We are currently experiencing a financial "crunch" (who isn't, right?). I would love to get some new ideas and read some new recipes for cheaper sources of protein (beans, ground turkey, etc).

Tiliapia is a great inexpensive fish. I just wrap a fillet in tin foil with some oil based salad dressing and bake it at 350 for 15-20. Yummy :-)

emily bites wonton cupcakes- a ton come in a pack for $2.50 & you can freeze them. Lasagna, taco, cheeseburger, french dip, buffalo chicken, you can make whatever stuff you have in the fridge with them, top with cheese and bake til crispy. Love those little things.

Mini turkey burgers. Add unsweetened applesauce and a little dry lipton onion Soup mix, cook small patties on a pancake skillet, open a can or cut up some fresh mushrooms & cook on skillet with a lil worchesterchire sauce. Top on burgers. Another favorite.

Split pea soup with ham, chili with chicken or any meat can be frozen-chicken stock can stretch it but I strain all my Soups to get more food bite and less juice.

Eggs- eat them every day. Breakfast foods are cheaper than lunch/dinner.

Lunchmeat- I love cracked pepper turkey breast from the deli. It's like $3.50 for 1/2 a lb & it can last me a whole week of lunch just eating it by itself. Add a .25 string cheese and microwave and you got gourmet .

Spaghetti sauce is another good one to stretch. I make it different every time. Onions, minced celery, carrots, zucchini, squash, spinach, mushrooms, ground turkey, ground beef, jarred Ragu, homemade sauce, all fair game except for noodles. I usually make mine very meaty. The sauce can also be used with some italian seasoned ricotta or cottage cheese in the bottom of a wonton cupcake, then sauce, then mozz cheese, sooo good!

Thanks ladies. I'm just in a rut. Plus, my family really doesn't eat much of what I do these days and it's getting frustrating.

along with www.emilybites.com, also check out www.dashingdish.com

it is a members only recipe site with a pay what you can membership fee. i am also broke, so i put 0$ in the monthly fee section, and she still let me be a member.

these are my go to sites. emilybits meals are family friendly (my family loves her recipes) and most of them can be made for 10 bucks or less. the 4 cheese and sausage stuffed shell pasta is a favorite at my house. feeds my family of 5 for almost 2 complete meals and costs about $12 bucks to make. the baked pizza spaghetti is about the same. and the cupcake meals are awesome, cost about 10 bucks and 1 hour baking and gives my wife AND me lunch for an entire week.

dashing dish has a giant 1 minute breakfast cookie that packs a punch of protein for under 200 calories, it tastes like a warmed up no bake cookie. myself, my wife and my kids love it and each one might cost a grand total of about 2 bucks to make.

and she has many other great creations as well.

good luck, hopefully we can all get out of the money rut soon. but until then, you don't have to sacrifice good food.

Do you have a costco? the whole roast chicken for $4.99 is such a steal - cheaper than buying a raw chicken. Tuna is another great low cost Protein. For something different with tuna, try blending it with a little mayo so it's a smooth spread. Great with crackers. I like the Special K crackers, but they are a splurge price-wise.

For veggies, frozen is often cheaper and very tasty. One great advantage to frozen is no waste. Just take out and cook what you need.

Here's a chicken pot pie my family loves:

12 oz. shredded chicken or turkey

10 oz. frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, and green beans)

1 onion, chopped

1 can low fat cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk

piecrust

Sautee onion in a little oil. I use about a tablespoon. Stir in frozen veggies, chicken or turkey, milk, and soup. Pour into a 9" pie pan. Top with piecrust and bake at 425 till crust is done. 30-45 minutes. Just eat yours without the piecrust.

I also make big batches of Beans, chili, and vegetable soup and then freeze them in gallon baggies. They thaw out fast.

For fruit, whatever is in season now. At first I could only eat non-acidic fruit. Applesauce was a lifesaver then.

Lynda

these are some great ideas !!!I'd love to hear more !!!

Also the worldaccordingtoeggface is a great blog for recipes, just choose one from on hand ingredients. The bites recipes are basically eggs, seasonings, and varations of mix-ins (ie mushrooms, onions, ham, tomato OR onion, garlic, spinach, artichoke, etc) and tons of others- protein pancakes, casseroles, cold lunch ideas..

hi

Any ideas on how to make homemade tarter sauce??? Thx

TD41

hi

Any ideas on how to make homemade tarter sauce??? Thx

TD41

Yes it's very easy mayo and pickle relish and a little chill powder

Sounds good