Budget meals?? Favorite recipes please!

Question

We're trying to save money(pay off all our debt!☺️) I LOVE to cook yummy wholesome food I'm all about a big southern meal with 5 sides 😅 BUT I'm trying to simplify my cooking using lots of beans and just cooking with less ingredients eating more fresh really. But still go all out once or twice a week because 😬🥂...
I've made some YUMMY lentil and bean soups (with homemade biscuits of course) I made bean enchiladas last night, and they were scrumptious...we've been having leftover night more.... and i try and make an egg dish once a week too, like a quiche or whatever.... 
It's really inspired me to STOCK my pantry with go to meals that can be homemade but quick and easy... lots of dried beans, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, pasta, great spices, nuts and grains for baking! I WILL have a dream pantry one day with big glass canisters and jars full of pretty food 😍
Anyways as I get into my new rhythm and style of cooking.... what's your FAVORITE budget meal, or even a fun easy dinner night you do at your house (popcorn night?) that saves your sanity and money? Haha 
Any tips on how you save money? (Besides coupons I don't have the brains and time for that😬)

Answer

My family usually looks for deals on frozen chicken breast bc we can find relatively good deals and there's so much you can do with chicken breast!

Answer

Best way is to buy in bulk, if you use a lot of beans and rice and lentils...etc then buy them in bulk from those giant bins at the store that you scoop up into bags. You get way more for your money. Only down side is they're all dried. So you gotta cook the beans and lentils and everything down. It's not as easy as using a can of beans. But it's cheaper and also much healthier to be honest. Those cans tend to add sugars or sodium and junk.

Answer

Grilled chicken with chimichurri! So juicy 💦 for the chimichurri I omit the parsley because I don't like parsley, and use a total of 1 bunch of cilantro (stem to leaf). Also I suggest starting out with half the amount of olive oil and go from there. 
http://www.cookingclassy.com/grilled-chicken-chimichurri-sauce/

Answer

I just made this it requires, a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, 2 cans of regular diced tomatoes, 32 oz. of chicken broth, 2 cans of dark red kidney beans, 1 can black beans, 1 can of whole sweet corn, a packet of taco season to cook with the ground meat, and a packet of ranch seasoning to put in the crock pot when adding everything. Cook for 2 hrs 30 mins. And serve in a bowl with Fritos and top with cheese. Or just eat as a soup. 😁
Just made this. lol so good

Answer

We spend probably 1,500 a month on food, both groceries and dining out. I thought we could reduce food costs so we shopped for meats and frozen veggies at Aldi. We bought a bunch of items and only spent $66. Everything we've cooked has been delicious. Now they dont have name brands, but their organic butter and milk was good and their marinated pork tenderloin ($3.62) was amazing.

Answer

Oh I cook with beans all the time...Honestly one of my favorite cheap and easy meals : 
I get a one of those packs of yellow rice and a can of black beans...cooked separately obviously....once those are ready mix them and add tomato, sour cream, cheese, avocado or asparagus...possibly cilantro! You'd be amazed at how Harty and filling it is!

Answer

I'm on a very strict budget so I pretty much depend on rice, beans, and frozen vegetables
But my personal favorite meal that as long as I go to the right places is very cheap is Chicken Lemon Rice. Basically
I use about 3 small chicken breasts, two to three cups uncooked rice, and two cups lemon juice 
Step 1: Boil the chicken and remove it from water to shred
Step 2: Add lemon juice to water the chicken was boiled in
Step 3: Add rice to water lemon mix and cook 
Step 4: In last few minutes of cooking rice, mix in the shredded chicken
Step 5: At the same time as adding in chicken, add more lemon or chicken broth to taste
Sometimes I'll also add meat seasoning salt or a curry type mixture. 
It's a kinda boring meal but I can make it bulk and can stand eating it everyday with some salad or something
I also go to Aldi often for things like chicken and a lot of their spices and things tend to be pretty cheap too 
And I don't know if you have any stores like this around you, but where I live there's a store called daily deals which basically they sell things close to expiration or with improper packaging for much less than usual price. If I ever want something like name brand cereals or fish or cheese they always have it really cheap. Discount grocery stores are really helpful 
A simple google search of "budget meals with (favorite food item)" can lead to a bunch of blogs with a bunch of recipes that are easy and cheap. I would put the name of some here but they're all saved to my computer and I'm out and about right now

Answer

tilapia and or flounder with sweet potatoes and a veg like green beans or broccoli...fish is baked with a bit of homemade salad dressing on it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 min depending on the size of the fish
sweet potatoes are cooked in the micro in their jackets...served with a dab of butter and black pepper...with they're jackets on still for extra fiber and flavour....veg are streamed
chicken breast or thigh boneless and skinless or turkey.....cooked on stovetop on low in a bit of veggie broth and thyme and cracked pepper for 30 minutes or cooked thru served with porcini noodles or sweet potatoes and veg
turkey burgers flavoured with  Worcestershire sauce and garlic and onions served with garlic mashed potatoes with skin on and veg

Budget meals?? Favorite recipes please!

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