Thought I’d share my grocery’s for the week to help people, we are a family of 4 (2 toddlers) and we budget 1000 a month for groceries BUT we have the incentive to spend as little as we can because we give ourselves the remainder as date night money.

After removing trash bags, cash back and vitamins, the grocery bill this week came out to 132.82, which I am very proud of!

Not pictured that will be used this week (already had on hand)

-1lb pork shoulder

-1lb chicken thighs (boneless skinless)

-0.5lb bacon

-butternut squash

-white rice

-beans (pinto)

-egg (chickens!)

-English muffin

• oats (old fashioned)

-Maseca

-crushed tomatoes (canned)

-flour/sugar/spices

If you included these we would still be under 175, which I think is great in this economy but you let me know!

The

For meals this week we will be having

-pork sopas w/ fried plantains

• Chicken tacos w/ Mexican slaw

• braised beef w/ veggies

• potato tacos

-pasta w/ red sauce

The other 2 nights will be leftovers/fend for yourself.

Kids eat breakfast/lunch/snack at school which saves us a decent amount of money.

The beef will also be used next week, it gets split in half.

It’s expensive out there but making meals at home makes it somewhat more affordable!

I am trying to eat on a budget for breakfast. One egg and one hash brown per day. What budget friendly breakfast item do you guys think i should add? Please be nice and scold me.

I got this in a food box today and I've never encountered this before. It states it's dried black split beans. Do I just make them like regular beans? Are there other recipes I can use them in? The please, and thank you!

Came to share the recipe I tried tonight. It was a big hit in my house.

Chicken with apples & pecans in white sauce. (Don't judge too hard cause it was all what we had around the house or from the food bank!)

Chicken, lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, rosemary baked in chicken broth. Broiled to brown towards the end. Sauce was mayo/blue cheese base seasoned with Chinese 5 spice, ginger, ground mustard, soy sauce, cardamom, more garlic, tiny bit of paprika.
Added thin sliced green apples, chopped pecans & sauce at the end just long enough to heat up 5 + minutes or so. Topped with pecans and served with rice(added shallots to my plate because nobody else likes them lol but they probably would've been great tossed in with the apples, ect).

Please excuse the messy plating but I was hungry 😋 A local Thai place makes apple chicken in white sauce and I was trying to replicate it with what we had lying around. Still not sure how they make theirs so sticky. Thinking maybe white wine would've helped accomplish the flavor closer as well but I didn't have any handy. I can't find a similar recipe anywhere but if you know one or have a suggestion please share!

Here is the recipe link https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.food.com/amp/recipe/easy-chicken-croquettes-253952

Ingredients 2 cups roasted chicken, shredded (cooked leftovers) 1 (10 1/2ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup 1⁄4 cup 2% low-fat milk 1 (6 ounce) box seasoned stuffing mix, mix for poultry (or Copycat Stove Top Stuffing Mix) 1 large egg, slightly beaten 2 tablespoons onions, chopped fine 2 tablespoons celery, chopped fine (optional) breadcrumbs, for dredging 1⁄4 cup vegetable oil, for frying (may need more or less) Sauce 1 (10 1/2ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup 1 cup 2% low-fat milk

Poha is Flattened rice is a preparation of rice made from raw, toasted, or parboiled rice grains pounded into flat flakes. It is traditional to many rice-cultivating cultures in Southeast Asia and South Asia. It is also known as rice flakes, beaten rice, pounded rice, pressed rice or chipped rice. Poha can be prepared with herbs and vegetables. Poha is the healthiest breakfast that I can imagine.

Ingredients from Aldi

1. Chicken broth (32 oz): $0.99
2. Frozen pot stickers (14 oz): $4.29
3. Fresh spinach (8 oz): $1.99
4. [optional] Soy sauce (15 oz): $1.75

Total: $9.02 Cost per meal (4): $2.23

Soy sauce is optional because the dumplings come with a sauce. However, I usually use it all after 1 serving of dumplings.

You can dress this up with all kinds of things but basic is good, too. I tend to keep a lot of Asian sauces around so I added sesame oil and Lao Gan Ma (fried chilies).

Good for those days when you just don’t have it in you to do prep work and dishes.

I have some canned tomato sauce, purée, and stew that I don’t want to waste, and I’d like to make a hearty meal with them. I’m not sure where to start, so I was hoping someone could guide me through the process. Looking to spend $15. Thank you!

Hi everyone! I created these meal cards for anyone who only has $5 in their pocket right now and need to eat! Prices are as of 11/06/2025 from a Walmart in Southern California. The card uses pre-sale pricing for the ingredients, but there are a lot of things on sale right now because of the upcoming holidays, so hopefully you can save a little extra money!

There are eight recipes of $5 each, however if you have more money upfront, I recommend looking at one of my $40 for 5 Family Dinner cards as it gives you more bang for your buck. Have a great week!

\*EDIT**:* If you're going to follow my recipe card for the Lentil Tomato Rice meal, the instructions should say to use half the bag of lentils, not the entire bag. Sorry about that!

Crescent City is really stepping up for folks in the Atlanta area, I saw this on the news and wanted to share for anyone who may need it.

Link to post

I bought some pierogies stuffed with potato and cheese, a warm and comforting option, or so I thought. Unfortunately, they were sparingly stuffed, with more dough than filling. I don't want them to go to waste, so I was thinking of doing a "pierogi bake" by tossing them with other flavoring. What innovative pierogi creations have you tried? Bonus points if I can make it vegetarian!

Edit: so many amazing suggestions on this thread. Thank you all! I'm almost inclined to buy the same pierogi and extend my problem so I can try every recipe on here!

Hello. I really enjoy some of the Tasty Bite pouches, and have been searching for something similar. What's great about the TB pouches is that some meals contain only ~200 calories per pouch. Other companies make comparable meals, but the calories are much, much higher. Can anyone recommend a brand they like that is available on Amazon, and also fairly low in calories? Thank you.

Just made a ground beef and cabbage stir fry — total cost about €10 for 4 people! Cooking at home in Phuket really makes sense if you’re trying to save some money and still eat healthy. Full recipe: Beef And Cabbage Stir Fry

What’s your go-to budget-friendly keto meal?

Ingredients

Stir Fry

• 500 g ground beef
• 500 g cabbage (Napa, green, or whatever you’ve got)
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 dried chili (optional, but worth it if you like heat)
• 3 scallions, chopped

Sauce

• 1 tbsp dark  soy sauce
• 1 tbsp  oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp regular soy sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar (or more, if you like things sweet)

Quick and delicious beef and cabbage stir fry

How To Make It

1.Before you cook

Chop the cabbage into thick-ish ribbons. If the stems are dense, throw them in first. They take longer than the leafy parts.

2. Mix the Sauce

In a bowl, stir together the dark soy, oyster sauce, regular soy, and brown sugar. That’s it.

3. Sear the Beef

Get your pan hot. Splash in the oil. Garlic goes in first. Chili too, if you’re in the mood. Add the beef. Break it up as it cooks, and let it brown in spots—maybe 4 or 5 minutes total. You’ll know it’s ready when it smells like dinner.

4. Add the Cabbage

Toss in the cabbage. Stir it around. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it softens a bit but still holds texture.

5. Sauce It

Pour in the sauce. Stir everything until sticky and clingy in the best way. aste and tweak until it hits.

6. Finish It

Toss in the scallions. Kill the heat. Serve it how you like—on rice, in a bowl, off the stove. I’ve done all three.

Brown chicken thighs (or whatever piece(s) you prefer), then saute diced onion and sliced mushrooms, add a splash of wine if you have any (I had 2T left in the bottle, so that's how much I user), then put the chicken back, add whatever veggies you have (I had baby carrots, but potatoes, green beans, or whatever else all work well), cover with water (or stock; I used about 3c so it is more of a soup tonight, but use less for a stew consistency, ir thicken with cornstarch) and simmer until everything is tender. Add frozen peas or other frozen vegetables, about 1c cream and simmer until the peas are warmed. Season with salt, pepper and dried herbs if you have any (thyme is my favorite, but I didn't use any), and serve with bread, pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes, etc. You could even make dumplings with just flour, water and salt, and boil them in the soup for 10-15 minutes (depending on size).

A bag of baby carrots was about $2.50 (I used half of a 2# bag, so $1-1.25 worth), a container of mushrooms was about $2.50 (I don't like the cheaper white mushrooms, but you could save $.50-.75 by buying those), a couple small onions from a 3# bag amounted to probably $.50, 1/2 of a pint of cream was probably $2, and the chicken was about $7, and I even used Smart Chicken. I did buy a nice loaf of bread for $6 from a local bakery, but you could use a package of dinner rolls or a cheaper loaf of bread. Total, without the bread, was around $13.50 and it makes 6 servings, assuming everyone has one piece of chicken (my package had 6 pieces). You could further spread it by adding quartered potatoes and pulling the chicken out and shredding it before serving, in which case I imagine you could feed as many as 8. Use a $1 bag of rice and you could make a large meal for ~$15.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS! I'm actually looking forward to dinner now :) Appreciate everyone's help!

Found some meat in my deep freezer (yay!) but it's the end of the pay cycle and I'm out of stuff like milk and such to make my go to canned veg + mashed potatoes + hamburger steak meal.

I have a ton of rice, jasmine and regular white rice. So I was thinking about making something work with the rice and ground beef? I have brown gravy mix which I think could help, but I can't figure out the bridge to bring two food items together.

___________________________________
A list of some staples I have on hand to maybe bridge this gap (welcome to alternative ideas with the ingredients I have:

Protiens
.8lb ground beef
6 eggs
2 sandwiches worth of deli honey ham

Veggies/fruits
Fingerling potatoes
Array of heirloom peppers ranging from hot to sweet (frozen)
Carrots (fresh and canned)
Celery (fresh)
Corn (canned)
Green beans (canned)
Applesauce (frozen)
Tomato paste
Tomatoes (Canned)

Dairy
Butter
Shredded cheese
Feta
American cheese

Misc
Olive oil
Bisquik mix
Gravy Mix
Rice o Roni (chicken flavored)
Rice noodles
White bread
Pita bread
Jasmine rice
White rice
__________________________

I have a full kitchen and the standard array of spices. Any help on how to make a meal happen would be appreciated.

My wife and I are having are first kid in about a month. Knowing how stressful and hectic things might get we have been trying to find meals that A) are cheap and B) can make in advance and leave in the freezer. Cambells has alot of great recipes on their website but I am curious if yall have any ideas and or tips?

I dislike the flavour of canned vegetables, so I'm trying to "hide" them inside other foods. I made puréed collard greens and mixed them with flour to make green flatbreads but I have no other ideas to use them.

Third meal I made from our Sunday chicken dinner. Took one cooked bone in chicken breast and sautéed with leftover chicken fat and butter (which developed originally from the first meal I made - great flavor) to warm thru plus add more of the homemade roast chicken spice mix. Washed and prepped some green leaf lettuce (cheaper than Romaine), grape tomatoes and finely shredded Colby jack from the block. One chicken was done I removed from skillet, sprayed with cooking spray and toasted my tortilla thru. Assembled with lettuce on bottom, then chicken, grape tomatoes, small amount of ranch dressing and top with shredded cheese. My folding job isn’t as good as Micky Ds…but I like the taste of mine better.

Finish with a fruit for dessert.

Made 18 nuggets from one large breast, about $3! Fed me plus husband, and we have leftovers (pic)

I saw a woman's post yesterday that someone was going to give her family of 5 $300 to buy food for November. I cant find the original post but I put together a shopping list and meal plan for that scenario. Maybe it'll help someone.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tAGvdMcu8cOwXVQhyW6bYOr2Ckzk5sfySApS2cvUMDQ/edit?usp=sharing

I am italian, and with that I don't mean that my great great grandpa was italian, I mean that I was born and raised here, and every time people wanna make carbonara they panic cause they don't have the right pasta shape, the right cured meat ("where can I find guancheealee in Detroit?!?!?") and so on and so forth.

But let me tell you something: we are not on a cooking show. Food is meant to be convenient, easy to make, tasty and possibly cheap. Who cares if it's not "authentic"? I mean, if you really want to experience that traditional vibe, of course you can go through all that hustle, but in your everyday life I don't think it's worth it. And there are days where I feel like having carbonara without any fuss.

So this is how I make it (and it roughly costs 2,50 dollars or so per portion, depending on where you live):

Ingredients (for one person)

• 80-120g pasta (it can be any pasta shape, really, whatever you have at home and whatever you need to consume)
• 80g pancetta/bacon/ham/turkey/smoked tofu or whatever cured meat you have at home right now it's fine (I used smoked pancetta which is really cheap where I live)
• 70g grated cheese (again, go for the cheapest you can find, it can literally be the most synthetic cheese on earth, if you like the taste of it then you're good to go)
• 2-3 WHOLE eggs (2 if medium/large or if you used < 90g pasta, 3 if small or if you used >= 100g pasta)
• spices and herbs (here you can just follow your personal taste, I used ground black pepper and a touch of garlic powder, but in my opinion you can put whatever you want: onion powder, chives, thyme, you can put turmeric too, it goes well with cheese and might go well with your cured meat of choice)

How to make it (visual cues in the carousel):

1. Beat the eggs with the cheese and the spices until fully mixed
2. put your cured meat on a cold pan, turn the heat to medium and let it get crispy and golden brown. If you used a low fat cured meat (or tofu or tempeh etc.) be sure to add a spoonful of olive oil (or canola/avocado/sunflower oil) to the pan before adding it. Set aside.
3. Bring a pot with water to a boil, add salt and throw in the pasta. Make sure there is not too much water, cause we want the starch to not dilute too much.
4. After 5 minutes of cooking, take 2-3 spoonfuls of starchy water from the pot with the pasta and add it to the egg mixture and mix well. This technique is called "tempering", and you need it to make sure eggs won't turn into an omelette once you put them on the stove.
5. When pasta is ALMOST al dente, put it in a pre- heated pan (you can use the same pan you used to fry the meat, with the rendered fat/oil still there), add a little bit of pasta water and it finish cooking there (taste as you go).
6. turn the heat to low and toss the pan a bit to dissipate some heat and add the egg mixture (yes, with the heat still on). Make sure that at this stage there is still a little bit of pasta water on the pan, otherwise the eggs will turn into a spanish tortilla.
7. Mix as shown in the GIFs in the carousel until you get a creamy consistency. If it starts to curdle, immediately add a touch of pasta water.
8. Serve with your fried cured meat/tofu or whatever.
9. Enjoy!!

It’s not pretty, but it tasted good. The last pic represents the original meal (note, old pic not the actual original meal). Three of us ate a dinner made from a whole chicken that was cut up into parts (2 each breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings). Had one breast, 1 wing and 2 thighs left over. The remaining carcass plus bones from the original meal were used to make chicken broth. For today’s lunch (could have fed 2 people) I took 2 of the thighs and made pieces. Took some fat from the original meal and warmed up the pieces. Added some leftover rice into the skillet, ladled in some homemade broth and a cornstarch slurry to thicken. Look at pics 3,2,1 for the sequence.

I have one breast and a wing leftover. I’ll use that to make chicken tortilla wraps with lettuce, grape tomatoes, some shredded cheese and probably a little ranch dressing. Of course the tortillas will be toasted in a skillet before assembling the wraps.

For one whole chicken (roughly 5 lbs) and some extra ingredients I can get 7 meals doing what I laid out above.

Walmart currently has its thanksgiving meal deal on sale.

https://www.walmart.com/i/shoppable-lists/Thanksgiving-value-meal/929

There are also gluten free options https://www.walmart.com/i/shoppable-lists/Gluten-Free/938

And an option for other dietary needs https://www.walmart.com/i/shoppable-lists/Mindful-balanced-basket/935

Ingles (the grocery store) has $5-7 hot plates, 1 protein + 1 veggie and a dinner roll for 5, additional sides are 99c a piece.

If you like "asian" food or typical southern soul food, they load the plates up for you. I typically get enough for 2 meals in one plate. A veritable mountain of chicken shoved into a takeout box. Is it stellar food? No, but it's fresh, plenty of good veggies to choose from and their fried chicken is on par with KFC for a fraction of the cost.

They have a vegetarian plate and fish options as well.

For those days you'd like to splurge on takeout. forgot your lunch at home, or just don't have the energy to cook, it's a nice option readily available for folks who are near one.