31 Days of Frugal Meals // Day 3

October 3, 2012


Something tells me Mom's recipes are going to be coming out of the wood work for this month of frugal cooking, today I am making the Curry I never made last week. That isn't exactly a recipe I'd deem frugal, no one just canned coconut milk laying around, or curry paste...then again I didn't buy curry paste I just thought I'd use powdered curry. This may not go as well as planned...

In all honestly I thought the Bacon-Cheddar chowder would last longer and taste much more potato-ish than it did. I really enjoyed it, but the men folk were not on board. Jeremy referred to it as "something they'd serve you in prison", maybe if I had saved a bit of the bacon to sprinkle on top and actually used the green onions I had saved from a previous week it would have been more appealing and less like "slop". I enjoyed the healthy potato-esque chowder. Then again I can't tell the difference anymore with mashed cauliflower, Jeremy doesn't seem to taste what I am tasting however. 

Enough of rehashing Monday night's, and Tuesday night's, blunder! Let's talk about another recipe. Today I share...my Mom's chilii. Or if you happened to purchase a copy of our youth groups cookbook "Bread for Life" cira year 2000 and fundraising for our mission trip to England just flip over to page 46 and you'll find it there. For those of you not in attendance at FBC Vidalia in 2000 here is the actual recipe (again no photo, don't judge):

Lisa's Chili
What you need:
1 lb of ground beef (or turkey)
1 large yellow onoin
1 clove of garlic
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 can of Rotel
1  1/2 tbsp chili powder
salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

What to do:
Brown meat with onions and garlic. Drain off fat. Mix with the rest of the ingredients in a crock pot and 8-10 hours. Serve with rice, green onions, sour cream, and shredded cheese (optional). 

This recipe can easily be doubled! To save money you can reduce the beef to half a pound and add more red beans or other types of beans to the mix. This is another recipe that will go a long way when served with rice and bread ( I usually make Jiffy corn muffins). The only real expensive ingredient is the beef and optional toppings...and that is why they are optional. I only use them if I have them on hand or if I feel like spending the money on another overly priced bad of shredded cheese. We ate this a lot during the fall and winter as kids and it went a long way for a family of 4 with a lot of rice involved. 


What are some of your favorite cheap and easy meals?