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Budget-friendly meals

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What is your go-to recipe when you don’t have much food in the house or money to spend on groceries? This question was recently posed in a group that I’m a part of on Facebook, and since many people’s budgets are tight around the holidays with all the expenses that go into buying gifts and traveling, I thought it to be timely.

Interestingly enough, many mentioned pasta… with meat sauce, marinara sauce, or just tossed with a little olive oil and garlic. I never thought of this as a budget meal, but now that I think about it… it is. Doh. A box of pasta costs under $1, a jar of spaghetti sauce, $2.50, a pound of ground beef $3 or maybe a little less, and add a green veggie for a few cents more per serving. I can feed my family of four for $5-6, and maybe even have a little leftover! The fact that I’m done in less than 30 minutes? Priceless!

There are some cheap staples that I always have on hand – eggs, rice, pasta, ground beef, chicken, beans and lentils, potatoes, onions, canned tuna, jarred pasta sauce, a variety of frozen veggies, and tortillas – to make:

Pasta     •    Chili   •    Quesadillas   •    Lentil soup    •    Tuna casserole
Fried rice    •    Sloppy Joes    •    Rice and beans
Migas con huevo (scrambled eggs with torn pieces of tortilla)
Roast chicken (leftovers can be used with pasta, fried rice, quesadillas, soups, etc…)

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One of my faves: TORTILLA SOUP! 

I don’t have a precise recipe; I just kind of take a look in the fridge and toss stuff in!

onion     •    garlic    •    bell pepper    •    chicken stock (I try to make my own)
can stewed tomatoes (I often use leftover pasta sauce instead)     •    cooked chicken
black beans    •    frozen corn     •    seasonings: cumin, chili powder, s&p to taste
tortillas     •    lime     •    a little shredded cheese and cilantro for garnish

1. In a large pot, I saute the onion in a little vegetable oil.

2. Add the garlic and the bell pepper until it all softens.

3. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes; bring to a boil.
I often use leftover pasta sauce in soups. Lots of flavor!

Ragú

4. Lower heat to a simmer and add the shredded chicken,
a can of black beans, and frozen vegetables, seasoning to taste.
.

..

5. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so.

6. Cut the tortillas into strips, and put a few at the bottom of each bowl.

7. Ladle the soup into the bowls, and squeeze a tiny bit of lime on top.

8. Garnish with a little shredded cheese and cilantro.

Ta-dah!

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Giveaway has ended.

What is your favorite budget-friendly meal?

Leave a comment below for your chance to win a $150 American Express gift card!

For extra entries:

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Entry period ends December 28th, 2011. US entries only, one person per household. Leave a separate comment per entry and a valid email address. Winner, chosen at random, has 3 days to claim their prize.

Disclosure: This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program.

Go join the conversation at Ragu’s Facebook page!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  41. Beans are a very inexpensive way to add protein to a meal. How about a taco salad with corn, Diced tomatoes, canned black beans, crumbled tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese topped with your favorite salsa as a dressing?

  42. How about vegetarian chili with pinto beans? Turn it into “chili Mac” by serving over pasta noodles and topped with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream.

  47. Gosh that looks delicious! I’d love to try that recipe. When I’m in a pinch for time and money, I usually make Spaghetti or Ziti! We love Ragu here.

  67. Mac & Cheese,Spam ,Onion & Frozen Peas. Or Speghetti & Ground Beef w/Onion, Mushrooms & Peppers w/Ragu Sauce.

  72. I like you on Facebook: Cori Eckstrom Westphal (facebook.com/coriwestphal)

    coriwestphal at msn dot com

  80. hash (potatoes and ground beef) is a frugal dinner at our house. Potatoes are so cheap, any meal with them is excellent! 🙂

  88. My budget friendly meal simply is pasta (rotini) which my kids call “tini” and Ragu sauce-super cheap and super good!

  105. We are big fans of baked potato soup…mash up baked potatoes, add milk and broth to get desired soup consistency, then bring to a bare simmer. We stir in a bit of minced garlic plus salt and pepper, then serve with assorted toppings like you would for a baked potato: shredded cheese, bacon bits, chives, chopped broccoli…it’s cheap, easy to make, and very warm and filling this time of year!

  107. My favorite budget friendly meal is a roast chicken dinner. I like to buy them when they’re on sale for about $5 each, throw in some carrots and potatoes (for pennies!) and have a delicious dinner. Plus, we always have enough leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day!

  112. My family’s favorite budget-friendly meal is lasagna. I make up 2 large pans of it (one goes in the freezer for a future dinner). I use ingredients that I bought on sale and stocked up on like packs of mozzarella cheese that I freeze, chopped beef on sale & I freeze it in freezer bags holding 1 lb. each, and I stock up on lasagna noodles bought on sale. I use Ragu sauce and voila – I have a healthy, delicious meal that doesn’t break my budget. 🙂

  153. My budget meal is spagetti and jarred sauce with homemade meatballs. I use the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook, but I use 2 lbs of ground turkey and 1 lb of ground pork, then I triple the rest of the recipe. (Bread crumbs, onion, milk, eggs, etc.) Delicious, and it makes a TON of meatballs. I freeze the leftovers.

  198. My favorite budget-friendly meal, and I use the term meal loosely, is pancakes, bacon, and fruit. We eat that for dinner because it is a quick, low-cost meal that we can all agree on. We rarely eat it for breakfast, almost always dinner! Strange, I know.

  205. my favorite budget friendly meal is baked ziti! it feeds my large family on the cheap! and its so delish! Thanks for the chance to win!! What a lovely giveaway

    anashct1 [at] yahoo [dot] com
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  217. tweet-https://twitter.com/#!/CrazyItalian0/status/150680000176197632
    gina.m.maddox (at) gmail (dot) com

  319. your soup sounds good. probably turkey chili..cause it lasts for several meals and has veg, healthy meat and lots of beans in it
    nannypanpan at gmail.com