Welcome to Tell Us Tuesday!
Last Thursday we talked about ways to save money at the grocery store, today we’re talking about what you cook with what you bought! So, today’s topic of Tell Us Tuesday is frugal food.
What’s your favorite frugal food? Mine is black beans and rice… I love how filling it is- and how cheap! It’s also easy to make, and easy to freeze- a boon in this busy mom’s life.
Tell us Tuesday- tell us today!
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Bean soup and cornbread! Cheap, versatile, comforting.
I *love* english-muffin pizzas. So much healthier and yummier than the frozen kind (not to mention take-out) and cost-effective if you shred your own cheese. Maybe not the *most* frugal food, but I’m always craving pizza so this is a big savings for me.
jennifer´s last blog post..Contest winner
Baked macaroni and cheese. Mmmm
Nicki at Domestic Cents´s last blog post..Line-Dried Clothes
Grilled cheese & tomato soup.
Ok, this is a stupid question…how do you make beans & rice? I’m from the North…we never had B&R growing up….:)
@Sherry- no stupid questions here! Beans and rice are really easy, at least the way I make them. I’m sure if you google it, you’ll find some more complicated recipes.
I usually just cook a large pot of beans, and then, cook a large pot of rice pilaf with chopped onion and tomato. Then I mix the beans and rice together in the desired proportion (I like about 50/50) and serve with sour cream, salsa and grated cheese. When you freeze it, just freeze without the added toppings, and defrost in the microwave, or overnight in the fridge.
My favorite has to be spaghetti. Yes, I do put hamburger meat in my sauce, but I don’t use a whole lot. With a really good sauce, you don’t really need a lot of meat.
Amanda´s last blog post..The Skinny on Controlling Food Portions
My family’s favorite frugal meal is chicken soup served with rice. We serve the broth with rice first, and then plate up the chicken and boiled veggies. My husband could eat this daily.
Miko’s Girl´s last blog post..A Lazy Gardener
vegan shepherd’s pie, with lentils & veg inside and potato on top! it costs about $4 to make and provides six enormous portions that have loads of protein and fiber for not many calories. You can eat supper for a week for $4!
neimanmarxist´s last blog post..Saving Deliciously
Tofu- versatile cheap protein source!
Nicole´s last blog post..How Poor Are You? Part II
Mine has got to be chicken. You can dress it up, dress it down, and stretch it for a week. You can do Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Greek, soup, stew, chili, casserole, or comfort food with a chicken.
Kelly, right now we’re on the minestrone bandwagon. Made with some spicy italian sausage instead of beef, it’s a flavorful way of using up leftover pasta, veggies, beans, and that little bit of spaghetti sauce that’s been hanging out in your fridge!
Emily´s last blog post..The New Face of Foreclosure
I’m going to have to say breakfast ~ eggs (there’s a 101 ways to fix them), pancakes, waffles, french toast, breakfast burritos, hashbrowns (frugal if you shred your own potatoes). I love breakfast food but most of us don’t have time in the morning to make this kind of a meal before we leave the house.
Nancy´s last blog post..Menu Plan Monday ~ March 22 – 28
Peanut butter sandwiches!
Alex´s last blog post..Financial priorities: what to cut
ANYTHING in my slow cooker
But especially SOUP! Just one of many –
Vegetable soup: Combine carrots, diced potatoes, celery, chopped onion and water (or homemade chicken stock if you have) in slow cooker on low for about 8 hours.
Add egg noodles or angel hair pasta at the end.
Pretty Cheap Jewelry´s last blog post..Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Recycled Guitar String Bangle Bracelets … by Pretty Cheap Jewelry
One pack Mr. Noodles (drained) and a dry can of tuna. $1.25. Great protien blast as well.
Gizimmick´s last blog post..I’m not Payn!
Ooh! I just posted my favorite “cheap eat” on my blog! I love potatoes and onions. Add in any type of meat(turkey kielbasa is a good one) and you’re in business, baby!
Amiyrah´s last blog post..Cheap Eats: Potatoes and Onions
Hey Kelly,
My favorite frugal food is a crusty bread recipe that requires NO kneading! It’s awesome and cheap! I know it’s not really a meal so if you’re going for favorite frugal meal I would have to agree with Nicki homemade baked Mac and cheese yummm!
Sherri (Serene Journey)´s last blog post..Quite Possibly The Best Homemade Crusty Bread Ever
Scrapple.
After butchering, I pressure cook up the bones and take whatever meat is left off of them, and save the broth. Mix that with flour and cornmeal, sage, and spices, and let it set up in loaf pans in the refrig. When gelled, slice and pan fry. Great with syrup for breakfast, with mayo for sandwiches, or with ketchup for dinner. And it’s about as frugal as you can get – made from the bones.
Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite frugal foods!
Trish´s last blog post..Tuesday’s Tip Jar – Mugs for Storage
I like any meal that uses up the non-perfect fruit, veg and meat left in the fridge. Shepherd pie, stews, and soup are great for hiding rejected veg and meat. Amazing how many times my family have eaten veg that they ‘hate’ but happily ask for seconds in casseroles, shepherd pies, stews and such. Left over meats with gravy make a tasty base for a soup or stew. Fruit crumbles are a great way to use up fruit that will never pass my family’s lips from the fruit bowl due to a small blemish or wrinkles. And old bananas make scrummy banana bread. Bananas and soft fruits that are less-than-best can be frozen to make smooties, muffins or pie fillings if you don’t have time or inclination to deal with them right at that particular time. Oh, and left over bread. TONS of stuff to use for that- french toast, make into bread crumbs and freeze, to bulk up a meat loaf, toast into crutons, make Queens pudding (that uses going-off milk too), homemade stuffing, bread-and-butter pudding, etc. Loads of scrummy yet thrifty meals and desserts. Using my imagination to make a filling, healthy meal out ‘nothing’ is fun, economical and yummy!
I like the “clean the frig” dishes – frittatas are good – beat eggs, mix with 1 finely diced potato, finely minced onion & garlic, milk and anything else you can find in the frig. My fav is broccoli, zucchini and ham. any veg, meat and/or cheese combo works!