I personally love to come across a cheap and easy meal (I’m partial to the one or two dish kind), especially here in my late pregnancy where simplifying life is important. Last night we cooked up this meal (although the picture isn’t mine–we forgot, but it’s close to what it looked like). It took me about 20 minutes, start to finish, and was absolutely delicious.
If you have a quick/cheap and easy meal to share with everyone, I’d love to add it to the post. Be sure to send a picture too, if you have one.
Photo credit: Recipe Corner
Ingredients priced from Aldi
2 packs smoked sausage–$3.78
Baby carrots, split lengthways (I used less than half a bag, and the bag was on sale for .49.)–$.20
2 Apples, chopped–$.50
4 mini-bell peppers–$.60
1 cup brown sugar–$.30
Dash balsamic vinegar (optional)
Rice–$1.00
Served with green beans–$1.69
Total cost: Fed 11 people for $8.07 (with a 1-serving leftover)
Directions:
Slice the sausage and brown in skillet, then set aside. Add brown sugar in skillet with approximately 1 cup of water and add carrots and sliced bell peppers. Cook on medium a few minutes while cutting apples into bite-sized chunks then add apples to skillet. (A dash of balsamic vinegar adds a little zing.) Once everything starts to tender, add sausage back in and continue to cook until carrots are tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice. We used quinoa, but that wasn’t a big hit. NOTE: I think onions would make this dish perfect, though my picky eaters kept me from adding them this time.
12 comments
Wow! All I can say is…you people in the USA have cheap food!! I will try this but the cost is completely different. Cauliflower @ 6.99/head right now, no kidding!
These prices aren’t everywhere in the U.S. It varies on where you live. I’m in Northern Calif. and my local prices are more than double what is listed here.
Thanks for the recipe Kelly, adding it to our menu!
Oh. my. word.
I know. I live in Canada and the other day I also went to buy cauliflower at it was $8.49 for a head! I didn’t buy it.
Emily, I live in Canada as well and I also nearly had a heart attack when our local WalMart store was selling a small head of cauliflower for $6.50! Another lady, shopping at the same time commented, “They tell us to eat healthy, but it’s cheaper to buy a bag of chips to feed the family!”
The States definitely have more grocery stores with better prices and stealer couponing options.
Kelly, your recipe looked amazing, but I’m still trying to figure out how it fed 11 people (with leftovers)! My husband would have finished it by himself!!! 🙂
Looks yummy! I will give it a try. I’m in northern California too though and agree with Lori! That price for one package of smoked sausages would be cheap. I’d be able to feed our family of four for that same cost I guess.
I too am trying to figure out how it fed 11 people. What size serving do you allow for your children(1/4C,1/2C, etc)? Are your husband’s quantities limited also? How many cups of the stirfry mixture did this recipe make?
Food is crazy expensive where I live also. Interesting how it can vary so much in different parts of the US.
Melinda,
Yeah, maybe it would help to have included that I still have 4 little ones who eat like birds, literally. So that makes a big difference. It’s hard to say the size it actually made, but with rice, they were adequate portions.
This looks delicious Kelly. Thanks for sharing! A friend shared a recipe with me that’s delicious – Irish farmhouse bake. Fry leeks and bacon. Boil peeled potatoes. Put into oven proof dish. Pour over double cream (I think “heavy cream” in US). Top with cheddar cheese. Bake til bubbling and golden. Simple and very tasty and filling.
Food cheap in the U.S.? My Mom and my sister always complain about how expensive fresh food is here compared to Spain, where you get produce for much less.
Restaurants are more money there, though.
We no longer eat animal protein but once a week. The stir fry I fix now is mainly broccoli, carrots, peppers, onions and some peanut butter and soy sauce, served over rice. If you are looking for cheap meals: rice and beans!! Buy dried beans and cook them yourself in the crock pot. Easy, filling and very nutritious!
Talking about cauliflower.. I had bought one on sale and made this faux chicken wings with them. My husband loved them. So he kept asking for more of them… I finally told him that when they were no long $5.99 for a small head he would see faux chicken wings again. But for now: fruits and veggies in season and rice and beans! 😀
I was just thinking how yummy this looks but my family can’t eat rice. (Allergies) BUT, then I remembered we could totally do it with quinoa!