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favorite frugal, fresh, easy, warm weather meals/foods?


ktgrok
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shopping today, and need some frugal ideas as this week will be tight. But, I'm also on a deadline with my book due this week, so I won't have a lot of meal prep time. And it's hot this week, so chili and such is out.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I'll be shopping at Walmart or Aldi probably - most likely Walmart. 

 

 

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new potatoes,boiled in the skin, scrambled eggs, and salad

frittata

hearty salad with chick peas or some other beans so it's a filling main dish

tacos

pasta primavera

pasta salad

stir fry

gnocchi with onion and rosemary; bell pepper salad (our Aldi has Italian week and got three kinds of gnocchi in)

Thai curry

 

Edited by regentrude
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Sounds like time for chicken/beef done in crockpot, and put into tortillas with whatever else added to it (cheese, salsa, guac, etc.)  Chips and/or rice fill out the corners.   Add some frozen corn (steam it!) if needed. 

 

I could make a meal out of cowboy caviar and flatbread  :)

 

Cobb salad  or taco salad

 

fried rice (with egg, bits of meat, etc.) 

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Keep it simple:

 

deli meat - turkey, roast beef, ham

+ starch - roll, pretzels, crackers, sandwich bread

+ fruit - apple, pears, grapes, 

+ extra protein - hard-boiled egg, cheese, pepperoni slices,peanut butter for the apple

and a salad, if you like ... or a tray of prepared vegetables from the grocery store (pricey but perfect for these kind of weeks)

 

One of my easiest "go make it yourself" kid meals is to wrap the deli meat around a string cheese, or to make little "sandwiches" with Triscuits topped with a slice of meat, slice of hard cheese. Somehow that presentation makes it more palatable to the kids  :confused1: LOL.

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This was a hit and I plan to make it a regular here.

 

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken with Black Beans and Corn - Put it all in the crock pot in the morning and you just need to make rice at the end of the day. It would probably be good in tortillas. I didn't tell dh it was from Skinnytaste.com until after he raved about it. ;)

 

I make a curried chicken salad for sandwiches, using canned chicken breast. No measurements because it depends on how many cans of chicken I use (depending on if ds 20 will be here for dinner). Mix drained canned chicken breast with  chopped celery and onions, dried cranberries (craisins), salt and pepper, and curry powder. I just sprinkle in the curry powder until it looks good, sorry. I do taste a bit to get an idea but don't measure. Add mayonnaise and mix. We like it best on Publix French hamburger buns but it's also good in other bakery type buns (from either Walmart or Aldi) or in pita pockets. 

 

Baked potato bar with the potatoes "baked" in the microwave. Serve do-your-own-toppings (cheese, sour cream, broccoli, black bean and corn salsa, whatever your family likes). Add a small salad on the side. 

 

Does your family like main dish salads? I make a lot of them when it's too hot or I'm too busy to cook. Add a protein like chicken, hard boiled eggs, ham, bacon, or almost any leftover meat. It's easy to mix earlier in the day and just add dressing when it's time to eat.

Edited by Lady Florida.
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Who some good ideas. I just remembered I have a green curry sauce in a jar in the pantry. I'll do that with chicken and some frozen veggies one day. And then lots of sandwich stuff and some good bread. Maybe cold pasta salad? I could do barbecue chicken in the instant pot too. And tacos. Thank you!

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There are some easy Pad thai recipes online. I think they taste just as good cold and ingredients are minimal.

 

Last night, I cut up an onion, a bell pepper, and some mushrooms. Put on some olive oil, cumin, red pepper flakes, S&P. Sautéed them in the skillet (like fajita veggies). Then I served it on flour tortillas with refried beans from a can. It was so delicious, easy, and cheap!

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Some of our warm weather/easy meals:

 

Black beans over rice, topped with your choice of fresh chopped tomatoes, grated cheese, cilantro, onions

Chilled cucumber/yogurt/mint soup (super easy -- whip it up in a blender and chill) and sandwiches

Tuna pasta salad (also super easy -- just canned tuna, pasta shells, chopped sharp cheddar cheese, chopped onions, salt, pepper, mayo (to taste), a squirt of lemon juice, cilantro, plus frozen peas added right before serving)

Make-your-own granola/fruit parfaits (place bowls of granola (as less sweet as possible), fresh berries, plain lowfat yogurt, milk, berry juice on the table, and everyone creates their own;  it sounds more like breakfast but we'd have this in the summer sometimes and the kids loved it)

Lentil/feta cheese salad (I don't have the recipe right now, but it also is super easy...  you can probably google a recipe online.)

 

 

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Another cold pasta salad recipe I like.

 

Cook up a box of pasta...any shape works, I like rotini.  Rinse with cold water till cool.

 

Add a chopped cucumber, some halved cherry tomatoes, a drained can of mushrooms, a sliced red onion, and a drained can of olives (preferably small ones.)  Mix an 8oz can with a couple of tablespoons of prepared italian salad dressing.  Add a tiny bit of salt and a little bit of basil and oregano.  Pour over the pasta and veggies, stir together.  You could also add some cut up cooked chicken or ham and make this one a meal on it's own.

 

 

Super-similar to our recipe. We put in fresh mushrooms (but I only put in dh's, because they get slimy in leftovers), and put in cucumber, too, and use black olives. We add about 6oz of cubed mozz cheese if dd is not eating it, or a little shredded chicken if she is. 

I can chop the veg in the time it takes the pasta to cook, so it really is a 15 min meal. 

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Check the door of your fridge. Sometimes that gives me inspiration. I threw a whole chicken doused in bbq sauce in the crockpot today, pulled it out, picked it apart, added it back with more sauce and had sandwiches for dinner. Sometimes there’s some pesto the fridge door, maybe green curry paste or stir fry sauce. All good inspiration for a quick or frugal meal.

 

My family is always game for Korean beef, rice and a side of stir fried veggies.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by SamanthaCarter
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