GTKY: MM Meals

Xstatic3333 · June 2015

What tasty MM meals have you been cooking lately? Maybe we can all get some good ideas.

Xstatic3333 · June 2015

I've been cooking a box of shells and then adding about a tablespoon of olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar, a can of sliced black olives, a can of cooked canellini beans, and crushed red pepper flakes. My carnivorous H loves it and the cost is maybe $4 for two dinners and two lunches. Sometimes I throw in some cooking greens (spinach, kale, etc.) if I have them around.

hoffse · June 2015

Home-made pesto pizza... mostly from cans/jars.

Pesto (Costco)

1/2 log of mozzarella (Costco)

Feta to taste (Costco)

Green olives (Costco)

Artichoke hearts (Costco)

Pepperoncinis (Walmart or Publix)

Garlic salt to taste

Italian seasoning to taste

Pre-rolled pizza dough because we are lazy (Publix) - $3.30

Preheat the oven to 475 with a pizza stone inside for about 20 minutes. Chop the olives, artichoke hearts, and pepperoncinis - then squeeze out the water with a paper towel over the sink. Drain the water from the mozzarella as well and pat dry. Spread out the pizza dough over a pizza stone and fork it. Put the pesto on first, then the mozzarella, then the toppings, and finally finish with the feta, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Bake at 475 for about 10-15 minutes. It's delicious. We make it every Friday night.

I don't know the cost per pizza because we buy most of the ingredients in bulk and we do use them for other things occasionally. We buy the Costco ingredients maybe every 4-6 weeks. But the only cost we incur each time is the $3.30 pizza dough.

You have to use Costco pesto for this to taste really good. We've tried it with pesto sold at other places when we accidentally ran out, and it's not nearly as good.

EDIT: Every once in awhile we add mushrooms too, and that's also really good. But all of these ingredients (except the dough) are out of a can or jar, so we can just keep them around.

jessica490 · June 2015

My fav MM meal is homemade pizza and can be made for around $5 and we usually keep the ingredients on hand anyway

Frozen pizza dough, Jar of sauce, Shredded cheese, onions, green pepper, mushrooms

bridejl · June 2015

One of our favorite, simple meals is veggies (we use carrots, green peppers, and onions) sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with whatever spices we're feeling that day, served over couscous.

It's easy and delicious, although the one problem is that it doesn't leave many leftovers!

bparkhur · June 2015

Pre-rolled pizza dough because we are lazy (Publix) - $3.30

I'm pretty sure the pre-rolled doughs are bogo this week at publix!
It's on my list to pick up this week.

Xstatic3333 · June 2015

I haven't done homemade pizza in a while! Good call. I like the idea of using pesto instead of sauce.

noffgurl · June 2015

When H wasn't out all the time, we would do a lot of casseroles and stews (especially chicken/stuffing casserole mmm!!). Beyond that, poor man pizzas, spaghetti (just about any kind of pasta/sauce combo can be super cheap, just add a little bit of meat for substance).

vlagrl29 · June 2015

Last night I made cheese and apple stuffed chicken breast and threw in a little apple juice for it to bake in. The night before I made spaghetti and salads - both are easy

hoffse · June 2015

bparkhur said:

Pre-rolled pizza dough because we are lazy (Publix) - $3.30

I'm pretty sure the pre-rolled doughs are bogo this week at publix!
It's on my list to pick up this week.

They are! We stocked up

FirstMate06 · June 2015

H and I have tacos at least once per week (today is Taco Tuesday!) We use either ground turkey that we buy in bulk or fishsticks/shrimp/beef/chicken basically any meat we find at a good price during our weekly grocery trip. Flour tortillas are only $1.50 for about 30 of them and they last a long time. We top them with lettuce/spinach/red cabbage or whatever veggies we have on hand as well as cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream. If we're feeling fancy we'll add canned olives or refried beans.

formerlyGDaisy09 · June 2015

Eggs are a staple in our MM meals. we try to do meatless 3-4 nights a week.

Kale and eggs:

wilt kale with minced garlic in some EVOO. throw some onions in if you have them. finish kale with some salt, pepper, and cyanne pepper. poach or fry some eggs to serve on top of kale, the yolks make a nice sauce.

Omelets are always good

Fritatta:

cook some potatoes, onions and garlic like you're making hash browns. then pour 5-6 scrambled eggs into the pan, add any additional veggies (spinach, broccoli, mushrooms...) let cook most of the way through on medium-low heat. top with cheese then put into the oven on broil-low until the top is firm and the cheese is golden brown.

brij2006 · June 2015

Salsa chicken:

4 chicken breasts

1 jar corn, black bean salsa

1 brick of cream cheese

Let cook in slow cooker for 8 hours on low, then shred.

We use it for tacos, wraps, quesadillas, soups, top baked potatoes with it, etc. It can usually last us 2-3 meals.

TravelJunkie1234 · June 2015

bridejl said:

One of our favorite, simple meals is veggies (we use carrots, green peppers, and onions) sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with whatever spices we're feeling that day, served over couscous.

It's easy and delicious, although the one problem is that it doesn't leave many leftovers!

We do something similar....we're vegetarian and try to limit processed foods, so one of our go to meals is a random mix of veggies and spices or a quick homemade sauce (something simple like honey sriracha, a white wine, general Tso sauce or whatever else sounds good). Then we put the veggies atop rice, barley, quinoa, couscous or something, and top it off with some kind of beans (usually navy, chick peas, or black beans depending on the flavors we're using).

We really like how versatile it is. You can make it Asian, Mexican, Caribbean, Indian or whatever just by switching out the spices and sauce that you use.

Xstatic3333 · June 2015

TravelJunkie1234 said:

bridejl said:

One of our favorite, simple meals is veggies (we use carrots, green peppers, and onions) sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with whatever spices we're feeling that day, served over couscous.

It's easy and delicious, although the one problem is that it doesn't leave many leftovers!

We do something similar....we're vegetarian and try to limit processed foods, so one of our go to meals is a random mix of veggies and spices or a quick homemade sauce (something simple like honey sriracha, a white wine, general Tso sauce or whatever else sounds good). Then we put the veggies atop rice, barley, quinoa, couscous or something, and top it off with some kind of beans (usually navy, chick peas, or black beans depending on the flavors we're using).

We really like how versatile it is. You can make it Asian, Mexican, Caribbean, Indian or whatever just by switching out the spices and sauce that you use.

Any way you could share your honey sriracha sauce recipe? Sounds yummy!

My go-to homemade stir fry sauce is soy sauce, srirarcha, white wine vinegar, hoisin, and sesame oil mixed to taste. SO much cheaper than premade sauces!

simplyelise · June 2015

Our spaghetti dinners are super cheap, 1/2 lb of ground turkey/beef/sausage, whatever we find on sale or have left in the freezer, $.80 noodles, free jarred sauce from MIL with some $.59 tomato paste because her sauce is super water-y then some veg/salad for a side.

We have frequent taco/enchilada meals and we keep a close eye out for ground beef sales.

We've been doing a lot of chef's salads lately with whatever greens we have on hand, leftover chicken or those frozen pre-cooked chicken pieces (got a back for $3 the other week), boiled eggs, cheese (we always have this on hand), and homemade croutons if we have any bread needing to be used up.

Our old standby is just some marinated, oven-roasted chicken thighs with canned green beans and cornbread or instant mashed potatoes or baked sweet potatoes. Chicken thighs at my local Gerbes/Kroger are pretty steady at $1.69/lb, so we take advantage of that a lot.

Our favorite meal by far though is meatloaf muffins. Other than the ground beef cost (and we always stock up during a sale), it's very very affordable and always makes two full, satisfying main dishes for us: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/diner-meat-loaf-muffins

I love food.

TravelJunkie1234 · June 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

bridejl said:

One of our favorite, simple meals is veggies (we use carrots, green peppers, and onions) sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with whatever spices we're feeling that day, served over couscous.

It's easy and delicious, although the one problem is that it doesn't leave many leftovers!

We do something similar....we're vegetarian and try to limit processed foods, so one of our go to meals is a random mix of veggies and spices or a quick homemade sauce (something simple like honey sriracha, a white wine, general Tso sauce or whatever else sounds good). Then we put the veggies atop rice, barley, quinoa, couscous or something, and top it off with some kind of beans (usually navy, chick peas, or black beans depending on the flavors we're using).

We really like how versatile it is. You can make it Asian, Mexican, Caribbean, Indian or whatever just by switching out the spices and sauce that you use.
Any way you could share your honey sriracha sauce recipe? Sounds yummy! My go-to homemade stir fry sauce is soy sauce, srirarcha, white wine vinegar, hoisin, and sesame oil mixed to taste. SO much cheaper than premade sauces!

That sounds like a yummy sauce! And I agree--it's so much cheaper (and healthier) to make your own. I'm going to have to try out that mix this week. DH absolutely loves Asian inspired flavors!

I don't really have a set recipe that I use for the honey sriracha sauce, but these are some rough estimates. I'm the type that just adds things together until the taste good, lol. Basically you just mix everything together, then add your cooked veggies or protein to it and it will thicken up a bit. I sometimes add red pepper flakes for extra heat and top everything off with green onions and sesame seeds. I'm actually going to try using this as a sauce for chicken while my in-laws are in-town...hopefully they like it!

1/3 cup Sriracha (I found a brand at Whole Foods called Ninja Squirrel and it's my favorite Sriracha--it's got a bit more garlic flavor to it I think)

1/4 cup honey

A splash of soy sauce (maybe 1 TBSP)

A splash of rice wine vinegar

A slightly larger splash of sesame oil (1.5 TBSP?)

A spoonful or two or cornstarch (to help thicken/make the sauce shiny like at take-out restaurants)

About 1/4 cup of water

AprilZ81 · June 2015

Garlic Spaghetti (click)

This is delicious and cheap/easy to make. I cut back on the red pepper flakes because I don't like super hot food, but it is cheap, easy and delicious. I pair it with a salad and it is a very pretty plate that I would be willing to serve for company.

If you have to have a protein (like DH) you could probably do some chicken breasts on top.

als1982 · June 2015

I'm pretty good at MM lunches. I make H big batches of bierocks or homemade hot pockets using either traditional bierock filling (hamburger, cabbage and sauerkraut) or whatever I've got in the fridge (bbq or wing sauce chicken, Italian sausage and pepperoni with red sauce etc.) For me, I'll ocassionally make and freeze burritos, especially mushroom and veggies with cheese.

noffgurl · June 2015

als1982 said:

I'm pretty good at MM lunches. I make H big batches of bierocks or homemade hot pockets using either traditional bierock filling (hamburger, cabbage and sauerkraut) or whatever I've got in the fridge (bbq or wing sauce chicken, Italian sausage and pepperoni with red sauce etc.) For me, I'll ocassionally make and freeze burritos, especially mushroom and veggies with cheese.

That sounds really, really good right now.

abrewer5 · June 2015

I like making chicken casserole. It's pretty cheap and really yummy on a cold day. Grill (or bake) some chicken about a pound. Boil a bag of egg noodles until they're slightly under cooked (al dente I believe is the proper term). Once both are cooked put them together in a bowl and stir in 1-2 cans of cream of chicken (depending on how wet you like it) then add a small bag of frozen peas and carrots. Put in a casserole dish and cover in any kind of cheese you like and bake at 350 until the cheese is nice and melted.

You can also substitute tuna fish or any kind of meat really.

Edited for spelling.

cbee817 · June 2015

We've been making salads like 2-3 times a week. I make our own vinaigrette, get a huge tub of organic mixed greens, add nuts, raisins/dried cranberries, fruit, some sort of cheese and we make chicken for DH, usually a big portobello mushroom for me.. it's so good and surprisingly filling. The other thing I make for breakfast is juice- kale, banana, frozen blueberries/strawberries, chia seeds, apple cider vinegar (not too much because it's overpowering), and ice blend it all up.. it's so easy, tastes great. Both have helped me lose about 3 lbs so far too.

bcarb · June 2015

we make our own sauce for spagehtti and homemade pizza sauce.. really all it is is a .25 cent can of tomato sauce(pizza sauce).

We grill chicken breasts, with some lemon pepper, I then top it with pepper jack cheese and BBQ sauce.. seriously best summer protien right now!

bridejl · June 2015

bcarb said:

we make our own sauce for spagehtti and homemade pizza sauce.. really all it is is a .25 cent can of tomato sauce(pizza sauce).

We grill chicken breasts, with some lemon pepper, I then top it with pepper jack cheese and BBQ sauce.. seriously best summer protien right now!
----------------------
Yumm that sounds really good!

short+sassy · June 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

Eggs are a staple in our MM meals. we try to do meatless 3-4 nights a week.

Kale and eggs:
wilt kale with minced garlic in some EVOO. throw some onions in if you have them. finish kale with some salt, pepper, and cyanne pepper. poach or fry some eggs to serve on top of kale, the yolks make a nice sauce.

Omelets are always good

Fritatta:
cook some potatoes, onions and garlic like you're making hash browns. then pour 5-6 scrambled eggs into the pan, add any additional veggies (spinach, broccoli, mushrooms...) let cook most of the way through on medium-low heat. top with cheese then put into the oven on broil-low until the top is firm and the cheese is golden brown.

Love fritattas! Easy, quick and delicious. My little twist is to throw in a can of Ro-tel, it adds just a little spice and texture. Just make sure to drain it. I forgot once and my frittata got slightly watery, lol.

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