Guest Post - Frugal Family Meals

Frugal dinners don’t have to be boring or tasteless. In fact, some of my most frugal dinners are the most loved by my family. My easy, go-to meals are so inexpensive to make, that I usually splurge on a special dessert just because I have money left over in my budget. Here are my top three fabulous, frugal, family meals.

Marinara in minutes

Marinara sauce needs few ingredients and is rich in vitamins and nutrients, especially if you choose to serve it over whole-wheat pasta. My recipe is very simple. In a large frying pan, I sauté a few chopped garlic cloves in olive oil until soft. Then I pour a large can of crushed tomatoes into the pan. I add in a pinch of dried basil and salt and pepper. I let it simmer for about 20 minutes. It’s a very simple sauce that is versatile and delicious. It’s also made with pantry ingredients that are very inexpensive. A green salad and garlic toast complete the meal, and everyone in the family looks forward to this simple yet elegant meal.

Creamy chicken and vegetables

For this recipe, all you need is a cup or two of cooked chicken to make a hearty meal for a family of four. Make a simple white sauce and boil up eight to 12 ounces of egg noodles. Turn your oven onto 350 degrees and butter a large, shallow casserole dish. You can use the vegetables of your choice. I usually defrost and drain a 16-ounce package of frozen mixed vegetables like a medley of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Feel free to use fresh vegetables. Be sure to cook them until they are crisp yet tender. Now mix your drained vegetables, cooked chicken and white sauce together. Place your egg noodles in the bottom of your casserole and pour on the sauce, vegetables and chicken. Top the casserole with buttered breadcrumbs, Parmesan or cheddar cheese and bake until hot and bubbly for 20 minutes. You can substitute a can of cream of chicken soup for the white sauce if you wish, and it only adds about a dollar to the cost of your meal.

Freezer minestrone

Soup is good any time of the year, especially when it’s rich in flavor and texture. I keep a container in my freezer for any bits of leftover gravy, vegetables or meats. When it’s filled to the top, I defrost it and put it into my slow cooker. I always cut up the leftovers into bite size pieces before I freeze them, so this soup takes no time to make. Once the leftovers are in the slow cooker, I add in chicken, beef or vegetable stock and a can of tomatoes. Then I chop up some fresh veggies to add to the pot like onions, celery and carrots. After four hours or so, I take a handful of thin spaghetti and crack it into bite-size pieces. I add the uncooked pasta into the pot and let it cook for another hour or so until the pasta is tender. I serve this meal with homemade breadsticks that I make from a pound of pizza dough. Cut the dough into long strips, baste with olive oil and cook for about one-half hour at 350 degrees.

These three frugal dinners cost pennies to make, yet everyone in the family looks forward to eating these great tasting and easy-to-make meals.

My name is Nisha

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Just Saved Us About $20.00 A Week!

I found out something on Thursday that really made me freak out. My son has been seeing a girl for the last 6 months whose family owns the local (really good) Mexican restaurant. Well, anyway, about 4 days a week he will go up there and sit while she works and when ever he comes home, he would come home with a cup of salsa. I never thought anything about it and it has been going on for 4 nights a week for 6 months. OK. Thursday he comes to me before he leaves and says "Mom, I need $5.00." and I asked him, "What for?" and he answered me with, "for salsa". I think my jaw must have hit the floor , because he asked me what was wrong. Come to find out he was not just bringing home salsa , he was buying it and $5.00 a shot. OMG. I immediately freaked out on him. Most likely too much. But , heck, I can think of better things to spend $20.00 on each week. Do you realize how much food storage I could have been getting with an extra $20.00 a week. So I got into my Homemadecookbook and found a salsa recipe and I made it Friday night. The only thing, and since it was my first time of making it, it is kind of too chunky. Next time I make it I will have to figure out how to make it less chunky. It sure taste good.

Spicy Salsa

3 medium tomatos, cored and chopped

3 small scaalions , trimmed and coarsley chopped, ( that is another thing wrong with my salsa - I had forgot to get scallions and only had onion on hand., but I think that is one of the great things about salsa - you can make it to your taste. maybe. LOL)

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

salt

coarsley chopped cilantro

In a large bowl mix everything together, except the cilantro, let it sit for an hour to let the flavors mingle. Just before eating add the cilantro. Mix it all of up real good. Get your tortilla chips and enjoy. I was also thinking that this would be really good on a grilled hamburger.

Well, anyway , now he does not have to spend $20.00 a week on salsa. I can make it at home and he did say that it tasted just like theirs. maybe not as spicy. I am a chicken and only used half of the jalapeno pepper.

The tomatoes were 4 for $1.99 -Man, I wish my tomatoes that I am growing here at home would ripen up. The cilantro was 50 cents a huge bunch. The onion and garlic I already had. The jalepeno pepper was $1.00. And I have enough to last 2-3 days. If it last that long. It is yummy. I know since this is my first time of making this , that I will do some things different next time.

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Painless Ways To Save Money

There are many ways to save money that will not cause anyone in your family any pain. You can still have a life.

1. This is a great time of year for this tip - go to yard sales! Yeah, you can save a ton of money buying your families clothing at yard sales. I always find name-brand clothing for my kids and spend next to nothing in it. No one knows that you got them at a yard sale. Yard sales are also a great way to get new furniture and household items. Books are my number one thing to get at yard sales. 25 cents for an 8.00 book!! YEP that is for me. Toys are a great thing to buy at yard sales. My little man has all of that Little Tykes stuff , tractor, turtle with lid he uses for a pool, a huge boat that has to b used as a sand box because the other owners for some reason cut a small hole in the bottom to drain the water out even though there is a plug, he has the picnic table , and more Little Tykes stuff that I bet I haven't paid more than $10.00 for all of it. The boat and tractor were free!! You can also get a lot of home schooling items at yard sales. Plus going to yard sales can be a lot of fun.

2. Hang your clothes out to dry. Or at least most of them. My oldest son has to have his t-shirts done in the dryer, but since I am hanging everything else, it is still saving me a ton of money. His t-shirts only take a few minutes to get wrinkle free, then I take them out and dry them the rest of the way outside. He never has complained.

3. Take your lunch to work and make your own coffee to take with you in the morning. You will save so much money if you don't eat out at lunch and don't stop to get that expensive fancy coffee.

4. Make pizza, cookies, bread, etc at home by hand. It is fun doing this and it saves money. I can make my own pizza at home for a fraction of what it cost to order from a pizza place. Also it is better for your family than a frozen pizza. You can bake your own cookies and breads for pennies on the dollar.

5. This one took my family a while to do - STOP DRINKING SODA! The reason we really stopped was for health issues. Never even thought of money. It took about 3 months to totally get it out of the house, but now that it is totally gone and we don't drink it anymore, I realized we saved a ton of money. Like 15.00 a week!! We now drink a lot of water, homemade juice, and sun tea. None of us miss the soda and it has saved our health and our bank account.

6. If you have to have a birthday party for your little one or any type of party - make your own decorations and food for it. Fun and does not cost a lot. My daughter is already starting on some stuff for her wedding stuff. It really does save a lot of money to make your own decorations.

7. This one needs no explanation and benefits your health and your pocket book - GIVE UP SMOKING.

8. It actually saves a bit to substitute dry milk in your cooking. Just buy a bit of milk for cereal and use dry milk in your cooking. With how much milk is anymore this can really save you a lot of money.

9. Block the hot summer sun out of your house. This is one that we have to do anyway because we do not have one tree in our yard. I hate that so much. Next house is going to nothing but trees. I wouldn't even hate living in a tree house after living in this house. LOL.

10. Plant a garden. No matter how small it is or if you just have room for one thing, like tomatoes, DO IT!! Not too much work and you do save some money.

11. Have a STAYCATION. Do a search on this blog and you will find a whole blog posts on ideas for a staycation. Fun and low cost.

12. Just starting out with food storage, start small. Maybe each week when something is on sale that your family uses , like cans of beef stew, buy 3 cans instead of 1 and stick the 2 extra back. You will be surprised at how fast your stockpile will grow if you do this every week. It does not have to take a lot of money to get a food storage. I have had to do it this way. I do not have the money to go and buy 100 cans of tuna or whatever. I have had to do it small.

These are just a few ideas. I am sure that you can think of more to do to save money at home. The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Mini Survival Kits

Mini Survival Kits

This is such a great idea and with it being summer hiking and camping time would be of use. Make one for each person in your family or group.

Yard Sales Were Fun...

Saturday, even though none of them had much. Mostly baby clothes and toys. My mom came from out of town and we went to about 17 yard sales and I spent only 16.50 total!! So that was good. Kept in budget , but disappointing because I didn't find anything cool. Did find some hot wheels for the little man, books, a new floor lamp, and a few odds n ends. Wanted to take a pic of it all , but my son's cell phone broke and I gave him mine and I am now using my old phone that has nothing on it, just phone. LOL The yard sales were so bad though, that I do not think that my mom will be coming over here anymore to go to any. LOL Just were horrible. Very little stuff and most of the stuff just in boxes and stuff that I really would have thrown away.

The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!