NaturallyFrugal.com - Frugal meals for family?

Frugal meals for family?

Looking for ideas with very few ingredients and nothing fancy.

Cooked Pasta
Pasta Sauce
Tuna
Cheese
Mix into a casserole bowl and put into a hot oven for 10 minutes.

Might be worth while to invest in a slow cooker, can get them new at major electrical retailers for $50-100 and they will pay for themselves. Or you could maybe find one at a garage sale for less.
They make great meals out of cheap cuts of meat so you can buy cuts like gravy or chuck steak or lamb shanks or chicken thigh instead of breast.
google for recipes and you will find plenty of tasty recipes that can be made quite cheaply. Most slow cookers come with a recipe book as well. Also McCormicks have a range of slow cooker recipe bases now that you can find on the supermarket shelf with the rest of the recipe bases, most only have 5 or 6 ingredients that can be purchased cheaply.

I dice up chicken breats and brown them in an iron skillet. Then I mix in a little sour cream and some cream of mushroom soup. Add a can of carrotts and top with Stove Top stuffing that has been mixed by the package directions. Bake it at 350* for 30 minutes. I have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old and they LOVE this.

Go simple and seasonal. Roast veggies can be a lot more delicious than steamed. Seasonal vegetables will always be cheaper. You should not be eating tomatoes in the winter.

I have found that it is worth investing in one 'special' thing to brighten meals that are inexpensive.
good old pasta and pesto always wins. Beans on toat, omellete, potato pie etc can be brightened with a tin of cheep tomatoes or a sprinkling of cheese.
We always have a dessert as this always feels like a treat but can be cheap. I make up a jelly and find the cheapes fruit [tinned or fresh] that I can. put some fruit in 4 smallish glasses and top with jelly. it looks lovely. buy some really cheap icecream or sponge cakes and cover with hot chocolate custard or save a little of the jelly back, chop it and sprinkle on icecream.

Here's a link from the US Federal Government on healthy, thrifty meals.
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/rec-thrifty/recipes.htm