Fast N’ Easy Cheap Italian Casserole Recipe
Do you need a recipe that is simple, cheap, and still tastes great? Here is my quick Italian Baked Casserole which should cost less than $10 to make and will feed 8 people. Of course, it will also feed 4 people and provide you with leftovers you can freeze to reheat on another busy day!
You need: 2 lbs ground meat (i.e. hamburger, ground turkey, etc.) , 1/2 cup of macaroni or similar pasta (I like the high fiber kind), 1 26oz can of spaghettis sauce (any flavor you like), chopped up onions, green peppers or other veggies to taste, additional herbs to taste (i.e. rosemary, Italian season mix).
I like to brown and crumble the meat to reduce the fat content, but sometimes I just do that as part of the defrosting process if the meat is frozen. I have used hamburger or ground turkey, or sometimes I use 1 pound of each.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
That’s it. I like to coat the bototm of a casserole dish with a bit of cooking spray to make clean up easier, but you don’t need to do it. Then spread the uncooked macaroni on the bottom of the dish. Don’t worry, it will cook as the mixture is baking. Then mix up the meat, sauce, chopped up veggies, and additional herbs in a bowl, and spread the mixture on top of the pasta.
Cover the dish with foil or an oven safe cover, and let it bake for 1 hour. While it is cooking, you can take a break, do the dishes, surf the net, make a salad, or catch up on the cable news.
After you take it out, it will be hot, so take off the cover and let it cool for a few minutes before serving, especially if you are serving younger kids. I love to make a 1 dish meal with this because it has pasta, meat, and veggies, but a salad, fruit cup, or applesauce make a nice side dish too. As a mom and working woman, I am a big fan of simple, 1 dish meals!
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Breakfast For Dinner Saves On Groceries
Serve Breakfast For Dinner To Eat Healthy For Pennies
Your grocery bill will look more like 1999 if you switch to breakfast for dinner a few times a week. Plus, everybody likes breakfast food, and these meals are usually very quick to prepare. I actually got this idea from my brother who adopted this practice while he was putting himself through graduate school. I wanted to mention this to be fair. Not all frugal grocery shopping tips come from women!
In my house, the kids tend to grab a very quick real breakfast, or else purchase breakfast at school so they can eat with their friends. Personally, I applaud their decision to purchase breakfast at school because it conforms to health standards, and there is no way that I can even make them a warm meal for the price the school charges. Besides, I am just not a morning person, and neither are my kdis. They never feel like eating much when they wake up, but they seem to get their appetite back by the time they get to school. Public school meals are subsidized by federal government programs, and I have no problem with having my taxes help pay for something useful lke feeding school kids!
But my family does enjoy having traditional breakfast foods at suppertime when they have more leisure to enjoy them. Plus, I can provide really healthy breakfast meals in a jiffy, and for a fraction of traditional suppertime foods.
Ideas: Two eggs, whole grain toast, a glass of milk, and a home made fruit salad is a pretty good meal, and I can feed all 4 of us for about $5~You can’t beat that. For variety, turn the eggs and bread into French Toast and top with fruit and syrup.. A box of Bisquick (I buy the low fat variety) can be the basis for waffles, pancakes, or of course, biscuits!
- Eggs - These are a great value, and can be turned into any style eggs, omelettes, or as an ingredient for french toast.
- Potatoes - Always a cheap staple, and they are great sliced thin and fried in PAM or oven baked.
- Biscuit Mix - You can make almost anything that people have for breakfast with biscuit mix like biscuits, pancakes, waffles, and even desserts!
- Fruit - I always want some fresh produce, and fruit goes with breakfast. Shop sales. We like to cut up a variety of fruit and put a dollop of whipped cream (or imitation) on top for a healthy treat. Sliced bananas or berries turn a pancake mix into a gourmet meal!
- Bread - I usually spend a little more to get healthier bread with more fiber and less sugar.
- Peanut Butter - Add in extra protein and fiber on the cheap.
- Spreadable Fruit - I try to replace jelly and syrup with the no sugar added spreadable fruit. My kids do not really know the difference, though of course, sometimes they ask for syrup. The store brands are pretty inexpensive for the flavor they provide.
Anyway, I think breakfast for dinner is a great way to stretch a grocery budget, even if you only do it once or twice a week. However, if you are ever really strapped for cash, you can declare it Breakfast For Dinner Week and eat very well, and very cheap!
Please feel free to comment with your own cheap eats ideas!
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