Frugal Meal Friday 5/29

Every Friday I will be sharing with you a frugal recipe. These meals will average $5 or less for a family of four, and many will give you lots of leftovers for lunches. If you have any recipes you would like to share with others, please feel free to email it to me at: couponqueenofcorning @ hotmail.com and I will include it in my Friday's posts.

Today's meal is tuna noodle casserole. Now, there are several ways to make tuna casserole. I learned to make it with a white sauce (It's cheaper and you can use white sauces for other recipes like macaroni and cheese). I usually make a double batch and freeze half of it for another day. A regular batch will cost you less than $4. I also add topping to mine and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. (adds about $1 or less to the cost of the meal)

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2 cups egg noodles ($.50)
1/4 cup butter (.50)
1/4 cup flour (.10)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk ($.50)
1 can tuna ($1)
1/2-3/4 cup Parmesan ($.75)

1. Cook macaroni as directed on package.

2. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute until sauce has thickened; remove from heat. Add Parmesan. Let cool for a couple of minutes. Drain tuna and flake it into the sauce; mix.

3. Drain macaroni and mix with sauce.


To add topping and bake:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan in small bowl. Use fork and add a little olive oil at a time while you are mixing. Add enough just to moisten all the breadcrumbs and cheese. Place mixed noodles and sauce into ungreased casserole dish and sprinkle on topping. Bake for about 20 minutes or until topping is brown.

And there you have it. A meal for less than $5. You can also mix in about a half pound of peas when you throw it in the oven for an additional 50 cents.