Menu Plan Monday

On Saturday I finally got my $5 Dinner Mom cookbook by Erin Chase. The first third of the book talks about how to save money and feed your family healthy, yet frugal dinners. Although I knew most of the things Erin wrote about, I did learn a few new things. Then I went on to look at the recipes. WOW!! They are easy to make recipes that sound so yummy! Many times when I am looking for frugal recipes they tend to take a while to make or are complicated. Since I now work full time, I need to get it done quick. Erin's cookbook is a great resource for someone who is trying to save time and money.

Now on to my meal plan for the week:

MONDAY - leftovers
TUESDAY - ham steaks, scalloped potatoes, vegetable
WEDNESDAY - spaghetti with homemade meatballs, vegetables
THURSDAY - leftovers
FRIDAY -pork roast in crock pot, baked potatoes, vegetable
SATURDAY - homemade macaroni and cheese with chicken and broccoli
SUNDAY - leftovers


Meal planning not only saves you money but also time and frustration. There is no more "What's for dinner?" moments. What's your meal plan for the week?

Menu Plan Monday 7/27

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

This is going to be a tough week. I went back to work today and hubby is home with the kids. That means that he will be doing the cooking. So, I am 100% sure that the meal plan will not be strictly adhered too. I can dream though, can't I? Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday
  
  • Breakfast - pancakes (leftover from dinner Saturday), fruit
    
  • Lunch - canned pasta, fruit
    
  • Dinner - panninis, green beans and pudding
    
    
• Tuesday
  
  • Breakfast - cereal / oatmeal, fruit
    
  • Lunch - peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread, fruit
    
  • Dinner - we are going to my mom's as soon as I get out of work, so we will either eat with her or go out to eat down where she lives
    
    
• Wednesday
  
  • Breakfast - strawnana muffins (made a few days ago and froze), fruit
    
  • Lunch - grilled cheese, fruit
    
  • Dinner - ham steak, veggie, maybe a potato or pasta salad?
    
    
• Thursday
  
  • Breakfast -cinnamon toast on homemade bread, fruit
    
  • Lunch - dinner leftovers, fruit
    
  • Dinner - cheeseburgers on grill, corn on cob, maybe a side?
    
    
• Friday
  
  • Breakfast - cereal / oatmeal, fruit
    
  • Lunch - canned pasta, fruit
    
  • Dinner - homemade sloppy joes, tater tots, pudding or jello
    
    
• Saturday
  
  • Breakfast - fake quiches, fruit
    
  • Lunch - peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread, fruit
    
  • Dinner - leftovers
    
    
• Sunday
  
  • Breakfast - homemade waffles, eggs and toast
    
  • Lunch - grilled cheese, fruit
    
  • Dinner - tuna casserole with peas (I will make a double batch and freeze one), fruit dessert
    

Frugal Meal Friday 7/24

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.

I found today's meal over at The Finer Things in Life. Now, I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it is quick and easy, and it looks yummy. It's one of those meals that can be thrown together at the last minute. A great way to avoid eating out for dinner or when money is really tight. It's actually very similar to something my mom used to make when we were kids, except she added ground beef instead of hot dogs. Go check out the recipe on Amy's blog and check out the rest of the site while you are there.

Hot Dog Skillet

Ingredients

1 package hot dogs - $1.50
6 (or so) large potatoes - $1.25
1/2 onion - $.25
cooking oil
salt and pepper
ketchup (optional)
salsa (optional)
vegetable - $1


Directions

Scrub, quarter, and thinly slice the potatoes. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook potatoes on medium heat, stirring frequently. Chop onion. Add to potatoes. Slice hot dogs and add to the mixture. Cook until potatoes and hot dogs are lightly browned and potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with salsa or ketchup. Add a vegetable (fresh or frozen) to round out the meal. I think this would also be good with a little garlic thrown in there.

Menu Plan Monday 7/20

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday
  
  • Breakfast - oatmeal / cereal, fruit
    
  • Lunch - grilled cheese and soup, fruit
    
  • Dinner - Italian chili, corn bread muffins and bananas
    
    
• Tuesday
  
  • Breakfast - strawnana bread, fruit
    
  • Lunch - ham or turkey sandwiches, fruit
    
  • Dinner - tuna patties, vegetable, pudding
    
    
• Wednesday
  
  • Breakfast - pancakes and eggs
    
  • Lunch - peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread, fruit
    
  • Dinner - leftovers, veggie, fruit
    
    
• Thursday
  
  • Breakfast - eggs and toast
    
  • Lunch - homemade pizza rolls, fruit
    
  • Dinner - chicken and veggies over brown rice, jello with fruit
    
    
• Friday
  
  • Breakfast - oatmeal or cereal, fruit
    
  • Lunch - canned spaghetti, slice of homemade bread, fruit
    
  • Dinner - homemade pizza with sausage, peppers, onions, and pepperoni; fresh and local grown green beans, dessert to be determined
    
    
• Saturday
  
  • Breakfast - cinnamon toast made on homemade bread, fruit
    
  • Lunch - peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread, fruit
    
  • Dinner -leftovers, veggie, pudding
    
    
• Sunday
  
  • Brunch - homemade waffles, eggs, toast, fruit
    
  • Dinner - ham steak, veggie, baked potatoes, dessert
    

Frugal Meal Friday 7/17

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.

This week I decided to share with a wonderful recipe using chicken. This is originally from Kraftfoods.com and you can find it here. The total comes to a little over $6, but you get a lot of leftovers for the next day and it super yummy. Although the original recipe says chicken leg quarters, I have substituted with breast and they still tasted great.

Italian Chicken Simmer

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil - $neg.
1 1/2 pounds of chicken, skin removed - $3
1/3 cup tomato paste - $.30
1 can (14 1/2 oz) dice tomatoes, preferably Italian-style - $.50
3 cups chopped red pepper (about 2 small) - $1
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese - $.45
1/2 cup shredded Mozarella - $1.50

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large pan on medium-high heat. You may need to cut apart chicken legs and thighs, or if you are using breasts, you may want to cut in half. Add the chicken to the skillet, and cook 10 minutes until both sides are brown, turn occasionally.
2. Add the can of tomatoes with their liquid and the tomato paste and mix well. Stir in peppers and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in Parmesan. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve with rice if you would like.

Menu Plan Monday 7/13

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday
  
  • Breakfast -cinnamon toast on homemade bread with apple slices
    
  • Lunch - ham and cheese sandwiches on h.m. bread with a banana
    
  • Dinner - Breakfast foods - pancakes and eggs
    
    
• Tuesday
  
  • Breakfast - leftovers pancakes
    
  • Lunch - peanut butter and jelly, fruit
    
  • Dinner - Chicken and Biscuits, jello with fruit in it
    
    
• Wednesday
  
  • Breakfast - eggs and toast, yogurt
    
  • Lunch - canned pasta, fruit
    
  • Dinner - Chicken and tomato panninis, veggie, pudding
    
    
• Thursday
  
  • Breakfast - oatmeal or cereal
    
  • Lunch - homemade hot pockets, fruit
    
  • Dinner - leftover night, fruit, veggie
    
    
• Friday
  
  • Breakfast - cinnamon toast, blueberries
    
  • Lunch - grilled cheese sandwiches, fruit
    
  • Dinner - homemade pizza, fruit dessert
    
    
• Saturday
  
  • Breakfast - homemade blueberry waffles, yogurt
    
  • Lunch - canned pasta, fruit
    
  • Dinner - Biscuit Topped Tomato and Beef Bake, veggie, pudding
    
    
• Sunday
  
  • Breakfast - eggs and toast
    
  • Lunch - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, banana
    
  • Dinner -leftover night, veggie
    

I thought I would also share with you what my stockpile looks like, so you know where I am starting from. The only picture missing is the one of my large freezer which has a lot veggies (probably 50 bags or more) plus homemade and store-bought bread, flour, and more.

Frugal Meal Friday 7/10

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 what I made for dinner today - Chicken, Stuffing and Veggie Bake. It is cheap and really quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1 can of cream soup (vegetable, chicken, mushroom, etc)
1 tbsp butter
1 box of stuffing
1/2 cup boiling water (can add a little more if you like moist stuffing)
1 pound of chicken, strips or breast
1/2 bag of mixed frozen veggies (or any half bag you may have in freezer)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray. Add cream soup, milk, frozen veggies and chicken. Now, I used frozen chicken that was already cooked (I did thaw in microwave for a few minutes so I could break them into pieces - and this was all I had on hand), but you can use uncooked chicken as well. Mix together, making sure to coat veggies and chicken well.
3. In microwavable container, microwave water and butter. Let boil and then add stuffing and mix well. Spread the stuffing over the chicken and veggies.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Price Break Down:

• milk - $.20
• stuffing - $.99
• soup - $.50
• chicken - $2
• veggies - $.50

Total Cost: $4.19

Frugal Meal Friday 7/3

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.

Homemade pizza is on the menu for today. It tastes soooo good and is very frugal since you can add whatever toppings you would like. It is definitely cheaper than buying a sheet pizza for $20. You can use whatever pizza dough you would like. I use one from my Betty Crocker cookbook and it comes out great every time. Here are a few recipes I found online that you can use: pizza crust 1, Chicago deep dish pizza crust, and thin crust.

Now, we like our pizza crust thick, so I usually let it rise once, put it in the pan and let it rise again. This makes a really nice thicker crust. If you like your crust thinner, just don't let it rise for the second time.You will then want to bake the crust for 15-20 minutes at 375 until crust is just starting to get golden.

Now the fun part: adding the toppings. Add tomato sauce, pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce to the top of your pizza. I usually use about 1/4 of a jar of sauce and then I will use the rest within the next few days for chicken Parmesan, a spaghetti side, etc. Add mozzarella cheese or you could use any cheese you have in your fridge. Now just pick your toppings. I usually put chopped onions and peppers (I chop these up and freeze them for easy meal prep), pepperoni, and hot sausage (I usually use 2 patties from Aldi's) on ours.

After you have all your ingredients on your pizza, put it back in the oven and bake until cheese is fully melted. And enjoy. Add a salad or a veggie to round out the meal a little more.

The price will depend on what toppings you add to the pizza. Here is the breakdown of cost the way I make mine:

• Pizza dough - homemade costs me about $.30
• cheese - I buy on sale (keeps for several months) usually at $2 or less for 8 oz
• 2 sausage patties - I buy a package of them for around $3.50 at Aldi's and I think there are about 18 patties so about $.40 if I use 2.
• pepperoni - I buy the packs when they are $2 or less. I would say it costs less than $.50 for the pepperoni I use.
  
• 1 onion - I can usually get several pounds for a little over $1. So, I would say this was about $.25
• 1/2 -1 pepper depending on size - I buy these 3/$1.75 at Aldi's so even if I use a whole pepper it is still less than $.60.

So, for about $4.00 I can make a really tasty pizza. Adding a vegetable still keeps me under the $5 mark.

I made this last week and it was yummy! I also made strawberry banana muffins for dessert. These turned out yummy and I had the opportunity to use up a bunch of those free strawberries I had gotten. Here is the link to the recipe I used if you would like to make it: Strawnana Muffins.

Menu Plan Monday 6/29

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday - strawberry pancakes, eggs
  
• Tuesday - chicken and biscuits
  
• Wednesday - leftovers
  
• Thursday - homemade sloppy joes, veggie
  
• Friday - spaghetti with homemade bread, green beans
  
• Saturday - leftovers
  
• Sunday - cookout: hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on cob
  

Frugal Meal Friday 6/27

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.

Panninis with veggies

Panninis are really great because you can put anything you want in them. I've made mine with ham and cheese, and with chicken, diced tomatoes and cheese. you will want to use a thicker bread so the oil doesn't soak all the way through. I made these last time with a loaf of homemade sandwich bread. It was awesome! Here's how I make mine:

1. Warm up grill, George Foreman grill, pannini press or even a flat pan to medium-hot.

2. Pour a some olive oil on a plate and press one side of bread into it just to get it covered. Add seasonings to the side with the olive oil. I have used italian seasoning, rosemary and garlic before.

3. Place side with olive oil onto hot grill. Add your ingredients on top of bread. You can use anything you like really. The possibilities are endless.

4. Dip one side of an other piece of bread into olive oil and add your spices. Place bread with the olive oil on the top, away from the ingredients in the middle.

5. If you are using a George or pannini press, close the lid. If you are using a regular grill or pan, place a heavy pan on top; you will need to flip the pannini when one side is toasted.

6. Make your favorite vegetable to go along with the panninis.

Costs to feed a family of 5 with leftovers:
loaf of thick bread $.50(homemade) to $2
some of the following ingredients:
- ham slices or diced ham($2-$3)
- 8 oz cheese ($2)
- diced tomatoes ($.50)
- 1 pound of chicken cut into pieces ($2)
- and more
1 pound of veggies $1

Menu Plan Monday 6/22

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday - homemade mac n cheese with broccoli and chicken
  
• Tuesday - leftovers
  
• Wednesday -tacos with mexican rice
  
• Thursday - stew
  
• Friday - leftovers
  
• Saturday - homemade sloppy joes, veggies
  
• Sunday - leftovers or breakfast for dinner
  

Frugal Meal Friday 6/19

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 homemade sloppy joes with a vegetable for a side. Depending on how much you pay for rolls, you could possible make this meal for less than $4.50.

Ingredients:
package of hamburger or kaiser rolls ($1)
1 pound of ground meat ($2)
1 pound of frozen veggies ($1)
1/2 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves or minced garlic
splash of vinegar
1 cup ketchup
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
1. Cook meat, onions and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients (except your veggies). Bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 30 -40 minutes. Serve on rolls.
3. Cook veggies about 10 minutes before the sloppy joes will be done.

Menu Plan Monday 6/15

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday - leftover pork chops, veggie, side of pasta
  
• Tuesday - lasagna and green beans
  
• Wednesday -chicken and biscuits
  
• Thursday - leftovers
  
• Friday - homemade pizza, salad
  
• Saturday - panninis, vegetable
  
• Sunday - chili and cornbread
  

Frugal Meal Friday 6/12

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.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake ($5.60) is the meal for this week. This recipe comes in a little over $5, but you will have plenty of leftovers to eat for lunch the next day. I have made this several times and it is very tasty. my family prefers to have the petite diced tomatoes in this, as opposed to the regular. You could even get the diced tomatoes with the the spices to make this even better. Add a frozen veggie or fruit for $1 more. This recipe is originally from the Kraftfoods site.

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes ($.50)
1 package of stuffing ($1 - stock up when on sale or get generic)
2 garlic cloves, minced ($.50 ... I just throw some dried in there $.10)
1 1/2 pounds of chicken, cut up into small pieces ($3)
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella (shred yourself - $1)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.

2. Place chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture.

3. Bake 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Menu Plan Monday 6/8

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday - Chicken Divan
  
• Tuesday - Meatball Subs and veggie
  
• Wednesday - leftovers
  
• Thursday -tuna patties and veggie
  
• Friday - homemade sloppy joes, green beans
  
• Saturday - leftovers
  
• Sunday - homemade mac n cheese with chicken and broccoli
  

What's for dinner in your house this week?

Frugal Meal Friday 6/5

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 Tex-Mex Shells N Cheese from the Kraft site. Go check out the site for more recipes that are quick and frugal. This is a staple in our house. We probably have it at least once a month, and it so quick and easy to make! Add a fruit or veggie to round out the meal a little better and your are still under $5.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground meat ($2)
1 package Velveeta Shells n Cheese ($1.50)
1 can diced tomatoes (you can use regular, italian, etc) ($.50)
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (optional - $.50)

Directions:
1. Cook and drain ground meat.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients except packet of cheese sauce and shredded cheese. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.
3. Add cheese sauce and stir until blended. Top with optional shredded cheese.

Menu Plan Monday 6/1

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Monday - baked chicken, veggie
  
• Tuesday - meatball subs, veggie
  
• Wednesday - leftovers
  
• Thursday - chicken stuffing and veggie bake
  
• Friday - frozen pizza and salad
  
• Saturday - son's birthday party - we are having hot dogs, hamburgers, and salads.
  
• Sunday - leftovers
  

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.

Frugal Meal Friday 5/15

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. I do not include spices in my total because everyone should have a good ensemble of spices to cook with. 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.

My meal for today just came up to a little over $5 (13 cents over), but it makes so much that you will be having leftovers for a couple days. The recipe was originally on Bush's site but they no longer have it on there. You can also make some cornmuffins to go with it if you so choose. In my family we have to make two boxes. 2 boxes = $1, 2 eggs = $.09, 2/3 cup of milk = $.25; total of adding corn muffins for my family is $1.34.


Bush's All-American Chili

1 pound ground meat (at least 80% lean - $1.88)
1 chopped onion ($.25)
1 chopped pepper ($.50)
2 (15 oz) cans chili beans ($1.50)
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes ($.60)
1 (6oz) can tomato paste ($.40)
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar
shredded cheese (optional - 8 oz chunk is $2)

In large pot, cook ground meat, peppers and onions until meat is browned. Drain excess grease. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer at least 20 minutes (the longer you can let it simmer the better it is yummy). Add cheese when serving if so desired.

In the Mood for a Cookout?

Stores are really starting to roll out the sales when it comes to food for having picnics and cooking out. Take advantage of these sales. Stock up on ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce when they're on sale for $1. Take advantage of sales on rolls and you can freeze what you don't use.

We had a cookout on Tuesday night. I told my hubby I wasn't going to cook because I had a final the next day I needed to study for. So, him being a typical man, what does he do? Yep, he uses the grill. lol. He made hamburgers and I tended to the corn on the cob while studying in the kitchen. The hamburger patties were on sale at Wegmans for $2.49 a pound (we had to get a family size pack but that's no big deal) and the corn was 4/$1. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert (strawberries were also on sale at Wegmans for $1.50 a pound, made a cake mix that I had bought for $1 several weeks ago and used Cool Whip that I paid $1 for also). All in all, it was a very good meal and pretty inexpensive also. Total price of our meal for a family of 5 = less than $9 which included dessert.

Hubby cooked up all the patties so there was about 10 left. I used 3 patties tonight for our chili and the rest will be for future meals. What kinds of things do you like to cook out on the grill? How do you keep the costs down? Tell me what you think by leaving me a comment.