createCooking on a budget
Prices in the supermarket keep going up and up. It’s getting harder to cook a decent meal for my family at a reasonable price. Can anyone suggest some reasonable recipes that won’t break the bank?
Thank you. I loved the Lentil Soup. It was cheap easy and delicious. I added some sour cream and the whole family loved it.
Do you have any more suggestions. Prices are only going up. Meat we have cut to a once a week treat. It’s hard to balance the family budget when we get so much less for the same price.
If you like the lentil soup, you should definitely try butternut squash soup. Great with chunks of bread and butter to dip in it!
Have you thought about making your own pizza dough? I love Andrew’s recipe (it isn’t as tough as it looks, really) and it’s great because you can put absolutely anything on top of it. The kids love it too!
Might I also suggest that my ragu recipe might be worth considering. I include short-ribs in it, but you can easily omit these (and the wine… although I always keep the dregs of a bottle in the pantry for just such an occasion). The remaining ingredients are inexpensive, you can make a very large pot of it, and then freeze it in batches. Add kidney beans and chili to one batch for a variation. You can use it on pasta, mash potatoes, on rice… the possibilities are endless.
Good luck.
Amy you ask a very good question. People the world over have been hit with rapidly escalating food prices and here in the US we have felt those increases doubly so as our dollar declines and the cost of simply driving to the store shoots up faster than my blood pressure when I standing at the gas pump. And for most of us the net impact involves some cost cutting and changes in our menu planing. Here’s what I suggest:
Eat out less. Home cooking is almost always better (when you use GreatGrub recipes at least) and it is always cheaper.
Eat out of box less (or cook more). Based on my observations of grocery stores in my area the prices of processed and prepared foods have gone up faster than the prices of raw ingredients. So cut out the middle man and revel in the pleasure of preparing your own meals.
Eat less red meat. Red meat has gone up the fastest. When I was young steak was a once a week or two treat. And then as the prices came down and we started eating it a lot more. The upside of higher beef prices today, is that there is much more variety of reasonably priced ingredients available to us as cooks to choose from then when I was a kid. And that means lots of delicious options.
Buy 20% more. While this advice sounds counterintuitive, it can save you money if you plan properly. When I prepare dinner I make enough for leftovers that can be re-purposed for lunch the next day. For examples my daughter’s school offers a hot lunch which sounds wholesome, but my daughter takes leftovers from the dinner before. She eats more wholesome food that tastes better than stale pizza and we save a bundle. I eat the leftovers too and that has the added bonus of keeps me from buying junk at the local deli stand. And best of all I am firm believer that almost all foods taste better the next day. Try it and see.
Shop the Farmer’s Market if there is one nearby. The prices local farmers charge have gone up the least. That their product is fresher and better is an added bonus
Recipes: Here are some of my favorites broken out by category.
Soups: Soups are a great way to prepare a delicious meal on a budget.
- Vegetarian French Lentil Soup David mentioned the sausage version above and if you want to save a little this recipe is equally delicious without the sausage.
- Irish Parsnip Soup I all but guarantee that your whole family will love this one. It is rich in everything but price.
- Ox Tail Soup This is simple and delicious.
- Chicken Egg Drop Soup Be sure to freeze the extra broth to serve as a foundation for other soups. It has far less sodium and taste better than store brought broth.
- Minted English Pea Soup This is just good. Use frozen peas to save a little dough.
There are loads more delicious soup recipes. Simply follow this link.
Main Courses:
- Grandma’s Corn Flake Chicken (Revisited)
- Simply spaghetti
- Charie’s Quiche
- Chicken meatballs
- Tomato Sauce with Pasta
- Lemon spaghetti
- Classic Chicken in Vinegar
- Slow roasted pork shoulder
- Fettuccini carbonara
Sides & Veg
Wow. That is some great advice. My husband was reluctant to take “leftovers” but I found his old lunch box from when he was a kid and sent him to work with Lentil Soup one day and Flank Steak the next. Now he loves his lunch.
My eldest starts school next year. Can you suggest some lunch menu items?
The couscous was delicious. Even my husband enjoyed it. We also liked the pasta carbonara though we made it with bacon which is cheaper than pancetta.
Also, leftovers have now become the rule rather than the exception for lunch in our household. My husband now complains when he has to buy lunch from the deli at work. I think his co-workers are jealous.
That’s a great forum question.
If it’s meat you fancy, stay away from the expensive cuts. Summer flank steak is a favorite for my family. Serve this up with some steamed vegetables and maybe some mashed potatoes. Pasta dishes are also really great for wholesome and hearty meals. Try this link for some great recipes. I particularly like lemon spaghetti because it is so quick and inexpensive (and one of my recipes!). My kids and I also love all-in-one soups. I really like French lentil soup with sausage with a loaf of crusty bread on the side!