Your Best Cheap Meal Suggestions

[Butterscotch]

Here are some cheap meals for the whole family! (or 3 or 4 starving roommates)

Freezer Queen frozen family meal of sliced turkey or Salisbury steak- $1.99

Idahoan instant mashed potato mix 78 cents (assuming you have the milk and butter you'll need to prepare it,if not, replace with boil-in-bag rice for about a buck)

Peas, 50 cents per can

or ...

one dozen flour tortillas, $1.59

Ortega refried beans 77 cents per can, one or two depending on your people and their appetites

bag of off brand shredded cheese about $1.75

You can make bean burritos, and then take any unused tortillas and stack them two by two, filling them with cheese, melting it in the microwave, cut them up into pizza wedges and you have quesadilas!

a good old standby...

complete just add water pancake mix 2 bucks, off brand, one buck

log cabin buttery syrup $1.59

if you have a couple extra bucks add link sausage

feeds several for as little as $3

 

[sue4u2]

2 eggs scrambled, season to taste - slice of lunch meat, slice of cheese and sliced mushrooms makes a quick breakfast, brunch or dinner in a hurry. (or if you're just tired)
add any other ingredients you may have like bell pepper, onions, black or green olives. like a salad - whatever you like can be an omelet.

 

[Irvine511]

But, only one night. Do they starve the rest of the week?

yes, they do.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Dried pulses and rice. Buy lentils, beans, rice in bulk and you can get weeks and weeks of meals with vegies - soups, stews, loaves etc, and make a small amount of meat/chicken/fish stretch out a long way.

I'm actually quite surprised at how many people mention instant noodles, tinned food and especially instant potato. A 5 kg bag of potatoes here is about 5 bucks and that can last a month!

 

[indra]

If you do your own baking, then you can have your own breads, flatbreads, cornbread and savory pancakes (not to mention baked breakfast and dessert treats) for super-cheap too, which makes for a nice alternative to rice, pasta and baked or sauteed potatoes. When I was in grad school, I used to love making dinner out of reheated flatbreads topped with whatever I had on hand--sliced hardboiled eggs, grated fresh tomatoes, and a 'salsa' of cilantro, garlic, chiles, cumin and cardamom was one of my favorites. There are numerous ways to put bread that's starting to go stale to good use in cooking, so you don't have to be cooking for a whole family to make it worth your while to bake bread.

Several years ago I used to bake all my own bread. I was able to buy various flours and the yeast in bulk (25 to 50 lb bags) from a food coop and would freeze it so it stayed fresh for a few months. Then once every few weeks I would make several batches of regular bread (mostly wheat, but sometimes a loaf or two of white or rye) and usually one or two types of "specialty" bread (bagels, english muffins, raisin bread, pita bread, cinnamon bread or rolls). Great bread and it was cheap. I'm thinking about making my own bread again since I have more time than money now. And I love the smell of freshly baked bread.

 

[PJW]

Hi Irvine511,

I agree, I wouldn't have said that $15 to feed 4 people was expensive (though obviously more expensive than some on here can afford), and your option has the added advantages of being more nutritious and having less additives. The problem I see with a lot of the suggestions on here is that they don't include anything fresh - fruit, vegetables, meat, etc - and are basically a lot of carbohydrates. And I like my carbs as much as the next person!

Frozen veges can be pretty cheap (at least here in Australia), and add fibre, vitamins, and colour to instant noodles or bottled pasta sauces. Eggs are very nutritious, and there are a lot different things you can put in an omelette.

Another key to getting maximum nutrition for your dollar is buying fresh produce in season - find out which fruit and veg are in season and generally they will be cheaper and better for you.

All that said, I understand that some just can't afford anything other than the instant noodles, etc - I've had times like that myself.

 

[dmalezi]

Boil 1 pack of oriental flavor Ramen noodles. Drain most of the water. Mix in the flavor packet. Scramble two eggs with a bit of milk. Add mushrooms, onions and green peppers (or whatever veggies you like). Fry the noodles and egg mixture together in a non-stick pan. Fast, cheap and very yummy!

 

[Carek1230]

You can also make your own fried rice for cheap......make rice or use left over rice, scramble egg or eggs (depending on how big a batch you are putting together) and throw in frozen mixed veggies. Throw in diced up left over meat or chicken, or shrimp if you happen to have it. It's good! Season to taste with S/P or soy sauce, Teriyaki sauce.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I just had greek salad and chicken breast; under 5 bucks.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Another dirt cheap meal for a family is tuna mornay, 1 tin of tuna in brine, flour, milk and margarine/butter.

 

[Purplereign]

Another dirt cheap meal for a family is tuna mornay, 1 tin of tuna in brine, flour, milk and margarine/butter.

add a dinky handful of frozen mixed vegies (corn and peas always good and a $3 bag can be stretched for 2/3 meals if you're crafty ) . . . and most of the good food group boxes get ticked

 

[Carek1230]

I just had greek salad and chicken breast; under 5 bucks.

One of my favorites

 

[anitram]

My favourite is lentils. I buy a pound for 69 cents, start out by sauteeing some onion and carrots and sometimes I fry bits of bacon with that and then cook the lentils. I like daal too.

I don't eat canned food or instant forms of anything.

 

[Liesje]

I've been eating a lot of water melon these days. Low cal and very filling!

 

[anitram]

I've been eating a lot of water melon these days. Low cal and very filling!

Me too! Only problem is if I have it too late in the evening, I'm up peeing all night long!

 

[meegannie]

Fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and some diced tofu heated in olive oil with some (preferably fresh) basil and oregano and then served over spaghetti.

 

[hiphop]

cheesetoast must be the cheapest thing around

pasta with panna (the fat white cream) & onion & slices of ham. if there´s any money left, add mushrooms. (edit: and parmigiano)

 

[indra]

Inspired by this thread I made a couple of loaves of potato bread last night. I had a slice today for breakfast and I must say it's pretty damned good.

 

[MrPryck2U]

A box of Mac and Cheese can run you a whopping to 79 cents.

 

[the iron horse]

*elevatio$

 

[Carek1230]

Inspired by this thread I made a couple of loaves of potato bread last night. I had a slice today for breakfast and I must say it's pretty damned good.

You should ltop it off with some home made jam!

I love this thread, it's full of really good meal ideas.

 

[MandyMarie]

I have such a love/hate relationship with Ramen noodles. When we're broke with hardly any food, you couldn't get me to eat Ramen noodles if my life depended on it. When we go spend $300 on groceries and there's plenty to eat, all I want is the Ramen. Go figure..

 

[Bonochick]

Ramen noodles are actually one of my favorite things to eat. My boyfriend can't stand them, he thinks they are horrible and even hates the smell, so I can't make them for myself when he's around. If I get an evening alone where I'm only cooking for myself, I often go for Ramen noodles.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Corn tortillas cut into small pieces, brown them in oil, then place two eggs, scramble them......pour ketchup and hot sauce.
yum

 

[BAW]

For about $10, you can buy a pound of dried pinto beans, a dozen flour tortillas, a dozen eggs and a pound of russet potatoes. Once you cook the beans, you can probably get 2 or 3 dinners and breakfasts from this. You can eat the beans whole one night, with fried potatoes and tortillas, mash up and refry some of the beans and make bean and potato burritos and make breakfast burritos with beans, scrambled eggs and potatoes.

For a few dollars more, you can add some kielbasa or smoked sausage to the fried potatoes for dinner and have enough left over to serve on the side with fried eggs for breakfast.

 

[zonelistener]

look at me posting up here!

Plant a little garden and be self-sufficient for a meal!

 

[GibsonGirl]

Toast plus Marmite. Delicious!