c/budget-friendly-meals

Shoutout to the dollar store for saving dinner last night

I was making spaghetti and meatballs around 7pm and realized I was out of garlic powder and onion powder. No way I was driving 15 minutes to the grocery store for two little spices. So I walked to the dollar store two blocks away and grabbed both for $1.25 each. Figured they'd taste like cardboard but honestly the meatballs turned out fine. My wife even asked if I added extra seasoning lol. Does anyone else low key rely on dollar store staples for weeknight dinners or is that just me being cheap?

Bought a $20 slow cooker after years of thinking it was a gimmick

I used to laugh at slow cookers thinking they were just for making mushy stews but after a 12 hour shift during a snowstorm in Ohio I came home to a perfect pot roast that cost me like $8 total. Honestly it changed my mind about meal prep on a shoestring budget. Anyone got a go-to cheap cut of meat that works best in one of these?

Hit $50 a week on groceries after years of overspending

I finally got my weekly grocery bill down to exactly $50 a week in Portland, and it surprised me how easy it was once I stopped buying pre-cut veggies and switched to dry beans. I was spending closer to $80 before and just assumed that was the floor. What specific changes helped you guys cut your numbers down?

My neighbor swore by canned beans over dried and I finally see her point now

Debbie from two doors down told me at the July block party that she saves $3 a week using canned beans because she never wastes half a bag that goes bad in the cupboard. I argued with her for 20 minutes about sodium and cost per pound until she showed me her meal prep log from the last 3 months. Has anyone else had a budget friend change your mind on a 'cheaper' staple you were totally against?

Roasted a whole chicken last week and the leftovers lasted 4 days

Spent $6.50 on a bird at Aldi on Tuesday and I'm still eating from it, made soup, sandwiches, and tacos. Anyone else find a whole chicken way more economical than buying parts?

Just crossed $50 a week on groceries for a single person and that shocked me

I moved to a new city last month and figured I'd be spending like $80 a week on food for myself, but I've been averaging exactly $47 for three weeks now. That's with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a couple snacks, no eating out. Anyone else tracking their totals and seeing way less than they expected?

My vegetarian neighbor called lentils poor people food and it made me rethink everything

She said she spends $60 a week on fake meat substitutes while I make a week of lentil soup and chili for under $10, and it hit me that budget cooking is seen as shameful instead of smart. Anyone else run into people who think cheap ingredients mean you're cutting corners?

Shoutout to using lentils to stretch ground beef in spaghetti sauce

Tbh I was skeptical at first but tried adding a cup of brown lentils to a pound of ground beef for spaghetti sauce last week. Cooked them separate for about 20 minutes then mixed them in with the sauce and meat. My wife didn't even notice and we got 3 extra portions out of the batch. Anyone else tried this or got a different trick for making meat go further?

Shoutout to the lady at the farmers market who changed how I shop for meat

Honestly, I used to buy the cheapest ground beef at Walmart without thinking twice. Then this older woman at the Saturday market in Springfield told me she only buys from the butcher's discount bin at closing time, same quality for half the price. I tried it last week and got 3 pounds of chuck roast for $8, which I turned into a giant pot of chili. Has anyone else found a specific store or time that saves them big on meat?

Took me 5 years to figure out I was overfilling my slow cooker every damn time

I used to load that thing to the brim with cheap cuts of beef and whatever veggies were on sale. Figured more food meant more meals, right? One night last winter I was making a pot roast for a potluck and only filled it halfway because I ran out of carrots. The meat came out fork tender in like 4 hours instead of the usual 8. My buddy Dave who cooks for a living took one bite and asked why my stews always tasted boiled before. That's when it clicked I was basically drowning everything in liquid and packing it so tight nothing could cook right. Now I keep it to 2/3 full max and use way less broth. Has anyone else been doing this wrong for years before realizing? What else am I missing about basic cooking?

Just noticed a big difference in my grocery bill after 2 months of swapping meat for beans

I started using canned black beans instead of ground beef in my tacos back in early September. My weekly grocery bill went from about $85 down to $55, and I honestly don't miss the meat that much. The trick was adding some smoked paprika and cumin to give it that hearty flavor. Has anyone else tried cutting meat out of just one or two meals a week to save cash?

Frozen veggies saved my grocery budget this month

I used to buy fresh broccoli and bell peppers every week but they'd go bad before I used them all. Started buying frozen bags instead and I'm saving about $15 a week since nothing rots in the fridge. Has anyone else had luck mixing frozen and fresh to keep costs down?

Buying in bulk used to save me money but now it feels like a waste

I used to stock up on giant bags of rice and beans from Costco every month because it seemed cheaper per pound. Last week I realized 5 pounds of dried beans sat in my pantry for 6 months and I only used half before they got stale. Has anyone else switched to buying smaller amounts more often to avoid throwing food out?

Ripped a hole in my rice cooker bag of rice and spent 20 minutes cleaning the pantry floor

Was rushing to make dinner on Tuesday night after a long day of pruning. Grabbed the 20 pound bag of jasmine rice from the top shelf in the pantry, didn't realize the corner of the bag got snagged on a shelf bracket. Tore open about six inches. Rice went everywhere - under the canned goods, into the corners, all over my boots. Ended up scooping what I could into a big tupperware with a dustpan and tossing the rest. Lost maybe 3 pounds of rice. Panicked about the cost for a second since rice is what stretches our meals, but I got most of it back. Anyone else got a story about dropping a staple ingredient and making it work anyway?

Vent: my rice cooker lid popped off and painted the ceiling

Was making a big batch of rice for the week in my $15 cooker from Target and forgot to rinse the rice first. The foam bubbled up so fast the lid shot off and hit the light fixture, rice water went everywhere. Took me 45 minutes to scrub the starchy crust off the ceiling and countertops. Anybody else have a cheap kitchen gadget turn into a mess like this?

Appreciation post: That $3 bag of lentils I grabbed on a whim

I was sick of spending $8 on a pack of chicken just to make dinner stretch. Threw a cup of red lentils into my usual veggie soup last Tuesday and it thickened up perfectly plus added protein... anyone else find a cheap ingredient that secretly does the heavy lifting?

Rant: I was dead wrong about frozen vegetables being worse than fresh

For years I told myself fresh veggies were the only way to go. I thought frozen stuff would be mushy and taste like nothing. Then my grocery bill hit $85 for just a few meals last month and I had to change something. I grabbed a bag of frozen broccoli at $1.50 instead of $3 for fresh. Turns out they flash freeze it at peak ripeness so it's actually pretty solid. I roasted it with some oil and salt and honestly couldn't tell the difference. Now I keep frozen spinach, peas, and corn in the freezer for quick dinners. Has anyone else found a frozen veggie that actually beats fresh in taste or texture?

Stop buying pre-chopped vegetables and save $5 a week

I see so many people wasting money on bags of pre-chopped onions and peppers at the grocery store. Last month I bought a whole onion for 50 cents instead of a $3 bag of chopped ones. It takes me about 2 minutes to chop it myself with a knife. Why are we paying 6 times more just to skip a little cutting work? Has anyone else noticed this markup at their local store?

My aunt swore by freezing leftover rice for meal prep - life changing tip

Pro tip: stop buying pre-shredded cheese for budget meals

I grabbed a bag of shredded cheddar last week for $3.50 and it clumped up so bad it ruined my nachos. The anti-caking powder they use makes it melt weird and adds nothing. I switched to a block of the same cheese for $2.80 and grated it myself in 2 minutes. Way cheaper and actually melts smooth. Anyone else ditch pre-shredded and notice a difference?

Why does nobody talk about cooking dried beans in a slow cooker?

I used to always buy canned beans because they were quick but they cost like $1.50 a can. Last month at a farmer's market in Austin a vendor told me to just soak dried beans overnight then throw them in the slow cooker on low for 6 hours. It cut my bean cost down to about 30 cents per pound and they taste way better. Has anyone else made the switch from canned?

My slow cooker turned my chili into a mushy mess last night

I was making a big batch of chili for the week in my slow cooker in Toronto, but I left it on high for 8 hours instead of 6. The beans totally fell apart and the meat got this weird mushy texture, not the hearty chunks I wanted. Has anyone else had a slow cooker recipe go wrong from just one extra hour?

My coworker swore by buying dented cans from the discount rack at Kroger

I thought she was being cheap for no reason, but I saved $8 in one trip last week and the food was totally fine. Has anyone else tried this or is it just a weird Midwest thing?

My rice cooker quit mid dinner and I had to scramble

Last night my cheap rice cooker just died halfway through cooking a batch for burrito bowls. No warning, just a pop and then nothing with the rice still hard in the middle. I ended up dumping it all into a pot on the stove and finishing it with extra water and a lid. Has anyone else had a kitchen gadget break at the worst time and what did you do as a backup?

Made a big batch of chili last Sunday with $4 of ground beef and somehow it tasted better than the $12 restaurant version

Used a can of cheap kidney beans and some leftover onion I almost threw out, and the flavor was way deeper than I expected, has anyone else noticed cheaper ingredients sometimes just work better in a slow cooker?