BOY TRAPPED

Where the inside of my mind leaks onto the screen.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Beans and Rice

I remember talking to my dad a year or so ago about cutting spending and frugality.  He told me about the Dave Ramsey quote, "Beans and rice, rice and beans."  I believe Mr. Ramsey applied it more generally to life, meaning that you don't always have to have the steak (or the iPod or the BlueRay or the...) because it is actually possible to live off beans and rice.

Well, I'm taking it a little more literally.  I serve some really good dinners around here.  Some days, I'm lucky enough to feel like we're eating out right here at our own kitchen table.  But I also spend a decent amount on groceries and have to buy some pretty specific items.

I'm thinking of re-vamping my weekly menu envelopes, and I'd like to include a super cheap, beans-and-rice kind of meal each week to help stretch the grocery budget.  I'm talking feed-the-whole-family-on-five-bucks cheap here. 

The challenge: I'm super picky and can't handle anything chunky like onions or peppers or veggies mixed in with my main dish. 

The easy part: I'm the opposite of a health nut, so no worries about fat, etc.

So send me your recipes if you've got ideas for me!

3 comments:

coryshay said...

I need some budget stretching ideas too, so I'll check back and see what response you've gotten. One that I love because it's cheap and super duper easy too is a slow cooker taco soup:

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can corn with liquid
1 can black beans with liquid
1 can chili with meat (or without if you prefer)
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning

Mix it up in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

coryshay said...

Ooh and another good one is throw 4 chicken breasts in a slow cooker with a jar of salsa and cook for 6-8 hours on high or 10-12 hours on low. when there's a half hour left, stir in a cup of sour cream (I do plain yogurt) and shred the chicken. Use the chicken for soft tacos and put on whatever topping you want

Brigham said...

I do Hawaiian haystacks a lot.
Just make a can of cream of chicken soup as gravy over rice and then you can top with whatever you like on your haystacks. My favorites toppings are celery, olives, cheese, and coconut. Brigham likes putting pinneaple, tomatoes, and onion on his as well. I basically just cut up whatever we have left in the house to use it up. Super cheap and easy.

we do homemade pizza pockets a lot which is basically a fancy grilled cheese sandwich in a sandwich maker. Just we add ham or whatever lunch meat we have on hand and a layer of spaghetti sauce as well. Grill it up in a sandwich maker that makes little pockets. Delicious