Cooking on a Budget- I don't want to starve :)

[bizzbeth]

Hey All!!
I just moved in with the BF 2 weeks ago and have cycled through all the recipes my mom had used that I remembered (I haven't cooked in YEARS!!!!!!!!! !!!!... No lie!)

But we're on a budget for the next couple of months until I get a job... so I would LOVE some nice food ideas that I can cook on a budget.
We have ground beef and chicken in the freezer... so anything that involves those things and not a lot of ingredients would be great!!

Any Suggestions

<3 Elizabeth

[maxmom]

All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips my favorite, you can search by the name or by the ingredients, even if you are not in a budget, always make extra and keep in the freezer in smaller portions, it's a time saver.Clip coupons, I get them from the Sunday newspaper.I keep the leftovers ( reasonable) and one night of the week either heat them up, or make fried rice.Not to complicated once you get the hang of it.
Good luck

[RebelBelle]

Here's one courtesy of my momma! It's so yummy even microwaved the next day.

Misty’s Momma’s Nacho Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 can rotel dip
1 jar medium salsa
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos

Brown ground beef in skillet and drain. Combine rotel, salsa, and soup in separate bowl. Add hot ground beef into wet mixture and stir. Pour nachos across the bottom of a 9 X 11 casserole dish (or whatever size you have available). You may want to crush them a little so they lay flat. Pour meat mixture on top of crushed chips and spread as evenly as possible. Now cover with shredded cheese. Put in oven on 350 until cheese is melted.

[068]

Nevermind, I was beaten to it.

[Brianna2191]

we make alot of tacos ( taco kit) and chicken parmesian..that one is a nice meal and cheap. All you need is chicken breast, jar of spaghetti sauce, mozarella cheese, shake n bake and if you want spaghetti too

[makemepretty]

Oriental Chicken Salad(I cut everything in half because it makes too much)
2 lg bags cole slaw mix
3 chicken flavored ramen noodle packages
1/2 c oil(it suggests peanut oil but I use Canola)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c soy sauce
1 cup almonds
4 chicken breasts(or how every much you want to use)

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and cook in pan till done. Mix in a container: oil, sugar, soy sauce and the flavor packets from the ramen noodles
Put slaw mix in bowl, add chicken and toss with the dressing you just made. Place almonds and the ramen noodles(uncooked, broken apart) on a cookie sheet and broil them in the oven. STAND THERE and watch it, it doesn't take long to brown them. Use this to top your salad when you eat it. I put the rest in a zip lock bag and the rest of the salad in a container in the fridge. It's yummy.

Cheesy Enchilada Hamburger Helper is better if you used diced cooked chicken and add a can of black beans to it.


Laura's Baked Beef Stew
1 Can 14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes undrained
1 Cup water
3 Tablespoon quick cooking tapioca
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 lbs beef stew meat cut into cubes
4 Medium carrots cut into chunks
3 Medium potatoes peeled and chunked up
2 celery ribs cut into chunks
1 Medium onion cut up
1 slice of bread cubed

In a big bowl, combine tomatoes, water, tapioca, sugar, salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan Cover with foil and bake 375 for 2 hours.

Chicken Fajita Pizza
Pizza Crust(Jiffy or refridgerated)I prebake slightly
Salsa spread over crust
Chicken cubed and cooked sprinkled with chili powder till cooked through and thrown on top of salsa
Shredded cheese
Cook in oven till cheese is melted



Taco Soup
3 frozen chicken breasts
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet taco seasoning mix - I use mild taco seasoning
1 medium onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes with mild jalepeno
1 can black beans
1 can canelli beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can vegetarian baked beans
1 can shoepeg corn
You put the ingredients in the crockpot in the order listed. Do not drain or rinse anything. Do not stir. Cook on low 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, take out the chicken and shred with two forks and return to pot and stir. I actually modify the recipe and I skip the baked beans and kidney and throw in some minute rice.

I actually did this for this month, it feeds a family for one week or a single person for a month:
Welcome*- Angel Food Ministries
You get a box of restaurant quality food for $30 and you can add extra food packages after that.

[makemepretty]

Here's a link to the food menu for the Angel food for June:
Food Menu*- Angel Food Ministries

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Here's one from my mil. It's like a shepherds pie.

Ground beef, sliced onions, cream corn and mashed potatos.

Cook ground beef and onions together. Layer in pan, pour cream corn over beef. Layer mashed potatoes over that (leave out milk when making potatos). Cut a vent hole in a couple of places. Bake at 325 degrees til potatos start to brown (about 1/2 hr to 45 min. Let rest for about 10-15 mins. Great heated up the next night too. Sometimes I add parmesan cheese to the potatos.

I make a big pan of it and purposely have left overs or I freeze for another meal. Enjoy.

[zoeybear]

Pasta is cheap and there are so many kinds. They come in every shape you can imagine. They also have many different jar sauces now. I feed DH pasta twice a week. He loves it. Sometimes I will cut up a sausage or put frozen veg. in it. It looks so different every time, I dont think he even notices it is pasta again!

[ARCHIE]

Here's an easy one for you using the chicken in the freezer. I hope they
are chicken breasts.

Clean and lightly flour 4-6 chicken breasts
Brown in about 2-3 TBLS olive oil or veg oil, turning as needed.
Then add 1 package of Lipton Herb/Garlic soup mix,
mixing soup according to package.
Cover and simmer. The gravy will thicken from the floured chicken.
Pour over rice.
One pot, fast and easy and delicious.

[lilbuffalo3308]

I recently moved in with my boyfriend in february, and I use the website Allrecipes.com its amazing. There are several cheap and fast ideas. If you join it is free and you can save recipes to your recipe box and refer to them later. i really think its great. people from all over submit recipes and all members try it out and write their own reviews that are really helpful too. check it out. i hope its helpful. its helped me learn how to cook! GOOD LUCK!

[abbey lee]

Here is one I have that is cheap and easy and the ingredients needed are pretty simple, you may already have them!!

Chicken Stovetop Casserole

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 milk
1 box stove top stuffing
1 can cream of mushroom soup
some cheddar cheese

In a frying pan, brown the chicken breast on both sides (make sure they cook through). Once the chicken is cooked remove it from the pan and set aside. Next, make the Stove Top in the same pan by following the instruction on the box. Then stir together the cream of mushroom soup and milk and add it to the Stove Top. Mix both together (add more milk if it is too thick or add an extra can of cream of mush. to make it creamier if you would like). Then add the chicken back into the stove top, sprinkle on the cheddar cheese and heat it until the chicken warms up and the cheese melts. A delicious cassarole I serve with some type of green been or salad on the side.

I hope you like it!

Here is another that my BF absolutely LOVES and is easy...

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
a dozen corn tortillas
1 medium onion
2 can chopped green chilis
2 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 bag mexican shredded cheese

In a large pan, boil water and add thawed chicken to it, let them cook until they are cooked through. In a seperate sauce pan, fry the onion with some butter and then add the chili, mush. soup, and enchilada sauce. Heat until it is warm. Once the chicken is cooked, dice it into squares and add it to the sauce mixture. In a glass baking dish tear the tortilla into little squares and fill the dish with them. (Dont forget to spray the dish with cooking spray). Then poor the sauce/chicken mixture over the tortillas. Sprinkle the whole thing with cheese and bake in the oven at 350 until the cheese is melted.

I am telling you it is soooo easy and soooo good!! Try it and let me know if you liked it!! I serve it with spanish rice I make (Ill give you that recipe too if you want it) and canned beans...

[Tiggerwit]

Sketti is cheap, meat, sauce and noodles about $5. Or hamburger macaroni is another option. Make a big pan of lasagna, last you a few days. Tatortot casserole. Grilled cheese and soup. Pastas and sauce are always a good choice.

[pea496]

Buy the large shells for stuffing, and cook until al dente.

Mix one large container ricotta cheese, about 1/2 cup grated italian cheese (in the frig section, such as Sargentos), one egg, a couple of teaspoons dried parsley and approx. 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder. Stuff shells with this mixture and place in casserole dish (you can do two layers, overlapping). Top with approx 1/2 jar sauce (you can heat the rest of the sauce for those that like extra). Place in 350 deg. oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes.

Refrigerate leftovers for another meal.

[bizzbeth]

Wow!!
Thanks for all the ideas!!

I've NEVER been a fan of cooking and for the past 22 years I've never HAD to! My mom always cooked and when I moved out I moved in with an ex-BF who cooked everynight. (Which was good and bad because he wouldn't LET me cook so I didn't feel good about that...)

So far I've cooked:
Chicken and vodka sauce over pasta
Spicy Clam Sauce over pasta
Mexican Pizza's
Tacos
Grilled cheese and tomato soup

The first two sound expensive/hard but they were super easy.

I Love all the recipes you guys have suggested- I can't wait to try some of them

<3Elizabeth