Any ideas for cheap meals..with not...

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Any ideas for cheap meals..with not...
8
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 5:05pm
too much cooking involved? Our eating out budget has been busted this month, in part because it is too hot to cook (no AC) I have things in the freezer right now that I could cook..but it would make the place unbearable. We have been eating a lot of hot dogs!! and soup, and sandwiches. Anyone have any simple recipes to share?? Thanks!!
Heather
PS: I already made my budget up to mid-July YAY!!!! (I usually do stick to it when one is in place.)
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 5:13pm

Here are some hot-weather recipes that are also cheap:

Raw spaghetti--cut zucchini into narrow strips (roughly the size of spaghetti noodles), top with a can of diced pasta-style tomatoes and a handful of whatever herbs you like. Add a little olive oil if you wish and salt and pepper to taste. Grate cheese over the top, or not, as cheese is an expensive ingredient and not necessary.

Tuna salad sandwiches (beware, though--a single can of tuna can put your children over the safe limit for mercury consumption for an entire month--not exactly healthy for adults, either, but downright dangerous for children, imo--I don't feed my children tuna at all since I learned that). Substitute cannned chicken if you like, but it's more expensive.

Baked veggies and fruit dinner--not really traditional, but we sometimes just put potatoes and/or sweet potatoes in the oven, and serve it with whatever fruit we have lying around the house. Also not really cheap, now that I think of it...

Try slow cooking, too--it will heat up your house somewhat, but because it's less heat over a longer period, you won't notice it as much. And it's easy and there are lots of cheap recipes out there. Something with lentils is a good idea--lentils are very cheap, easy to cook, yummy, and combined with rice or other grain provide a complete protein without meat (which is expensive).

What have you got in your pantry? We can play "stump the cook" lol. Tell us what you've got, and we can try to come up with cool, easy meals to prepare without shopping. :)

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 6:14pm
Heather,
My pantry is an embarrassment. I have baked beans, canned corn, pancake mix, rice, noodles, popcorn, corn chex, oatmeal, chicken broth. For meats, i have beef cubes (stew meat) and ground beef. I have potatoes and carrots, and all i need to make homemade bread. I was going to go to the store today, but dinner is going to be potato pancakes and corn fritters (sorry, honey :) Oh, did I mention hot dogs?? I have frozen dinners in the freezer, too, but really, i just haven't been out grocery shopping..I don't even have salad fixings (and I always bring salad to work with me.) Hey, if you can make anything worthwhile with what I've got, please share. (hope you guys aren't laughing at me too much!! ) So tempted to go out and get corn on the cob. Here's a better challenge. I have $9 in my wallet. What can I buy at the store that will feed us for the weekend?? (I do have money in the bank if I have to go over.) Oh, I have the weekend off from work (doesn't ever happen, I just took time off for my sanity) so it will be all that much harder to keep spending in check!
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 7:48pm

not to chase you away, there is a board here at Ivillage called frugal kitchen.
Its under Home and Food boards I think. I have had it in my favorites so long not sure exactly how to navigate to it now. there are actually 2 frugal boards i visit...frugal kitchen and frugal living. the kitchen one has oodles of suggestions on cheap meals...some requiring more or less cooking. It also has people who post saying what is in the pantry, and others post meal suggestions based on that.

am sure you would find some useful recipes already there, and get more if you post the question there.

auntydoxzz

Avatar for sohappilyme
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 8:05pm

I have two meals that I can make with change from the sofa cushions.

Sarah
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 06-23-2005 - 8:17pm

Do you have a crockpot? I tend to use it alot on the really hot days. There are lots of really great recipes on the Internet for crockpots. Cheap recipes, too. Ours puts out a lot of heat but some models don't really after the room temperature. We have a deck next to our kitchen so just run an extension cord outside, plug it in (after it's filled), put it near the door and let it do it's job without raising the temperature inside. I also did this when I lived in an apartment, on the balcony.

Lynne

Edit: Forgot to meantion that I sometimes plug the crockpot into a timer and then the timer into the extension cord. That way I can control when and how long it runs.




Edited 6/23/2005 8:19 pm ET ET by lynnegirl24
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2003
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 4:51am

Hi, I love to use this meal when I am in a rush but I am not sure what you eat but I will give it to you anyway.
*Ingredients:
Turkey (cold cut turkey) sliced thick
Stove Top Stuffing
Turkey Gravy
*Preperation:
Make Stove Top
Place a scoop into a slice of turkey and roll it up (repeat until stuffing of Turkey is finished)
Place all of your turkey rolls in a pan
Pour your can of gravy on top
*Cooking Direction:
Place in oven or even on BBQ (2nd rack)for about 15-20 mins.

I usually serve it with corn.

Hope you get to try it, we love it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 8:35am
Hey, that sounds good!!! I might just give that one a try.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2003
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 9:23pm
It is a great meal, so if you try it I hope you enjoy it.
-Cindy