Monday, April 6, 2009

simple, cheap and easy!

Hey so i want to use all your brains out there! I love to cook, and want some new simple, cheap and easy things to add to our menu! SOOO i want to pick your brains for some of your favorite meal ideas, we are looking for quick easy and cheap ideas ;) So let me know if you have any good ones! What do you make at the last minute, or when you are pressed for time? (we are always pressed for time since i work until 6 ;))

5 comments:

Patrick, Adrienne, Isabella, & Makenzie said...

grilled cheese and soup - vary the cheese or the soup. add meat to the sandwich...

pasta and tomatoes. lol. so healthy!

loaded baked potatoes.

canned fruit/veggies. :)

follow my new blog crazy lady! :P

casseroles made in advance.

ecometrochic said...

We love homemade lemon garlic hummus and zucchini pancakes with applesauce. We semi-veg.

Meg said...

2 c noodles (any type, I like the squiggly ones)
once they are cooked, drain them and return to the pot. Add 1 can chili, 1 can corn, 1 c sour cream, and 1 c shredded cheese. YUM! It is easy to double for leftovers too. I have actually gotten really good at cheap, easy, and fast meals that are so inexpensive and make a lot. Since Ben and I work opposite shifts all week and I don't get to see him until the weekend, I have learned how to cook things that will last a long time and are filling on a tight budget. Give me your email address and I will send you LOTS of great ideas! I must say that this is something that is definitely a skill that I have had to learn during the course of our marriage. I can give you lots of great shopping tips too. :) Hooray for being a wife! :):):):)

Danielle said...

cook ahead sometime when derek can take jackie out on a daddy/daughter date and then freeze the meals into portion sizes that are good for meals. Thats what I've been doing. Either that or on days when I have extra time I'll prep a meal for later in the week so on that day i can just throw it together really fast. good luck!

Caitlin Carroll said...

Lentils and rice. I throw then both in the crockpot with quite a bit of water/vegetable stock, usually a can of diced tomatoes and some green onions. Super fast, hands-off, way yummy, and way healthy. Complete protein without the meat! I also love salads. You can throw pretty much anything on a salad, I always have some beans on hand and whatever vegetables are in the fridge. Fruit is good too, like apples and mandarin oranges. Another thing we like to do is black beans (we use dried, but you can use canned), diced tomatoes, rice of some sort, cheese, sour cream, salsa. Put it all in a baking dish and throw it in the oven for a while. Dish it up on tortillas or eat with chips. YUMMY, and pretty healthy as well! Baked potatoes are quick and easy too. Just throw on some butter (we use Earth Balance because it's better for you) and cheese (I use nutritional yeast, it's fat-free and has tons of good vitamins and tastes cheesy), I like "chili beans" too, they come in a can with all of the other beans but have a great flavor! Sometimes I'll use fresh or frozen broccoli and throw it over as well. Baked potatoes have endless possibilities. Eating healthy and homemade is so hard when we're so busy, but it's much cheaper than eating out and if you make it (almost) from scratch, odds are it won't have the preservatives/sodium/fat that fast foods or convenience at home foods have.