Posted 6 weeks ago (January 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM) in Dealing with Debt
The holiday season puts strain on many budgets when there is so much we want to give our friends and family. If you’re running on financial fumes after shopping, feasting, and being as generous as your heart felt was right, these $10 meals will help you round out the coming weeks once the leftovers are gone!
- Tip #1: Pre-plan your shopping list to find multiple ways to use one type of food so you can buy a lot of one thing for less money per unit and then make it last by changing how you prepare it. We’ve used ground beef, sour cream, shredded cheese, brown bread, onions, peppers, and egg noodles in different ways in our full examples below.
- Tip #2: Buy off-brand to save money. Daisy sour cream, for example, tastes very similar to Breakstone’s but costs less. The same goes for store-brand canned soups versus Campbell’s. Off-brand cereals and pastas are another great place to save without sacrificing quality. If you can make breads instead of buying them, you’ll save even more!
Here are 3 examples of great meals for $10 or less each that use similar ingredients!
Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles
- One pound of ground beef
- One can of cream of mushroom soup
- One cup of sour cream
- 1/2 bag of egg noodles
- 4 pieces of brown bread
Simply brown the ground beef in a pan, add the cream of mushroom and one can of water. Simmer until hot and slightly thickened, then add the sour cream to make it creamy. Lengthen it by serving over boiled egg noodles for a rich and filling meal and scoop up the remaining stroganoff with a piece of bread!
Super Nachos
- One pound of ground beef
- One big bag of nacho chips
- One cup of sour cream
- One onion, chopped
- One green pepper, chopped
- One tomato, chopped
- 1/2 block of cheddar cheese (shred it yourself to save money!)
Cook the meat in a pan then remove to a bowl. Sautee the onion and peppers in the same pan until they soften a little then add the beef back in. Spread the nachos on a large cookie sheet. Sprinkle the onions, peppers, and beef over the nachos, then sprinkle the half the shredded cheese on top. Heat in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese melts and give everyone some sour cream on their plate for dipping. Dig in!
Chili
- One pound of ground beef
- Chili powder
- One onion, chopped
- One green pepper, chopped
- Two carrots, chopped
- One large can of crushed tomatoes
- 4 pieces of brown bread
- The other ½ bag of egg noodles
- The other ½ block of shredded cheese
- The remaining sour cream
Chop up the carrots and sauté them at the bottom of a large pot. In a separate pan, brown the ground beef. Once the carrots start to soften, add chopped onion and pepper and sauté until they soften, then add the ground beef and crushed tomatoes. Add chili powder to taste (Optional: add a little sugar or honey to improve the taste) and simmer until it thickens to a consistency you like. Serve over boiled egg noodles and garnish with remaining sour cream and shredded cheese!
Other delicious meal ideas to try for $10 or less:
- Faux Pho: Ramen with chunks of tofu and steamed vegetables
- Macaroni and cheese casserole with canned chicken chunks and veggies mixed in
- Home-made minestrone soup with legumes, vegetables, and small pasta in a vegetable or beef broth
- Club Salad: a bed of lettuce with tomato, avocado and grilled chicken on top
- Chicken and yellow rice with broccoli or peas and carrots mixed in
- Spaghetti with olive-oil roasted asparagus
- Home-made pizza with one topping
We hope these tips and 10 meal ideas for $10 or less will inspire you to creativity in the kitchen without overburdening your budget!
For more ideas on how to save money and manage your finances, we invite you to explore Money Matters. If saving money on meals isn’t quite enough and you need more to make ends meet, we’re here to help. Please contact your local SFC branch today, or if you’re ready to start immediately, you can apply for a loan online!