Meals on a Budget

1. Meatballs: These can be used in many ways so buy in bulk bags if you can, especially if they are on sale! We will cook them in spaghetti sauce and eat them over rice or as meatball subs (my kids favorite), then you can use any leftovers for spaghetti and meatballs. You can also bbq them. Any way you do it, it can feed a crowd!

2. Whole Pork Loins:  We like to purchase these a lot, mainly because it seems like they are always on sale. We will cut them into three or four roast, which in turn make several meals with each of those roasts. A favorite of ours is bbq pulled pork. The next day we turn that pulled pork into burritos, and have even used it to top scrambled eggs. You can also cut the loins into your own chops, and if you are feeling extra froggy you can even make your own fancy butterflied pork chops (we never do this just because they are so thick and cut down on the amount of meals we can make from the pork), but it can be done instead of paying the inflated price at the store.

3. Hamburger is also a versatile meat. It can be used for many things so buy in bulk and on sale when possible. It freezes easily and if you fry ahead it last even longer and makes meals a whole lot easier to prepare (examples include but not limited to, sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, taco meat, casserole meat, and our favorite hamburger gravy which we serve over mashed potatoes). 

4. Whole Turkeys, Chickens, and Hams:  When you buy these items it can make TONS of food by simply repurposing the meat into different meals in different ways. Out of a turkey, you can easily make 6 meals. We have done everything for turkey noodle to turkey pizza. You can also make your own stock and broth, and lets face it, those cans of broth from the store are a little pricey. A common mistake that people make with making broth is that they only boil the bones and bits of meat once, but in actuality you can boil it several times before it looses its juice. From one turkey I can get about three GALLONS of broth. I boil the bones until the liquid doesn't turn creamy or cloudy colored any more and I save my gallon tubs of ice cream containers to put the broth in. When I want to make noodles, I simply thaw the outside of the tub with hot water and dump the ice chunk into the pot (my kids love watching that part lol).
     As for my hams, I like to cook them in coffee, salt and pepper, and of course diced onions. The reason I cook my hams in coffee is because we love to make red eye gravy out of it. The ham juice pares nicely with the coffee and makes a killer gravy. We even make extra gravy to put over toast, scrambled eggs, or fried potatoes the next morning. A ham can be turned into many meals also, like slice ham sandwiches, quiches, casseroles, omelets, soup beans, etc. The list is endless!

5.  Veggies and Soups:  We go through tons of potatoes, carrots, celery and cabbage. All those vegetables are fairly cheap and can be purchased in bulk. Since the cold weather has set in where we live, that means its soup season! Last night we prepared a cabbage stew using all those veggies along side some stew beef that was on sale a couple months ago, some off brand sausage and some burger (all that meat cost only around $5). We ended up with a large roaster full to the brim with cabbage stew. We won't be able to eat it all, so we will freeze most of it and bring it out for a lunch sometime. Soups. stews and chili's go a long LONG way and can feed a crowd like no ones business. They also freeze well so don't be afraid if you make to much.

6. Bacon grease:  Yes, you read that right. I have a jar in my fridge that I keep all my bacon grease in.  I not only use it to grease my iron skillets, but I also use it to fry my potatoes in and to make gravy with. You can also make dressings for potato salad and wilted lettuce or greens.  It's like a jar of usefulness lol.

7. Noodles, Rice and Beans:  In a pinch you can almost always use noodles rice or beans (canned beans or dry are both kept in my pantry as well as a stock in noodles and rice). 

I have attached an example of a menu that we used for one month. You will notice that some things are used multiple times (things that can be purchased in bulk or be used in different ways). This makes your grocery bill smaller and makes meal time a sinch. It's also a good idea to create meals and snacks that your kids (if their age is appropriate) can help make, or make entirely to free up some time for yourself to do other things or simply relax.