Joyful Meals for any Budget

Joyful Meals for any Budget Learn to create full meals for your family using inexpensive ingredients or popular food pantry items

11/10/2025

Poor man soup!!

1 lb of whatever meat you have on hand - cook it, debone it, cut it into chunks set it aside

1 T of butter
1 cup of chopped onions
1 cup of chopped celery
Chopped garlic or garlic powder
Saute all together

Add in 4 cups of broth/water - bouillon can be used :)
Add in 1 can of tomatoes or tomatoes with green chilies

Add in any of the following - potatoes, carrots, corn, green beans, green peas

If you are using canned veggies, drain them before adding them to the soup :)

When your veggies are almost fully cooked, add in your prepared meat :)

Salt & pepper to taste ❤️

Typically cost less than .60 per serving ❤️

Chicken Legs cost about .30 each 😋Fry em, bake em, smoke em, grill em, or cook and debone to make soups/casseroles. Perf...
11/09/2025

Chicken Legs cost about .30 each 😋

Fry em, bake em, smoke em, grill em, or cook and debone to make soups/casseroles. Perfect protein portion per meal and can be dressed up or down ♥️

Pair with quite literally any veggie and/or starch and you have a perfect, filling, healthy meal for about .50 per person ❤️

11/03/2025

Not a recipe tonight because there are too many options BUT a super healthy meal for any time of day - frittata!!

Easy way to use up small portions of leftover meats, veggies, etc ❤️🥰

And fantastic with some basic roasted potatoes ❤️🥰

Less than $1 per person, filling, healthy, and delicious

Can't beat that 🥰❤️

11/01/2025

Homemade Fried Rice!!

About .18 per person!!

You will need day old cooked rice - very cold or partially frozen

2 Tablespoons of butter - hot in a skillet, add 1/2 onion diced, add 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds (you can omit this if you don't have it. When the onion gets translucent add 3 eggs and scramble them in. When the eggs are cooked, add your cold rice (2 cups). Push the rice around, add a little more butter if needed and 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce ❤️🥰

Fantastic to mix in leftover veggies and meats ❤️🥰

Happy eating!!

10/29/2025

Packaged ramen is not something that I am a fan of, I do love ramen from scratch. BUT, packaged ramen works in a pinch and can be as little as .12 per person and can be made pretty yummy.

Things to add to packaged ramen - any of these or a combination of any of these work fantastically

Soy sauce -just a teeny bit
Sriracha
Sauteed onions, celery, garlic
Cooked broccoli, carrots, or peas
Cooked meats - depending on the ramen flavor
Eggs! Like egg drop soup, just crack your egg and add it raw to your boiling soup :)

This is a fantastic way to use up leftovers and create a completely different meal that is sure to hit the spot ❤️

10/28/2025

Broccoli Cheddar Soup ❤️🥰 about .75 per person and super healthy ❤️

1 head of Broccoli ($2 or less) - steam in just a little water, for about 10 minutes total. drain excess water, chop broccoli and set it aside

2 T of butter
Any chopped onions, garlic, or celery is fantastic but if you don't have them you can make it without. Cook on medium heat in the butter until tender :)
Add 4 T of flour and spread it around good letting it get buttery and browned.

Add 3 cups of chicken broth and let it simmer and thicken, stirring frequently. When the broth gets hot enough to boil add 1 cup of heavy cream. Stir frequently.

When mixture is boiling, reduce heat to low and add 2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. I actually usually add any small portions of cheeses that I have leftover from other meals :) including parmesan cheese.

Stir until cheese is fully melted in and not "clumpy". Pour cheese mixture over the broccoli and serve :)

Let's talk potatoes for dinner!!! A 10 pound bag of russet potatoes cost from $3.25-$5 and holds an average of 22 potato...
10/26/2025

Let's talk potatoes for dinner!!!

A 10 pound bag of russet potatoes cost from $3.25-$5 and holds an average of 22 potatoes! That is roughly .15 cents per potato

A little butter, sour cream, cheese or some bacon turns russet potatoes into a full meal for less than $1 per person

I usually go through my potatoes and pick out the bigger ones to use for baked potatoes and the smaller ones I use for roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes or soups.

For the best baked potato, I use the oven or air fryer.

Only wash the potatoes that you plan on cooking immediately. After washing, stab em with a knife or fork all over. Place the potatoes on a cookie sheet and rub with olive oil (Veg oil or canola oil works too). Lightly salt and pepper the skin of the potato and then bake or air fry at 400 for 50 minutes. If you make extra potatoes they make great potatoes for a soup for the next meal :)

Breakfast items are inexpensive and delicious!! Making pancakes or waffles from scratch is super easy and can cost you ...
10/25/2025

Breakfast items are inexpensive and delicious!! Making pancakes or waffles from scratch is super easy and can cost you as little as .55 per person ❤️ I highly recommend making from scratch so that you have each of these ingredients on hand for other meals ❤️

Pancakes and waffles also make fantastic and easy weeknight meals

Could be less depending on what you have on hand.

Fluffy pancake recipe:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup of butter - melted
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Whisk all together, pour batter out 1/4 cup at a time on a hot greased griddle or pan. When the sides look "done" and the top is full of bubbles, flip pancake.and cook the other side.

Homemade pancake syrup:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt the brown sugar in warm water in a sauce pan over medium heat. When the sugar is fully dissolved, add in the butter and vanilla - simmer for 4 minutes.
**Put any extra syrup in a jar or air tight container and keep up to one month :)

Hey guys!!! I've created this page to post very budget friendly meals/recipes to families that are having to adjust amid...
10/25/2025

Hey guys!!! I've created this page to post very budget friendly meals/recipes to families that are having to adjust amidst the government shutdown.

1) if you are able to grocery shop at least on a small scale, I highly recommend using your local farmers for produce and Aldi if you have to shop corporate. I'm sure the items I am using would be available other places, as well but I am not certain of the pricing from larger chains.

2) if you are able to get food from blessing boxes/food banks etc..., try to get ingredients that you know. Children can be super picky and now is not the time to try an entire meal of completely unfamiliar foods that could turn into waste for your home, but could be put to use in another home.

I'm hoping that this page can become a valuable resource for a long time to come.

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