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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

Anne,

Keep in mind that it's easy to grow spinach, lettuce, peas, beans and tomatoes in pots.

Cheap pots. And a couple $2.49 40 lb. bags of potting soil (not the expensive miracle stuff).

Just add water and sun.

Enjoy.

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ORIGINAL: scarlethiney

Anne we make our own granola for breakfast. Large amounts that we vac seal and have for months. Oats are cheap, we add nuts, dried fruit i.e raisens, cranberries, apples etc.cinnamon, honey or splenda (sometimes I prefer splenda to the honey).
 
This sounds so yummy!  What kind of oats do you use?  Is it the kind that are "quick" or the other kind?  I've never really SEEN the other kind, the slow cooking kind... so I'm interested in which you use.
 
Do you have it with milk, or is it something you cook?

When I am off I make bread and freeze the extra loaves. The recipe on the bag of King Arthurs 100% white whole wheat is a great recipe. Some of the loaves I will add cinnamon and raisens for cinnamon bread, some I add cottage cheese and honey for a high protein bread.
 
I have never heard of this, but it sounds great!   To tell the truth, I've only ever made bread once and the birds didn't even eat it.  I am, however, willing to try again. 
 
I actually think baking bread is a little sexy... LOL... I'm strange, I know.
 
Ground turkey is usually fairly inexpensive and makes great burgers, meatloaf and chili. It is very low in fat and to me tastes just like beef without all the calories.

I've used it before!  Never for burgers though.  Do you have trouble keeping the burger together?  I have a great recipie for Chicken Chili... I bet turkey would do well in it! (I'll see if I can find and post it.)   
I also make my own pizzas out of tortilla dough. A big bag of the inexpensive tortilla dough is about 3$ and will last a long time making pizzas or tortillas. If your watching calories make small individual pizzas with pasta sauce, ground turkey, alpine lace or laughing cow cheese. We also make small individual pizzas with no sauce, just olive oil.,garlic, fresh spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese or parmesean. 
 
That's my kind of pizza....  yumm!  I've tried it on a tortilla before, but never a whole wheat one... we shall see!  Do you think freezing a tortilla would work?   I don't see actually USING a whole pack of them before they go bad... maybe with a paper towel between them?  In a ziplock freezer bag?
 
Add a cup of soup and this is a really filling meal.
 
I love soup.  I find it to be the ultimate comfort food.  I tend to buy the frozen soups (not any longer!) because I don't like the taste of canned.  Does anyone have a *simple* Minestrone Soup recipe?  Something that maybe I could take the pasta out of?  I'm tired of regular vegetable soup, it's boring me. 
 
I often make 5 or more 6in pizzas and then freeze them for evenings when we don't feel like cooking. These are not low carb, but you can buy low carb tortillas and do the same thing.
 
I am so in love with the freezer idea.  Most of the time the last thing I want to do on a weeknight is cook! 

I love to stuff a large tomato or an avocado with chicken salad or tuna  or brown rice and veggies, especially home grown tomatoes.
 
Yumm!


Lettuce wraps are inexpensive and really good. You can put almost anything in a lettuce wrap. If you have time to grill up several chicken breasts and then chop them up with onions, peppers and pineapple and freeze them, this is a pretty tasty filling for the lettuce wraps.  Again, very low calorie and healthy.

I never would have thought to put the pineapple in.  Interesting... sounds good! 

We try to do a small garden every year with tomatoes, herbs, squash, carrots, brocolli.

Squash casserole
Thinly slice squash, and layer in a dish with onions, green peppers, garlic, sea salt and spinach. Beat 3 eggs and add 3/4 cup milk or chicken broth or half of both. Pour over layered veggies. Top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake at 375 for 30mins or until bubbly.

Now, when you say squash... do you mean the yellow squash/ zucchini?  Or are we talking like, the gourd type of squash?  Just to clarify.  I'm thinking you mean the yellow/ zucchini kind, but I just want to be sure. 
 
Sounds good!

Good luck!
 
THANKS!!

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ORIGINAL: DarkSteven

Chicken a la DarkSteven:

Get chicken breast fillets (I'm spoiled.  Chicken thighs or leg quarters, cut up, would be a much cheaper alternative).

Spray a pan with nonstick spray.  Add a fifty-fifty mix of salsa and ranch dressing.  Put in chicken and grill in ranch-salsa sauce.  Flip it over and stir from time to time as your work ethic demands.

Takes mebbe five to eight minutes.  Looks awful, tastes great.

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ORIGINAL: DarkSteven

I just put on a splotch of the sauce.  Enough to coat the underside of the chicken, and the topside after turning.  I don't cover the whole pan.

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I’ve noticed that (MOST) of the cheap recipes are bad for you. They seem full of things like pasta, potatoes and such.

I need cheap, and HEALTHY.

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Is it ok to freeze fresh zucchini and yellow squash? If I cube it up first and stick it in a ziplock bag? I wouldn't want to cook it, but I'd like to keep some from the summer as it's pretty cheap now.

What ISN'T ok to freeze?

I've never bought whole grain rice before. Is isn't the kind you just add water to and 10 minutes later it's done, is it?

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ORIGINAL: sirsholly
Anne...whole wheat pasta is wonderful and healthier than the regular stuff. And a baked potato is cheap, filling and causes a natural serotonin release. Whole grain or brown rice mixed with salsa and a bit of shredded cheese is a very healthy meal (unless you do what i do and scoop it up with tortilla chips )