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In Reply to: meals on a budget posted by sm on May 03, 2009 at 22:18:56:
One can of chili mixed with 1 cup cooked rice and 1 cup cooked hamburger. Yield: About 3 cups
Chicken rice mix, 1 can creamed chicken soup (or homemade creamed soup dry mix), 1 cup diced cooked chicken. Yield: About 4 cups
2 cups cooked beans, 1 cup cooked rice, 1/2 cup salsa (depending on your taste), 1 cup cooked hamburger. Yield: About 4 cups
1 pkg. macaroni and cheese with Spam, hamburger, tuna, chicken, or mackeral. Yield: About 3 cups
1 can chili, 1 cup cooked macaroni, 2 T. onion, 1 cup cooked hamburger. Yield: About 3-4 cups
2 cups spaghetti sauce, 1 cup cooked hamburger over cooked spaghetti. Yield: Yield 4 cups
Fried potatoes and 1/2 can generic Spam.
1 can baked beans, 1 cup cooked hamburger or bulk sausage, celery and onion. Yield: Almost 3 cups
Homemade beans and hot dogs (less than $1 per pkg.) Yield: 3-4 meals
Potato soup (chicken broth, onion, carrots, potatoes) with 1 cup diced generic Spam, chicken, or turkey. (Yield: 4 cups
Cabbage soup (chicken broth, shredded cabbage, potatoes, onions, carrots, 1/4# diced smoked sausage. Yield: 6 cups
Fried potatoes and eggs.
For homemade syrup I combine 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup water, and 1/2 cup corn syrup. I use a very large pan and watch it like a hawk because it has a tendency to boil over and make a mess of my stove.
I shop at Aldi's where one brand of cheese slices, a package of hot dogs, and a pkg. of balogna is less than $1 each. Bread is about 79 cents a loaf (but Walmart sometimes has it for 77 cents).
Walmart usually has 10# of chicken leg quarters for less than $6 or $7 and that is usually enough meat for 4-6 meals when combined with other ingredients for a casserole.
I used to make salmon patties, with salmon, onion, green pepper, celery, egg, cracker crumbs, and a dollop of honey), but the price of salmon has gone up and now they have mackeral for a reasonable price. I've never tried mackeral so don't know if it can be used interchangeably.
CHICKEN (OR BEEF) FLAVORED RICE MIX
4 cups long-grain rice, 4 T. instant chicken (or beef) bouillon, 1/2 sp. salt (optional), 2 t. dried tarragon, 2 t. dried parsley flakes , 1/4 t. pepper.
Store in airtight container. Yield: About 4 1/2 cups.
For 4-6 servings mix 1 1/3 cup mix, 2 c. cold water. 1 t. butter or margarine in saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat, cook 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
CREAMED SOUP MIX
1 cup non-fat powdered milk, 1 T. onion flakes, 2 T. cornstarch, 2 T. instant bouillon, 1/2 t. dried basil, 1/2 t. dried thyme, 1/8 t. pepper
Combine ingredients and keep in airtight container. To use, combine 1/3 cup mix with 1 1/4 cup water in a saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add 1/4 cup chopped celery (cream of celery soup OR 1/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (cream of mushroom soup) if desired.
I stopped buying instant rice when I discovered how inexpensive regular rice is. I grow my own herbs (tarragon, sage, thyme, and oregano) and make my own dry mixes from recipes I found on the Internet (including "almost" hamburger helper recipes and flavored rice mixes).
I use dry milk when cooking recipes that call for milk and save my liquid milk for drinking.