Pasta Salad with Dill Red Wine Vinaigrette16 oz tri-color rotini pasta ($1.00)
1 10oz pack of cherry/grape tomatoes ($1.50 for the Kroger brand)
1/4 bag of spinach ($2.49 for one bag of the Kroger brand if I'm remembering correctly, so $0.62)
1 cucumber, seeded and diced ($0.50 at Save-a-Lot)
For the vinaigrette that you'll add to the pasta, mix one part red wine vinegar with one part oil, then add dill and salt to taste. (I keep all of these ingredients on hand.)
The total cost, not including items I had on hand, is $3.62. This recipe will make about 6 8-ounce servings, which is $0.60 per serving.
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Once it's done, strain the pasta and run cold water over it in the strainer. This will allow the water to continuously flow and cool the pasta faster. Do not leave the pasta in still water to cool. The pasta will get soggy and start to fall apart after too long, not to mention that bacteria loves still water. Even aside from all of that, the running-water-through-the-strainer method is much quicker anyway.
Toss the pasta with the vinaigrette that you made earlier, then mix in all the other ingredients. Serve chilled.
Notes:
- A whole tomato, diced up, will be cheaper than the pack of small tomatoes. However, dicing the tomatoes is more work than just putting the small, whole tomatoes in, and the diced up tomatoes will go bad much more quickly than the small, whole tomatoes. Use your best judgment.
- Ripping the spinach by hand as you add it to the pasta will make it easier to eat (since the leaves will be smaller), but it's not necessary.
- I use tri-color rotini because the color adds an extra appeal to the dish, but any kind of pasta will work just fine.
Hummus and Tzatziki Sauce with Tortilla ChipsFor the tzatziki sauce, you'll need:
6oz Greek yogurt (Kroger brand is $0.80)
1 cup sour cream (Kroger brand 24oz is $2.00, so 8 oz is $0.66)
3 tbsp. oil (already had on hand)
1 tbsp. lemon juice (already had on hand)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (already had on hand)
1/2 tsp. salt (already had on hand)
1/4 tsp. pepper (already had on hand)
2 cucumbers peeled, seeded, and diced ($0.50 each at Save-a-Lot, so $1.00)
1/3 tsp. dill (already had on hand)
This will make roughly 8 servings of 4-ounce portions. (Which is half a cup, so that should be plenty!) The cost for the whole thing is $2.46, so divided into 4 servings, that's $0.31 per serving for the tzatziki (not including items that were on hand).
Mix all ingredients in a blender. Chill for two hours before serving.
For the hummus, you'll need:
15.5 oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (Kroger brand is $0.79)
2 tsp. garlic powder (already had on hand)
3/4 tsp. ground cumin (already had on hand)
3 tbsp. oil (already had on hand)
Salt to taste (already had on hand)
This will make roughly 4 servings of 4-ounce portions. The cost for the whole thing is $0.79, so divided into 4 servings, it's $0.20 per serving for the hummus, not counting ingredients that were already on hand.
Mix all ingredients in a blender, including the juice from the garbanzo bean can. If you accidentally threw the juice out, just use more oil until you've achieved a smooth, but still thick, texture.
Normally, hummus is served with pita bread, but tortilla chips are much cheaper and are easy for dipping/scooping. A bag of tortilla chips is $1.00 for the Kroger brand, so if we divide that into four servings, it will be $0.25 per serving.
Your total for the whole meal is $3.94, which makes it four servings for $0.99 per serving.
This meal is great, since it's easy and doesn't even involve the stove. It's also something a little different, in case you're getting bored with typical foods.
Meaty Mac & Cheese with Tomatoes1 Box of Mac and Cheese (.39-.99 depending on size and brand)
1-2 cans diced tomatoes, depending on size ( Not sure on coupon price, I can my own or buy them at a salvage food store for .25 a can.)
1 pound ground meat (Again price depends on what meat you use, I use ground turkey at 1.89lb)
Water if needed
Cook ground meat, add pasta noodles and tomatoes with juice. If mixture looks dry, add some water. ( Depending on the tomatoes, sometimes I will have to add a little water, like 1/4 cup). Cook until noddles are done and then stir in cheese powder.
Eat! Serves 4-6, under or close to a $1.00 per serving depending on the meat used.
Kale and Sweet Potato Soup1/2 bunch of kale ($1.99 for the whole bunch, so we'll say $1)
3 pounds of sweet potatoes ($0.95 per pound, so $2.85)
1 large yellow onion (we'll say it's $1 at most)
Splash of oil (already had on hand)
4 cups of water (comes out of the sink!)
3 chicken bouillon cubes (already had on hand) (you can substitute a vegetable broth instead of the water and bouillon, if desired)
Garlic, pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning to taste (already had on hand)
This one comes out to at least 8 one-cup servings (a cup being 8 ounces) for $0.61 per serving (not including the items I had on hand)
Chop the onion and sweet potatoes, and rip apart the kale. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add onion, stirring occasionally until it becomes translucent (a little see-through).
Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until the potatoes are soft. This will depend on how big you cut your potatoes to be. The smaller they are, the quicker they'll cook. I would suggest cutting them pretty thin so that they get done around the same time as the kale.
This can be frozen in Ziploc bags, for anyone who doesn't have a big enough household to eat it in a day or two.
Easy Pureed Carrot Soup2 pounds of baby carrots (They're $1/pound for the Kroger brand here, so $2)
1 large yellow onion (let's call it $1, though I think it's less)
Splash of oil (had on hand)
Sprinkle of garlic powder (had on hand)
5-6 cups of water (comes out of the sink!)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (had on hand)
Salt to taste (had on hand)
This one comes out to about 10 cup-sized servings (with a cup being 8 ounces) for $0.30 per serving (not including the items I had on hand).
Chop your onion. Warm the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and add the garlic powder and onion to it, stirring occasionally until the onion starts to look translucent (a little see-through). Add the water and carrots and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for about 30-40 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool. Then, using a blender, liquefy the mixture until it's smooth. Now add your lemon juice and salt to taste.
This can be frozen in Ziploc bags, for anyone who doesn't have a big enough household to eat it in a day or two.
I adapted this from
this recipe. It's basically the same thing, but with the baby carrots being a sneaky way of cutting out the labor of cutting normal-sized carrots. Baby carrots where I've bought them only come in packs of one-pound, so I use two of those packs and adjusted some other parts of the recipe to sort of even it all out. I left the onion the same for cost purposes, but you could double up on that if you want.
Bean Burritos
4 cans of refried beans (Kroger brand = $0.87 each)
1 jar of salsa (Kroger brand = $1.59)
2 10-packs of tortillas (Kroger brand = $1.59 each)
Sprinkle of chili powder (already had on hand)
Shredded cheese (already had on hand)
If you add all of that up (minus the cheese and chili powder), it came out to 20 burritos for $0.41 each.
Mix the beans, salsa, and chili powder together in a large bowl. Put the mixture on your tortillas, add cheese, wrap, and put in Ziploc bags for the freezer. When you want to eat one, put it in for 2-3 minutes (depending on your microwave).
Ramenghetti with Sautéed Mushrooms1 pack of ramen (about $0.20 at most)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (usually runs $1-$2 depending on brand, but you'll only be using a splash of it, not the whole jar, so I'm going to say $0.10)
1 pack of white mushrooms ($2.99, but you'll only use three mushrooms, not the whole pack, so I'm going to say $0.45)
Sprinkle of garlic powder (already had on hand)
Sprinkle of salt (already had on hand)
Splash of vegetable/canola oil (already had on hand)
This one is roughly $0.75 for one serving (which is all the recipe makes), according to the estimations I made above (not counting items I already had on hand).
Slice/dice your mushrooms, whichever you prefer. (I've been slicing mine.)
Cook the ramen as you would normally, in a pot of boiling water.
While that's cooking, warm some oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms, the garlic, the salt, and the flavor packet from the ramen (I've only used chicken flavor so far, and it's not too bad). Sautee the mushrooms, letting them cook evenly on both sides.
Once your mushrooms and ramen are done cooking, drain the ramen and add it, along with the spaghetti sauce, to the pan. Mix ingredients well, then transfer to a bowl to be eaten immediately.
(Rinse out your pan so that it's easier to wash later. Nothing worse than a gunky pan.)
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