables and chicken or turkey.

Bake that at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until mixture begins to bubble.

Meanwhile, cut each biscuit into quarters.

Remove dish from oven; stir. Arrange biscuit pieces over hot chicken mixture.

Bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

easy and filling the kids will love it!

grilled cheese sandwiches and soup is always good for night ya don't feel like cooking much its cheap and easy
peace,sugarcookie1

I was also thinking taco's are a good choice with beef or chicken and some refried beans or rice on the side easy and cheap another kid fav..
There is also sloopy joes with chips or frys ..weinners wraped in cresant rolls always good with jello for desert with fruit in it..Im not big on cooking but these are filling and very cheap more like home food..

Right now you can pick up whole turkeys for cheap cook one of those puppys up and make turkey al king or yummy turkey sandwiches or grind up the turkey meat it and make burgers its all good peace,sugarcookie1

Best burger ever: onion soup mix + beef. (nomz)

15 bean soup: look in the section of the grocery store where the dry beans & rice are stocked, there are several awesome / easy recipes on the backs of the bags. For instance the kidney beans have a chili recipe, the white beans go good with a slab of ham, and the as far as the 15 bean goes you can put in almost any kind of meat but I think the recipe calls for cubed ham & kielbasa. So f'ing good, especially this time of year.

It takes all day to cook and you gotta soak the beans the night before but you can drop it in a crock pot and let it slow cook all day unattended. The crock pot is perfect for fire & forget family meals.

Jiffy mix makes up some awesome cornbread that goes well with any of that.

Leftover taco meat, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips make great nachos. Just pop 'em in the oven for a few minutes (long enough for the cheese to melt), when it comes out add jalapenos & sour cream. You can also use left over taco meat for quick & easy quesadillas.

You can make a burrito like thing out of leaf lettuce & tuna.

Great snack: pepperoncini stuffed with ham & mozzarella


and there's always the ultimate 'dad' food:

Pig Ears: fried & quartered bologna slices
Spider Legs: fried hotdogs cut lengthwise about 1/3 of the way on each side, so that when cooked they splay out and look like a giant spider

Either one of these are just thrown in a cast iron skillet and nearly burnt to a crisp.

Wax Paper, one kitchen staple that is worthy of it's own post on ATS. It is in fact the secret, forgotten cabinet staple. Although secret on the street is, if someone gives you baked goods wrapped in wax paper they're going to be good. Wax paper is cheap yet, it's precious piece of real estate on the store shelf is alotted.
Kitchen conspiracy,perhaps, check it out.
Wax paper is good for covering the counter top before you begin to cook, reducing clean up time. Make,season and shape your burgers put the wax paper in between,lock bag'em and freeze. Use wax paper as a freezer aid in any case where you want things to seperate into easy portions,then freeze them in the same lock bag. Make your own cookie dough ahead. Shape it like a log. Wrap it in wax paper making sure not to push the edges into the dough. As you know foil sticks. If you use foil as an outer layer, that cookie log will keep quite a long time.Put wax paper down when you are doing pie crust. One piece for your counter and a second square to roll your pie crust. When your pie crust is satisfactory lift and roll it over your rolling pin. The wax paper allows it to lift like a charm. I prefer it to foil to line my sticky bun pan. Turn your sticky buns on onto it. Fold the edges sharply to catch any excaping sticky molten lava. Mash nuts quickly fold the wax paper in half put the nuts in the folded wax paper. Remember when using your rolling pin to mash them, they need to begin in the center of the paper,so the mashing doesn't tear the fold. No nut chopper to wash. Use it in kitchen prep in place of paper plates if you use paper plates for prep.. wax paper is more water proof than paper plates, and less expensive. Tear a piece off and cover a container without wrapping the edges if you need to cool it, put it aside or let it rise. If you're letting it rise and you're using a fuzzy towel (wrong type of towel for covering dough)you're wax paper saves the dough from dreaded towel fuzz. Put it down to cool your cookies if you don't have cooling racks. Save yourself hours of clean up by teaching your kids to put it on their counter areas too. Gram used it to line her cabinets in the days before shelf liner.

And, if your baked goods are not quite cool enough to wrap but you've got to get them out, wrap them in wax paper to prevent the release of that last little bit of heat from ruining all your hard work.

reply to post by SlackOps


SlackOps
15 bean soup is one of my favorites with a left over ham bone throw it all in the slow cooker and let it cook all day on low sooooo yummy with cornbread i can taste it now peace,sugarcookie1

reply to post by kdog1982

Hi there

Haven't read all the posts so apologise if i am repeating what has already been said. Is vegetarian cooking out of the question? veggie shepards pie with sweet potato is awesome and cheap, i usually substitute half the sweet potato for normal potatoes.

Ooh one of the most awesome ones was made up by my niece who is at uni, naan bread pizzas. couple of naan breads from supermarket, round here they are about 75p for 2, plonk some tomato puree on it, cheese and what ever topping you like, mushrooms and onion are our fave. Naan breads can be substituted for pittas etc.

Cutting out meat a few times a week will cut down food bills for sure though, and shopping from local farms.

Well K-dog this might be your lucky day, as I happen to be a chef, and for Ats I'll share a few things.

First up Tuna Cassorolle(i know not a very chefy start but it comes)(Cheap)
This dish is one that helped feed a very broke household many a time, and is very simple to make, as well as being one of my favorte things to eat.

You will need:
2 cans tuna
2 box's of cheddar (insert fav. Mac n Cheese here)
4 cans of cream of celary soup
A box of Ritz crackers

Pre heat oven to 350. Then your going to cook your mac n cheese and mix it up. Then put in a BIG cassarole dish, add in your drained tuna and 4 cans of celary soup mix. Stir it all up nice and good and add on some crumbled ritz crackers over the top (as much as you desire), then bake for 20-30 mins or until the crackers ontop start to darken and crisp.

Cocunut Shrimp (moderate)

Another simple recipe that will become a favorite instantly.

Here's what you'll need:
1 beer (I would recomend Richards Red or Alexander Kieths ale, but feel free to try your own beer too)
Some All Purpose Flour
1 Egg

Fine shredded coconut
Thawed Shrimp

Now this recipe works best with a deep fryer, but it can also be done with a pan and some oil. Now start by mixing the batter. In a mixing bowl put some beer( you probably wont need a full one depending on how many shrimp you plan on cooking) and an egg whisk the two together. You are then going to slowly start adding in your flour. Keep beating while your put flour in to avoid chunks. Continue to add flour until you have a nice thick batter. Your then going to FIRSTLY (important so you don't burn yourself) add a nice thick (at least a cm) of canola oil into a large pan. AFTER the oil is in the pan turn your heat on your stove up. Now the heat is going to vary depending on the stove. I sugest trying this at a lower heat at first and make an appropriate addjustment from there(for a deepfryer set to 345). While your oil is heating lay a sheet pan out with the shredded coconut, this will be for breading. After your oil is heated up your going to take your thawed shrimp and grabbing them by the tail dip them in the batter, be sure to allow the excess batter to fall off. You will then take the shrimp and put them in your coconut. Encase the entire outside in coconut and press firmly to tighten. Gently put the shrimp in the oil, being carefull not to splash. Cook to a crispy Golden brown.

Stuffed Lobster Tail(Vary's on price of lobster)

Now for this one your going to have to look up how to de-tail a lobster and stuff it, but I thought I would share with you my secret stuffing recipe for the lobster.

You will need (2 lobster)
4 Tblsp of butter
2 cups of crushed salted crackers
A tsp of finely diced sweet basil
A pinch of dill
A dash of lemon juice
1/4 cup red onions finely diced

Start by breaking up the butter with a fork. Make sure the butter is NOT softened. The stiff butter will help the stuffing hold together nicely. Then add the rest of your ingredients into the butter and mix well with a fork. Add this to your boiled lobster tail that has been properly dealt with, and bake at 375 till the stuffing become light Golden brown.

Caribou

Now this last one is a treat for the adults, and isn't actually a food recipe, but rather a drink thats meant to warm the soul on a cold winters day.

You will need
1 bottle red wine
6-8 ounces scotch
A cinamon stick
A star Anise

Throw everything into a pot, and put the pot on the stove on a very low heat, you want simply a light steam comming of it. Let the pot stay on low heat for about an hour stiring vigilantly to ensure that it does not burn. After you want to strain out the cinamon stick and star anise, allow this to cool in the fridge overnight. You can drink it when its done, but if you allow it to cool the flavour will greatly richen. Warm up to serve...

Well I think that brings us to the end of our journey for now. Hope you have fun cooking these things, I know my pallet has thanked me greatly for them...

Much Love

Skinner's One Dish Dinner

cooked spaghetti
1 lb lean ground beef, cooked in olive oil with garlic powder, S&P- can also add chopped bell peppers &/ or onions
(ground meat goes further if you chop it up real good with a pastry blender)
shredded cheddar

layer of meat, cheddar, spaghetti, cheddar
350 degrees until the cheddar on top "soaks into" the spaghetti a little bit

just about any vegetable goes with it + butter & bread

*********

Hoppin John

a couple or 3 strips of bacon
long grain white rice
black eyed peas
sliced red onion
chopped garlic (or thin slices)
sliced Kiolbasa sausage, optional or ham in chunks

fry bacon till crisp in the bottom of pot, add onion, garlic, rice & brown a little bit- then add rice & maybe meat. You'll need a little extra water which I eyeball (add a little at a time)

with cornbread

kdog, if Y'All are trying to save on groceries, we have cut our grocery bill by almost half by buying at Sam's Club. Their selection is, imho, a little limited on canned goods & pasta. You can have them pull the non perishables so that they're ready to pick up when you get there.