couponqueenofcorning

There are a lot of meals you can make at home for relatively little money. These recipes are tried and true in my household and are cheap to make. The meals make quite a bit, so you can have leftovers for the next day or to freeze. Cook up ground beef and cut up chicken in batches and freeze. Having these already cooked will make dinner a lot of quicker. Also, I regularly make breakfast for dinner - pancakes or french toast and eggs. It’s cheap and easy to make.

Chicken and Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 pound cooked shredded chicken                                          

1 can of chicken gravy

2 cups of mixed vegetables

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

biscuits or biscuit mix

Directions:
1. Put all ingredients in pot. Bring to boil. Let simmer at least 15 minutes.
2. You can buy frozen or refrigerated biscuits, make from a mix or homemade. Mix or homemade biscuits are the cheapest unless you can get a really awesome deal. Follow directions on package or recipe to prepare.
3. Pour chicken and vegetables on biscuits.

Ziti / Spaghetti Bake

*this can be made with any pasta you have, though if you use a thicker pasta you may want to boil the noodles for a few minutes.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound of uncooked pasta

1 pound ground beef (cooked)

2 jars of spaghetti sauce

1 medium onion chopped (can also use dry)

shredded mozzarella cheese to put on top

Directions:
Set oven at 350 degrees. After cooking the ground beef, just mix all ingredients together except cheese and place in casserole dish. Put shredded mozzarella on top and bake for about 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:

For the rue:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound noodles

2 cups of peas

2 cans tuna, drained

Topping:

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or crackers crushed (about 17)

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

olive oil

Directions:
Set oven to 350 degrees. Boil water in a large pot. When water is boiling, add salt and add noodles. Boil noodles for time specified on the box (usually around 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta. For the rue (sauce): Meanwhile melt butter. When butter is melted whisk in flour until well blended. Stir in milk. Bring to boil, stirring constantly until thickened. When your rue is at a good thickness, add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some parmesan cheese if you would like. Let rue sit for a few minutes to cool down a little. Add drained chunked tuna to rue. Combine noodles and sauce and peas. Then pour into casserole dish. In a small bowl, combine crushed crackers (you can do this in a sealable baggie) or breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Add olive oil little by little while combining with fork until mixture is moistened. Put this mixture on top of casserole. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes or until topping is lightly browned.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Use the ingredients for the rue listed above

Use ingredients for the topping above

8oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese                                      

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 pound pasta / noodles

2 cups broccoli florets (optional)

2 cups chopped chicken (optional)

Directions: Set oven to 350 degrees. Use instructions above for the rue sauce. Except after it has thickened, add your shredded cheddar
and stir until melted and combined. Use instructions above for boiling noodles, except if you want to add broccoli, add that to the water
with the past about 5 minutes before your noodle will be done. Drain. Combine sauce, noodles and cooked chicken. Pour into casserole dish.
Make up topping using the topping recipe above. Add that to the top of the casserole and bake for about 20 minutes or until topping is lightly
brown.

Do you have any tried and true frugal recipes? Let me know by leaving me a comment, and I will add your recipe to my list if you’d like to share with other readers.

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