Quick, Easy Homemade Chicken Soup

If you can get a couple of cans of chicken broth and a package of egg noodles on sale, you can make this real cheap.

2 cans of chicken broth, add water if you need more liquid

1 package of wide egg noodles

leftover chicken, already cooked, shredded/cubed/chunked

preferred herbs/spices

(You can also add these if you have them on hand, but we do not: chopped carrots, celery and onions.)

Simply warm the broth/water and chicken, as well as any veggies, until heated through. Then add the herbs/spices and the noodles and cook until the noodles are done.

Spaghetti Meal

enough spaghetti for your family

1 can corn

1 can peas

1/4 to 1/2 pound ground beef, or the same amount of chicken/turkey (not ground)

1/4 cup each of shredded mozzarella and mild cheddar cheeses

1 tsp to 1 tbsp for each person: parmesan cheese

Split the pasta between each person.

Top with some corn, freezing the remainder to use in a recipe later on.

Top with some peas, freezing the remainder to use in a recipe later on.

Top with meat, freezing any leftovers to use in a recipe later on.

Top with cheeses.

Serve with a salad or garlic bread.

This can be a frugal recipe, depending on how much you have to spend on the ingredients. Purchase what you can on sale, store brands, etc. We usually use whole wheat pasta which is a but more expensive than white.

Lasagna Roll-Ups for the Freezer

 Sauce:

1 large can of tomato soup

2/3 can of water

1/2 to 1 pound browned ground beef. Heat and cool.

Cook up as many lasagna noodles as you will need. Do not cook all the way, as they will be put into the freezer and cooked again later. I usually end up having to cook more. It depends on how much cheese you roll up in each.

Filling, Mix up:

I tub cottage cheese

1 tub ricotta cheese

and as much of the following as you like: Shredded mozzarella and mild cheddar cheeses, and dried parsley.

Lay out a noodle and place as much cheese as you want in it. Roll it up and set on  plate. Repeat for the rest.

Wrap 2 roll-ups in plastic wrap, doing this until they are all wrapped in pairs.

Fill a plastic snack size baggie with sauce for each pair. Freeze leftover sauce in quart size freezer bags in amounts you need for pasta sauce.

Put as many ’sets’ as you can in each gallon size freezer bag. A set is a pair of roll-ups and a bag of sauce.

To cook:

Thaw as many roll-ups and bags of sauce that you will need. Place roll-ups on a baking sheet and pour sauce over them. Bake at 350* to 375* for 25 to 30 minutes.

Serve with salad and a slice of garlic bread.

These fillings, if made right, are very filling. Each person will only need one.

Menus from Dollar Days Sales

In our area we have a grocery store called IGA. They have dollar sales every so often that last a week. Everything in the store is not a dollar, but quite a bit is a dollar or less. Many are store brands. Here is a list of many of the dollar deals that I have found:

pasta/rice sides or pasta roni

boxed mac and cheese (3 or 4 for $1)

cream cheese

graham cracker crust

whipped topping

canned vegetables (2 or 3 for $1)

cucumbers (2 for $1)

1 pound baby carrots (2 for $1)

bags of spinach, cabbage and lettuce mixes

salad dressing

oranges (3 for $1)

grapefruit (2 for $1)

bananas (3 pounds for $1)

5 pounds potatoes

ramen noodles (6-8 for $1)

baked beans

soup (2 for $1)

gravy (3 for $1)

hot dogs

personal size pizzas

english muffins (2 for $1)

bagels

24 oz apple sauce

canned pears

canned peaches

canned pineapple

canned mixed fruit

large cans of apple pie filling

large cans of pumpkin puree

There are many things that can be made with these items. In my home, we usually have 3 to 5 people eating a meal. Each menu will serve 5 or 6 people. Here are some ideas, assuming that you already have some meat, baking needs and condiments on hand. You will also need eggs, cheese and milk.

Breakfast:

English muffins with peanut butter, banana, milk

Bagel with cream cheese, fruit cocktail, milk

Homemade whole wheat bread with peanut butter, applesauce, milk

Homemade pumpkin muffins with butter, pears, milk

Banana pancakes topped with apple pie filling, milk

Homemade hash browns, omelet, milk

English muffin breakfast pizza with pineapples, milk

Dessert:

Apple pie filling topped with whipped topping

Peaches and pears topped with whipped topping

Bananas topped with whipped topping

Homemade cheesecake

Pumpkin Pie

Lunch/Dinner:

Mac and cheese with hot dogs and corn, milk

Ramen noodles, hot dog, green beans, milk

Casserole: hot dogs, corn and potatoes, milk

1 individual pizza, salad, milk

Pasta/rice side, hot dog, salad, milk

Shepherd’s pie, salad, milk

Baked beans, hot dog, homemade bread with butter, milk

I’m sure that you can come up with other ideas as well.

I usually have leftovers, which are frozen whenever possible. Any freezer plan site will be able to tell you what can and cannot be frozen. Even if there is just 1 or 2 teaspoons of vegetables, or meat, I freeze them for soups or casseroles later on.

Also remember, there are plenty of snacks listed above as well.

Some of the meals above end up costing less than 30 cents per person, about $1.25 per meal. Sometimes less, often a bit more.

(Recipes)

Pasta sides meal:

1 box of pasta sides/roni, cooked as directed

1/4 to 1/2 pound chicken, cut small and fired in a little Shed’s Spread Light - add to pasta side when it is time to let the side sit for a few minutes, mix and cover.

Serve with a salad, or add a cooked vegetable before covering to sit.

Baked Beans:

1 can beans

1 cut up and cooked hot dog

a little ketchup

a little molasses

Cook and serve with homemade bread topped with butter. We like to sop the bean juice up with the bread and butter. Yum!

Cheesecake:

I’m pretty sure this is a Kraft recipe, but I am not positive. We have been using it for years and don’t even have/need a written recipe for it.

Mix 1 package (8 oz, I believe) cream cheese, 1 (8 oz) tub of whipped topping and 1/3 cup of sugar with an electric mixer. Spoon into a graham cracker crust, and refrigerate.

Shepherd’s Pie:

In a casserole pan, place 1/2 to 1 pound browned ground beef, 1 can of corn with 1/4 to 1/2 of the liquid, and then top with mashed potato (enough for your family). You can sprinkle with cheese if you wish. Serve with a salad.

Hope these ideas are helpful.

Warmest Wishes,

Shannon

Autumn Harvest Soups

You can create soups from any vegetables that you have on hand. I have a habit of making a few different types of soups, cooking them until almost done, and then putting serving size portions into quart-size freezer bags and freezing them.

Here are your choices of components. Use whatever else you have on hand. I would add herbs and spices when reheating.

Vegetables:

pumpkin

squash

tomatoes

corn

peas

carrots

green beans

zucchini

potatoes

Liquid:

water

vegetable broth

beef broth

chicken broth

Meats:

pork

ham

beef

chicken

turkey

Others:

rice

(I would add pasta when re-heating)

beans

(I would add dumplings when re-heating)

Any combination of the above will work, and so would combining many items from each list. It is pretty easy, actually, to create soups for vegetarians as well as meat-lovers. Feel free to share your favorite recipes.

1 Pan Leftover Meal # 2

This is an easy one. that won’t cost much.

* You will need to brown any meat that has not already been cooked. Drain and rinse and put back into fry pan on the stove. I use usually extra virgin olive oil for browning, at a lower temperature, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

* Any raw vegetables that have not been cooked should be cooked until almost done.

Ingredients:

Meat, however much you have leftover, anywhere from 1/4 pound to 1 pound.

Vegetables, a mixture or just one. Whatever works for you. I am not sure on the exact measure, it will depend on how much meat. This is a good time to use up any leftovers from the refrigerator.

Pasta, thin. Egg noodles are fine. Uncooked.

Leftover water from cooking vegetables.

Any herbs or spices that you would like to use.

Combine all of the ingredients and cook on medium heat until cooked through.

You could make homemade biscuits or bread to go with this.

This recipe will save you money when you have little of it. Like before your paycheck or foodstamps come in. It will also help you to keep running your home as frugally as possible.

Stuffed Shells (Partially from Leftovers)

This one I threw together the other night. It is nothing fancy.

jumbo shells (.99)

water

pasta sauce (.99) (or 1 small can tomato soup mixed with 1 can water - .59) I did half with sauce have with soup.

cottage cheese (1.29)

shredded mozzarella cheese (leftover from pizza night, about 1/2 bag)

shredded mild cheddar cheese (leftover from pizza night, about 3/4 bag)

a little less than 1/2 pound browned ground beef (leftover)

leftover pepperoni

Mix all of the cheeses together.

Fill shells with the cheese and place in two baking pans.

I mixed two different sauces up, though you may choose to use just one. 1. pasta sauce, half of the ground beef and half of the pepperoni, and 2. Soup mixed with the can of water and the other half of the meets.

I poured 1 sauce over 1 pan of shells, and 1 sauce over the other.

I baked this for about 40 minutes at 375*.

***

I used foodstamps to purchase these foods, so I did not pay tax:

  .99

  .99

  .59

1.29

___

$3.86 split between 3 meals = $1.29 per meal

3 people ate at two of the meals, and 4 people ate at 1 meal.

So that is .39 per individual meal.

Leftover Soup

This takes minimal preparation. Here is what you do:

Keep containers in the freezer for leftover vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.), meats (hamburg, pork, steak, ham etc.), vegetable water and pasta water. These will later be used for “leftover soup”.

This is a soup/stew, depending on what ingredients you are using.

The morning before you need to make the “leftover soup,” take all of the containers out of the freezer and put them into the refrigerator.

If you will be using a slow cooker, put all of your ingredients into it, then add water until it is 2/3 full. Cook on high for lunch (3-4 hours) and low for dinner (5-6 hours). Add any herbs/spices/pasta 20-30 minutes before serving.

You could also cook this on your stove-top, beginning 30-60 minutes before you want to eat, depending on what you put into it. Again, add other items, if you want, 20-30 minutes before serving.

This meal could end up costing you nothing, or very little (less than 50 cents) if you were to add pasta, dumplings and some spices.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

My children, nieces and nephews love this. It is usually served just as mac and cheese, but sometimes we add add-ins. Today’s were 3/4 lb of chicken and 1 can of whole kernel corn.

2 cups whole wheat pasta - one box costs .99 + tax and will make mac and cheese twice - so .52 cents for 1 meal. (You can use any pasta you have on hand, even spaghetti or lasagna noodles.)

about 1 cup of skim/reconstituted powdered milk - the cost here is too small for me to bother calculating. may need more or less. I mostly judge this by sight.

1/5 of a 32 oz. package of store brand of Velveeta block cheese. At 3.99 + tax for 32 oz. it will be .84 cents per meal. (I have not tested cheaper types of cheese. Feel free to do so.)

Just cook the pasta until almost done. Strain, put back into pan with milk and cubed cheese until cheese is melted.

$1.36 for 4 people to eat = .34 cents per person. If you do add-ins, you can stretch this for more people or 2 meals. You can also use an assortment of leftover meats and vegetables so that there is no extra cost for you.

Mac and Cheese Recipes using Boxed Mac and Cheese

I try not to use these any longer, but sometimes I still have to. (We have a healthier, yummier version that we prefer, but it is more costly.) Boxed Mac and Cheese can still be found at 3/$1.00 for the cheap brand, which all of the children love.

Just make the mac and cheese as suggested.

Add-ins: (Use any combination of these that you have on hand, even small amounts.)

Vegetables:

corn

peas

green beans

carrots

broccoli

 

Meats:

(Use 1/4 to 1/2 lb of whatever you choose)

ground beef

tuna

steak

hot dogs

pork

ham

 

Others:

onion

garlic

pasta/pizza sauce

seasonings of choice

 

Freezing: Tuna does not freeze well.  Vegetables do, as do the rest of the meats. I can not vouch for the onion and garlic. Freeze individually in quart size freezer bags.