planning ahead!

[playmoby]

I am such a bad person when it comes to planning ahead. thats why a lot of my meals cost me a lot more than they should! With now a pretty much single income (the other income, my half and sanity, goes for preschool), we need to start seeing where we can save money and still eat! So thats where you guys come in, my friends! I just acquired a CostCo

Comments

[trainspotgirl]

my fav. recipe at the moment is tomato basil creamy soup. it's supposedly called a bisque, but it is not actually one (veg. recipe, no shell fish harmed at all in this super easy soup.) all you need is:

two cans tomato soup (my recipe calls for low sodium)
one can diced tomatoes with basil and garlic
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped. (fresh has a great flavor that the dried doesn't, tho you can use freeze dried as it tastes like fresh)
and pepper

add all ingredients together, put on low in the crockpot or medium on the stove.

on the stove it'll be done in about 8 mins. I have never made it in the crockpot, but I'm sure it'll take an hour or so to get the heat up.

make sure to stir it either way you choose to prepare it.

[kanaetkassad]

[bayberrybush]

I buy everything that I can in bulk from the warehouse store.

Two of my favorite cheap and easy recipes:

Easy Chicken Goop, about $3.50 to make
Put into the crockpot:
1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of celery)
diced chicken breast (I use 1 to stretch out the meat, you can use as many as you want)
4 cups water
1 cup rice
bay leaf
salt, pepper

This makes about 6 servings for us.

Also: Lazy Vegetable Soup, about $1.50 to make
All you really need is a can of diced tomatoes. Then, you put in all the leftover vegetables you have hanging around the fridge and freezer. Add water to cover.

put in 1/4 onion
Garlic or garlic powder
Basil to taste

cook all day! If you have diced potatoes in there, make sure you cook it on High for at least 2-3 hours. Then you can lower the temp.

[trkkgrl]

This isn't a recipe, but the number one thing that I buy from Sam's (I haven't ever been in Costco, planning a membership with them when Sam's runs out) is a big thing of taco seasoning. That thing has helped me out more then once. Running late or anything, just grab some ground beef/turkey, brown it and use the seasoning. Put it on tacos (of course lol), nachoes, or put some in melted cheese if there is no meat in the house. Or just put it in whatever you want.

Thing has been a life saver and it saves money for it. Last forever.