It's no secret that much of what I cook is from scratch with as little processed junk as possible. A few of my favorite budget-minded recipes from the archives:
Homemade Toaster Tarts
Whole Wheat Bread with Honey
Corn Fritters with Black Bean Salsa
Hummus and Tomato Melt (using Hummus and Wheat Pita)
Tortilla Española
Veggie Fajitas with Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas and Refried Beans
Linguine with Baby Spinach and Almonds
Creamed Peas and Carrots on Toast
Orange-Ginger Chicken Tabbouleh
Lebanese Zucchini
Sausage Sandwich Tart
Fried Green Tomatoes
Stacked Salad
Three Bean Salad
Apple Cake
Wacky Cake
Chicken Recipes
Similarly, nearly everything I've posted to Family.com has been in the frugal family, so take a look there, as well. I'm working in getting recipes tagged properly here so they are easier to search for, but with 3 1/2 years of recipes to sift through, it may take a little time.
Regardless what others may believe, feeding my large family for $150 a week doesn't make me an anomaly. On the contrary, it puts me in good company. I have several friends with larger families (and smaller families) who feed them well for a relatively small amount each week. Lucky for the rest of us, they also blog about it.
Here are several links to frugal family blogs to get you started:
Real Life Living : Not only does Annie share great frugal recipes and menu plans, she also lets you in on how her own family's debt reduction is going (and it's going well!).
Making Do with the Not-So-New : MJ shares leftover food ideas, but beyond that are all sorts of ways to make your money stretch and make-do with what you already have.
Caffey Family Adventures : I think Jaqueline may just trump us all by doing things like feeding 16 for breakfast, lunch and snacks and 6 for dinner on less than $97 a week!
Growlies for the Gang : Kim has a large family (14 in all!) and feeds everyone on budget without making them eat nothing but ramen noodles. Real food, real good, real cheap. Check out her sidebar titled, 'The Freezer' for some awesome menu plans.
Cornbread & Cookies : Ranae, another mom of seven shares her own great tips and recipes for the frugal kitchen.
More on Meal Planning and Budgeting:
Budget Meal Planning
What's For Dinner?
5 comments:
Thanks so much for the link!
My husband and I have friends argue with us...in fact, some have come right out and accused us of lying...about being able to keep our grocery costs as low as we do. But it can be done!
We are a family of three and maintain a consistent average grocery budget of $60 a week.
Because I like to cook and hate being stuck in a routine, we have a lot of variety on a small budget. I'm sure I could lower our grocery costs even more if I standardized our menu, but I just can't bear the thought of "Meatloaf Monday", "Taco Tuesday", etc.
I'm on a blogging break right now, but I plan to return soon with more thrifty recipes.
Thanks again!
This is so timely, considering the current state of the economy! Thanks for always sharing such great tips and sites. SU'd this article :)
$150 a week to feed 9 people????????
What on earth am I doing wrong. I've been working with about $100 a week for 2 people - and that's with buying almost NO meat products!
Have you ever written any "best staples for your frugal kitchen" posts or anything of the sort? I am eager to learn more....much more....
I am so excited to try some of these recipes; especially the hummus melt! Awesome!
Great post Anne! The recipes and timing of this are perfect!
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