What are some ways to cook at home for cheap?!


Question: What is a good grocery list that does not cost too much but will provide enough actual meals for 2 adults? I find when I go to the store I end up buying things that I feel are a good value, but when I get home nothing really goes together to create meals.
My boyfriend eats alot and pretty much always wants some kind of meat, and things that will fill him up. Any suggestions for cheap grocery lists or recipes? Groceries have gotten so expensive!! Thanks


Answers: What is a good grocery list that does not cost too much but will provide enough actual meals for 2 adults? I find when I go to the store I end up buying things that I feel are a good value, but when I get home nothing really goes together to create meals.
My boyfriend eats alot and pretty much always wants some kind of meat, and things that will fill him up. Any suggestions for cheap grocery lists or recipes? Groceries have gotten so expensive!! Thanks

I use this ALL the time, its the 1bag 5dinners page on Kraft, one bag of groceries, 5 dinners! I swear I couldn't live without this site lol Goodluck!

Vegetables
Pasta
Rice
Pastry

we like brown rice and beans with hot sauce

Anything with rice and pasta

I always buy meat when it's on sale and freeze what I don't use right away. buy fresh vegetables and potatoes instead of canned. I never buy more than I think I'll use to avoid having to throw away rotten vegetables. clipping coupons also helps.

lentil or daa, dry beans, rice, vegis, and buy meat/chicken when its on sale check over the weekend.. buy flour and make your own bread its taste so good and cheap too

Pillsbury has a special section on their website called "cooking for two". You can sign up to receive a weekly email with recipe ideas.

As far as a grocery list goes, I keep a supply of frozen chicken tenderloins, potatoes, rice, and either canned or frozen vegetables. I also keep jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce and pakages of dry pasta around as well as the Knorr sauce packets. I also buy the frozen gourmet hamburgers (nice for a quick dinner) You can use the above staple items for dozens of different recipes.

Good luck!

If your boyfriend eats as much as mine...Go to sams club and get the tyson no bone whole chicken breasts...It should last you more than a week, runs around $13...Plus sams has a lot of other meat cheap....Then just get the normal cheap stuff..rice ...pasta ....veggies...crap in a box...ect.

I buy stuff in bulk. I will get a 10 lb bag of burger and then seperate it down into small 1 lb freezer bags. Works well for us.

Also buy a 10 lb bag of patatoes there are a million things to do with a potato!

Pasta....with butter, with a little evoo and seasonings, with sauce....we buy pasta when it is on sale ( like it is now at our local Giant Eagle store) for $1 a box. Mix it up. I get bowties, ziti, the curley ones....all the weird ones...shells....and then fix them up at home.

As for veggies I get the Steamers in teh frozen section and stock up when they are $1 a bag too. Those are great!

Good luck I hope with this answer and all the many others you can use them together and get great ideas!!!

boxed noodles and rice, or plain white rice, plain noodles, just add spices, bulk meat, separate when you get home, frozen veggies, use what you need, store rest, spaghetti sauce, you can use it in spaghetti, pizza sandwiches, ravioli, perogies, on meat loafs, baked steaks,etc. cheap crescents rolls, for hot dogs, breads, breakfast sandwiches fruit pastry's, buy small cartons of milk as you need them! bread as you need it, always a cheap lunch meat and cheese, for reg sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, omelets, chicken cordon blue, tuna, tuna melts, tuna casserole, pita pockets,etc,frozen fruits and canned fruits, add yogurt, a cereal, honey or add it to applesauce, hope this helps a Lil!! definitely look in the paper for specials you might have to stop at a couple different stores at different times but it does save you money in the long run!

Bisquick.com has lots of money-saving recipes :)

The first thing that I would suggest is that you make a meal plan. This will allow you to pick an entree and side dishes and create a shopping list all at the same time. It also makes it easy every day because you won't have to think about what to eat. I do mine on my computer so that I can print it off for shopping.

Here are some examples of what I would cook for my family of 3. Keep in mind that you should buy certain things in a large quantity, frozen, for the best price. Such items include boneless skinless chicken breasts, ground beef, shrimp.

Monday
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes (the Betty Crocker kind...2 packs in a box for around $1 at Target) and green beans (buy these frozen, they taste better than canned and you can use the amount you want).

Tuesday
Pasta with shrimp, olive oil, parmesan cheese and some spices. Serve with bagged salad and garlic bread.

Wednesday
Baked chicken with cream of mushroom soup and Stouffer's stuffing (recipe is usually on the Stouffer's box). Serve with your choice of veggie, buy just enough for the two of you. I'd suggest asparagus or broccoli.

Thursday
Sausage meatball sub sandwiches. Try this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sausage-Mea...
Make sure you use a crusty bread. Serve with salad.

Friday
Chicken enchiladas in the crock pot. Serve with refried beans.

There are great recipes at my favorite site, www.allrecipes.com (man I wish that I got a nickel for every time I told someone about them!)

ok, I would spend 100 dollars to last a month.

eggs, canned biscuts, sauage or bacon. (you can always make breakfast a meal for dinner)

ground beef (a family size is a long way to go) I would pick up about 6 pounds cut them up and freeze them. You can make chili and baked potatoes, sprinkle some cheese over and a dallop of sour cream. I would make home made french fries.
Soup is not filling, but it does last long and goes a long way.
Buy lots of frozen veggies or canned tomatoes. Hamburger helper, use the ground beef to make tacos, get some lett, a tom, shredded cheese and sour cream.
Hamburgers and homemade french fries.
spagetti with meat sauce.

here is my favorite recipe:
Mexican Lasgana

1 pound of ground beef, shredded chicken, or ground chicken or turkey
1 can of enchillada sauce
1 can of black beans (washed and drained)
shredded cheese of your choice
1 1/2 cup of corn
1 can green chili's
1 package of tortillas cut in half.
green onion for top garnish.

brown meat in a skillet, then drain off excess juice.
add meat back to skillet add enchillada sauce black beans corn and green chili's. let cook for about 10 minutes.
get a 13 by 9 baking dish and spray the bottom so the toritllas won't stick. layer the bottom with tortillas and then take some of the sauce in the pot, then on top with cheese and add another layer. layer as much as you can with sauce cheese and tortillas. with the last layer put cheese on top. preheat oven to 350 and place in the oven for 20 minutes. once out sprinkle with green onion. and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

mexican rice.
1 c rice.
1/2 can tom sauce.
1/2 onion chopped
2 tablespoons oil.
2 cups of chicken broth.

in a pot over medium heat, heat up oil once heated add rice and brown then add chicken broth tom sauce onion salt pepper. cook until rice is done.

if you make shredded chicken lasgana go with the green enchillada sauce. for ground turkey (very healthy and boyfriend will not notice the difference) ground beef and ground chicken use the red sauce.

if you want more input you can e-mail on here

hoimny over chile pastsa meat sauce murhrooms chesese grillied

i know exactly how you feel. i have learned to never go to the store without a list. the best thing to do is to plan your meals for the entire week, breakfast, lunch, and, supper. decide what you want for dinner each night and add each item that you need to your list, that way you won't forget what you need once you get to the store. here are some ideas for some cheap, easy meals.

spaghetti: 1 lb ground beef, package of spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, 1 loaf of garlic bread. (i get the frozen kind that already has them butter and garlic on it)

sloppy joes: 1 lb ground beef, can of sloppy joe seasoning sauce, (mamwich or whatevers cheapest), 1 package hamburger buns, frozen fries or tator tots

frito pie: 1 bag fritos, 2 cans favorite chili, 1 small block cheese--cheddar or colby jack

pork chops: 1 package boneless, thin cut pork chops, 1 box Uncle Bens long grain wild rice-original flavor, 1 bag of frozen broccoli

mexican chicken: 1 box chicken helper cheesy enchilada, frozen chicken breasts, package of flour tortillas, sour cream, picante sauce

chicken alfredo: chicken breast, fettuccine noodles, alfredo sauce, frozen broccoli

pot roast: 1 roast, potatoes, carrots, brown gravy mix

vegetable beef soup: 1 lb ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, can corn, can green beans, can stewed tomatoes, tomatoe sauce. crackers or jiffy corn bread mix to go with





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