Your Cheapest, Reasonably Nutritious, Family-Friendly Recipes?

[pensmama87]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions! I have a lot to learn.

I think I will try the powdered milk suggestion for sure. I almost bought some last winter because a friend recommended a recipe for my own hot chocolate powder mix that is much cheaper than buying it pre-mixed, but the box seemed so big to use it for only one thing. But now that I know it’s simpler to use than I thought, and I could use it for cooking even if my kids don’t like it mixed with fresh, I will give it a shot! I do tend towards being a “prepper,” but less for “zombie apocalypse” or “energy breakdown” but more towards “husband unexpectedly loses job and I want our family to not starve.”

We’ve lived under the food stamp limit for quite a while when it comes to groceries alone. I have done $80/week before, but that was before my son was eating as much solid food as he does now. When I bumped it up, that extra $20 actually gave us a lot more purchasing power because I could stock up at best sale prices. If I don’t do any couponing or stock ups now, we do about $60/week, but obviously that would eventually deplete our stockpile and then we’d have to spend more if we kept eating the same things we are now.

So, I guess I’m going to learn to make some soups and buy some weird cuts of meat! I like baking bread when the weather is warm because the dough rises so much better (I always felt a little strange dragging in space heaters to warm up our cold kitchen, spending extra on electricity so I could save money by baking myself?) I’ll have to check out our local farmers’ markets and see if they actually do save money on produce, and we’ll see if we successfully grow anything this year (we did really well last year with tomatoes and peppers, and we’re going to try a few more.) We did a CSA when we first got married and we liked it, but it was definitely more costly than we can afford right now.

 

[Xantippe]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions! I have a lot to learn.

I think I will try the powdered milk suggestion for sure. I almost bought some last winter because a friend recommended a recipe for my own hot chocolate powder mix that is much cheaper than buying it pre-mixed, but the box seemed so big to use it for only one thing. But now that I know it’s simpler to use than I thought, and I could use it for cooking even if my kids don’t like it mixed with fresh, I will give it a shot! I do tend towards being a “prepper,” but less for “zombie apocalypse” or “energy breakdown” but more towards “husband unexpectedly loses job and I want our family to not starve.”

We’ve lived under the food stamp limit for quite a while when it comes to groceries alone. I have done $80/week before, but that was before my son was eating as much solid food as he does now. When I bumped it up, that extra $20 actually gave us a lot more purchasing power because I could stock up at best sale prices. If I don’t do any couponing or stock ups now, we do about $60/week, but obviously that would eventually deplete our stockpile and then we’d have to spend more if we kept eating the same things we are now.

So, I guess I’m going to learn to make some soups and buy some weird cuts of meat! I like baking bread when the weather is warm because the dough rises so much better (I always felt a little strange dragging in space heaters to warm up our cold kitchen, spending extra on electricity so I could save money by baking myself?) I’ll have to check out our local farmers’ markets and see if they actually do save money on produce, and we’ll see if we successfully grow anything this year (we did really well last year with tomatoes and peppers, and we’re going to try a few more.) We did a CSA when we first got married and we liked it, but it was definitely more costly than we can afford right now.

Garage sale bread machine?

We’re on our 2nd bread machine (the first one lasted about 14 years), and with a bread machine, I don’t find that there’s any seasonal issue with getting bread to rise. We’ve never needed additional heat in the kitchen.

The consistency might not be up to your standards if you have managed it old school so many years, but I’m very fond of bread machine bread.

 

[pensmama87]

Actually, about the food stamp allowance, one thing I have often thought, and I have discussed this with people who have had to be on them, is that if you know how to shop and cook (and have the time to do so), you can eat very well on food stamps. The problem, of course, is that “saving” your food stamp allowance does you nothing, so you can’t apply the difference to, say, your heating bill because it’s not cash. So there are families who do require assistance and can manage the food stamps very well (and eat better than they did before they went on them), but during the winter they still have to wear all their sweaters and coats indoors. Assistance is a strange creature.

That being said, I do know without a doubt we do not qualify for government assistance of any kind. We just have incredibly high minimum debt payments thanks to not a small amount of stupidity earlier in life (i.e. more than our budgeted food and household expenditures every month).

 

[pensmama87]

Garage sale bread machine?

We’re on our 2nd bread machine (the first one lasted about 14 years), and with a bread machine, I don’t find that there’s any seasonal issue with getting bread to rise. We’ve never needed additional heat in the kitchen.

The consistency might not be up to your standards if you have managed it old school so many years, but I’m very fond of bread machine bread.

Maybe they are different now (or my mom just had a weird one), but we had a bread machine growing up and in every loaf there ended up being a hole in the bread because of the way it worked. That is probably my primary objection to a bread machine, so, if that can be fixed, I’d be much more open to getting one.

(The second objection is, do I have to change my bread recipes? Are the recipes machine specific?)

 

[KnitNut]

Another consideration - arrange your cooking to save $ on electric bills.

Save your veggie peels, carrot tops, onion skins, chicken bones, etc - pop them in gallon ziplocks in the freezer & keep adding to the bags. In the winter, haul out the big crock pot and simmer them overnight into wonderful broths…and then can the broth. The extra heat from simmering & canning will help warm your kitchen! Likewise, bake big batches of breads/pitas/cakes and wrap them for the freezer for warmer months. (Sometimes the oven light gives enough heat for a decent rise…and a longer, slower rise isn’t a bad thing, especially for whole grain breads.)

Likewise, in the summer, think about using a toaster oven instead of firing up the full-sized appliance. Less energy cost and less heat in the kitchen. Use crock pots instead of simmering on a stove. Consider an induction cooker, which doesn’t cook via heat…it will keep your kitchen much cooler. We have used the stand-alone individual induction devices for many years and LOVE them.

Also consider cooking outside. For all-weather, we use a Volcano grill, which uses minimal charcoal compared to other charcoal grills (it also uses propane or wood, bonus!) A bag of charcoal is cheap and lasts a long time. We roast entire turkeys, hams, and chickens on it. We bake on it. You can use a dutch oven (or stack them) to cook, too. All in all, very cheap. Plus you can cook if the power goes out.

We also cook with solar extensively - again, it’s free energy (once you buy or construct your devices), and it doesn’t heat up the house…we save a lot on our cooling costs by taking the cooking outdoors. Those savings alone (winter AND summer) could give you room to expand your grocery budget, or to save for other expenses.

 

[KnitNut]

Re: bread machines - you can use them to mix/rise the dough, but then bake in your oven or over the grill. Most machines have a “dough” setting which stops when the rise is done. This is great for pizza dough, as well as breads.

Re: powdered milk - If your budget allows for limited protein purchases, you can add it to just about anything to bump up the protein a bit. Doughs, casseroles, soups, cereals.

Also consider dehydrating your veggies to save for winter. It takes less space to store, and you can use them in almost anything - powdered in pizza dough, crumbled into soups, etc. If there are farms near you, you may be able to snag the bruised tomatoes, etc, to put up as sauces, or to dry for later use.

 

[Xantippe]

Re: bread machines - you can use them to mix/rise the dough, but then bake in your oven or over the grill. Most machines have a “dough” setting which stops when the rise is done. This is great for pizza dough, as well as breads.

Yes!

 

[E_7]

Costco sells cans of shredded chicken. Six cans make 4.5lbs at 11.99 (package of 6 cans which make 12 servings in total, 2 per can). People trying to eat healthy or be “in shape” recommend chicken from cans because it is healthier, or so the internet says. Imagine that.

 

[E_7]

Pensmama,

One of many things I learned from grandma and my mom is to NOT throw away the skin or peel of whatever you peeled or whaterver part of the fruit or vegetable is ugly or damaged. Instead, throw it to whatever you are planting. It serves as the best manure to help your seeds and plants grow faster than whatever is in store. I’ve seen and tasted delicious huge pumpkins on my parents’ field, bananas, papayas and green beans, and this enormous plant of oregano! Grandma has small sweet peppers, pumpkins and avocados.

 

[pensmama87]

Pensmama,

One of many things I learned from grandma and my mom is to NOT throw away the skin or peel of whatever you peeled or whaterver part of the fruit or vegetable is ugly or damaged. Instead, throw it to whatever you are planting. It serves as the best manure to help your seeds and plants grow faster than whatever is in store. I’ve seen and tasted delicious huge pumpkins on my parents’ field, bananas, papayas and green beans, and this enormous plant of oregano! Grandma has small sweet peppers, pumpkins and avocados.

We do have a composter and I love it. (I have a turning one that is elevated off the ground to deter critters, because we have lots of critters around here).

KnitNut and Xantippe: That is awesome about the bread machine just having a dough setting. I have used a stand mixer to knead, but that doesn’t help rising too much if the room is cold. My oven has a “proof” setting but the one time I tried to use it was a disaster. I will keep an eye out for a machine, but should be good through this summer if a cheap one doesn’t appear.

E_7 also reminded me I need a new can opener. My old one, which had been finicky for a while, finally died on Monday. I’m willing to invest in a decent one because we do use a fair number of canned goods and having my arm feel like it was going to fall off because of the muscle power required for the old opener was not conducive to a prompt supper.

I do use our crock pot a lot and when I bake or use the grill I make sure I am doing a lot at once to maximize its use (I do a lot of doubling or tripling then freezing the extras - saves time, effort, and dishes, too in addition to the power for the appliances!)

 

[EasterJoy]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions! I have a lot to learn.

I think I will try the powdered milk suggestion for sure. I almost bought some last winter because a friend recommended a recipe for my own hot chocolate powder mix that is much cheaper than buying it pre-mixed, but the box seemed so big to use it for only one thing. But now that I know it’s simpler to use than I thought, and I could use it for cooking even if my kids don’t like it mixed with fresh, I will give it a shot! I do tend towards being a “prepper,” but less for “zombie apocalypse” or “energy breakdown” but more towards “husband unexpectedly loses job and I want our family to not starve.”

We’ve lived under the food stamp limit for quite a while when it comes to groceries alone. I have done $80/week before, but that was before my son was eating as much solid food as he does now. When I bumped it up, that extra $20 actually gave us a lot more purchasing power because I could stock up at best sale prices. If I don’t do any couponing or stock ups now, we do about $60/week, but obviously that would eventually deplete our stockpile and then we’d have to spend more if we kept eating the same things we are now.

So, I guess I’m going to learn to make some soups and buy some weird cuts of meat! I like baking bread when the weather is warm because the dough rises so much better (I always felt a little strange dragging in space heaters to warm up our cold kitchen, spending extra on electricity so I could save money by baking myself?) I’ll have to check out our local farmers’ markets and see if they actually do save money on produce, and we’ll see if we successfully grow anything this year (we did really well last year with tomatoes and peppers, and we’re going to try a few more.) We did a CSA when we first got married and we liked it, but it was definitely more costly than we can afford right now.

In addition to powdered regular milk, know that powdered buttermilk is a reasonable substitute for buttermilk in baking. A can of dried buttermilk is good for a very long time, but I’ve found myself wondering what to do with the tail-end of a carton of buttermilk. There is nothing less frugal than buying something and letting it go to waste.

 

[TemperanceOfGod]

For a Dessert:

Dump Cakes are easy.

Take an oblong baking dish (9x13) and spray or grease your baking dish.

Add fruits: you can use canned, canned and fresh, or fresh:
add a large can (28oz) fruit of your choice: peaches, fruit cocktail, pineapple. I like a lot of fruit and add 2 cans.
Peeled, cubed or sliced, fresh apples are cheap and I mostly make apple dump cakes.

Then sprinkle a package of white or yellow cake mix (dry) over the fruit.
(this recipe doesn’t work with gluten-free cake mixes)

Then cut up 1 stick of butter into small cubes and distribute over the dry cake mix. That’s it.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven about 45 minutes or until top is browned and fruit juices are bubbling.

 

[oldgraymare2]

This is a free offer for a nice little recipe cookbook from the makers of “Jiffy Mix” cake mixes and muffin mixes.

Here is the link for the sign-up page if you are interested in getting one and filling it out:

jiffymix.com/bookorder.php

I love their corn muffin mixes. Aldi’s sells them.

Many of your large area supermarkets will often sell Jiffy Mix’s various cake and muffin mixes if you can’t find them in some of your other smaller stores.

I have this recipe cookbook, and it is really nice. It has some of the “dump cake-type” recipes in it, and that is what made me think of posting about it. The recipes in it are easy.

Here are also some free recipe booklets that you can order or print from Sun-Maid Raisin’s website:

sunmaid.com/recipes.html

 

[UbiCaritas]

Re bread dough: I have been known to set the oven to the lowest possible setting, wait a minute or two, and then turn it off. I’ll open the door, and feel the temperature with my hand, using room-air to get it to about the right temperature. Then I’ll put the bread dough in there to rise. Ovens hold warmth well and reasonably evenly, and this means I don’t either let the dough rise too fast or have to wait on it forever.

 

[oldgraymare2]

Re bread dough: I have been known to set the oven to the lowest possible setting, wait a minute or two, and then turn it off. I’ll open the door, and feel the temperature with my hand, using room-air to get it to about the right temperature. Then I’ll put the bread dough in there to rise. Ovens hold warmth well and reasonably evenly, and this means I don’t either let the dough rise too fast or have to wait on it forever.

This is a good thing to do.

You can also use the “warm” setting in your oven, if it has one. Mine goes down that low. It is usually something like 150-180 degrees. You wouldn’t normally cook anything at temperatures that are these low, but you can keep food warm at these temperatures, and you can use them to help get the oven warm enough so that you can use it to proof your bread dough.

 

[revert_jen]

When I was young and poor, I lived on casseroles. Basically it was barley or pasta, a little meat, some sauce (bouillon cubes of the appropriate flavor and water with herbs and spices–and you could use dried milk in that too), and then lots of frozen peas, and frozen carrots and/or green beans and/or whatever was cheap that I felt like eating, and some onions. I’d put some bulk cheese on the top and some breadcrumbs (made from real stale bread!).

The peas added protein (and if you pay attention to sales you can get frozen veg really cheap), the onion was vital for it not to be boring, and the herbs and spices were necessary for it not to be the same every darn time.

It’s actually just as good as leftovers, so make a big one! I was working at the time, so not a lot of time to be creative. A touch of bacon would have been great, but it was a bit expensive. However, if you fry up bacon and put it in your casserole, then you have a vital ingredient (bacon grease) of cornbread, as a special treat.

–Jen

 

[UbiCaritas]

When I was young and poor, I lived on casseroles. Basically it was barley or pasta, a little meat, some sauce (bouillon cubes of the appropriate flavor and water with herbs and spices–and you could use dried milk in that too), and then lots of frozen peas, and frozen carrots and/or green beans and/or whatever was cheap that I felt like eating, and some onions. I’d put some bulk cheese on the top and some breadcrumbs (made from real stale bread!).

The peas added protein (and if you pay attention to sales you can get frozen veg really cheap), the onion was vital for it not to be boring, and the herbs and spices were necessary for it not to be the same every darn time.

It’s actually just as good as leftovers, so make a big one! I was working at the time, so not a lot of time to be creative. A touch of bacon would have been great, but it was a bit expensive. However, if you fry up bacon and put it in your casserole, then you have a vital ingredient (bacon grease) of cornbread, as a special treat.

–Jen

Oooooh, that reminds me!!

If you look in the cured meats (bacon, sausage) area of your grocery store, you may be able to find packages of bacon ends/trimmings. (You’re more likely to find this, In my experience, in stores that aren’t catering to really high-income clientele.) The pieces are only an inch or two long, so they won’t really work for bacon as a side dish, like with pancakes, but they are GREAT for flavoring dishes! IIRC, I used to get three pounds of them for about $7, and that package would flavor meals for two months. I’d divide it up into a lot of little containers and freeze them, and when I’d make soup or something, I’d pull out one of the containers, fry the bacon, and use the bacon and the resultant fat to flavor the soup. Yum!

 

[Xantippe]

Oooooh, that reminds me!!

If you look in the cured meats (bacon, sausage) area of your grocery store, you may be able to find packages of bacon ends/trimmings. (You’re more likely to find this, In my experience, in stores that aren’t catering to really high-income clientele.) The pieces are only an inch or two long, so they won’t really work for bacon as a side dish, like with pancakes, but they are GREAT for flavoring dishes! IIRC, I used to get three pounds of them for about $7, and that package would flavor meals for two months. I’d divide it up into a lot of little containers and freeze them, and when I’d make soup or something, I’d pull out one of the containers, fry the bacon, and use the bacon and the resultant fat to flavor the soup. Yum!

Brilliant!

 

[JennyAnne]

Nachos - a big favourite of mine! I skip the fake neon orange cheese though. Corn chips, cheddar cheese, and re-fried beans! I like to dip them in salsa and sour cream. They’re extra yummy baked in the oven to get brown and crispy, but they can be microwaved in a pinch

 

[pensmama87]

Nachos - a big favourite of mine! I skip the fake neon orange cheese though. Corn chips, cheddar cheese, and re-fried beans! I like to dip them in salsa and sour cream. They’re extra yummy baked in the oven to get brown and crispy, but they can be microwaved in a pinch

These are a favorite lunchtime treat of mine, especially when we have little bits of leftover meat or beans from this or that that I hate to throw away. I have bought the corn tortillas and made my own chips sometimes, too, but the Aldi brand tortilla chips are very cheap and tasty.

I am a sucker for Tex-Mex. The only thing now is I can’t put as many jalapenos in things as I want if it’s a family recipe. But I’ll convert those kids someday!!