Cheap Meal Ideas

I know Thanksgiving is right around the corner and everybody is thinking about big huge Thanksgiving dinners...well this topic is the exact opposite.  Hubby and I are going to be super-strapped for cash for the next 2-3 months so I'm trying to save as much money wherever possible in order to make sure my daughter has a great Christmas!  So one of my ideas was meal planning...

I know this is a tried and true method of saving money because I used to do it often.  Since we've moved into our new house we've done a lot of "So what do you want for dinner?" and running up to the shop (which is much more expensive than the likes of ASDA and such). 

So anyway...cheap meal ideas?  My hubby works until 10pm and a lot of times when he comes in, he doesn't want a heavy meal anyway.  So I'm going to be resorting to sandwiches once or twice a week, but I obviously don't want sandwiches to become a common evening meal.  I want things that aren't expensive to make but still taste pretty good.

Some of the ideas I've come up with so far:

Homemade Potato Soup (well pretty much anything to do with potatoes...we already eat them with every meal anyway)

Stuffed Peppers

Meatloaf

Omelets

I was thinking jacket potatoes and eggs too but seems like your one step ahead of me. Also try making big pots of Chili, stews, spaghetti sauce as all this stuff can be frozen and it save a lot of time as you can just pop it in the microwave when your ready to have it again. Soup and sandwiches are always a good option and things like shepherds pie can be made for super cheap.

Roast a chicken on Sunday (we bought our chicken last Sunday for 4 euro). Then with the leftovers you can make sandwiches, salads, casseroles, soup, etc. I send DH to work the next day with leftover chicken, roast potatoes and veg. Today I made him two sandwiches. I had some bits to eat, and there's enough left that I could make another meal out of it!

We also eat a lot of eggs and potatoes. I'll sometimes have something called, 'stretch potatoes'. Slice up cooked potatoes and fry them in some oil, when they're almost cooked add some bits of torn bread, when they're crispy crack an egg over it (or two if you're making it for both of you), then stir it all around until the egg is cooked. It's best if you cook it in bacon grease, but I understand not everyone has a jar of this in their refrigerator like my family always did!  

We also eat a lot of eggs and potatoes. I'll sometimes have something called, 'stretch potatoes'. Slice up cooked potatoes and fry them in some oil, when they're almost cooked add some bits of torn bread, when they're crispy crack an egg over it (or two if you're making it for both of you), then stir it all around until the egg is cooked. It's best if you cook it in bacon grease, but I understand not everyone has a jar of this in their refrigerator like my family always did!  

I actually just had this today! Minus the bread and bacon grease though. It's super cheap, easy, and yummy. Plus it's a one pan meal so easy clean up!

 Soup, soup and soup. So cheap, so good, so easy and so different. Get the veggies that are on sale. Very good for a light meal for DH in the late evening.

Don't know how much bread you go through but a bread maker can help cut costs too.

Be inventive and experiment with leftovers. Be surprised. I'm using my left over 'Spanish pork chops' sauce from yesterday as an unusual spaghetti sauce.

As Bmore says, a chicken can go a long way.

Not really meal ideas but other tips:

ALWAYS make a list before shopping and stick to it (except for veggies and meats on sale)

Put on blinkers for the BOGOFF deals. If it is not on your list, you have not saved anything.

Buy store brand economy/basics range.

Roast a chicken on Sunday (we bought our chicken last Sunday for 4 euro). Then with the leftovers you can make sandwiches, salads, casseroles, soup, etc. I send DH to work the next day with leftover chicken, roast potatoes and veg. Today I made him two sandwiches. I had some bits to eat, and there's enough left that I could make another meal out of it!

This was going to be my suggestion, too. I  actually wrote an article about how ot make one chicken last all week:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1535733/meal_plans_that_work_how_to_stretch.html?cat=22

Frozen fruit and veg is going to be a whole lot cheaper than "fresh", more nutritious than something that has been sitting around a long time, chances are more flavourful, and probably more environmentally friendly than something grown in a hothouse or shipped great distances.  In season produce, particularly local, go fresh.  Everything else, explore your frozen and even canned options. 

Beans and pulses are always cheap.  If you want to substitute meat in a lot of dishes (example: chilli), you can add Bulgur wheat instead.  Mushrooms make good meat substitutes.

Stale bread (not mouldy) can be used to make French toast or bread pudding.

I can post a few recipes tomorrow, but it's way too late now.

This was going to be my suggestion, too. I  actually wrote an article about how ot make one chicken last all week:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1535733/meal_plans_that_work_how_to_stretch.html?cat=22

That's pretty good.

We also have a Budget Pantry Challenge thread here that might help with some good, inexpensive meal ideas.

a couple of other threads that might help:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=47872.0

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=40598.0

http://www.foodnetwork.com/sandras-money-saving-meals/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/ten-dollar-dinners-with-melissa-darabian/index.html


I was a HUGE Food Network junkie in the US... maybe these two links will give you some inspiration.

Rachael Ray also has a link for budget meals on her website.

http://www.rachaelray.com/food_search.php

when we're craving mexican here but don't want to spend too much or can't find all the ingredients we need, we always do a casserole type dish where we throw together a can of beans, salsa, diced chicken breast, and rice.  you can either add add water and bake all of this together in the oven or you can do the rice separately and cook everything stovetop.  if you play around with the quantities used, you can stretch it really far.  we always have a ton of leftovers and it's SO easy since it can all be baked together. 

Get thee to Money Saving Expert forums! - Old Style board.  Then check out the Weekly Meal Plans and Grocery Challenges threads.

The cheapest way?  Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan!  At the start of every month, I make a mega batch of tomato sauce in my slow cooker - 500g mince, 2 tins of tomatoes plus lentils, oats & grated carrot to bulk (the slow cooker reduces all this to lovely sauce and you will NEVER know it's in there).  Out of this, I generally get 4x meals (for 2 people) which can be made into: spag bol, lasagne, chili, etc.

Cooking a whole chicken, like others have said, also works.  Basically, the freezer is your friend.  If you get sick of chicken, get a turkey leg for £1.50 and roast that...another several meals: curry, casserole, etc.

Buy large blocks of cheese and grate them straight away.  If you leave in blocks, you'll be tempted to eat.  Stick the grated bags in the freezer and you have instantly ready for cheese sauces, topping for jacket potatoes, top for cottage pie, etc.

I've picked up a zillion ideas from MSE and saved sooo much money.  Can give you some samples of my monthly meal plans to give you ideas...though they tend to not be overly glamorous!!

Buy large blocks of cheese and grate them straight away.  If you leave in blocks, you'll be tempted to eat.  Stick the grated bags in the freezer and you have instantly ready for cheese sauces, topping for jacket potatoes, top for cottage pie, etc.

I love this idea! I never really knew you could freeze cheese. I'm going to use this tip for sure.