Best Bang For Your Buck Recipe

[Crusty McPottydoodle]

Times are tough. We are all tightening our belts.

What is your best bang for your buck recipe?

One of our best is:

Homemade Hamburger Helper (feeds 4 - 5 normal people or me, feller and one son)

1lb ground beef
1 onion
3 sticks celery
1/2 lb mushrooms
1 packet taco seasoning
500 gram packet cooked noodle pasta (we use fusilli)

While pasta is cooking, sautee ground beef, onion, celery and mushrooms. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Add drained pasta and mix throroughly. Depending on how watery the sauteed mixture is, you may want to add a little more water.

This can be stretched further by adding more taco seasoning and more pasta.

Serve with salad or steamed veggies.

Oh yeah, a variation on this is to replace the pasta with about 2-3 cups cooked rice and use it as tortilla filling with whatever else you like in your tortillas (tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, sour cream etc)

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of oil
1 cup White rice
8 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 cups water
(optional: Knorr's tomato or chicken bullion, diced onion, diced garlic, or salt and pepper)


Directions:
Heat oil in saucepan.
If adding onion and garlic, saute till tender.
Add white rice, stir and saute till some turn slightly golden.
(Do not let any brown or burn. If it does, throw out, start over.)
Add 2 cups of water.
Add tomato sauce.
Add Knorr's or salt and pepper to taste. I add 1 tbsp. Knorr's.

Stir.
Bring to a boil.
Lower heat to low, put lid on.
Done when rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

I add browned ground beef or shredded chicken, wrap in tortilla, voila. Fast dinner. Cheap dinner.

 

[PattiXmas]

I like to buy a ham when on sale. For a few days, we have ham that had been backed in the oven. Then I make Scalloped Cheesy Potatoes and Ham.

Peeled Potato Slices,
Peeled Onion Slices,
Chunked up Ham


Cover potatoes, onions and ham with water and tin foil. Bake in oven at 350 until potatoes are soft. If too thin, you can add instant potatoes to thicken it. When the potatoes are nice and soft, and 1 pound of cheddar cheese. bake until cheese is melted, mixed in. We can usually get 2 meals out of this as well.

Another favorite of my mom's is

Pinto Beans, corn bread

When you get tired of pinto beans, you can always make a chili out of it

.

 

[PattiXmas]

This wasn't suppose to be eaten by the hubby and kids, but they ate it and loved it!

When my pups were little and they'd get an upset belly, I would boil up a few chicken breasts and make some white rice. Cube up the chicken breast, mix in with the white rice, add a bit of the broth to make it a bit moist.

The family loved it when the pups were/got sick.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Pinto Beans

I buy the big bag at Sam's Club.

In the morning:
Boil 2 cups of beans in saucepan. Drain. Rinse. This will make them less gassy.

Put the beans in a crockpot. Put in a lot of water. Set the crockpot on low if for next day. Put on high if for dinner.

After they've started softening, add spices. I add Knorr's chicken bullion.

You can add bacon, but the beans will last for days if you don't.

 

[redhen]

These all sound yummy!

 

[Thomas423]

Peanut Butter French Toast

Spread peanut butter between two pieces of bread.
Dip in usual french toast egg mixture.
Cook as you would french toast.
Add a side of fruit for a complete meal.

High in protein and my kids loved it.

 

[Sitka]

I don't have a specific recipe, but my wife makes a big pot of chili that we both like so much that we don't get tired of it. Costs about $30 for the ingredients, but it can last us about a week.

Another trick is to look in the bin in the meat section of the grocery store for packages that are expiring that day or the next day --- they will usually be marked down 30% or even 50%. Last week saw a huge picnic ham for $7. If you are able to cook the meat that day, it ought to be fine.

 

[thechickenchick]

Quote:
This is genius!! My son is going to love it!

 

[a2ms4chickens]

Quote:
This is genius!! My son is going to love it!

Why didn't I think of that!

I'm going to make some this weekend. My boys will love it!
Thanks for the idea!