[Jadeerebecca]

I have had to change my shopping list due to cutting down costs.
I have no idea what easy and cheap meals i can make.
what are some things you put on your budget food shop lists and what are some easy cheap meals i can make.

[HeartMyBoys]

Pasta bakes are cheap and easy. Also, i make a huge pot of beef stew and freeze portions, and also do the same with lasagna.
I get a huge bag of spuds, a heap of vegies, then buy a meat pack from the butcher that can be portioned and can get a fortnights worth of meals from.
Mind you, the last few weeks weve been doing lite n easy, but since were cutting back this year and trying to get debt free, i'll be going back to cooking, and doing cheap shops too.

[Holidayromp]

Eggs
Cheese
Butter
Rice
Canned Tomatoes
Pasta Sauce
Bacon
Canned Tuna
Pasta
Rolled puffed pastry
Lamb off cuts
Whole chicken
frozen spinach
Onions
Frozen veges
bag carrots
bag potatoes
Mince
chicken pieces
oil
frozen chips


Fried rice (made with left over chicken)
Bacon and Egg pie with frozen veges
Frittata with tuna, cheese and spinach with frozen veges
lamb off cuts made into a stew with mashed potatoes and frozen veges
Curried mince and rice and frozen veges
Using left over pastry make a mince pie - nom nom nom with frozen veges
Kitchen sink mince with frozen veges
Southern fried chicken with chips or mashed potato, gravy and frozen veges

[Holidayromp]

Oh roast chicken, roast potatoes, frozen veges and gravy...left over meat used for fried rice

[Clever bunny]

http://120dollarsfoodchallenge.com/
I found this website useful for planning groceries so that I could use ingredients for multiple meals and avoid waste. Hope this helps!

[imamumto3]

chicken legs are cheap too, my butcher sells them for between $1.99-$2.50/kg. I make then into a casserole using tinned soup, carrots, peas and corn and serve it with rice. left over casserole can be cut of the bone and turned into a pasta bake topped with cheese.

[duckasorus]

salad stuff (ushrooms, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, avocado and olives)
pastry (great for left overs)
potatos and sweet potato for bulking up meals if needed
frozen veg (peas, corn, broccoli etc)

cheap meals
beef pie with peas, corn, mushroom in rich gravy
chicken pasta bake served with salad
chicken parma served with salad and chips
curried sausages with mashed potatoes and veg
currys bulked out with veg

[whale-woman]

Fried rice
Curries
zuccini slice
frittata using leftovers
Pasta dishes
soups - pumpkin or vege are faves. we also buy the ham bones left over at the deli for pea and ham soup.
We have a big freezer and bulk buy on sale.

We grow veges and have chooks so the cost of eggs/seasonal veges is negligable. Even if you have no yard you could grow herbs or stuff like tomatoes in pots.

[mumto3princesses]

Chicken wings are pretty cheap too. I will buy chicken wings at a different place than our normal butcher as they often do them cheaper. If they are on special I will buy them in bulk. Last time I picked them up for $1.99 a kilo. Honey, soy or honey, soy, garlic chicken wings are a favourite here. Apricot chicken or Apricot Curry chicken is nice too. They are nice with some baked vegies.

Things like sausages and mince are cheaper if I buy in bulk. And our normal butcher gives a free carton of eggs if we spend over a certain amount. So, buying a couple of weeks worth of meat works out cheaper than buying every few days or so.

Chicken casserole pieces are really cheap too and legs and wings are often mixed in them. The bits they usually have in them need a bit more clearing out etc though. But it works out heaps cheaper. Places like specialty chicken shops always sell them. Casseroles or curry chicken etc or pasta bakes are good.

Tuna dishes are cheap too. We like tuna rissoles and salad.

We also like fried rice or cold rice salads.

[Propaganda]

Having tinned tomatoes, rice, pasta and herbs/spices/stock powder in your pantry is always good for when you're in the poor house. Frozen veges in the freezer is useful too.

For cheap meats, we'll have
Sausages - a big tray for about $10
Mince - economy for approx $12 for 2kg
Chicken drumsticks - approx $5/kg
Marinated chicken wingettes - approx $6-$7/kg
Bacon - $7 for a kg pack (middle rashers)
Tuna - $3.50 for a big tin


Then I'll just divide it all up into portion sizes, and figure out what to do with it. Check out taste.com.au for ideas of how to use those various ingredients.