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Eating Cheap

Some people have been asking how I keep my grocery bill down, and the truth is, sometimes I sacrifice what we eat.

Hamburger Helpers go on sale for less than a $1, and I have coupons, we're having Hamburger Helper. The Homestyle Bakes usually aren't a bad deal either. I noticed on my last box of Pasta Roni (which is never more than $1) it had a recipe for adding beef or chicken, making it a lot like a Hamburger Helper as well. The truth is, meat (ground hamburger, shredded or chunked chicken) mixed with a pasta and sauce with a vegetable side, is usually the cheap way to go.

But we all get tired of eating the same thing, every day, so here are some of my favorite cheap recipes.

These I've tried and the Family has approved:

Braised Chicken
Grease the bottom of your crock pot, and add in enough onion (fresh chopped or frozen or pearl onions) to cover the bottom. Add as much potatos (fresh cut up or frozen) and carrots (fresh, frozen or canned) as you would like. Combine 1/2 cup liquid (water, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, olive oil, etc) with 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 clove minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder) plus any other herbs you have on hand that sound good. Pour this mixture over the vegetables. Take 6 bone-in pieces of dark meat chicken (Chicken Quarters are usually the cheapest at about .59/lb) and rub them down with a mixture of paprika (2teaspoons), salt (1 and 1/4 teaspoon) and pepper (1/2 teaspoon) and place on top of the vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. I usually serve rice as an extra side/filler.

Chicken Pot Pie
In a bowl mix about 3/4 to 1 lb of shredded or chunked cooked chicken(you can boil dark meat chicken to get it off the bone, or use left over chicken from another meal), 1 bag of frozen vegetable (we've done traditional such as carrots, potatoes and beans and we've done just broccoli and then added 1 cup of shredded cheese. I am wanting to try more of a mexican one with pepper.) or 2 cans or about 2 cups of fresh vegetables, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, and salt, pepper and sage to taste. Once it is mixed together well, pour into a frozen pie crust (the cheap store brand is fine) and top with another frozen pie crust upside down. crimp the edges together and make slits in the top crust. Bake according to directions on pie crust.

Chicken and Dumplings
In a crock pot, combine 1 to 2 lbs of chicken cubed, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of chicken broth (or about 2 cups if you make your own chicken stock), 1 and 1/2 cups of water and about 2 cups of vegetables (frozen, fresh or canned, we like carrots and corn). Add salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic to taste. Cook on low (covered)about 5 hours. 15 minutes before it is done, take a package of biscuit dough and quarter the biscuits. Roll each quarter into a ball and add to crock pot. Stir occassionally during this last 15 minutes.

If you are in a rush, this can be made on the stove top. Mix everything but the biscuits into a large pot and boil on stove top until Chicken is done. Add biscuits and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.

Twice Baked Potatos
Bake how ever many potatos you need at 450 degrees for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes remove potatos and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Cut each potato in half lenghtwise and coop out pulp (leaving about 1/4 to 1/2 inch border in the potato). Mix the pulp with sliced or chopped onions, milk (about 1/3 cup for 4 potatos), butter, slat, pepper, cheese and anything else you may like on your potato (sour cream, cheese, baccon bits, ranch dressing, whatever) and a meat (chicken, browned beef, cut up pork chops, ham, fish, shrimp, ANYTHING). You will need about 1 oz of meat for every potato. Spoon mixture back into the potato and top with cheese if you'd like. Bake for 15 minutes.
This is a great recipe to use left over meat from another meal, or to stretch very little meat very far!

Mexican Casserole
Brown and drain 1 pound of hamburger meat. Place in casserole dish. In a bowl mix 1 can of chilli beans, 1 can rotel (salsa also works) and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup. Pour mixture over hamburger meat. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Add shredded cheese to the top and cook another 5 minutes.

Another great way to save money is by taking some of your favorite side dishes and adding meat to them. I like to add chicken to broccoli casserole or ground meat to a corn bake.

The lesson here is that the cheapest meals have a main dish that is not meat only. It is meat with something. Meat is most likely the most expensive item on your menu so reducing the amount is always a plus.

I will try to add more recipes every week or so, and I'd love to hear if you have any cheap meals that are yummy!

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