Archive for the ‘Meals for Less than $5.00’ Category

Meals for Less Than $5.00: Southwestern Goulash w/ Cornbread

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

img_2939When we are trying to come up with delicious meals for our family, we know we have to be inventive or it’s so easy to get into a rut of pork chops, chicken breasts, and hamburgers. If we do that, it will be super boring to eat at home. I look at a lot of recipes in cookbooks, read the internet cooking sites, and of course watch a little Food Network to get ideas. I’m always finding the Honeysuckle White 93/7 ground turkey on sale or coming across coupons for it, so I use it often. Last winter, we learned how to make authentic Hungarian goulash and this is simply a Southwestern variation on it. In the southwest, our food is influenced more and more by Spanish cooking. This was very rich, tasty, and of course healthy when compared with many meals you could cook at the same price.

1 lb Honeysuckle White ground turkey 93/7 ($0.83) on sale + $1.00 coupon

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes ($0.49)

1 14.5 oz can of corn ($0.56)

1 15.5 oz can of black beans ($0.59)

1/2 yellow onion ($0.15)

1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper ($0.40)

1/2 bunch of cilantro ($0.44)

3 cloves garlic minced ($0.05)

1 teaspoon kosher salt ($0.05)

CORNBREAD:

1/3 cup cornmeal ($0.25)

3/4 cup unbleached flour ($0.30)

1/2 cup white sugar ($0.25)

3/4 teaspoon table salt ($0.05)

2 teaspoons baking powder ($0.10)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil ($0.10)

1 egg ($0.10)

1/2 cup milk ($0.25)

TOTAL: $4.96

Recipe: Combine diced onion, turkey, salt, and chipotle pepper in a pan. The onion should provide enough moisture to avoid using cooking oil. Brown the turkey. Add all of the other ingredients and simmer on low uncovered the entire time the cornbread is cooking. For the cornbread, mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, mix the wet ingredients in another bowl, and then combine. Pour into a greased baking dish or cast iron skillet and bake on 400 degrees for 21 minutes. If you prefer this dish to be a little soupier, simmer covered.

NOTES: The prices of my ingredients will vary based on the latest prices I pay and of course sometimes I get my meat or canned goods for next to nothing. We buy all private label brands unless we can get a good brand for less either through a sale or with a coupon. I do not include sales tax because many states do not charge taxes on food. This meal feeds two adults, two 12 year old twins, and a 3 year old boy. The 3 year old boy usually only eats part of our meal. If you don’t have any ground chipotle pepper, you could always use a bunch of paprika with some black pepper.  For those unfamiliar, chipotle pepper is simply smoked jalapeno peppers. It adds a nice smoky flavor and heat. I use McCormick’s bottled ground Chipotle Pepper.

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Meals For Less Than $5.00: Meatloaf, Rice and Broccoli

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

img_2865Our family had not spent a full evening together for several days due to all of the activities we’ve participated in so we decided to cook at home last Friday night. I made this meatloaf from ground turkey and added some white rice and some frozen broccoli to go along with it. Our three year old son feasted on the broccoli and didn’t touch anything else. The rice is from our opportunistic purchase in the spring and I got both the Honeysuckle White ground turkey and the Green Giant frozen broccoli on sale. Ground turkey is good alternative to beef. It is tasty and much less costly to buy in the leanest form. I use the 93/7 package in tube form. 

1 lb Honeysuckle White ground turkey ($1.83) on sale

1 package Green Giant frozen broccoli ($1.31) on sale

1 cup white rice ($0.25)

1 teaspoon Goya Adobo con Pimento ($0.05)

1/2 yellow onion, diced fine ($0.15)

1 egg ($0.10)

1/2 cup ketchup ($0.25)

1/4 cup yellow mustard ($0.15)

2 tablespoons brown sugar ($0.15)

1 cup plain breadcrumbs ($0.40)

TOTAL: $4.64

RECIPE: Mix 1 teaspoon of Goya Adobo (garlic powder is fine plus a little salt and pepper), breadcrumbs, egg, ground turkey, and onion in a mixing bowl and mix thorough with your hands. Form the mix in a loaf on a pan or in a loaf cooking dish. Mix your ketchup, mustard and brown sugar in a separate bowl with a spoon. Cover the loaf with this mixture. Cook 1 cup of white rice on stove top with 2 cups of water, covered on low. Cook the meatloaf for approximately 1 hour on 375 degrees.

NOTES: We buy most of our groceries either on sale or private label products (read: generic). Although we get our eggs fresh from my mother’s chickens, I use the price of a regular dozen eggs at ALDI for the price basis. We love ground turkey because it has a good flavor and low fat.  Goya Adobo is a Spanish brand of all purpose seasoning that we learned about from some friends. It is a lot like garlic salt but also contains turmeric and oregano. It is a great seasoning in traditional American food and is cheap to keep around. This one seasoning has garlic powder, salt, oregano, turmeric, cumin, and pepper. It is a cook’s friend! You could substitute seasoning salt or garlic powder.

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Meals for less than $5.00: Cheese Quesadillas with Black Beans and Rice

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

 

A great Saturday lunch

A tasty dinner that was a family favorite

When trying to find meals for less than $5.00 to cook, we naturally look at dishes that involve ground turkey, cuts of meat that we find on sale, beans, rice, and of course pasta. For this dish we used canned black beans, a cup of rice, store brand flour tortillas, a block of Kraft Colby Jack we got on sale, and some of our frozen seasoning blend of vegetables. Everybody in the family loved this meal because it was very tasty and even our three year old son loved the quesadilla.  The oregano and olive oil made the black beans delicious and the vegetable mix gave the rice a big flavor. The quesadillas were a nice finishing touch.  

10 flour tortillas ($0.89)

1 can black beans ($0.59)

1 cup white rice ($0.30)

1 teaspoon oregano ($0.10)

1/2 teaspoon Goya Adobo w/cumin ($0.05)

1/4 onion, 1/4 green pepper, 1/4 red pepper ($0.75)

8 oz. block of Kraft Colby Jack ($1.25) – on sale w/ coupon

2 tablespoons regular olive oil ($0.50)

TOTAL: $4.43

Recipe: Pour the can of black beans into a small sauce pan, including the fluid the beans are packed in. Add oregano, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, Goya Adobo (garlic powder is a good substitute), and simmer covered on low. In a separate sauce pan place diced vegetable mix on medium heat with another tablespoon of olive oil. Sweat this mix and then add the cup of rice. Move this mix around the pan for a minute or two and then add two cups of water. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer on low as you would usually cook rice. Grate the colby jack cheese into a bowl and then put a few tablespoons of cheese in between the flour tortillas making sandwiches. In a skillet on medium low heat, cook each pair of tortillas until slightly golden and rigid on each side.  Serve the beans over the rice with the quesadillas on the side.

NOTE: Goya Adobo seasoning is essentially a garlic salt with turmeric that also includes either pepper or cumin depending on the variety you buy. Garlic powder is a fine substitute but you may want to add a dash of salt. This fed our family of five. We buy private label or store brand items at every opportunity unless there is a sale or a coupon is available for name brand items. We buy our rice in 5 pound bags (Canilla brand) that cost $2.99 at a local grocery store that has a large Spanish and Asian clientele.  I do not add sales tax because many states do not tax groceries.

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Meals for less than $5.00: Scrambled Eggs, Sausage & Wheat Toast

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

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Breakfast for the lunch or dinner meal is fairly popular in America.  Just look at the proliferation of IHOPs and other breakfast restaurants in America.  We cook this meal about once a month for fun.  The kids love it, it’s convenient and tasty as well.  My husband’s mother cooked this meal for him growing up so he especially enjoys it.  Our family gets fresh eggs from my mother.  She has chickens that roam free and she supplies us with fresh eggs.  Please note that we used $1.24 for the cost of a dozen eggs because that is the price we would find at our local grocery store.  We made this meal for under $5.00 and everybody had plenty to eat. 

12 eggs from ALDI ($1.24)

6 slices of whole grain wheat bread ($0.25)

1 package of link sausage from ALDI ($1.99)

3 slices Kraft American Cheese ($0.50)

1 teaspoon Goya Adobo with Cumin seasoning ($0.10)

1 teaspoon dried parsley ($0.10)

TOTAL: $4.18

NOTE: We use Goya Adobo seasonings in place of salt in a lot of our cooking. This a Spanish brand of seasoning that is similar to garlic salt but much better for cooking.  It is granulated garlic, salt, and a variety of herbs or pepper, depending on the variety you purchase.  We also purchase our loaves of bread at a “Day Old” bread store and usually can get high quality brands there such as Orowheat.

Meals for less than $5.00 is part of Kerri’s series on how to feed a family of 5

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