add condensed cream of mushroom soup to chicken (I like to chop the chicken into bite size bits). Pour over rice. Cheap and easy. Add veggies, even more filling. It's also good over noodles or mashed potatoes.
"Spudlies", friend of hubby's taught me to make, really simple, really cheap. She maeks instant mashed potatoes (could use regular taters too), cooks ground beef, and makes some gravy, usually from a jar, can, or packet mix, piles it all together and tops with shredded cheese.
There are some good ideas in the UF cookbook, including what we have always called "sopa". So easy and cheap it's unreal, and it's super easy to add meat and veggies to so it will be a whole meal in one pan. (without the meat and veggies, it costs about $0.50 a pan to make and is really filling and tasty).
Shop in bulk when possible. But watch for the overall price, most of the time larger packages are cheaper in the long run, but not always. Most foods will be marked on the tag on the shelf, not only with the price per package, but also with the price per ounce/pound/100 of item/whatever unit of measurement they are using for that product.
As said before, rice and noodles are an excellent way to stretch your food to be more filling. Rice is crazy cheap.
Watch for sales on things with a long shelf life (most canned foods, and dry food products have long shelf life) and stock up when they are on sale. Buy larger packages of meat, cut it into smaller portions, and wrap and freeze separately. Works with veggies too, if you buy frozen. Bigger package, separate into smaller portions.
Start looking closely at what brands you buy. On some things, the taste difference is enough to matter, but on a lot of things, it really isn't. Store brands are often as good or close, for cheaper. |
