Anyone have any frugal, budget friendly or cheap recipes that are tasty and at least somewhat healthy?!
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rice and beans. look online, there are dozens of recipes for this.
homemade chili: fry up some hamburger with chopped onions and garlic, add in canned black, kidney, red, or pink beans, or a combination of these, a can of refried beans, some salsa and/or canned diced tomatoes with chilis, canned or frozen corn, add in chili powder and/or cayenne pepper and some hot sauce. stir well, simmer for a half hour or so. if you don't eat meat, skip it and fry the onions and garlic in olive oil and then add the other stuff.
clean out the fridge soup: whatever veggies you have on hand like, potatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, any root veggies, etc. sometimes i even chop up an apple or pear if i have an extra. toss it all in a big pot with some water and whatever herbs and spices you like, add some salt and pepper, simmer til veggies are soft. add in cooked meat, or beans, or noodles or rice... you can make just about anything into soup! if you just want the broth, strain out the veggies after they've been cooked til they're falling apart.
potatoes. baked potatoes can be topped with cheese, bacon, meat, salsa, sour cream, sauteed mushrooms and onions, stew, chili, just about anything, really. or make mashed potatoes: peel (if you want) a couple potatoes, cut up into chunks, and boil in salted water til soft. add a clove or two of garlic to the water if you want garlic potatoes. drain them, and mash them, then stir in milk and butter until they're nice and creamy. you can use sour cream, or cream cheese to make them really rich and filling. or pour warm gravy over. or if you want them healthier, use chicken broth and olive oil instead of the dairy products.
edited to add: sorry, didn't notice that this was in the vegetarian section at first. you can skip the meat in any of the things i listed, and sub veggie broth or mushroom broth for the chicken broth in the mashed potatoes, or just reserve some of the water that you drain from them and stir it back in.
A hearty veggie soup. Incorporate any and all veggies you like. There are basic recipes everywhere, including allrecipes.com to get you started... then tweak it as you cook to come to a balance of flavors that you enjoy.
A good $10 worth of vegetables and a giant pot will make enough to last a LONG while, and veggie soup freezes very well. :) Healthy as can be, and very very cheap on a per-serving basis (we're talking a few cents to the bowl).
Try MyFridgeFood - it has a lot of easy recipes using what's already in the Kitchen. It has all of the nutritional info, and really helps me save money when I go grocery shopping. Got me through college on a budget lol. Hope it helps!
http://www.MyFridgeFood.com
boil potatoes and then mix with butter
(put rosemary, oregano, garlic, chives, and lemon shavings in butter)
sprinkle lemon juice on top and that's it, LEMON CHIVE POTATOES from Costco Cookbook