Cheap Cooking Emergency :-(

[shinyhappypeople]

(sorry this is so long and disjointed. Your patience is appreciated)

 

What are your "go to" meals when you're almost broke?

 

Just did the math and we can spend a whopping $8 for food for the rest of the month... assuming DH doesn't need that for gas money. (We have far more than $8 in our account, but he commutes, and at $4.25 a gallon it adds up fast, even in his little commuter.) He gets paid monthly.

 

Now, it's not as dire as it sounds. We have plenty of flour and baking supplies, some chicken, a bit of produce, a couple gallons of milk... oh, heck. I'm not sure exactly what our stock is. But, it's enough to get us through 2 weeks with some creativity. It's the last week that I'm worried about.

 

(By the way, it really helps me to think this through out loud, so to speak. Thanks for listening.)

 

So, the plan is for me to drive nowhere that's not absolutely necessary. If I can squeak by without buying gas, I can put the rest of my gas budget ($25) toward food.

 

Before I proceed further, I need to inventory exactly what we have and plan our menus. I might be in a better situation than I realize.

 

Thank goodness that our 99 Cent Store has a large grocery section.

 

I'm most worried about breakfast and lunch, to be honest. (Suggestions?!)

 

Anyway, I'm totally open to your favorite dirt cheap recipes and calm encouragement. :bigear:

 

Oh, another thing: I'm dreading managing my kids' expectations. They're used to having plenty to eat whenever they're hungry. It's been ages since I've rationed food.

 

I am KICKING myself for hard boiling 4 dozen eggs for Easter. Oh well. Egg salad sandwiches for dinner!

 

I have so much to be grateful for, and this could be so much worse!

 

I'm gonna stop rambling now. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I'm going to go clean my house now. I always feel "richer" in a tidy, sweet-smelling home :D

 

(Is 40 too old to ask mom for help? She'd say yes, but I don't think my pride will let me ask.)

[bettyandbob]

Beans and rice. I buy dried beans and soak and rice in bulk.

 

You've got 3 weeks. I think you can spread those hard boiled eggs out.

[KRG]

In no particular order

 

plain spaghetti--pasta w/tomato sauce and if you have them onion, bellpepper, mushroom

 

anything w/pasta

 

breakfast for dinner--pancakes, french toast

 

peanut butter sandwiches

 

oatmeal w/bananas

 

cheese sandwiches

 

definitely make use of the hardboiled eggs--deviled eggs, egg salad--do you have chicken or tuna you can add them to?

 

beans and rice

 

soup

 

do you have/use ground beef? ground beef, gravy and rice

[Tammyla]

Oatmeal for breakfast is cheap and filling.

 

Beans and pasta are inexpensive and easy to make into different meal options.

[curlylocks]

Oatmeal (good for breakfast, lunch or supper)

Soup (clean out odds/ends of leftover veggies, meat, etc.)

[Jennifer in MI]

:grouphug: You know, I think I'd sit the kids down and explain the situation to them. If you come at it with a really positive attitude - like it's a challenge - I bet they'd be willing to help.

 

Cheap meals. I'd like to know exactly what you have. But, out of what you mentioned, I'd try to stretch the meat into a few meals. Stir fry the chicken. Cut it with a lot of rice or other starch.

 

Cook the bones so you have a broth. Make a hearty soup one night - leftover chicken, beans, veggies, etc. Throw in a couple of eggs at the end. Throw in some dumplings and maybe some homemade rolls.

 

Can you make homemade noodles? Do you have tomatoes or tomato sauce? Spaghetti is cheap.

 

Do you have any beans? Mexican night is cheap and easy - rice, beans, salsa - all the Mexican toppings you can think of.

 

Pinto beans and corn bread is another cheap meal.

 

Oh - and hard boiled eggs will last a few days. Space them out - I see a number of egg salad sandwiches in your future!!!

[kitten18]

For breakfast, I like hard boiled eggs, mashed and heated just a bit in the microwave then I put butter (or whatever you have) on them.

 

I'm sure you'll get lots of great suggestions. :grouphug:

[AK_Mom4]

I second the beans and rice. Pasta too if you can find a sale.

Oatmeal for breakfast is pretty cost effective.

 

Shell all the hard-boiled eggs and FREEZE the ones you aren't eating tonight. They will make wonderful egg-salad next week that way.

 

You probably already do this, but save all your leftovers and make one or two meals a week just from leftovers.

 

I would probably toss one of those gallons of milk in the freezer too and save it for the end of the month when things are getting very lean. Same thing if you have meat like chicken. Dice it and freeze it now so you can add it in small amounts to pasta or rice at the end of the month when things are really tight.

[aggieamy]

Can you post a list of what you have? Give us an inventory and we'll give you a menu!

[regentrude]

If you have flour, you can bake bread.

We traditionally eat bread with jam for breakfast

Sandwiches for lunch

Pancakes

Potatoes are cheap and go a long way - roasted, mashed, boiled.

soup - anything can go in there

[AndyJoy]

:grouphug:

 

A cheap meal my mom grew up eating (and passed on to us) is chipped beef gravy on toast. Just make a white sauce w/milk, butter, and flour (I refer to my Betty Crocker cookbook) then cut up a package or two of pressed, chopped beef (about $0.60-0.80 at my store). We like ours with chopped hard-boiled egg, pepper, and peas on top. You can use other meats or veggies though. It's a great way to use up stale bread and milk that is close to its expiration. I sometimes buy reduced price bread specifically to toast for this.

[kamom]

fried rice with veggies

 

peanut butter jelly sandwich

 

Ramen noodle soup

[Chris in VA]

Cabbage and noodles will fill you up. Just make homemade noodles, fry the cabbage head (chopped up) in oil w onions, add cooked noodles. It's yummy and dirt cheap.

Ah--here's my dear mil's "official" recipe:

 

In large frying pan, pour in oil to cover bottom. Put in 1 small head chopped cabbage and 1 chopped onion in. It will look full, but shrink down about a 3rd. Fry over medium heat until nice and brown. Cover the pan but stir often. Add a little water if it gets too brown.

Noodles--2 eggs, 2 cups flour. Beat the eggs and then stir in flour, with enough warm water to make a soft dough. Roll our on a well-floured board fiarly thin and cut into 1 or 2 inch squares (however you like). Let them dry out for a few hours, turning them over a few times. YOu can set them out overnight to dry. Cook in boiling water until done (check at 5 minutes or so).

 

Pour cabbage mixture over noodles. You can also use a bag of egg noodles.

[Chris in VA]

Wanted to add I wouldn't hesitate to borrow $ to feed my family if it came to that. It isn't as if you've been wasteful, it's just one of those things.

 

Also, Hillbilly Housewife dot com has some cheap ideas.

[aggieamy]

Breakfasts:

 

Muffins - do you have raisins or apples?

Eggs and toast

Toad in a hole

Pancakes

Oatmeal

Omlets with leftover veggies from the night before

 

Lunch:

 

Leftovers

 

Dinners:

 

Honey baked Lentils with rice

Ham and Beans with cornbread

Bean burritos with spanish rice

Grilled chicken with asparagus (it's on sale cheap right now)

Chicken salad (made with leftover grilled chicken)

Taco salad with beans and no meat

Fried rice (leftover rice, a bag of frozen peas and carrots, soy sauce, and an egg)

Chicken lo mein (same idea as fried rice but use leftover noodles instead)

Chicken noodle soup (make a chicken in crockpot, use leftover broth and a little chicken to make soup with noodles)

Lentil tacos or burritos

[aggieamy]

:grouphug:

 

A cheap meal my mom grew up eating (and passed on to us) is chipped beef gravy on toast. Just make a white sauce w/milk, butter, and flour (I refer to my Betty Crocker cookbook) then cut up a package or two of pressed, chopped beef (about $0.60-0.80 at my store). We like ours with chopped hard-boiled egg, pepper, and peas on top. You can use other meats or veggies though. It's a great way to use up stale bread and milk that is close to its expiration. I sometimes buy reduced price bread specifically to toast for this.

 

My grandmother used to make that for me and I actually really like the recipe. It's comfort food here and on my menu for the week.

[cjgrubbs]

:grouphug:

 

One of my cheapest breakfasts is biscuits. If you have flour, shortening, butter and a tad milk you can make biscuits. I put up preserves all summer from fruits we pick so we have jelly biscuits once a week. Also, a cheap staple around here is pancakes. I can make a huge batch from scratch and freeze the ones we don't eat for dinner for breakfasts. Just lay them flat in the freezer on a pan for a few hours and then put them into freezer bags or containers. This way they won't stick together.

 

Noodles can go a long way if your family eats casseroles. Noodles paired with any cream of soup or sour cream or diced tomatoes can be made into something reasonably filling.

[Julie in CA]

Are you on Facebook, and do you have local friends on your list?

 

My friends and I often post "wanted" status updates, asking for whatever is abundantly in season. Right now where I live, people with oranges dropping to the ground are glad to get rid of them. If you have a Freecycle in your area, you can do the same thing. It's not really a charity thing as much as a shared desire not to waste resources. If you have any offers, perhaps dh can pick them up while he's out so you don't have to waste gas.

[Avila]

Beans and rice, bean soup, vegetable soup, cheese pizza (if you make the crust), cheese quesadillas, spaghetti with marinara, fried rice with any leftover meat, baked potatoes with a little cheese or salsa and leftover veggies, tortilla rollups (with cheese, peanut butter, or leftover meat or veggies), oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, and omelettes with cheese and leftover veggies. Anything can be breakfast, lunch or dinner if you think outside the box and use your leftovers.

 

I would shop at Aldi's and the dollar store. I would look at a decent meat department or butcher shop and see if I could get soup bones, though. A big pot of soup can use any leftovers and last several days. Butchers will also sometimes sell the leftover ham bones from people who did not want the bone in their ham from Easter, and you can make ham and beans or soup with that too.

 

If you have things on hand, make your own bread items like corn bread, garlic bread or dinner rolls to stretch a main meal and make the family feel like they are getting the little extras that help us not feel deprived. Throw canned or frozen veggies into things you may not have otherwise to make a meal more filling. And this is a great time to use up jello mixes and such that are in your cabinet, just to make the kids feel like they are having some little extra things.

Edited April 9, 2012 by Asenik

[Avila]

Oops! Double post.

[WistfulRidge]

Can you post a list of what you have? Give us an inventory and we'll give you a menu!

:iagree:

 

I was about to say the same thing, because (seriously) I have nothing better to do with my afternoon...

[Jenny in Florida]

 

I was about to say the same thing, because (seriously) I have nothing better to do with my afternoon...

 

Oh, I'd much rather help plan a menu (especially if I don't have to cook any of it) than type review sheets for my son for the rest of the week.

[shinyhappypeople]

:iagree:

 

I was about to say the same thing, because (seriously) I have nothing better to do with my afternoon...

 

Well, I wouldn't want you to be bored, so here goes:

 

But first, a disclaimer. I am embarrassed. Seeing it written out here, I can see that I have a lot of food (just went shopping last week), I'm just not at all talented when it comes to putting it all together and stretching it. I am feeling very humbled at the moment. Please be gentle. I know some reading this are in much tighter situations and I feel AWFUL complaining about my grocery situation, now that I see how much we have)

 

I have the very do-able (with the Hive's help) task of making making 21 breakfasts/lunches/dinners out of:

 

the usual flour/yeast/(some) oil/baking supplies

 

2 jumbo pork chops (feeds 4 well)

4 lb chicken thighs

6 lb ground beef (patties)

big box of chicken nuggets

5 chicken breasts

turkey lunchmeat

ham lunchmeat

 

1/2 bag of Chinese stir fry vegetables

1/2 bag of frozen broccoli

2 lb. (?) of carrots

1/2 lb of spring mix (lettuce)

2 lb diced butternut squash

1 pint grape tomatoes

2 lb frozen mixed berries

big jar of applesauce

bottle of grape juice

 

1-1/2 gallons of milk

shredded mozzarella (enough for 3 pizzas)

2 huge jars of Parmesan (the powdery kind)

1/4 lb cheddar

1-1/2 lb margarine

 

1/2 small bag of granola (maybe 3-4 bowls worth)

1/2 box of wheat chex

16 frozen waffles

1/2 lb oatmeal

1 lb barley (I've had this f.o.r.e.v.e.r. not sure what to do with it)

2 loaves of bread

Crackers (goldfish, matzo, saltines)

1 lb spaghetti

 

1 jar of pizza sauce

1 can refried beans

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

 

2 lb dried pintos

jar of hawaiian marinade

14 oz can of pineapple chunks

8 oz can of pineapple slices

 

 

So... what do you think? Suggestions? :bigear:

[Denise in Florida]

(sorry this is so long and disjointed. Your patience is appreciated)

 

What are your "go to" meals when you're almost broke?

 

Just did the math and we can spend a whopping $8 for food for the rest of the month... assuming DH doesn't need that for gas money. (We have far more than $8 in our account, but he commutes, and at $4.25 a gallon it adds up fast, even in his little commuter.) He gets paid monthly.

 

Now, it's not as dire as it sounds. We have plenty of flour and baking supplies, some chicken, a bit of produce, a couple gallons of milk... oh, heck. I'm not sure exactly what our stock is. But, it's enough to get us through 2 weeks with some creativity. It's the last week that I'm worried about.

 

(By the way, it really helps me to think this through out loud, so to speak. Thanks for listening.)

 

So, the plan is for me to drive nowhere that's not absolutely necessary. If I can squeak by without buying gas, I can put the rest of my gas budget ($25) toward food.

 

Before I proceed further, I need to inventory exactly what we have and plan our menus. I might be in a better situation than I realize.

 

Thank goodness that our 99 Cent Store has a large grocery section.

 

I'm most worried about breakfast and lunch, to be honest. (Suggestions?!)

 

Anyway, I'm totally open to your favorite dirt cheap recipes and calm encouragement. :bigear:

 

Oh, another thing: I'm dreading managing my kids' expectations. They're used to having plenty to eat whenever they're hungry. It's been ages since I've rationed food.

 

I am KICKING myself for hard boiling 4 dozen eggs for Easter. Oh well. Egg salad sandwiches for dinner!

 

I have so much to be grateful for, and this could be so much worse!

 

I'm gonna stop rambling now. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I'm going to go clean my house now. I always feel "richer" in a tidy, sweet-smelling home :D

 

(Is 40 too old to ask mom for help? She'd say yes, but I don't think my pride will let me ask.)

 

 

I love that sentiment. I need to remember it sometimes.

 

My only suggestion is to try lots of soups and casseroles. Cheap pasta with some veggies and a can of tuna makes a nice dinner.

 

If you have flour and oil you can make pizza crust and top with just about anything.

 

I am stretching one chicken to cover a week here this week. Chicken tacos last night. Chicken pot pie tonight. Chicken soup tommorrow. :lol: I have a can of salmon for salmon patties on Tues to break up the chicken parade. Then more leftover chicken dishes after that. Chicken/broccoli/rice casserole and then maybe chicken chili. hmm?

[aggieamy]

1. Hawaiian Pizza with the ham and pineapple. Make a crust from scratch. Get some lettuce to serve as a salad. Aldi has really cheap lettuce and spinach.

 

2. Cheese Pizza. Ditto crust and salad.

 

3. Hamburger and cheese pizza. (I'd use one or two of the ground beef patties. Stretch the meat.)

 

4. I'd use the pork chops in a stir fry with the veggies. Serve over rice. I'd use only one pork chop though and save the other three for another recipe.

 

5. Grilled chicken with the thighs and breasts

 

6. Chop up leftover chicken and use some for chicken quesedillas with cheddar cheese. Can either buy or make tortillas.

 

7. Shred some of the chicken and use with the pinto beans to make chicken burritos.

 

8. Use rest of leftover chicken to make chicken salad. Serve on homemade biscuits.

 

9. Bean and cheese burritos with refried beans. From scratch spanish rice.

 

10. Beef and barely soup using some more of the beef patties.

 

11. Spaghetti with meat sauce. Use another couple ground beef patties to make this.

 

12. If there's leftover spaghetti noodles then make lo mein. Add another cooked pork chop to stretch this.

 

13. Fried rice.

 

Smoothies for breakfast with the frozen fruit.

 

Oatmeal for breakfast.

 

Waffles for breakfast.

 

Cereal and granola as long as it lasts.

[FO4UR]

The good news is that you really are sitting on a good stock of food.

 

Waste none of it. Eat leftovers for lunch. Cooking all that food costs time - make enough for dinner + next day's lunch and put next day's lunch aside and away BEFORE serving dinner.

 

 

 

Is car pooling an option at all for your dh?

 

 

See if you can make it until that last week without spending a dime. Make it a game, if it makes it more palatable. By that last week, you will have a good list of "I need x in order to cook up y."

 

 

Barley - steam it like rice. Yum! It's good as a soup filler too.

 

 

Save every spoonful of uneaten veggies and freeze. Use the chicken thigh bones to make chicken broth. Use those veggies & the broth to make a "free" soup. You could add some of the barley to that. (They puff up big though...so don't add the whole lb.)

 

 

:grouphug:

[*********]

I know there are ladies on here that will take your inventory list and give you great ideas.

 

I just wanted to suggest that you look into food pantrys in your area. I don't know where you live, but if you want to pm me, I'd be happy to help you dig around and find some by you.

Edited April 9, 2012 by bethanyniez

[readinmom]

Hillbilly Housewife has lots of recipes for situations like these. Check out the emergency food plan.

 

I like the suggestions above, and there is so much you can do with what you have. There seems to be a variety of food types, so you won't be stuck eating grilled cheese every night, etc.

[dragons in the flower bed]

You can also contact local churches to find a food pantry. They usually have lots and lots of bread, so don't buy any.

[KRG]

Use some of the chicken thighs to make stock for chicken noodle soup, chop some carrots and add to the soup. Use spaghetti for noodles.

 

Cube a pork chop and add chinese stir fry

 

cheese pizzas or cheese and pineapple pizza

 

chicken nuggets, cube butternut squash and bake w/butter or have broccoli for a side

 

chicken thighs or breasts cubed and sauteed w/hawaiian marinade, add pineapple chunks--serve over rice or pasta

 

grill chicken thighs or breasts and serve w/lettuce, tomato and carrot salad--sprinkle some shredded cheese on top

 

you can make chef salad w/the lunchmeat, salad and hard boiled eggs

 

bunless cheeseburgers or use bread

 

beans--get some tortillas and make burritos--2lbs of beans would make a ton of burritos and if you don't have everything to make tortillas you can get them inexpensively.

 

I would use the cereal, wafffles and granola for breakfast options

 

Applesauce and fruit for snacks or add to any meal

Edited April 9, 2012 by KRG

[WistfulRidge]

But first, a disclaimer. I am embarrassed. Seeing it written out here, I can see that I have a lot of food (just went shopping last week), I'm just not at all talented when it comes to putting it all together and stretching it. I am feeling very humbled at the moment. Please be gentle. I know some reading this are in much tighter situations and I feel AWFUL complaining about my grocery situation, now that I see how much we have)

 

 

Don't be embarrassed! It happens to me all the time - in fact, I have a scheduled "go through the pantry/fridge/freezer and make a list of everything" day at the end of every month just because I tend to forget a lot of what I've got.

 

For breakfasts: I'd work your way through the cereal, waffles, and hard boiled eggs. I'd also make some homemade bread ("plain" or cinnamon would be a nice breakfast-y bread) - it is pretty filling by itself w/ a little butter but you could easily beef it up with a egg or with some peanut butter

 

For Lunches: Utilize leftovers from dinner. You've also got the chicken nuggets and stuff for sandwiches.

 

Dinners:

* Spaghetti (1 jar spaghetti sauce w/ .5 lb ground beef and) + salad

* Pizza (homemade crust, 1/3 - 1/2 jar sauce, mozz cheese, parmesan cheese) - x2

* Refried bean & cheese burritos (will need to buy tortillas OR you could serve it as a "dip" with saltines or toasted homemade bread cubes)

* Hawaiian Pork Chops w/ Pineapple over rice

* Beans & homemade bread/ cornbread (x3)

* Baked potatoes topped with beans & cheese (x2)

*Hawaiian stir fry (1 chicken breast, finely diced, marinade, stir fry veggies) served over rice

* Oven fried chicken (dredge chicken thighs in flour, fry in a little oil for just a minute or two on each side, finish in oven)

* Parmesan chicken (Cut 2 breasts into 1 inch wide chicken strips, crush saltines and combine with parmesan cheese. Melt some margarine. Dip chicken in margarine and then coat in cracker-cheese mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes)

* Creamy Italian Chicken over rice (1 chicken breast, diced, cook in a little oil over med heat w/ some Italian Seasonings. Remove chicken, make white sauce, add chicken back in - season with salt, pepper, more dried herbs.)

* Hamburgers (1 lb ground beef, homemade buns)

* Hamburger hash (1/2 lb ground beef, crumbled & cooked + homemade hash browns, serve with a little sprinkling of cheese(

* Meatloaf (1.5 lbs ground beef)

* Butternut squash soup (not something I'm familiar with, but it is the first thing that popped into my head. I'm sure google would turn up a good recipe or two)

* Chicken vegetable soup (1 chicken breast, carrots, potatoes)

* Hamburger & barley soup (1 lb ground beef)

* Simple Cheeseburger Pie (google it - just make your own "bisquik" mix; you can also stretch it by only using 1/2 lb ground beef instead of 1 if you want to)

 

 

Hope that helps!

Edited April 10, 2012 by theAmbitiousHousewife

[CalicoKat]

(sorry this is so long and disjointed. Your patience is appreciated)

 

What are your "go to" meals when you're almost broke?

 

Just did the math and we can spend a whopping $8 for food for the rest of the month... assuming DH doesn't need that for gas money. (We have far more than $8 in our account, but he commutes, and at $4.25 a gallon it adds up fast, even in his little commuter.) He gets paid monthly.

 

Now, it's not as dire as it sounds. We have plenty of flour and baking supplies, some chicken, a bit of produce, a couple gallons of milk... oh, heck. I'm not sure exactly what our stock is. But, it's enough to get us through 2 weeks with some creativity. It's the last week that I'm worried about.

 

(By the way, it really helps me to think this through out loud, so to speak. Thanks for listening.)

 

So, the plan is for me to drive nowhere that's not absolutely necessary. If I can squeak by without buying gas, I can put the rest of my gas budget ($25) toward food.

 

Before I proceed further, I need to inventory exactly what we have and plan our menus. I might be in a better situation than I realize.

 

Thank goodness that our 99 Cent Store has a large grocery section.

 

I'm most worried about breakfast and lunch, to be honest. (Suggestions?!)

 

Anyway, I'm totally open to your favorite dirt cheap recipes and calm encouragement. :bigear:

 

Oh, another thing: I'm dreading managing my kids' expectations. They're used to having plenty to eat whenever they're hungry. It's been ages since I've rationed food.

 

I am KICKING myself for hard boiling 4 dozen eggs for Easter. Oh well. Egg salad sandwiches for dinner!

 

I have so much to be grateful for, and this could be so much worse!

 

I'm gonna stop rambling now. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I'm going to go clean my house now. I always feel "richer" in a tidy, sweet-smelling home :D

 

(Is 40 too old to ask mom for help? She'd say yes, but I don't think my pride will let me ask.)

 

Can you go to a food pantry?

[saraha]

When you make pizzas, use less mozzerella than usual and sprinkle the parmesean cheese to cover. We do this and it reminds me of those Chef boyardee pizza box kits my mom used to get.

 

Soup is always cheap, hamburger fried rice (hamburger, onions, green peppers or peas and leftover rice) I don't know if your kids eat casseroles (mine don't) but any vegetables mixed with a white sauce can be covered in biscuit dough. Homemade noodles are really easy

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-noodles/ you can cut them very quickly using a pizza cutter, I use them in soup

These bread sticks are very filling http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Butter-Dip-Breadsticks I serve them with soup for lean meal days

 

Make calzones with leftover veggies and meat, use tomato sauce, or white sauce

 

Hope these help

[LauraGB]

If you have flour, you can always make pasta - it's pretty easy and filling. I agree about checking into a food pantry; they are there for this reason. If I had $8 for the month, I'd have to consider going. Wish I lived closer to you.

[sparkygirl]

I also am paid only once a month and we live on only my salary for a family of five. With the rising cost of gas my family has also experienced this place. While you are sitting on a wonderful food stash that will last most of the month, the end of the month is going to look pretty slim and the anxiety about what that will look like is scary.

 

I have family and friends who know the end of the month is rough for us, particularly if there was an unexpected bill that month. Maybe instead of asking mom for money if she is close would she treat you guys to dinner at her house? Would family and friends be willing to exchange meals, they provide for everyone at the end of the month you provide a meal at the beginning of the month. We have close friends that this is what we do on a regular basis. It is one less meal for me to stress about and she knows that I will provide a meal for all 11 of us once I get paid.

 

Have you looked into once a month cooking? We live by this now, I have my month's meals planned out and sitting in my freezer. That little extra stash frozen and safe is my deposit in the safe that I can feed my family. Sorry I can't offer much help with the menu but wanted to provide some emotional support!

[Mandylubug]

another cheap meal that we use frequently is homemade chicken and dumplings.

 

If you plan on shredding the chicken thighs, then when you boil them, save the liquid and use that as your base. Add a bit of milk and season with salt and pepper. Then in a bowl mix flour and milk till you have a tacky paste... bring the broth and milk mixture to a boil. Drop small spoon fulls of the tacky milk and flour dough into the boiling liquid making "dumplings" after you have used all your dough; the flour will help thicken the broth but if you need more help, just wisk a couple tablespoons of flour into a wee bit of cold water till it isn't lumpy then dump in the pot and let it simmer. It will eventually thicken nicely.. then add a cup of shredded chicken and check your seasonings again before serving.