LEGIT it would be so cool if you, Christine came out with a plastic smile spoon (one side could say Christine’s special or something) & BOOM I bet so many adored fans would snag one - including me lol 😂❤
As a young married couple with a 5 year old, money was often tight. One day as I was trying to come up with something for supper, I found in my pantry spaghetti noodles and pasta sauce. There was no meat in the refrigerator or freezer, but I had a package of frozen creamed spinach. I mixed it with the sauce, put over the noodles and told my daughter this was Mary Kate and Ashley's favorite dish. It has been a favorite of hers ever since and my husband and I like it too.
I don't usually see people mention this, but if you have sausage to use and don't feel like chili, my go to is sausage and peppers over rice. I usually make a roux, throw cajun seasoning and garlic in there, salt etc, diced bell pepper (I've been known to use the onion bell pepper mix from dollar tree) and sliced sausage. As it thickens you get this rich and spicy gravy type sauce. Thin out with milk or water. Serve over rice. It's really fast to do especially with leftover rice or a rice cooker.
Recipe to try (from Denmark) I have a super simple, super cheap ad super delicioso recipe for a nice, winter dinner: It is called "brændende kærlighed" in Danish, which translates to "burning love". it's basically just mashed potatoes topped with caramelised onions and diced bacon. in my family we like to add other root vegetables to the mash, like parsnips, carrots or water chestnuts, but just potatoes is perfectly fine. I always put a couple of cloves of garlic in with the spuds when they are boiling, and mash them in with the rest. Add butter, milk salt and pepper to taste. Serve with caramelised onions and diced bacon. I don't personally eat meat, so I substitute mushrooms for the bacon. Always a favorite, harty and filling meal, packed with taste for the cold winter evenings.
I looked up a video where I could hear brændende kærlighed. It sounds much easier than it looks written down. It actually sounds like German, to my Brazilian untrained ears. Thanks for sharing.
@@antiantipoda your ears do not deceive you. Danish (as well as english) is an germanic language. And on top of that, Germany is our very large neighbour, so there is a lot of german influence in danish. For english, there is more french influence.
Haha! One time I had to go speak with customer service at Walmart. I was waiting my turn in line when a woman asked if I was following her? I said “No, I’m just waiting in line like you are.” Some people are paranoid from other life experiences that have nothing to do with us.
I was followed at a Walmart and had security escort me to my car, it was dark and rainy that evening... When we got outside there were four people waiting for me, and jumped into their big white van when they saw I was not alone and drove off really fast. 😳 I always notice and am aware of seeing the same people in a store now and though I would never ask if someone was following me, I keep my eyes wide open and pay close attention. If I was an extrovert, I can see straight up asking someone though 😂
I noticed that I was seeing a lot more clearance stickers in the store so I talked to the meat manager at my Safeway and he said Nov and Dec is when they have a ton of mark downs because everyone is buying more of the holiday ingredients either way it’s a win for me cause I got 120 worth of meat for only 65.00 🎉
My father used to make a dish of potatoes, onions and Italian sausage sautéed in a skillet. Sometimes it had bell peppers, sometimes it had eggs scrambled into it. It was always filling and still tastes like childhood to me.
Egg roll in a bowl is pretty budget friendly, especially if you shred your own cabbage and carrot, and can get ground pork on sale. You can season it with whatever Asian sauces/oils you have on hand. Finish with a generous sprinkling of fresh green onion. Serve with a little rice or ramen noodles if you need the carbs.
A tip I learned from my ex-MIL a hundred years ago was to use V8 juice when making my chili. Still the same veggies, meat, beans, seasoning. etc., but the liquid is V8 - I use generic. It adds a surprising amount of flavor! I LOVE your clearance hauls... half my pantry has yellow stickers on it!!! 😁
@@shelliecummins5972 my best friend's X-partner thought the seeds in tomatoes were living, squiggly things and wouldn't go near them! (we're glad he's the 'x')!
I'm so jealous of your clearance choices at Smith's. In Frisco TX our Krogers must be ON POINT with their ordering system because they never have overages to be put on clearance. It's rare to find anything. I even asked when they do it thinking I was just missing out, and they said hardly ever :(
SAME story at mine here in NM. It sucks cause I always see these videos where they find the good deals, but if something is marked down at our store it's mouldy or juicing when it shouldn't. (Like tomatoes that are leaking when you pick up the bag 🤮).
I used to be able to find markdowns but they have all disappeared within the last year. I did notice one of the Kroger's that used to markdown a lot were stuffing bags for the food pantry one day. So I think they are giving away some of the stuff they use to clearance out.
You seemed a lot more serious and maybe just a little upset. Don't let people who don't know how to mind their own business ruin your day. You're always so upbeat, funny and entertaining. Don't let anyone shed darkness on your light. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂❤️
Your content is always SO riveting and I don't even eat meat!! But I love how your face is so full of hope and optimism, and you look at meal prep as a fun and exciting thing to do with a few items. I know so many people who think of budget meal planning as a chore, but you look at it as an opportunity. Never stop doing what you do are doing, you are such a wonderful inspiration.
I enjoy these videos. Despite prices going up, there are definitely deals to be found. Today, I was able to purchase seven avocados for less than $2, blueberries for $1, Broccoli for less than a $1 a lb, and cream cheese for $1.5. I even got potatoes for $0.50 a pound. The key is to be flexible and menu plan around the sales. Easy family meal is the Chipotle rice bowls: lime cilantro rice, fav beans, grilled onions/peppers, cheese and the homemade honey chipotle dressing. We eat with a side of chips and quac (when we have avocados).
I agree. In my area potatoes, berries, butter and few more items have been on sale for the whole month. I’ve been stocking up on what I can use in the next 2-3months.
This was so reminiscent of older videos I have watched of yours, and I LOVED it! Loved these recipes, and thankful for such budget conscious recipes! Loved the music, and the smiley spoon too! Now just a peak at Speedy! Thank you for an awesome Friday video!!
I'm always blown away by the clearance in your store. Mine never has anything. We were on vacation and stopped in a Kroger to pick up sandwich stuff and that store had a lot of clearance too, so I think it's just mine.
Without carb foods I try to come up with an interesting variety of dinners on a budget. I mainly use bacon, eggs, mince, chicken, sausages, steak, cheese which give endless options. I make bone broths and soups. Pantry includes canned ham, salmon, Spam, sardines, oysters, Anchovies, crab. Plus keto baking staples. I bake keto muffins, biscuits/cookies, brownies, chaffles and make keto freezer chocolates. Main veg are frozen cauli, broccoli, green beans, Blueberries . Fresh mushrooms, onion, Avocados, cream. Budget gets really stretched at times.
I wish we had a Smith's or Kroger. My local stores do sometimes have markdowns but not like you find. I belong to a few groups and you would be amazed at the amount of people who are scared of clearance groceries. Not me!
Woot Woot - you are at my store! Stopped by there today, I bought four green peppers in the $1 red bag today and 3lbs. of shredded kale for $1.50. There were a ton of marked down meat packages and bakery items. I plan my meals around those clearance items each week.
Chili is my absolute favorite food, it can be eaten in a variety of ways. Chili and Cornbread Chili on a baked potato. Chili Fries Chili Burgers. The possibilities are endless 😊
I like to carmelize two onions in butter, add one chopped up head of green cabbage, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, when cabbage is just about done, hit it with some white wine vinegar. Serve over cooked egg noodles. You can top it with bacon or some sliced kielbasa. Delish
I love shopping my kitchen first and then picking up the good sale and clearance items to fill in any holes for the week. I do still pay full price for some things, but I’ll go to WinCo or another cheaper grocery store for all of my regular non sale items. It’s helped me save hundreds of dollars every month!
Loved the video! A childhood favorite that is budget friendly: American Chop Suey. When I was a child, a woman at my church would always bring this for homecoming (dinner on the grounds!) All the kids loved this. My brother and I still make it regularly. What distinguishes this version is that it's made with rice, not pasta. Amounts of everything can vary, depending on what's on hand. Brown one pound (or more) hamburger completely. Salt and pepper the hamburger as its cooking. If it's greasy, drain (usually with 85%, I don't have to do that). Leaving the cooked hamburger as a layer in the bottom of the pot, layer in diced onions and green peppers (however much you like...I do a good layer of the combined mixture); then layer in a can or two of diced tomatoes...again, I like a good layer. On top, layer in the white rice....I probably use about 3/4 of a cup but you do you! The key to this recipe is to NOT stir it...let everything cook in it's layers. Add water (ever how much it takes to cook the rice, maybe a cup?) and cook on low covered until the rice is done. I do keep an eye on it and add more water if it looks like it's running dry. I like to cut it off and leave it on the stove for ten minutes after cooking...that helps to reduce the liquid. Ideally, it shouldn't have a lot of liquid at this point. For some reason, cooking it like this produces a different flavor from stirring everything as it cooks. I love this dish...and it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day. To complete the childhood experience, we usually serve it with white bread.
I'd grill that sausage and some bell pepper, then simmer those briefly in a little tomato sauce, then serve on either rolls or toasted bread. It is a basic sausage and pepper sandwich. I had one last weekend when I was visiting the New York City suburbs. I'll have one in the next few days, just because I have a hankerin' for one.
We've been enjoying this recipe in my family since 1991. So good and filling! Settler Beans: 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. bacon 1 medium onion chopped 1 can red kidney beans 2 cans pork and beans 1 can white kidney or great northern beans 1/3 c. brown sugar 1/3 c. white sugar 1/3 c. bbq sauce 1/3 c. ketchup 1/2 tsp. chili powder 1 tbsp. mustard or 1 tsp. dry mustard salt and pepper to taste 2 tbsp. molasses 1. Cook beef, onion and bacon, drain fat. 2. combine all ingredients in casserole dish. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.
Yummy 😋. Writing ✍️ this down! Oh, and I have everything in the pantry for the win 🏆, yay 😀. This would even be good for camping. Fry up the first three in the morning after breakfast and then put in solar cooker all day while out kayaking (or laying in hammock, lol). Dinner time…done!
One of my favorite easy go to cheap meals is a frozen cheese ravioli topped with a bit of olive oil (I just add it after I drain it then a quick sprits of water and a toss while in the colander),then add cooked frozen broccoli, top with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning.
Thanks Christine. Walmart budget meat ideas: Store brand frozen breast chunks - throw in instapot with cup of water and seasonings. I did leftover chopped onion, a couple cloves of garlic and a cup of water. 2/3 of it I served over rice with Veggies and sweet and sour sauce I made with a can of peaches. The rest will be the broth/meat for rice noodle soup for husband and I.
Love this. Out of curiosity though... what happened to fitness friday? I loved it! Had been thinking of starting running when you posted them (never been a runner before) and finally bit the bullet. Been running every other day since and have slowly built up to 4 mile runs in my hilly neighborhood! Thanks 😊
I miss the fitness vids too! FFM has said in prior vids that the fitness vids don't seem very popular, so I think she backed off of them for that reason. But still, she is frugal FIT mom, so give us more, please!!!!
Pepper Steak, super easy. Round steak, green peppers, french onion soup. Brown the steak, add the peppers to the skillet, saute until the peppers are soft. Add in the french onion soup and cook for like 15 minutes. Serve over noodles
3 delicious, filling, cheap meals that my family enjoys: 1. Spaghetti, but with lentils instead of beef. Cook the lentils according to package directions, adding in beef bullion. If you want more texture, add in diced onion and/or lightly blend them (don't puree. Just pulse a little bit where some are still whole and some are not) 2. Mashed potatoes topped with soupy beans (any kind you like, seasoned however you like)(I like Italian seasoned white beans) and cooked greens (again, whatever kind you like, I just season with salt). There are so many possible variations to this one. 3. Mashed potatoes with peas, corn, and cheddar cheese (kind of like a KFC bowl but without chicken)
Tuna Casserole- 2 cans of tuna, 1 bag of egg noodles boiled, 2 cans of cream soup. Celery and mushroom are nice. 1-2 cans of milk so that your sauce is wet but creamy, frozen peas (1/2 a bag). Salt, pepper, onion powder (or sauté onions and celery and mushrooms if you want to add ), and dill is nice. We sometimes top with cheese if we have some to use up.
Chicken street tacos - sauté onion and cauliflower rice in a skillet, add some leftover cooked diced chicken, a can of refried beans, taco seasoning, some salsa (1/2 cup or so) and some plain greek yogurt. Once everything is hot, put mixture in flour tortillas, spray tortillas with oil or cooking spray and bake until the tortillas get crispy. The beans and cauli rice add a ton of bulk to make a very small amount of chicken go a long way.
Potatoes and onions with meat leftovers - perfect for sausage or leftover slow cooked beef or pork or ground beef or (if its in budget cos its got spendy) canned corned beef is perfect. In a slow cooker (can probably use an instant pot but I don't have one so don't know the conversion) or in an oven proof casserole layer thinly sliced potatoes and onions. Between each layer season with salt and pepper. About halfway up put a layer of meat. Then more potatoes and onions to the top. Mix up some bouillon powder into water and add a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce. Pour the stock into the potatoes. You want it about halfway up. Put a little butter or marg on the top. Cook in slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours or in a moderate oven for 3-4 hours. You want the potatoes tender. Bonus if the top and edges gets crispy.
I feel like if I have onion celery garlic and bell pepper I can make anything! It is the Louisiana trinity! I sauté these with a Cajun sausage I find on sale and then season with a can of fire roasted tomatoes and season to taste! I add some bouillon and water then after I cook down for a few minutes I add 1 and a half cups of rice! Put the lid on my Dutch oven and reduce the heat. Cook until the rice is done and you have jambalaya! This can also make use of whatever other protein you have lying around like chicken or shrimp whatever you have and like! You can double the recipe or triple depending upon on the crowd you have! I love this and a quick side salad is all you may need if you want something extra! I love it and it is cheap!!
Slow cooker potato and chicken curry....15 oz coconut milk, 3 tsp curry powder, about 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, 3 medium sweet potatoes cubed, 6 carrots sliced into 2 inch pieces, 1 small onion chopped, whisk the coconut milk and curry powder in the bottom of the crock pot. Add everything else and toss to coat. Slow cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. I always have 2 cans of coconut milk in my pantry for Indian or Asian type dishes. You can find it on sale for $.99 occasionally. Add more curry if your family wants it more spicy. I usually serve this over rice, but occasionally mashed potatoes, if I have some left over.
Haluski… a full head of cabbage chopped small pieces. A kielbasa chopped in pieces and 8 oz cooked egg noodles. 1 stick of butter salt and pepper to taste Cook your kielbasa until golden and your chopped cabbage(do not add any water it will make its own as the cabbage steams) cover and cook down until cabbage is golden brown. Add the cooked pasta add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and serve. Yum. We like this with garlic breadsticks.
One of our family favorites is Frito pie. 1 lb hamburger meat, browned with chopped onion and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 2 T chili powder (or you could use taco seasoning instead). After the meat is cooked add 1/3 c water and let simmer a couple minutes. Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam and place fritos (or I will use left over restaurant tortilla chips or the "crumbs" of tortilla chips or doritos everyone leaves at the bottom of the bag and won't eat before opening a new bag, lol) fill the 9x13 dish with the chips. Pour the meat on top of the chips then add a layer of shredded cheddar on top (usually two handsful). You can add fresh chopped onion on top but that's optional. Bake about five minutes @350*, just to get the cheese melted. Serve with Spanish rice and refried beans, or sometimes we just eat it with buttered canned corn. So simple and full of flavor! My son likes it for his school lunch leftover.
I know exactly where my Pick n Save puts their rack of day-old, half-priced bakery, their clearance dairy, and their clearance deli. I always check what is there. Those REDUCED stickers are regular visitors to my kitchen!
I love to serve bagels with cream cheese and an over easy egg on top. This is how I finally got hubby to eat a bagel. We use rice to extend our meals also. Definitely love chili poured over a bowl of rice and many soups work great also to get more meals out of a dish. Growing up my mom would take stewed tomatoes and serve over rice or elbow pasta. I guess what they say is true, what goes around comes back around. Those old tried and true recipes were frugal and delicious. Glad to see others keeping them going.
I love just the regular old diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings over pasta. It just tastes fresher to me than a thicker sauce. Probably better for me as well since most pasta sauces have sugar.
@@firequeen2194 Mom always canned her tomatoes, now I do the same. Yes most jarred sauces have sugar. There are some that do not, mostly the “top shelf,” varieties.
In many Canadian provinces we have “Flashfood”, it’s an app that stores use to sell off ready to expire food including meats, fruit and fresh veggies. I often get a box filled with mixed veggies for $5, which is less than 1/3 of the cost otherwise. I’ve canned 500ml jars of salsa for under $1.
We have Flashflood here in the US (Indiana) too! It's only at one grocery store, but I'm lucky enough have a location nearby and I've gotten some great deals!
Our favorite frugal meal is hamburg gravy over mashed potatoes. Brown ground beef,sprinkle with flour and add in beef broth, or bouillon and water. Simmer and serve ontop of mashed potatoes. So yummy
One of my family’s favorites is a tomato soup (roasted red pepper tomato mix if you can) with corn (frozen) and a can of black beans. That’s the basic version, but it is so good. Could add chicken or another protein, could add rice as well. We always top it with cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips. I love to eat it with Fritos, but any corn chips are great. Don’t have toppings? Still really, really good.
A meal my mom used to make me, that I make for my family is super simple and inexpensive. It kinda sounds like it wouldn't taste amazing, but it does. 1 pound ground beef, normal sized can of condensed mushroom soup, large can baked beans (I use bush's), salt, pepper, and cheese. Brown the ground beef, mix in can of mushroom soup and baked beans. Season to taste and then add cheese. Mix until cheese melts. My mom used Kraft singles. I have used sliced cheddar, both work. Top that on some rice and it's so good. I also add Sriracha on mine, but my mom never did that. When she first made this for me, I thought it would be weird, but it's such a comfort food. 😋
I always buy extra plain yoghurt on clearance, drip it through a cloth for yoghurt cheese which can be flavoured however you like - makes lunches that much easier x
One staple meal my mom made frequently when I was growing up was the California Style Vegetables with chicken. She'd cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces & cook them all together in a HUGE skillet. Just a little water in the skillet with some salt & pepper. The meat does a pretty good job at flavoring up the veggies. And we'd have some bread of some sort with it. Quick, simple & healthy meal. This was a staple because we were always on the go with all of us kids playing every sport known to man. Another one was canned tamales, over canned chili over spaghetti noodles. Another was the Dinty Moore Beef Stew, mix in some black eyed peas & serve over egg noodles.
One way I stretch my Costco chicken is making Lebanese Heshweh because I can make stock with the carcass and use it to cook the rice, and 1# of lean hamburger gets stretched times how many bellies I need to feed. There are as many heshweh recipes as there are cooks I think, but basically it is broth, leftover chicken, hamburger, rice and some spices, eaten topped with plain yogurt. some people put peas, most people toss in toasted almonds or pine nuts (if you aren't on a budget) It is for what it seems your chicken rice dish is for you: childhood soul food.
Tune noodle casserole was a classic in my home. Can get everything at the dollar store too. Season salt was a must with the dish. I also grew up on soups alot or pasta.
Just went hog wild at the after Halloween Walmart sale and the Kroger usual clearance items. Bought tons of pumpkin spice pancake boxed mixes for 50 cents and brownie mixes for 25 cents (easy for young kids to make), and at Kroger, I bought my usual clearance salad items and even a few surprises like giant clearance cereal boxes. I make everything homemade 9 times out of 10, but the clearance stuff is good for kids learning to cook and for special treats or unexpected guests.
Great video! I'm making the chicken and rice soup right now - just decided to fry a bit of bacon to start the dish, take it out, and then add it back in at the end for some extra flavour. A cheap and easy family recipe at our house is fried cabbage and sausage. You can use raw or deli sausage to start (diced hotdogs or smokies also work). Fry in oil in a big skillet until golden or brown. In the meantime, shred or chop cabbage. A bag of pre-shredded coleslaw is a good time saver. Add that in and stew until cabbage is soft. Ta-da! It's low carb and really filling. Where I am, cabbage is also one of the cheaper veggies. You can mix it up by adding a bit of vinegar or different spices. Whatever you have on hand :)
One of my comfort food is Hungarian Goulash. My mother would make this during the winter months. It is made with stewing meat (not ground beef), spices, vinegar, onions, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup (yes, you read right!) and simmered all day. Mom would serve with egg noodles.
Hi Christine, so in the UK 🇬🇧 this is my go to when I have Italian sausage, spicy or not is what we call Sausage Gnocchi in my house. Also super quick. It use Italian sausages, Kale, Gnocchi or dried pasta, chicken stock, chilli flakes, fennel seeds, salt and pepper and Parmesan. De skin the sausage, Cook the sausage off and break up, add chilli flakes and fennel seeds. When cooked remove from pan. Add gnocchi ( if using dried pasta, cook as per packet), toast lightly in pan then add chicken stock, put the chopped kale on top, cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the sausage back, add Parmesan. Serve. My teenagers love this.
As a meal or side. Broccoli pasta is simple. Spaghetti or any pasta you have. Chop fresh broccoli into bite size pieces. Cook pasta as directed when there is 3 minutes left in cook time put 🥦 in water. Serve with butter and parm cheese on top. Add a clove of garlic into water whole so you can fish it out or leave it in. Adds great flavor without chopping it up.
With Walmart offering veggies @ $ .50/$.58 I have a year's worth of Gr Beans, Cream Corn, Whole Kernal Corn, Peas in addition to what I already had. The half package of sausage would have been a great stir fry using up extra veggies
A recipe you can try is "Westfälische Erbsensuppe" (Westphalian pea soup). Northrhine Westphalia is the state of Germany I'm from. Our family recipe for 10x portions is: 300gr of dried peas, 500gr of potato (cut in small pieces), 1x can of peas with carrots, 800ml of beef brew and 4-8 raw sausages (cut in small pieces) - Soak the dried peas in 200ml of water over night - put everything in your pot and add salt and pepper - add seasonal (fresh) herbs if wanted (like thyme or parsley) Let it cook for 30-40min in a pressure cooker/crockpot or 60-80min in a normal pot with middle to low heat (stir from time to time if you use a normal pot). If the raw sausages & potatoes are cooked and the texture is between soup and stew it's ready. We often let it sit a little longer to get a stew like texture. If it's ready taste test and add salt and pepper according to your (famlies) taste, since you usually have to adjust it. Also this is one of those dishes that you can easily freeze or reheat the next day and the taste will actually increase.
1 or 2 bags of meatballs, 2 cans of chili sauce (no bean sauce), and 2 cans of cranberries. Get the half gelled half berry ones. Add more cans of the chili sauce and cranberries if you want more sauce. Throw all in a crock pot on low for a few hours. Pile the meatballs in a roll. Enjoy!
I live in Massachusetts, my local food stores are Stop & Shop, Hannaford, Price Chopper (Market 32), Shaws, Market Basket, Walmart. I feel blessed that there are a lot of store choices in my area. But the clearance food racks are slimmer than they used to be. No single store is my "go to" for all the clearance items. Some stores just have dry good clearance, some just have bakery or frozen clearance. Lately it's impossible to find meat and produce on clearance. It's frustrating that my dollar isn't stretching as far any more. I wish there was more. Also Christine, I'm super envious of your ridiculously large sack of oats in your pantry. Ived searched everywhere for a container that size!
Thank you for your ideas! Do you have some for all the non-food items. Where my biggest expense is.....laundry soap, cleaning supplies, paper products, personal products.
I make kielbasa sliced potatoes and cabbage. Easy cheap and yummy. Simply layer slice potato cabbage onion and generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning salt and pepper . I cook mine is a lg skillet w a lid. Just simmer w a little water in the bottom of the pan top with sliced kielbasa sausage.
Love your meal videos - always needing new ideas! Bagels are also great with hummus, bruschetta or as a mini pizza! Plus they're so thick I usually cut them and have two sandwiches for each one. 👍🏻
Our Kroger rarely has items reduced. I think they donate them instead. Which is great… but sad for me. Love your videos. Trying to go from a family of 5 (kids 3, 5, 7) with a $1400 grocery/household budget to closer to your way. Thanks for teaching. It’s helping.
A cheap easy meal my family enjoys during the colder months is navy beans boiled with water and an old ham bone, left over smoked sliced ham or a pork hauk...add salt and pepper when dish over potatoes of your choice...We enjoy boiled potatoes...the soup thickens up and is very hearty.
I can only go to Smith's in the evening or on Saturday so I rarely see the clearance stickers. I will keep looking though while I am there. Eggs are REALLY expensive now, so I am making a lot more pancake mix, biscuits, and looking out for clearance sausage. It is so freaking hard to stay motivated to go to another store after I had already been out for an hour or more in one store. Thanks for the tips.
off topic: I'm loving that you're growing your hair long. As a person with very thin sparse hair that can't grow it very long I'm envious. Looks really pretty.
Oh, Memories..Chicken/Rice was winter staple growing up..Even with left over Turkey ( carcass) in the freezer for just this dish later..🤔, I'll be making this ....
Eggs soup is an excellent dinner recipe. Just look up greek eggy soup or avgolemono. Not all recipes will include it but I add cooked chicken in as well. Has to be boiled though I like to boil it to make the chicken stock that I will use in the recipe and then chuck in the cooked meat at the end in the soup to warm up.
We love shredded bbq chicken bowls and sandwiches. I just cook the chicken in our instapot and then shred it. You can put it on top of rice or bread (clearance hoagies are great) add bbq sauce and shredded cheese (optional) and voila quick & easy meal. We also enjoy sheet pan meals like chicken with broccoli & carrots. Season with salt, pepper, & garlic. Mix with oil cook in oven at 400 until chicken is almost cooked through then pull out and squeeze a little lemon juice and add Parmesan cheese. Cook another few minutes to finish cooking the chicken. We like to eat this with a crescent roll or bread of some kind on the side
I absolutely love Kroger clearance! Ever since I started watching you I rarely pay full price for bread (maybe three times in the last year?) I pretty much only pay full price for chicken but not other meats. I search clearance for whatever meats we'll eat and my freezer is always stocked. I've saved so much money over the last year shopping clearance and sales. Thank you for showing this stuff!
It's simple but I just made a chicken stuffing casserole for dinner. It was 2 cans of chicken, a can of cream of chicken soup & a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Mixed all together and topped with cooked stove top stuffing. Then baked 400* for 25 minutes. Simple and warm
I live in Wisconsin and around my area, we have a lot of Amish/Country Stores and they always have good deals. You do have to keep in mind with these stores that the items may be past the sell-by date, but most items are still good. A simple go-to meal and cheap I like to make for my family is beans, meat, rice or quinoa and a veggie mix with a broth and cream of mushroom/or chicken. You can add any spices you want. It is so delicious.
We have the same discount stores in ky. Such a variety. Almound flour cake mixes, almound flour 1.99 that is 15.00 on amazon. Pecan flour, so many spices and condiments. Great money saver.
Another good meal is hamburger helper. $0.92 cents for a box of pasta here, then add 1lb of ground meat (about 2.50/lb on sale/clearance). Add Dijon mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder. Then you can either add shredded cheese or velveeta if desired. A block of off brand Velveeta is 6.99 here, or the shredded cheese is 2.00 - you get more mileage from the Velveeta, but it costs more upfront. Total: 5.48 to 6.25 for 4-5 large servings of hamburger helper.
I don't live in an area with an Aldi's, Dollar Tree or Walmart close by. There are no salvage food stores in the area either. Also, since COVID, it's extremely rare to find anything that's been reduced in price unless the store has decided to discontinue it so I have found that I have to depend on sales and meal planning in order to keep my grocery budget down. I have also found that those of you with families actually can spend less per person/ per meal due to the number of people in your family. You can feed a family of 6 on about $100 a week while it runs me between $40 and $50 a week just for me and I eat only 2 meals a day. I"m in awe and envious to say the least.
Shepherds pie is a decent all in one budget dinner. I use whatever we have for veggies - carrots and celery, or peas, or green beans. It’s all good. Ground beef or chicken or turkey or a mix - all works. If using lighter ground meat, a little gravy master will color it up nicely.
Hey. Don’t worry about those complaints at all. I could tell it changed your energy on this video. There are ridiculous dweebs that have nothing better to do but pick on nonsensical stuff. You did an excellent job just moving forward and do your amazing videos. Like my grandma said, “ Brush it off your shoulders and keep on going.” You totally ROCK and I ALWAYS look forward watching your videos with great life tips. Believe me.. You have changed my ways of shopping, budgeting and cooking. I embrace your videos wholeheartedly. We got your back. Okay? Hey Hayley, give your mom a big hug for me please and tell her to keep on rockin’ ! You all are total role model for all of us. Hugs 😊
I sometimes use leftover chili over baked potatoes to extend it or change it up for another meal. As an aside, I love your super creative meal ideas. I always spent a lot more money than you to feed my family of 8, now back down to 6. My oldest child at home is 18 and I'm realizing that I need to have my kids watch your budget cooking videos to learn how to prepare meals for less money. I cook a fair amount from scratch, but I think your ideas are an important life skill that you can teach much better than I can. Thanks for sharing!
I find that Quesadillas are a great cheap option that taste delicious. You, can do bean and cheese, chicken/veg, left over beef/veg, you can also do just plain cheese
I love a good sale. When my kids were little to save money I came with a recipe chicken stuff. Boil 1 large chicken breast use lots of water season with pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste to flavor the chicken. When chicken is done take it of pot and shred. Steam broccoli, while broccoli is cooking add 2 packs of ramen noodles with the seasoning pack to the broth. After noodles are done add broccoli, 1 can of cream mushroom soup, and chicken to noodles. Stir well and any kind of cheese you prefer once cheese is melted it's ready. You can use canned chicken.
As a family of 8 chicken teriyaki is always a huge hit in my house. It really only takes about 4 ingredients chicken breast, rice, broccoli, and teriyaki sauce. It’s super cheap especially because most of those ingredients are already staples in our house.
I consider hot Italian sausages a pantry staple. I make so many meals starting with onion garlic and sausage and usually only one or two sausages…yum. Today it was sweet potato soup…yum topped with sour cream…also a staple
When pork loin roast goes on sale I will make pulled pork in the crockpot with just basic spices (no barbecue sauce) and a tiny bit of liquid smoke (that's a pantry staple for us). We can have pulled pork sandwiches, tacos it's even great with rice and beans in a bowl. We can have many meals with that.
My go to is a whole rotisserie chicken at 5.99 each available at several local stores by me. I debone the entire thing and make at least one soup either chicken noodle, chicken & rice or chicken dumpling. Then I make chicken quesadillas or chicken, broc and rice casserole or pot pie or creamy Italian chicken qith the rest. 1 lb of hamburger I split into 2 meals... a chili or taco soup bulking up with beans and corn then the other half mix with refried beans and taco seasoning and make tostadas or enchiladas (I buy the dry packet for enchilada sauce that you mix with tomato paste & water vs the cans of sauce) Leftover chili turns into chili dogs, chili mac or served over baked potatoes. 1 ham steak I will use to make a crockpot of split pea soup.
LEGIT it would be so cool if you, Christine came out with a plastic smile spoon (one side could say Christine’s special or something) & BOOM I bet so many adored fans would snag one - including me lol 😂❤
As a young married couple with a 5 year old, money was often tight. One day as I was trying to come up with something for supper, I found in my pantry spaghetti noodles and pasta sauce. There was no meat in the refrigerator or freezer, but I had a package of frozen creamed spinach. I mixed it with the sauce, put over the noodles and told my daughter this was Mary Kate and Ashley's favorite dish. It has been a favorite of hers ever since and my husband and I like it too.
I don't usually see people mention this, but if you have sausage to use and don't feel like chili, my go to is sausage and peppers over rice. I usually make a roux, throw cajun seasoning and garlic in there, salt etc, diced bell pepper (I've been known to use the onion bell pepper mix from dollar tree) and sliced sausage. As it thickens you get this rich and spicy gravy type sauce. Thin out with milk or water. Serve over rice. It's really fast to do especially with leftover rice or a rice cooker.
This sounds delicious! I'm definitely going to try it. Thanks! 😁
@@amec2755 no problem! 🙂
Good idea!
Good idea. Looking for rice recipes.
I🧡my rice cooker. Def has helped me in life. I will be remembering your recipe!
Recipe to try (from Denmark)
I have a super simple, super cheap ad super delicioso recipe for a nice, winter dinner:
It is called "brændende kærlighed" in Danish, which translates to "burning love".
it's basically just mashed potatoes topped with caramelised onions and diced bacon.
in my family we like to add other root vegetables to the mash, like parsnips, carrots or water chestnuts, but just potatoes is perfectly fine. I always put a couple of cloves of garlic in with the spuds when they are boiling, and mash them in with the rest. Add butter, milk salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with caramelised onions and diced bacon. I don't personally eat meat, so I substitute mushrooms for the bacon.
Always a favorite, harty and filling meal, packed with taste for the cold winter evenings.
You had me at bacon!
Sounds amazing!
@@sherilynalexnder897 Bacon 🥓 is my BFF
I looked up a video where I could hear brændende kærlighed. It sounds much easier than it looks written down. It actually sounds like German, to my Brazilian untrained ears. Thanks for sharing.
@@antiantipoda your ears do not deceive you. Danish (as well as english) is an germanic language. And on top of that, Germany is our very large neighbour, so there is a lot of german influence in danish. For english, there is more french influence.
Haha! One time I had to go speak with customer service at Walmart. I was waiting my turn in line when a woman asked if I was following her? I said “No, I’m just waiting in line like you are.” Some people are paranoid from other life experiences that have nothing to do with us.
I was followed at a Walmart and had security escort me to my car, it was dark and rainy that evening... When we got outside there were four people waiting for me, and jumped into their big white van when they saw I was not alone and drove off really fast. 😳 I always notice and am aware of seeing the same people in a store now and though I would never ask if someone was following me, I keep my eyes wide open and pay close attention. If I was an extrovert, I can see straight up asking someone though 😂
@@Spotless1825 I’ve been followed too so I understand but I hadn’t even seen this woman before, I was just standing in line.
I noticed that I was seeing a lot more clearance stickers in the store so I talked to the meat manager at my Safeway and he said Nov and Dec is when they have a ton of mark downs because everyone is buying more of the holiday ingredients either way it’s a win for me cause I got 120 worth of meat for only 65.00 🎉
Dayyum gyaal
My father used to make a dish of potatoes, onions and Italian sausage sautéed in a skillet. Sometimes it had bell peppers, sometimes it had eggs scrambled into it. It was always filling and still tastes like childhood to me.
Kickin' it old school on the channel - the blender scream and the happy spoon. IYKYK! 😁
Egg roll in a bowl is pretty budget friendly, especially if you shred your own cabbage and carrot, and can get ground pork on sale. You can season it with whatever Asian sauces/oils you have on hand. Finish with a generous sprinkling of fresh green onion. Serve with a little rice or ramen noodles if you need the carbs.
A tip I learned from my ex-MIL a hundred years ago was to use V8 juice when making my chili. Still the same veggies, meat, beans, seasoning. etc., but the liquid is V8 - I use generic. It adds a surprising amount of flavor! I LOVE your clearance hauls... half my pantry has yellow stickers on it!!! 😁
My father in law uses it in his chili cause he hates tomatoes
@@shelliecummins5972 my best friend's X-partner thought the seeds in tomatoes were living, squiggly things and wouldn't go near them! (we're glad he's the 'x')!
My chili is very different, but I love using V8 in it.
too much sodium for me
@@jernigan007 there is low sodium V8
I'm so jealous of your clearance choices at Smith's. In Frisco TX our Krogers must be ON POINT with their ordering system because they never have overages to be put on clearance. It's rare to find anything. I even asked when they do it thinking I was just missing out, and they said hardly ever :(
SAME story at mine here in NM. It sucks cause I always see these videos where they find the good deals, but if something is marked down at our store it's mouldy or juicing when it shouldn't. (Like tomatoes that are leaking when you pick up the bag 🤮).
I used to be able to find markdowns but they have all disappeared within the last year. I did notice one of the Kroger's that used to markdown a lot were stuffing bags for the food pantry one day. So I think they are giving away some of the stuff they use to clearance out.
@@AuthorThings what part of nm? In abq/rio rancho I've found some decent clearance stock
I'm in Frisco/Allen/McKinney area and you are so right. I used to find a decent amount of clearance... no more.
@@Michelle-by9fp really? I have not =(, but good for you!!
You seemed a lot more serious and maybe just a little upset. Don't let people who don't know how to mind their own business ruin your day. You're always so upbeat, funny and entertaining. Don't let anyone shed darkness on your light. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂❤️
Your content is always SO riveting and I don't even eat meat!! But I love how your face is so full of hope and optimism, and you look at meal prep as a fun and exciting thing to do with a few items. I know so many people who think of budget meal planning as a chore, but you look at it as an opportunity. Never stop doing what you do are doing, you are such a wonderful inspiration.
Well said, Monty!!
Vegetarian here too! I 100% agree.
Vegetarian too! I just think of how I'd sub in beans, tofu, or imitation meats in her recipes.
I enjoy these videos.
Despite prices going up, there are definitely deals to be found. Today, I was able to purchase seven avocados for less than $2, blueberries for $1, Broccoli for less than a $1 a lb, and cream cheese for $1.5. I even got potatoes for $0.50 a pound. The key is to be flexible and menu plan around the sales.
Easy family meal is the Chipotle rice bowls: lime cilantro rice, fav beans, grilled onions/peppers, cheese and the homemade honey chipotle dressing. We eat with a side of chips and quac (when we have avocados).
I agree. In my area potatoes, berries, butter and few more items have been on sale for the whole month. I’ve been stocking up on what I can use in the next 2-3months.
@@dariana4247 Super smart to stock up when cheap. I ended up with 15 lbs of potatoes and so much broccoli, ha!
This was so reminiscent of older videos I have watched of yours, and I LOVED it! Loved these recipes, and thankful for such budget conscious recipes! Loved the music, and the smiley spoon too! Now just a peak at Speedy! Thank you for an awesome Friday video!!
Yesss!!!
💯
I'm always blown away by the clearance in your store. Mine never has anything. We were on vacation and stopped in a Kroger to pick up sandwich stuff and that store had a lot of clearance too, so I think it's just mine.
My Kroger hardly ever has clearance items too!
Without carb foods I try to come up with an interesting variety of dinners on a budget. I mainly use bacon, eggs, mince, chicken, sausages, steak, cheese which give endless options. I make bone broths and soups. Pantry includes canned ham, salmon, Spam, sardines, oysters, Anchovies, crab. Plus keto baking staples. I bake keto muffins, biscuits/cookies, brownies, chaffles and make keto freezer chocolates. Main veg are frozen cauli, broccoli, green beans, Blueberries . Fresh mushrooms, onion, Avocados, cream. Budget gets really stretched at times.
Eating healthy is not budget friendly. We've gone back to too many starches in our diet.
I wish we had a Smith's or Kroger. My local stores do sometimes have markdowns but not like you find. I belong to a few groups and you would be amazed at the amount of people who are scared of clearance groceries. Not me!
Woot Woot - you are at my store! Stopped by there today, I bought four green peppers in the $1 red bag today and 3lbs. of shredded kale for $1.50. There were a ton of marked down meat packages and bakery items. I plan my meals around those clearance items each week.
Chili is my absolute favorite food, it can be eaten in a variety of ways.
Chili and Cornbread
Chili on a baked potato.
Chili Fries
Chili Burgers. The possibilities are endless 😊
I like to carmelize two onions in butter, add one chopped up head of green cabbage, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, when cabbage is just about done, hit it with some white wine vinegar. Serve over cooked egg noodles. You can top it with bacon or some sliced kielbasa. Delish
I love shopping my kitchen first and then picking up the good sale and clearance items to fill in any holes for the week. I do still pay full price for some things, but I’ll go to WinCo or another cheaper grocery store for all of my regular non sale items. It’s helped me save hundreds of dollars every month!
Loved the video! A childhood favorite that is budget friendly: American Chop Suey. When I was a child, a woman at my church would always bring this for homecoming (dinner on the grounds!) All the kids loved this. My brother and I still make it regularly. What distinguishes this version is that it's made with rice, not pasta. Amounts of everything can vary, depending on what's on hand. Brown one pound (or more) hamburger completely. Salt and pepper the hamburger as its cooking. If it's greasy, drain (usually with 85%, I don't have to do that). Leaving the cooked hamburger as a layer in the bottom of the pot, layer in diced onions and green peppers (however much you like...I do a good layer of the combined mixture); then layer in a can or two of diced tomatoes...again, I like a good layer. On top, layer in the white rice....I probably use about 3/4 of a cup but you do you! The key to this recipe is to NOT stir it...let everything cook in it's layers. Add water (ever how much it takes to cook the rice, maybe a cup?) and cook on low covered until the rice is done. I do keep an eye on it and add more water if it looks like it's running dry. I like to cut it off and leave it on the stove for ten minutes after cooking...that helps to reduce the liquid. Ideally, it shouldn't have a lot of liquid at this point. For some reason, cooking it like this produces a different flavor from stirring everything as it cooks. I love this dish...and it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day. To complete the childhood experience, we usually serve it with white bread.
Hi! Are the cans of diced tomatoes drained or undrained?
@@gilanagelman I never drain them.
I'd grill that sausage and some bell pepper, then simmer those briefly in a little tomato sauce, then serve on either rolls or toasted bread. It is a basic sausage and pepper sandwich. I had one last weekend when I was visiting the New York City suburbs. I'll have one in the next few days, just because I have a hankerin' for one.
We've been enjoying this recipe in my family since 1991. So good and filling!
Settler Beans:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. bacon
1 medium onion chopped
1 can red kidney beans
2 cans pork and beans
1 can white kidney or great northern beans
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. white sugar
1/3 c. bbq sauce
1/3 c. ketchup
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. mustard or 1 tsp. dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. molasses
1. Cook beef, onion and bacon, drain fat.
2. combine all ingredients in casserole dish. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.
Yummy 😋. Writing ✍️ this down! Oh, and I have everything in the pantry for the win 🏆, yay 😀. This would even be good for camping. Fry up the first three in the morning after breakfast and then put in solar cooker all day while out kayaking (or laying in hammock, lol). Dinner time…done!
My mom also served chili over rice when I was growing up. We were a family of 6 and weren't exactly well-off. But we never went hungry.
I'm glad to see a video about a family of 6. It's usually 4 and seems so small. Having 4 kids requires a lot more food!! ❤️
One of my favorite easy go to cheap meals is a frozen cheese ravioli topped with a bit of olive oil (I just add it after I drain it then a quick sprits of water and a toss while in the colander),then add cooked frozen broccoli, top with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning.
I extend my ravioli by adding boxed pasta,usually whatever partially used box I have,it’s all works, add sauce.
Thanks Christine. Walmart budget meat ideas: Store brand frozen breast chunks - throw in instapot with cup of water and seasonings. I did leftover chopped onion, a couple cloves of garlic and a cup of water. 2/3 of it I served over rice with Veggies and sweet and sour sauce I made with a can of peaches. The rest will be the broth/meat for rice noodle soup for husband and I.
Ok Christine is, by now, a member of my family. Love from 🇨🇵
Love this. Out of curiosity though... what happened to fitness friday? I loved it! Had been thinking of starting running when you posted them (never been a runner before) and finally bit the bullet. Been running every other day since and have slowly built up to 4 mile runs in my hilly neighborhood! Thanks 😊
I miss the fitness vids too! FFM has said in prior vids that the fitness vids don't seem very popular, so I think she backed off of them for that reason. But still, she is frugal FIT mom, so give us more, please!!!!
Pepper Steak, super easy. Round steak, green peppers, french onion soup. Brown the steak, add the peppers to the skillet, saute until the peppers are soft. Add in the french onion soup and cook for like 15 minutes. Serve over noodles
3 delicious, filling, cheap meals that my family enjoys:
1. Spaghetti, but with lentils instead of beef. Cook the lentils according to package directions, adding in beef bullion. If you want more texture, add in diced onion and/or lightly blend them (don't puree. Just pulse a little bit where some are still whole and some are not)
2. Mashed potatoes topped with soupy beans (any kind you like, seasoned however you like)(I like Italian seasoned white beans) and cooked greens (again, whatever kind you like, I just season with salt). There are so many possible variations to this one.
3. Mashed potatoes with peas, corn, and cheddar cheese (kind of like a KFC bowl but without chicken)
We used to do chili over mashed potatoes
Tuna Casserole- 2 cans of tuna, 1 bag of egg noodles boiled, 2 cans of cream soup. Celery and mushroom are nice. 1-2 cans of milk so that your sauce is wet but creamy, frozen peas (1/2 a bag). Salt, pepper, onion powder (or sauté onions and celery and mushrooms if you want to add ), and dill is nice. We sometimes top with cheese if we have some to use up.
Chicken street tacos - sauté onion and cauliflower rice in a skillet, add some leftover cooked diced chicken, a can of refried beans, taco seasoning, some salsa (1/2 cup or so) and some plain greek yogurt. Once everything is hot, put mixture in flour tortillas, spray tortillas with oil or cooking spray and bake until the tortillas get crispy. The beans and cauli rice add a ton of bulk to make a very small amount of chicken go a long way.
Potatoes and onions with meat leftovers - perfect for sausage or leftover slow cooked beef or pork or ground beef or (if its in budget cos its got spendy) canned corned beef is perfect.
In a slow cooker (can probably use an instant pot but I don't have one so don't know the conversion) or in an oven proof casserole layer thinly sliced potatoes and onions. Between each layer season with salt and pepper. About halfway up put a layer of meat. Then more potatoes and onions to the top. Mix up some bouillon powder into water and add a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce. Pour the stock into the potatoes. You want it about halfway up. Put a little butter or marg on the top.
Cook in slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours or in a moderate oven for 3-4 hours. You want the potatoes tender. Bonus if the top and edges gets crispy.
I feel like if I have onion celery garlic and bell pepper I can make anything! It is the Louisiana trinity! I sauté these with a Cajun sausage I find on sale and then season with a can of fire roasted tomatoes and season to taste! I add some bouillon and water then after I cook down for a few minutes I add 1 and a half cups of rice! Put the lid on my Dutch oven and reduce the heat. Cook until the rice is done and you have jambalaya! This can also make use of whatever other protein you have lying around like chicken or shrimp whatever you have and like! You can double the recipe or triple depending upon on the crowd you have! I love this and a quick side salad is all you may need if you want something extra! I love it and it is cheap!!
I love your videos. I used to think I was the only one shopping the sales, but seeing your hauls inspires me to keep looking for the deals.
Slow cooker potato and chicken curry....15 oz coconut milk, 3 tsp curry powder, about 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, 3 medium sweet potatoes cubed, 6 carrots sliced into 2 inch pieces, 1 small onion chopped, whisk the coconut milk and curry powder in the bottom of the crock pot. Add everything else and toss to coat. Slow cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. I always have 2 cans of coconut milk in my pantry for Indian or Asian type dishes. You can find it on sale for $.99 occasionally. Add more curry if your family wants it more spicy. I usually serve this over rice, but occasionally mashed potatoes, if I have some left over.
Haluski… a full head of cabbage chopped small pieces. A kielbasa chopped in pieces and 8 oz cooked egg noodles. 1 stick of butter salt and pepper to taste
Cook your kielbasa until golden and your chopped cabbage(do not add any water it will make its own as the cabbage steams) cover and cook down until cabbage is golden brown. Add the cooked pasta add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and serve. Yum. We like this with garlic breadsticks.
One of our family favorites is Frito pie.
1 lb hamburger meat, browned with chopped onion and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 2 T chili powder (or you could use taco seasoning instead). After the meat is cooked add 1/3 c water and let simmer a couple minutes. Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam and place fritos (or I will use left over restaurant tortilla chips or the "crumbs" of tortilla chips or doritos everyone leaves at the bottom of the bag and won't eat before opening a new bag, lol) fill the 9x13 dish with the chips. Pour the meat on top of the chips then add a layer of shredded cheddar on top (usually two handsful). You can add fresh chopped onion on top but that's optional. Bake about five minutes @350*, just to get the cheese melted. Serve with Spanish rice and refried beans, or sometimes we just eat it with buttered canned corn. So simple and full of flavor! My son likes it for his school lunch leftover.
I'm so glad to see someone else plan a menu by the clearance items. I've always planned meals that way.
I know exactly where my Pick n Save puts their rack of day-old, half-priced bakery, their clearance dairy, and their clearance deli. I always check what is there. Those REDUCED stickers are regular visitors to my kitchen!
I love to serve bagels with cream cheese and an over easy egg on top. This is how I finally got hubby to eat a bagel. We use rice to extend our meals also. Definitely love chili poured over a bowl of rice and many soups work great also to get more meals out of a dish. Growing up my mom would take stewed tomatoes and serve over rice or elbow pasta. I guess what they say is true, what goes around comes back around. Those old tried and true recipes were frugal and delicious. Glad to see others keeping them going.
I love just the regular old diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings over pasta. It just tastes fresher to me than a thicker sauce. Probably better for me as well since most pasta sauces have sugar.
@@firequeen2194 Mom always canned her tomatoes, now I do the same. Yes most jarred sauces have sugar. There are some that do not, mostly the “top shelf,” varieties.
Use Italian sausage for a sheet pan meal with onions, garlic, and all different color of peppers, maybe a few grape tomatoes and herbs. SUPER!
In many Canadian provinces we have “Flashfood”, it’s an app that stores use to sell off ready to expire food including meats, fruit and fresh veggies. I often get a box filled with mixed veggies for $5, which is less than 1/3 of the cost otherwise. I’ve canned 500ml jars of salsa for under $1.
We have Flashflood here in the US (Indiana) too! It's only at one grocery store, but I'm lucky enough have a location nearby and I've gotten some great deals!
I have missed these cooking videos from you !
Love from Seattle
Our favorite frugal meal is hamburg gravy over mashed potatoes. Brown ground beef,sprinkle with flour and add in beef broth, or bouillon and water. Simmer and serve ontop of mashed potatoes. So yummy
One of my family’s favorites is a tomato soup (roasted red pepper tomato mix if you can) with corn (frozen) and a can of black beans. That’s the basic version, but it is so good. Could add chicken or another protein, could add rice as well. We always top it with cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips. I love to eat it with Fritos, but any corn chips are great. Don’t have toppings? Still really, really good.
A meal my mom used to make me, that I make for my family is super simple and inexpensive. It kinda sounds like it wouldn't taste amazing, but it does. 1 pound ground beef, normal sized can of condensed mushroom soup, large can baked beans (I use bush's), salt, pepper, and cheese. Brown the ground beef, mix in can of mushroom soup and baked beans. Season to taste and then add cheese. Mix until cheese melts. My mom used Kraft singles. I have used sliced cheddar, both work. Top that on some rice and it's so good. I also add Sriracha on mine, but my mom never did that. When she first made this for me, I thought it would be weird, but it's such a comfort food. 😋
That sounds great. I’ll have to give it a try.😊
@@katiem7850 I hope you like it. It's so simple and really tasty.
I always buy extra plain yoghurt on clearance, drip it through a cloth for yoghurt cheese which can be flavoured however you like - makes lunches that much easier x
One staple meal my mom made frequently when I was growing up was the California Style Vegetables with chicken.
She'd cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces & cook them all together in a HUGE skillet. Just a little water in the skillet with some salt & pepper.
The meat does a pretty good job at flavoring up the veggies.
And we'd have some bread of some sort with it.
Quick, simple & healthy meal.
This was a staple because we were always on the go with all of us kids playing every sport known to man.
Another one was canned tamales, over canned chili over spaghetti noodles.
Another was the Dinty Moore Beef Stew, mix in some black eyed peas & serve over egg noodles.
My friends and I shop each others pantries. We agree to once a month and have a list posted of off limits items. Work well.
One way I stretch my Costco chicken is making Lebanese Heshweh because I can make stock with the carcass and use it to cook the rice, and 1# of lean hamburger gets stretched times how many bellies I need to feed. There are as many heshweh recipes as there are cooks I think, but basically it is broth, leftover chicken, hamburger, rice and some spices, eaten topped with plain yogurt. some people put peas, most people toss in toasted almonds or pine nuts (if you aren't on a budget) It is for what it seems your chicken rice dish is for you: childhood soul food.
Tune noodle casserole was a classic in my home. Can get everything at the dollar store too. Season salt was a must with the dish. I also grew up on soups alot or pasta.
Just went hog wild at the after Halloween Walmart sale and the Kroger usual clearance items. Bought tons of pumpkin spice pancake boxed mixes for 50 cents and brownie mixes for 25 cents (easy for young kids to make), and at Kroger, I bought my usual clearance salad items and even a few surprises like giant clearance cereal boxes. I make everything homemade 9 times out of 10, but the clearance stuff is good for kids learning to cook and for special treats or unexpected guests.
Great video! I'm making the chicken and rice soup right now - just decided to fry a bit of bacon to start the dish, take it out, and then add it back in at the end for some extra flavour.
A cheap and easy family recipe at our house is fried cabbage and sausage. You can use raw or deli sausage to start (diced hotdogs or smokies also work). Fry in oil in a big skillet until golden or brown. In the meantime, shred or chop cabbage. A bag of pre-shredded coleslaw is a good time saver. Add that in and stew until cabbage is soft. Ta-da! It's low carb and really filling. Where I am, cabbage is also one of the cheaper veggies. You can mix it up by adding a bit of vinegar or different spices. Whatever you have on hand :)
That is already on my menu for tomorrow night!
One of my comfort food is Hungarian Goulash. My mother would make this during the winter months. It is made with stewing meat (not ground beef), spices, vinegar, onions, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup (yes, you read right!) and simmered all day. Mom would serve with egg noodles.
Yummy 😋
Hi Christine, so in the UK 🇬🇧 this is my go to when I have Italian sausage, spicy or not is what we call Sausage Gnocchi in my house. Also super quick.
It use Italian sausages, Kale, Gnocchi or dried pasta, chicken stock, chilli flakes, fennel seeds, salt and pepper and Parmesan.
De skin the sausage, Cook the sausage off and break up, add chilli flakes and fennel seeds. When cooked remove from pan.
Add gnocchi ( if using dried pasta, cook as per packet), toast lightly in pan then add chicken stock, put the chopped kale on top, cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the sausage back, add Parmesan. Serve.
My teenagers love this.
As a meal or side. Broccoli pasta is simple. Spaghetti or any pasta you have. Chop fresh broccoli into bite size pieces. Cook pasta as directed when there is 3 minutes left in cook time put 🥦 in water. Serve with butter and parm cheese on top. Add a clove of garlic into water whole so you can fish it out or leave it in. Adds great flavor without chopping it up.
With the sausage you purchased I would have made sausage peppers and onions in a skillet or as a sheet pan meal. It can be served over rice
Love your budget challenges!
With Walmart offering veggies @
$ .50/$.58 I have a year's worth of Gr Beans, Cream Corn, Whole Kernal Corn, Peas in addition to what I already had.
The half package of sausage would have been a great stir fry using up extra veggies
A recipe you can try is "Westfälische Erbsensuppe" (Westphalian pea soup). Northrhine Westphalia is the state of Germany I'm from. Our family recipe for 10x portions is:
300gr of dried peas, 500gr of potato (cut in small pieces), 1x can of peas with carrots, 800ml of beef brew and 4-8 raw sausages (cut in small pieces)
- Soak the dried peas in 200ml of water over night
- put everything in your pot and add salt and pepper
- add seasonal (fresh) herbs if wanted (like thyme or parsley)
Let it cook for 30-40min in a pressure cooker/crockpot or 60-80min in a normal pot with middle to low heat (stir from time to time if you use a normal pot). If the raw sausages & potatoes are cooked and the texture is between soup and stew it's ready. We often let it sit a little longer to get a stew like texture. If it's ready taste test and add salt and pepper according to your (famlies) taste, since you usually have to adjust it.
Also this is one of those dishes that you can easily freeze or reheat the next day and the taste will actually increase.
1 or 2 bags of meatballs, 2 cans of chili sauce (no bean sauce), and 2 cans of cranberries. Get the half gelled half berry ones. Add more cans of the chili sauce and cranberries if you want more sauce. Throw all in a crock pot on low for a few hours. Pile the meatballs in a roll. Enjoy!
When I make Chile the next day I add veg an turn it into veggie soup like my mom always did... so good!💛
I live in Massachusetts, my local food stores are Stop & Shop, Hannaford, Price Chopper (Market 32), Shaws, Market Basket, Walmart. I feel blessed that there are a lot of store choices in my area. But the clearance food racks are slimmer than they used to be. No single store is my "go to" for all the clearance items. Some stores just have dry good clearance, some just have bakery or frozen clearance. Lately it's impossible to find meat and produce on clearance. It's frustrating that my dollar isn't stretching as far any more. I wish there was more. Also Christine, I'm super envious of your ridiculously large sack of oats in your pantry. Ived searched everywhere for a container that size!
Thank you for your ideas! Do you have some for all the non-food items. Where my biggest expense is.....laundry soap, cleaning supplies, paper products, personal products.
I make kielbasa sliced potatoes and cabbage. Easy cheap and yummy. Simply layer slice potato cabbage onion and generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning salt and pepper . I cook mine is a lg skillet w a lid. Just simmer w a little water in the bottom of the pan top with sliced kielbasa sausage.
Love your meal videos - always needing new ideas! Bagels are also great with hummus, bruschetta or as a mini pizza! Plus they're so thick I usually cut them and have two sandwiches for each one. 👍🏻
That dark chocolate hummus is the real winner! That stuff tastes like brownie batter! Highly recommend! 👌
Roasted root veg!!!! Always soo delish & filling. Ziploc, veg, olive oil, fav seasonings, shake and dump onto parchment. Till desired doneness.👌
Our Kroger rarely has items reduced. I think they donate them instead. Which is great… but sad for me. Love your videos. Trying to go from a family of 5 (kids 3, 5, 7) with a $1400 grocery/household budget to closer to your way. Thanks for teaching. It’s helping.
Add one of those hot Italian sausages to the chicken rice soup and steamed cabbage on top, so good!
A cheap easy meal my family enjoys during the colder months is navy beans boiled with water and an old ham bone, left over smoked sliced ham or a pork hauk...add salt and pepper when dish over potatoes of your choice...We enjoy boiled potatoes...the soup thickens up and is very hearty.
I can only go to Smith's in the evening or on Saturday so I rarely see the clearance stickers. I will keep looking though while I am there. Eggs are REALLY expensive now, so I am making a lot more pancake mix, biscuits, and looking out for clearance sausage. It is so freaking hard to stay motivated to go to another store after I had already been out for an hour or more in one store. Thanks for the tips.
off topic: I'm loving that you're growing your hair long. As a person with very thin sparse hair that can't grow it very long I'm envious. Looks really pretty.
Great deals! Use part of that Italian sausage in an Olive Garden copycat soup…”Zuppo Toscano “.
❤❤❤
Oh, Memories..Chicken/Rice was winter staple growing up..Even with left over Turkey ( carcass) in the freezer for just this dish later..🤔, I'll be making this ....
Eggs soup is an excellent dinner recipe. Just look up greek eggy soup or avgolemono. Not all recipes will include it but I add cooked chicken in as well. Has to be boiled though I like to boil it to make the chicken stock that I will use in the recipe and then chuck in the cooked meat at the end in the soup to warm up.
We love shredded bbq chicken bowls and sandwiches. I just cook the chicken in our instapot and then shred it. You can put it on top of rice or bread (clearance hoagies are great) add bbq sauce and shredded cheese (optional) and voila quick & easy meal. We also enjoy sheet pan meals like chicken with broccoli & carrots. Season with salt, pepper, & garlic. Mix with oil cook in oven at 400 until chicken is almost cooked through then pull out and squeeze a little lemon juice and add Parmesan cheese. Cook another few minutes to finish cooking the chicken. We like to eat this with a crescent roll or bread of some kind on the side
Yes, Smith's! It's truly the best place to find deals and my go to store. So many great clearance deals. 👏 👏👏
I've been following you for a while & just wanted to say thanks for all you do.
I absolutely love Kroger clearance! Ever since I started watching you I rarely pay full price for bread (maybe three times in the last year?) I pretty much only pay full price for chicken but not other meats. I search clearance for whatever meats we'll eat and my freezer is always stocked. I've saved so much money over the last year shopping clearance and sales. Thank you for showing this stuff!
It's simple but I just made a chicken stuffing casserole for dinner. It was 2 cans of chicken, a can of cream of chicken soup & a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Mixed all together and topped with cooked stove top stuffing. Then baked 400* for 25 minutes. Simple and warm
I live in Wisconsin and around my area, we have a lot of Amish/Country Stores and they always have good deals. You do have to keep in mind with these stores that the items may be past the sell-by date, but most items are still good. A simple go-to meal and cheap I like to make for my family is beans, meat, rice or quinoa and a veggie mix with a broth and cream of mushroom/or chicken. You can add any spices you want. It is so delicious.
We have the same discount stores in ky. Such a variety. Almound flour cake mixes, almound flour 1.99 that is 15.00 on amazon. Pecan flour, so many spices and condiments. Great money saver.
We always ate chili on rice growing up and I still do when I make it. I am making the chicken rice soup tonight…..it looks so good!
Another good meal is hamburger helper. $0.92 cents for a box of pasta here, then add 1lb of ground meat (about 2.50/lb on sale/clearance). Add Dijon mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder. Then you can either add shredded cheese or velveeta if desired. A block of off brand Velveeta is 6.99 here, or the shredded cheese is 2.00 - you get more mileage from the Velveeta, but it costs more upfront. Total: 5.48 to 6.25 for 4-5 large servings of hamburger helper.
I love chilli with a bed of rice also love beef stew 🍲 with a bed of rice as well!! Definitely going to try your recipes 😊
I don't live in an area with an Aldi's, Dollar Tree or Walmart close by. There are no salvage food stores in the area either. Also, since COVID, it's extremely rare to find anything that's been reduced in price unless the store has decided to discontinue it so I have found that I have to depend on sales and meal planning in order to keep my grocery budget down. I have also found that those of you with families actually can spend less per person/ per meal due to the number of people in your family. You can feed a family of 6 on about $100 a week while it runs me between $40 and $50 a week just for me and I eat only 2 meals a day. I"m in awe and envious to say the least.
Shepherds pie is a decent all in one budget dinner. I use whatever we have for veggies - carrots and celery, or peas, or green beans. It’s all good. Ground beef or chicken or turkey or a mix - all works. If using lighter ground meat, a little gravy master will color it up nicely.
We like to make BLT’s with bagels! Especially Asiago cheese bagels!
Hey. Don’t worry about those complaints at all. I could tell it changed your energy on this video. There are ridiculous dweebs that have nothing better to do but pick on nonsensical stuff. You did an excellent job just moving forward and do your amazing videos. Like my grandma said, “ Brush it off your shoulders and keep on going.” You totally ROCK and I ALWAYS look forward watching your videos with great life tips. Believe me.. You have changed my ways of shopping, budgeting and cooking. I embrace your videos wholeheartedly.
We got your back.
Okay?
Hey Hayley, give your mom a big hug for me please and tell her to keep on rockin’ !
You all are total role model for all of us.
Hugs
😊
I sometimes use leftover chili over baked potatoes to extend it or change it up for another meal.
As an aside, I love your super creative meal ideas. I always spent a lot more money than you to feed my family of 8, now back down to 6. My oldest child at home is 18 and I'm realizing that I need to have my kids watch your budget cooking videos to learn how to prepare meals for less money. I cook a fair amount from scratch, but I think your ideas are an important life skill that you can teach much better than I can. Thanks for sharing!
I find that Quesadillas are a great cheap option that taste delicious. You, can do bean and cheese, chicken/veg, left over beef/veg, you can also do just plain cheese
I love a good sale. When my kids were little to save money I came with a recipe chicken stuff. Boil 1 large chicken breast use lots of water season with pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste to flavor the chicken. When chicken is done take it of pot and shred. Steam broccoli, while broccoli is cooking add 2 packs of ramen noodles with the seasoning pack to the broth. After noodles are done add broccoli, 1 can of cream mushroom soup, and chicken to noodles. Stir well and any kind of cheese you prefer once cheese is melted it's ready. You can use canned chicken.
As a family of 8 chicken teriyaki is always a huge hit in my house. It really only takes about 4 ingredients chicken breast, rice, broccoli, and teriyaki sauce. It’s super cheap especially because most of those ingredients are already staples in our house.
I consider hot Italian sausages a pantry staple. I make so many meals starting with onion garlic and sausage and usually only one or two sausages…yum. Today it was sweet potato soup…yum topped with sour cream…also a staple
When pork loin roast goes on sale I will make pulled pork in the crockpot with just basic spices (no barbecue sauce) and a tiny bit of liquid smoke (that's a pantry staple for us). We can have pulled pork sandwiches, tacos it's even great with rice and beans in a bowl. We can have many meals with that.
My go to is a whole rotisserie chicken at 5.99 each available at several local stores by me. I debone the entire thing and make at least one soup either chicken noodle, chicken & rice or chicken dumpling.
Then I make chicken quesadillas or chicken, broc and rice casserole or pot pie or creamy Italian chicken qith the rest.
1 lb of hamburger I split into 2 meals... a chili or taco soup bulking up with beans and corn then the other half mix with refried beans and taco seasoning and make tostadas or enchiladas (I buy the dry packet for enchilada sauce that you mix with tomato paste & water vs the cans of sauce)
Leftover chili turns into chili dogs, chili mac or served over baked potatoes.
1 ham steak I will use to make a crockpot of split pea soup.