What are some of your go-to cheap meals?

I make a grocery list and stick to it. If it is not on my list I do not buy. I make meals that do not use a lot of groceries. I do make pasta a couple of times a week. I buy one meat (pork, beef chicken) and make that on Sunday. For the rest of the week I make smaller meals such Pizza Casserole (I buy mac and cheese and add pizza sauce and pieces of pepperoni), I make sheppard's pie (which consists of ground beef, canned green beans and instant mashed potatoes) and in the winter I make a lot of soup and freeze it. I will add you as a friend and will give you some other great low cost meals.

Since I'm the youngest of eight children (yes, that's true!), I learned from my mother now to make meals in an inexpensive way, but after marrying my husband (a Texan), and going through what everyone has lately, here are a few suggestions: 1. Ramen Noodles make a great "base" for many meals. Just add whatever you have on hand to spice them up. Add a gently stirred egg to turn it into a egg-drop dish. Or, make it Mexican ..... Add some chopped jalapeno pepper, some cheese and top it off with some Rotel Tomatoes/Chilie peppers. 2. Homemade Burritos: Tamales can be made very cheaply from scratch, but you can also buy them pretty inexpensively. Mission Flour Tortillas are my favorite! Then, cook your favorite "meat" ..... I cook up one pound of lean hamburger at a time, add jalapeno peppers, cilantro, salt & pepper, whatever your heart desires! Then, put some on the edge of the tortilla, add some cheese, chopped tomato, whatever you want. It's so much better than the "frozen" kind that cost about 2-3 times as much! 3. Grow your own fresh herbs or veggies. I know you don't have time for that now, but just buy a couple herb plants of your favorite herb. That way, you can pick your own fresh off the plant whenever you want! 4. Make your own beans from the "dried" variety. No "mystery" ingredients to decipher on the ingredient list! I hope this has helped someone!

I haven't really cut my food costs recently. I've long been budget conscious. Lentils, rice, and oatmeal are three inexpensive foods. Each is fairly nutritious and extremely versatile. When the farmers' markets open again, I will be turning to a more localvore diet (well, local for wherever I'm at). That tends to be less expensive, puts more money directly into the hands of farmers, is more nutritious, and is better for the environment.

I go to the grocery store with an open mind. Last trip I got a bunch of chili because it was only $0.75 a can. I find that if I just go up and down the isles and see what's on sale I can stock up and eat for fairly cheap. I just can't be very picky because you never know what is going to be discounted. I also started using coupons, but mainly for things like diapers and baby food.

I think the way I cut costs is mainly by NEVER throwing away leftovers. I can always do something else, even with a tiny bit of something. And I don´t eat more just to "clean the pot". I serve reasonable amounts of food and then put away the rest. My grandchildren love pasta and pesto. If There´s some left (there is usually) I make a minestrone the next day. If I have a small amount of rice, I make an omelette with chives and cheese inside. With a big salad on the side it´s a nice dinner. I grind meat and make my own hamburgers. That way I´m eating real meat and saving a lot too. In my country it´s not worth the trouble to buy in bulk and I have a big supermarket at walking distance. Also at walking distance, there is a farmer´s market twice in the week. The produce is fresher and less expensive than at the super. Have a nice day!

I try to make as many low cost meals as possible now. One of my easy ones is a tuna casserole I invented that is a little different than the usual ones. Mac and cheese is great, too, especially if you use a combination of different cheeses, including leftover bits and pieces. Leftover meats and veggies work, too. Vegetarian meals are money saving and easy. Any pasta meal is cheap and sauces can be varied. Soups are great and good meal stretchers, and freezable. Soup and sandwich meals are low cost also. Ditto salads, salad-sandwich combos also. Casseroles with rice, pasta and meat-veggie combinations are money stretchers and good for freezing. I do a hot dog, baked bean and bacon casserole that my family loves. Tacos, even just bean and cheese, are low cost. Eggs are good at any meal and can be used in many recipes. Strata, using leftover bread with eggs and cheese is a money saver. Talapia has been fairly cheap lately and it's a good fish, compatible with different sauces, mild to savory. Veggie chilies, stews, casseroles and roasted vegetables are good and cheap.

We don't seem to get a lot of coupons here that you get in the U.S. I wish I had more coupons to save a few bucks every week. I don't know why we don't get them in our papers here. I have found that I do a big batch of whatever I'm making, and freeze the rest or use the leftovers for lunches. I've become a big fan of the crock pot, and like you said, you can put in cheaper cuts of meat that come out fantastic. It is tough these days, and whatever you can do to save some bucks is a good thing.

I try to shop at Aldi more often than the regular grocery stores. When I do shop at the regular grocery stores then I use coupons. We haven't been eating out at all and we have just been cooking and eating all of our meals at home. I've been buying our bread at the breadstore because it is cheaper than at the grocery store and the bread store is right up the street from us. I've been buying our meat in bulk and splitting it up and freezing it. I've been buying lots of the store brand canned veggies and rice and instant potatoes and cereal and stuff like that. My family doesn't mind eating store brand stuff and I'm glad cause we can't afford to buy all name brand things right now. I try to cook foods that we can eat for dinner and still have leftovers for my son and I to eat for lunch the next day. I made spaghetti the other night and we were able to eat on it for two nights. We only have 3 people in our family so we don't have a whole lot of people to feed. I also make taco soup and we can eat on that for a few nights as well. I make a tater tot casserole and we can eat on that a couple of nights. So I just try to make things that we can eat on a few nights and that helps save money too. We also have a Sams membership and it's free through my husband's work so we shop there sometimes too.

adelida2233 hi I am not cooking for myself now, but when we still had our apartment, I saved by eating a lot of beans, chili, and pasta dishes like spaghetti, ravioli, and others of that nature. Beans are always cheap, and spaghetti and pastas are not expensive really either, nor is chili con carne. Rice is always good along with meat added and some veggies and maybe some soy sauce too.

a cheap way to have dinner is to serve breakfast foods at dinner like pancakes and eggs and bacon. all very economical foods and very tasty and filling as well. we do this sometimes. add home fries and you have a great and delicious meal.

For my family, neighbours sometimes send us some vegetables.So, we don't need to buy vegtables too often. And we reduce the meat puchchasing times. If the food has the sales, we will buy some.

Hello ^^ I'm cooking for myself now a days and yes true life and the economy is getting hard, , , for food sometimes i only eat noodles but with some meat pieces and vegetables so it is still good ^^V some rice to add also.. soup dishes is alright.

Hello Adelida2233 this is checkmail and over here to get our meal cheap we need to purchase it in bulk quantity that means for more no of peoples or weeks storage to get goods at cheap prices.Yeah there are some areas specialised for ertain goods where cheap goods are sold.Nowaday the packed food and tin foods, ready to eat foods are cheap as compared to cooked food.

About 3 years ago I asked for a food dehydrator for Christmas, and the next year I asked for a bread machine. These two small appliances have saved me a bundle on food. When produce is on sale or my garden is full swing, I can freeze or dry it for the winter months when such things are expensive. I make all of my own bread now and make much healthier loaves than what I would be able to afford in the grocery store (whole grains, sugar free, garlic and herb, etc.). Sometimes I will make sweet breads with raisins or other fruits for breakfast. I also use these appliances to make Christmas presents, and I trade some things I make for fresh pork, beef, and eggs from a friend's farm. I have stopped buying frozen or take-out pizza completely. It is much, much cheaper and very easy to make pizza crust and top it with spaghetti sauce and whatever pizza-friendly stuff I have on hand. I may do this tonight, actually! :) My staple meal involves frozen veggies and couscous. Bags of frozen veggies are $1 each at my grocery store, so I load up on them, especially mixes that include beans for protein. Then I buy couscous (and other pastas), fresh garlic, and olive oil all in bulk. If I have time, I will cook it all on the stove with salt, pepper, and some Italian seasoning; otherwise, it is very easy to throw it all together in a bowl and microwave it for about 5 minutes. This is a super cheap (less than $1 per person), easy, healthy meal. Sometimes I add nuts, a little cheese, or spaghetti or pesto sauce to make it taste different, and sometimes I season it with Mexican, Thai, or other seasonings. Soups are another cheap meal, because you can take a little of whatever's on hand and stretch it with a good broth or tomato base. A little piece of pork cooked in the crockpot for one meal becomes soup for the next. I like meals whose leftovers can be converted into something else, so that I don't get sick of it, since I live alone. When I do start to get tired of something, I freeze leftovers in vaccum bags for a quick meal.

I too have been spending far less money by buying cheaper cuts of meat. Also, I have learnt that the local supermarkets are reducing items at around 5.30pm and then I will visit and stock up on cheap meat and bread and use this to stock up my freezer or just cook up the night of purchase and then freeze the meals individually so that I have lots of convenient, yummy, cheap & nutritious meals available for when I am in a hurry or just cannot be bothered to cook. Also, I now come home for my lunch from work as the 10 minute walk either way stops me getting bored and I do not end up buying any magazines or sweets that way.

I cut my grocery budget down from $200 per week to $120. My $120 includes food, gas, diapers and formula. We are eating a lot of beans and rice. We have some fresh fruits but not nearly as many as I would like. I find that if I make a little extra and freeze a meal or two in the vacuum bags I have plenty of leftovers to take to work each day. Our meals are pretty simple these days and we are using our leftovers much better.

Spaghetti is really cheap to make and can feed a lot of people. I fry and drain loose hamburger and then mix it with canned sauce - add any extras I have like onions, tomatoes, green peppers, hot peppers - basically whatever I have on hand or feel like adding. Add in a bagged salad and some hot french bread and you have a delicious meal with little mess and clean up required. Priced right. Breakfast is another favorite of ours. Corn beef hash with grits, eggs and toast and you're done. Again super quick, yummy, cheap.

I basically neglect my taste buds and mix a few cheap combos together. Here are some of my favorites. Cook minute rice and add a can of tuna. For flavoring you can use barbeque sauce, ketchup, or mayo. Sounds gross but it was a favorite of mine in college. Easy, cheap, and low fat. Boil some Ramen noodles and some soya balls. You can add the flavor packages to it or just add low sodium soy sauce. The soya balls will take the flavor of whatever you mix it with. Plain and simple turkey sandwiches. Like you said by the cheaper turkey slices at the grocery store and add lettuce, tomatoes, and low fat mayo if you like. You can use the cheap packets of cheese, as well. Only by the foods which are on sale. Make sure its not the unhealthy kind either. Even though we are trying to save money, there is no need to disregard our health. It might take a little more searching, but these health food bargains are also available.

I have been economising a lot this year too, This summer I grew a lot of my own vegetables, this saved me a lot of money as fresh vesg is so expensive. I will grow even more next year. I also now buy cheaper meats, instead of roast beef for sunday dinner we will have a roast chicken. Instead of steak mince I buy pork and beef mixed mince and its actually pretty tasty. I now try to make cheaper meals like spaghetti and meatballs, cottage pie and meatloaf. I love these meals anyway so I don't mind it too much!

Biscuits and gravy is a cheap favorite around our house. Something I like to make: Some minute rice some sort of frozen vegetable(green beans or broccoli are my favs) a can of cream of something soup (mushroom, broccoli, chicken) cook the rice, add soup and about 1/2 can water and vegetables, cook until vegetables are to your taste.