OK, Ladies, I need your help.
I need to make a menu and grocery list for the next week and I need it to be inexpensive stuff. The problem is that my husband is a super picky eater and won't do soup and grill cheese or sandwiches and chips. OK, he will, sort of, but he won't eat enough and there will be a lot of sighing.
So, what is the favorite thing you make when you have to feed your family and don't have a lot of coin? Please add the recipes if you can.
Thanks in advance,
L.
Thank you all so much! You made making my grocery list so much easier and I was able to buy food for three meals a day for the week for 6 people for under $100. That's a major accomplishment around here! Thanks again, Ladies!!
Hash brown casserole (mine is cooking as I type)
package of frozen hash browns
can of condensed soup ( cream of chicken, cheddar cheese, broccoli or whatever you like)
cup of milk
sometimes I add pieces of boneless chicken
sometimes I add grated cheddar cheese
can also add veggies of choice or vegies as a side dish
Mix everything together in a casserole dish and cook for about 45-60 minutes
Everyone in my house loves it!
Zatarain's Reduced Sodium Jambalaya (or Dirty Rice, or Red Beans & Rice) Mix. Add 1 cup of regular white rice to stretch the recipe out further. Throw in some frozen okra. Finally add sauteed chicken breast pieces. Quick, easy, and very cheap, and VERY tasty. (It can get a bit spicy for the kids, so I add some sour cream for theirs).
BBQ beef. Get a 2 lb chuck roast. Put it in the crock pot all day on low (don't add water). Drain out the liquid and return roast to pot. Shred with 2 large forks. Add a bottle of BBQ sauce (or make your own). Mix. Heat for about another 20 mins in the crock pot. Serve on buns. Yum. Total cost about $12.
Fideo
In the pasta section, purchase 2 boxes of Vermicelli (fideo) ~this will feed 4
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 small onion chopped
1 can - 14 ½ oz Whole can tomatoes squashed with juice
½ tsp ground cumin
1 clove of garlic
3 beef bullion cubes (option 3 cups beef broth)
Black ground pepper
1 zucchini shredded
In a large skillet (will need a lid) or 3 qt stock pot (will need lid)
Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, cumin, zucchini, and black pepper
Drain all fat and place meat mixture aside.
In skillet/pot, heat 2 TBLSP olive oil, add both boxes of vermicelli and brown in the oil.. Stir it constantly until it is browned. Do not let it burn.
Add Beef mixture
Add 3 cups Beef broth (or 3 cubes and 3 cups water)
Pour in crushed tomatoes with juice.
If mixture is not slightly covered with liquid, add water till it is.
When mixture begins to boil, cover and lower heat to low/medium.
Do not lift the lid.
Simmer 18 minutes. Serve in bowls..
Tacos, crispy or soft.
Ground beef cooked with onion, garlic, salt and pepper, . You can add a jalapeno but take out the membrane ant the seeds first.. saute with beef mixture.. Drain off the fat.. use soft corn tortillas or crispy shells.. top with cheese lettuce and tomato, or hot sause.. ..
Depends on what he does eat. Here are a few of my family's favorite and aren't too expensive.
Taco Roll - you take Pillsbury Croissants, taco seasoned meat (can be left over) and shredded cheddar cheese. You lay the croissant dough triangle "bottom to bottom" facing opposite directions. Add meat and cheese (more or less depending on how cheesy you want it) and then wrap the corners of the dough over the meat/cheese. Then back until top is golden brown. You can also add other "taco" toppings in or on top of the roll or service with rice or beans.
*you can make a variation of this with regular burger and cheese (Cheeseburger Roll) or Ham & Cheese (with or without broccoli), or really any meat/cheese combination our family likes.
Cheesy Spaghetti - Drain 3 large cans of diced tomatoes (ok to leave a little) or use whole tomatoes and cut (only use the juice in the tomatoes, not the extra in the cans). Brown 1lb of ground beef (or turkey or chicken if you prefer). Combine tomatoes, ground beef and up to 1 Cup of Sugar in pan, season with a bit of salt, pepper, oregano, and maybe garlic. Bring to a boil (stir so it doesn't stick) then simmer for about 1 hour. Slice one small block of Velveeta. Cook one box of thin spaghetti and then drain. Combine all ingredients (may want to do in layers of each to help cheese melt) and mix well.
Enjoy!
Scrambled eggs, black beans, and fried potatoes. I usually make broccoli to go with it. Wrap it all up and you've got a breakfast taco for dinner.
The kids eat theirs "deconstructed" while my husband and I make a taco and then add salsa.
J.
Pizza Casserole and it is a kid hubby favorite!
2 cans of the large homestyle biscuits
1 small jar of hunts sauce
1 pkg of pizza cheese...2 cups
plus your favorite toppings
In large bowl, tear biscuits in like 1-2 inch pieces. Add some cheese along the way, and then more biscuits and go back and forth until you have torn all biscuits and added all cheese. Incorporate your favorite toppings the same way. This is to make sure all ingredients are evenly added throughout mixture.
Then pour sauce over contents in bowl and mix. Spoon mixture into 11 x13 inch pan that you have sprayed with nonstick spray. Cook at 375 for about 30 minutes.
Enjoy :)
Aiy yai yai.....a picky eater is hard but you have some good ideas on these other posts. I have a two picky eaters in my household too.
*Tacos w/ground beef and flour tortillas (diced tomatoes/onions/cheese)
*Egg burritos for dinner (flour tortillas, scrambled eggs, hot sauce for dad)
*Spaghetti w/salad and garlic bread
*Tortellini w/alfredo sauce (tortellini is in refrigerated section of store...easy)
*Taco salad (my fam loves this: grd beef cooked like your making tacos tossed with bag of salad, grated cheese, tomatoes, onions, can of kidney beans, crushed Dorito chips and thousand island dressing)
*Black beans mixed w/can of corn, diced onions/tomatoes heated through with a dollop of sour cream or cheese on top served w/tortilla chips or cornbread (Jiffy makes a cheap mix in box)
*Cheapest steak you can find grilled served w/can of corn
*Chicken breasts in glass casserole dish w/can of creamy chicken soup, 1 1/3 cups of water, 3/4 uncooked reg white rice, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp blk pepper, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Put all in casserole dish except cheese, bake at 375 for 45 min then top w/cheese
*Meatloaf
*Chili
*Store bought rotisserie chicken served w/macaroni salad (bought)
*Mac n' Cheese and salad
Meatloaf.
1 lb. gr beef
1/2 of a chopped onion, chopped
3/4 c. milk
1/3 c bread crumbs
1 1/2 garlic cloves, minced
salt
pepper
1 T. worcestershire
1/4 tsp sage
some chili sauce for on top (1/2 c ?).
Mix it all up with your hands (except for the chili sauce), put in casserole dish (no lid), spread chili sauce (or ketchup) over the top to cover.
Bake 1 hr 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Have green beans, corn on the cobb, steamed broccoli, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes or whatever you'd like on the side.
ooh.. or Manwiches ... my hubby and kids love them!
Can of Manwich sauce, 1 lb gr beef, burger buns (or just toast some bread even). Bake a potato or make mashed ones... can of veggies. There ya go.
Syrian Chicken
2 (28 oz) cans of tomato sauce
1 large onion diced
1 stick of butter/margarine
2-4 boneless chicken breast (can be frozen)
salt and pepper to taste
cooked rice
In a small saucepan melt butter then add onion and cook until translucent.
Meanwhile boil chicken in water until no longer pink. Shred or tear apart chicken into bite size pieces.
In large dutch oven mix tomato sauce, chicken, and butter and onion mixture. Simmer covered on low for 1 hour. Serve over your prepared rice.
You can get MANY meals out of this.
Kilbasa and Canned Baked Beans. No recipe needed, it's just heating them both up. I usually throw in a frozen veggie and some cut up fruit. Total cost $7
My daughter absolutely LOVES tuna mac & cheese! lol
I use Velveeta Shells & Cheese, but you can use any mac & cheese.
Prepare the mac & cheese as usual. Then add in a can of tuna, and I add in a can of peas. You could use any other veggies you like.
My husband even likes this :) And it's sooo easy to make! And I buy my Velveeta Shells & Cheese when it's on sale for buy one get one free at our grocery store. That makes them $1 per box!
Yesterday I made an attempt to cook down all the tomatoes that were sitting on my counter.... what was left was 1 jar of sauce and about 1.5 cups still in pan.....so I added 1 jar of stewed tomatoes, thawed a pound of hamburger, cooked it with some onion and boiled macaroni. Tadah - Johnny Marzetti - hubs and baby loved it!! We will definetly start making more often and it was great cause I used tomatoes from the garden. (of course you could make with small can of paste and large can of stew. tom.) total around $6.... we had so much left over - we plan to eat again for dinner tonight!
I like hot dogs and chili. Krogers often has Hormel chili 10 for $10.
I also like to make chicken caesar pasta salad.
You need chicken, pasta ( I like the curly ones), salad, dressing, and parm cheese. Most of that stuff you will have anyways so you just need to make sure you have the pasta and salad.
