Now that you have all that free food what are you going to do with it?

[chitownmelli]

This is one of my favorite things to do ~ bring home cheap or free food and turn it into a feast... or many feasts for that matter. I wanted to share some of the things I make sort of as they come to me, and invite you all to share how YOU stretch your free yum yums!

One of my favorite combos: Tomato products and ground beef. Ground beef can be had many weeks of the year for under $2/lb (some areas are very lucky and get it for .99/#) and I have had it this year as low as 1.69/# on a semi regular basis when buying 3# or more. What a coincidence, that's just how much I needed!!!!

So, with 6 of the 28oz Muir glen tomatoes gotten for free with a sale and double coupons (I like to use a mix of diced and tomato sauce) (or any kind that you use or have on hand) 3# of ground beef, assorted seasonings, and a little veg, I get to make around 4 batches of chili and about 4 batches of pasta sauce (that gets put over those free Ronzoni pastas!) And actually I nip about a half pound out of the package to put in the freezer for hamburger helper on a lazy night. Split the rest in half and go to work.

Using 2 large pots and doing all of the chopping and browning of the ground beef at once, I can have these 8 meal starters done and ready to freeze in under an hour! That is easily doubled, and when I have enough tomatoes on hand, that is exactly what I do!

We add a little pasta to our chili to help it stretch further, and I normally serve either garlic bread or bread with dipping oil alongside the spaghetti. That same spaghetti sauce can be used in other pasta dishes as well. The amount of sauce or chili per bag is enough for about 4 servings, so I would say after all of the veggies and spices are accounted for and even if I bought the ground beef at $2/#, we are looking at about .25 per serving. And that is why tomato products and ground beef are my favorite combo!!!

[PHmom]

Wow - those are some great ideas, thanks for sharing!

This isn't exactly the same but something I make a point of doing is checking my stores' prepared foods section in the deli for markdowns. They sometimes will markdown packages of cooked chicken tenders (which can either be heated and eaten as it or used in other dishes) for less than $1 (usually around .80 or so for 4 large tenders). I also find great sides like new potato casserole for $1 or less. Sometimes I am lucky enough to have a WT (either off deli or off meat) to use so I end up getting all this stuff for free!

[chitownmelli]

Fantastic suggestion! I have never seen markdowns of those items at my stores, I also haven't looked very hard. Perhaps I will from now on :)

Anyone else have some ideas? How about requests? What can I streeeeeetch for you?

[PHmom]

I just thought of another cheap idea (since we had it tonight - LOL), it's not something you can freeze but we love breakfast for dinner. I was able to trade for some .75/1 Eggland's Best coupons so I got cheap eggs. Free gravy mix from doubles, free turkey sausage (turkey WT), and cheap biscuits made w/Bisquick purchased w/coupons. Very filling and hearty - even my picky six year old loves it. Also, it is very easy to keep the ingredients on hand, the turkey sausage I buy (Jimmy Dean pre-cooked) always has a long expiration date, I have eggs on hand, and the gravy mix and bisquick will keep for ages.

[PHmom]

Oh, and I learned last Wednesday that they really mark down the deli stuff even more right before a holiday when they will not be open regular hours (they closed at 2 on Thanksgiving) - so I plan on checking on Christmas Eve for sure - LOL

[chitownmelli]

Totally agree with you on the breakfast for dinner. We often have pancakes or waffles. It's amazing how much more you can save if you have a little time to throw the batter together from scratch, too. This is being said by someone who does not often see good deals at the grocery store for pancake mix, though.

Waffles freeze nicely. Since making waffles is not one of my favorite things to do, I normally make about 8 batches at once, and freeze what we are not eating for dinner. Then they are nice and crispy out of the toaster :)

[Erinne]

i like to do upside down chicken pot pie. you take some canned cream soup (any kind will do, but i like either cream of chicken or celery) and some of you favorite spices, and heat it in a pot with some can chicken, or left over, or even some cut up tenders, and your favorite veggies. i use a bag of mixed veggies. bake soem biscuits and pour soup mixture over it. i do this when i have a lot of chicken or canned soups in the house. i use i bag of frozen veggies, and about 1 to 2 cans of soup, mixed with a can of milk. the chicken is whatever amount i have on hand. if you really have time, you can even cut up some taters really small, and boil them, and toss them in the last few mins of cooking.

[Erinne]

another one i like is pizza burgers.
1 pound ground beef
i jar sauce, pizza works best, but if all you have is tomatoesauce, just add some spices
2 long french breads
2 cups mots. cheese
1 tsp oregano

mix it together to spread on bread, you can slice the bread first to make it easier to arrange on cookie sheet.
pop it in a 350 oven and bake for about 30 to40 mins, or till nice and browned and beef is fully cooked.

[tacatcon]

Oh my gosh you guys have made me hungry this morning!! lol
I love breakfast for dinner too! We call it "backwards day" and even my cynical teenager is happy about it!

One thing I do with my ground beef or ground turkey (i do try to buy the ground turkey for health reasons) is "Taco Junk". This is actually a recipe I got from someone on a South Beach Diet website but it is soooo good.

I make different variations of it but my basic recipe is-

1 lb lean ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey (again I prefer ground turkey)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 envelope of taco seasoning
1 envelope of ranch dressing mix(Good seasonings or store brand-if I am out of this I just use about 1/4 cup ranch dressing)
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies or jalapenos with the liquid
1/2 jar salsa (optional but I like it in there)

mix it all up and put it in the crockpot for 4 hours on high or about 7-8 hours on low (depending on your crockpot)

You can then serve in a bowl like a chili, with cheese on top or serve in taco shells, tortilla shells, top with whatever toppings you like

I can't give you exact sizes on the cans etc-they're all regular size cans. But I'm one of those "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" cooks anyway so I just throw stuff in there til I'm happy.

But this recipe is healthy, full of fiber and protein a
nd so easy. Plus it tastes great!

[chitownmelli]

T, do you brown your ground beef first, or cook it from raw in the crock pot? I'm wondering because DH looooooves tacos ~ he would eat them 3 times a week if I would let him, but if your crock pot recipe tastes good like taco fixins, I might have to start making the taco's all in one crock!!!!