Budgets are tight these days so it makes sense to have foods on hand to make cheap, healthy recipes. There are many easy combinations a creative cook can come up with to make something tasty and nutritious with what is in the cupboard. There are many ways to incorporate leftovers with other items to create new budget-friendly recipes. Most frugal recipes cost no more than $5 per meal. Here are a few money-saving tips to help you get started:
Take stock of what items you have on hand. Check cupboards and pantry for noodles, rice, canned soups and seasoning mixes. A basic casserole recipe includes 1 grain, 1 meat, 1 vegetable and a creamy base like soup, sour cream or gravy. Cheese and bacon can be added into the casserole or sprinkled on top after baking. So for example if you have a package of chicken thighs and some rice you can make a cheap meal by making a casserole of cooked chicken, rice, green beans and cream of chicken soup or chicken gravy with a little sour cream and shredded cheese on top.
Another cheap easy recipe for chicken is chicken enchiladas. Cook chicken and debone; heat corn or flour tortillas to make them easy to roll up. Mix cooked chicken with creamed soup, sour cream and a little cheese and place by spoonfuls in the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking pan. Cover the tortilla rolls with remaining soup or enchilada sauce and top with cheese and sliced green onions. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.
Another idea for a cheap meal is to cook rice, noodles or a baked potato and top it with vegetable soup, canned beef stew, or chili and top with cheese and onions. Try out different combinations of soup and grain dishes to create a quick family favorite.
An old stand-by is grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato or cream of broccoli soup. To dress up the meal add a slice of tomato and thin slice of deli ham to bread and cheese before grilling. Add some garlic-flavored croutons to the soup and top with a dab of sour cream and crumbled bacon.
When you have school-age kids in the house it is always a good idea to have some ramen noodles or instant noodle bowls on hand for after-school snacks and quick meals before soccer practice or the big game.
Most noodle or pasta recipes can be adapted for any type of noodles, even ramen noodles. Ramen is a versatile noodle because it cooks faster than traditional spaghetti noodles and can be topped with different sauces, vegetables and condiments. Noodle shops in Japan are very popular with students and tourists for their cheap, filling meals. For more fast and budget-friendly noodle dishes visit my Frugal Dinner Recipes
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