Recipies. Again

[jlieb88]

I know this has been posted before.. But here goes.. My budget for food per month is about 50$ for 2 weeks.. When there are 2 grown men plus me in the house, this is hard. Plus, im not a very good cook. So any easy, affordable supper ideas would be sooo great..I have to figure out how to make 50$ last for 14 meals (2 weeks)
Absolutley any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also if you just want to help me be a better "house-girlfriend" haha.. feel free to e-mail me at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

[ShainaT]

I'd check out www.allrecipes.com
You can enter in ingredients you already have at home and see what recipes they come up with for you.

[katlnhats]

Originally Posted by jlieb88

I know this has been posted before.. But here goes.. My budget for food per month is about 50$ for 2 weeks.. When there are 2 grown men plus me in the house, this is hard. Plus, im not a very good cook. So any easy, affordable supper ideas would be sooo great..I have to figure out how to make 50$ last for 14 meals (2 weeks)
Absolutley any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also if you just want to help me be a better "house-girlfriend" haha.. feel free to e-mail me at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Hi,

Have you thought of going to your local food pantry? My husband and I volunteer there on Thursdays, and we're busy the whole time. People who come in get soaps, shampoo, tuna (6 cans), ground beef, (sometimes we have hotdogs, we've had them for the last 3 weeks, so we give those too), margarine, soups, peanut butter, jellys and jams, coffee and/or tea, pasta and sauces (we give more than one of those as well), hamburger and tuna helper, jello/puddings, salt, sugar (if we have it), sometimes we have laundry detergent and dish detergent, <thinking>....cake mixes or brownie mixes, canned fruits and "lots" of canned veggies, stuffing, rice and rice or noodle dishes, applesauce and a lot of other things I know I'm forgetting! And we're not funded by anyone, JUST donations.
Ours is a small town, so people can go once a month (they leave with a very full carriage load), or if they run short, twice a month, but I know that the larger towns have much more. It's worth checking into, we have a ball volunteering and actually "know" what brands of stuff most of the regulars like by now - Oh, forgot, we also have stuffing, gravy, cereals, small canned hams, canned chicken and salmon, and one time an anonymous donor gave pork tenderloins and also beef tenderloins. Which along with the hamburg, etc's....people could have their choice of one or the other - and the donor got enough so we had it for two months. Twenty five dollars (just laundry detergent's going to hurt, as well as dish-stuff), so this may be a good place for you to get some extra food.
You can usually find out about it at your town or city hall, or if they have a Human Services Dept. where you are - and you may even be able to go every week, like I say - it depends on where you live.
We volunteer there -but we also get help w/food once every month and it's helped us a LOT. Just a thought for you or anyone else - let's face it, gas is going up, groceries are going up right along too. What we used to be able to afford, has gotten harder and harder - the towns realize this and have pitched in to help. We have a line every week, and we stay till everyone in that line has gotten their food. And we've made a whole bunch of new friends too Just a thought..........

Hugs,
Kat

[jlieb88]

THANK YOU THANK YOU.. I will definatley check into the pantry and all that you told me. I am new in this town so I wasnt sure where I would have to go to find that. I do know that there is a thrift store here and back home the pantry was there. Thanks again!!!

[katlnhats]

Originally Posted by jlieb88

THANK YOU THANK YOU.. I will definatley check into the pantry and all that you told me. I am new in this town so I wasnt sure where I would have to go to find that. I do know that there is a thrift store here and back home the pantry was there. Thanks again!!!

Hi,

If you don't find out at the thrift shop, we also have (at our Human Services), a free clothing room, or rooms, where a lot of the clothing is brand new - tags still on it - and that is also where they print out a slip each month where you can go to the food pantry (which since they don't have room for it there, is actually in a church!).
I think either your Town Hall, City Hall, or Human Services should be able to help you with all kinds of things that you would have no way of knowing about any other way - plus, here, and in the towns around here, they're really super-nice people - I think they choose them for the jobs cuz they really care Good luck and let us know how you make out!
As far as I know, at least in CT, every town has a Food Pantry - or sometimes a larger town will cover maybe 3 towns, which also means they get a lot more food and other things

Kat

[jagirl]

you have to stick to basic inexpensive items like pasta dishes. Try to cook healthy though. It scores points with men check out a few recipes at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

[katlnhats]

Originally Posted by jagirl

you have to stick to basic inexpensive items like pasta dishes. Try to cook healthy though. It scores points with men check out a few recipes at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

Hi,

Pasta dishes, such as angel hair and the like, make really good stir-fry dishes, using different veggies, cut-up, and quick stir-fried in extra virgin olive oil, then boil your choice of pasta and add to your mixture. That's healthy too, and I use many herbs/spices in them.
Ok, LOL, when Mark and I got married, he didn't know what healthy WAS! I "think" he only ate two or three different veggies, (not fun), but I kept cooking the way I always did and now he eats lots more and likes it too!
He would have lived on burgers, fries, chips and pizza, if he'd had the choice! LOL

Kat

[Debbie42]

You can also check this out I think it is a really good program.
http://www.angelfoodministries.org/hosts.asp

I will send you one of the recipe books I wrote. Has very easy and quick meals to prepare on a budget for a week. I won't send you the others as they are a bit more expensive meals. I put in the book I am sending, a list of things you need to get, all under $50, and the meals to prepare for 2 for a week, so it should last you two weeks. Just P.M. me your address and will be on the way. M

[katlnhats]

Hi,

You're a writer? That's fantastic Talented person, you!

Kat

[jlieb88]

Hey all.. thank you all so much for all the help. i will be sure to tell you how things work out with all the new recipies..

[katlnhats]

Hi,

Yes, please keep us updated, if you're having problems with anything, we may be able to help!

Kat

[twin66]

Okay, I am a wife and mom of 2 teenage sons(ages 18,almost 14 and of course my hubby). We do not have much to spend on food sometimes as we have bills to pay of course but here are some good things to consider.
One of them, our local newspaper sometimes has what is called "deal of day" coupon in paper which is for a free food item at a restaurant. I cut my coupons every sunday, and trade with people I work with.
We also have "Dollar Tree" stores here with food items, as well as a store called "Deals" which is basically owned by Save-A-lot stores, and pretty much any food there cost $1, they have frozen food, dry good,etc...
We also have a Big Lots here which is a combination of both.
IF you live somewhere where someone likes to sell things from their garden cheap, check that out too.
I love MR. Food recipes, go to library, check out recipe books. Some other books are "Fix It And Forget It " for regular as well as crockpot.
***************
I like to make some bbq meats in crockpot, sometimes you just cook chicken or beef with water, drain, then add bbq sauce to stir and shred to make sandwhiches. Make your own pizza's. IF you have day old bread stores there try that.
Try some recipes that have "six ingredients or less" either online or library.
My older son loves his ramen noodles which are usually 10 cents a pack, and you can add your own ingreients as well. A pound of hamburger can go a long way depending on what you make, as well as healthy lunch meats etc...
Anyway thought these suggestions might help, if not, sorry.
Thanks,
Twin66(Ky)

[katlnhats]

Hi Twin66,
They sure will help lots of people, I bet you're a twin? LOL I was thinking about the Ramen noodles and that's one of the things "everyone" wants at the Food Pantry, when I thought about it, I picked up a package (chicken), and stir-fried some veggies, added my herbs/spices, and some leftover chicken, then added the Ramen and it was inexpensive and really good! I'd forgotten about it till you mentioned it.
Also, I don't know about Kentucky, but in Connecticut here, we've got many, many Farmers Markets where you can get your produce very cheap - local growers, and they're all on Saturday mornings for some reason. If you don't use all the produce, you can freeze some, or can some (freezing's easier!), and you appreciate it lots in the winter when the only place you can even hope to get the produce is in the grocery store at a very high price. Thanks for the input, good thoughts and ideas!

Kat

[mama2calli]

Another great tip is to shop when meats are being marked down (varies by store/location) as the items approach their sell-by date... for instance my (Windsor, CT) Stop & Shop has Hormel cryovac-pack spare ribs, sell by date is tomorrow... today they were 1.99/lb, tomorrow they will be .99/lb (guess where I'll be??). I've also gotten Pizzeria Uno pizzas there for $1 (orig $7 & $ because of their expiry/sell-by dates. Great way to stock your freezer, or even to plan your nightly dinner, just find out when your local stores reduce prices on their meats, produce & deli items... HTH Kath