Freezer/Slow cooker Meals on a Budget!

These are the spices I used, i didn't count them in the price break down. Most everyone has these spices in the pantry.

The End Result:

At this time of year, everyone is on a Budget, with so many special things needed/wanted for the holidays this is the perfect freezer meal plan! These ingredients are all pretty cheap and I will break it all done for you. This is a great way to eat cheap this time of year, and it is all moderately healthy too.

All these recipes are from Pinterest, I chose the ones I like and I make two of each recipe, 2 bags, 2 meals, per recipe, everything doubled.

First:

Lasagna Soup

·      1 lb. ground turkey

·      1 onion

·      1 bell pepper

·      3 cloves garlic

·      32 oz. chicken broth

·      2 tbs. seasoning combination (basil, oregano, crushed red peppers)

·      1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Thirty minutes before done add dry pasta (2 cups) and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Recipe adapted from Guide 4 Moms

To start we cooked up around 5 or 6 pounds of beef and about 4 pounds of ground deer, each meal has beef in it, so this makes it easiest. So for the Lasagna soup, i used beef instead of turkey. I also buy pre-chopped onions and peppers from the store, it saves on time for sure! So this recipe has a few dollars worth of beef, maybe 1$ in onion, garlic and peppers. Canned tomatoes I always buy when they come on for a 1$, pasta 1$ so for around 6$ you have a nice easy meal, we are a family of 4 and always have left overs for lunch the next day.

Second:

Goulash/Beef Stew (2 Bags)

(1) Green Pepper Chopped split between bags

(1) Chopped Onion per bag

(2) Carrots Chopped per bag

(2) Chopped Garlic Cloves per bag

(3) Ibs Beef Stew Meat Split Between Bags

(1) 6oz can Tomato Paste per bag

(2) tsp Paprika per bag

(1/4) tsp Black Pepper per bag

*Cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW in a slow cooker. Add (1/2) Cup of Sour Cream about 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over Egg Noodles

So here we have a few dollars worth of beef, 2$ in veggies, and tomato paste I buy 2 for 1$, so that is only 50 cents, Sour cream 50 cents, pasta 1$ the whole meal cost 7$

Third:

Slow Cooker Pizza Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 medium onion (optional), diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 8 oz sliced pepperoni
• 4 oz (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 oz (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
• 12 oz Rigatoni noodles, cooked
• 15 oz pizza sauce
• 26 oz Spaghetti sauce

Instructions

1. 1. Brown the meat, onion and pepper in a frying pan.
2. 2. Drain the grease and add in pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce.
3. 3. Combine all ingredients in a large slow cooker lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
4. 4. Cook on HIGH for 30 minutes and then LOW for 2 or 3 hours until the cheese melts.
5. Note: This makes a lot of food. You can freeze half before cooking it. Later it can be thawed and cooked in the slow cooker as directed above.

Again a few dollars in beef, 1$ in veggies, the pepperoni was 3$ and I used half a package per recipe so 1.50$ for the pepperoni. Pizza sauce 75 cents. Spaghetti sauce 1$, 3$ for cheese, Pasta 1$ this meal is 11.25$ and makes a large amount to feed a large family or for plenty of left overs!

Fourth:

Parmesan Garlic Pizza Pasta
serves 8

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup sliced pepperoni (about 4oz)
• 1Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
• 1T Garlic
• 4 cups marinara/pasta sauce
• 3 cups water
• 8oz shredded mozzarella, divided
• 16oz uncooked rotini or other short cut pasta
• 1 gallon size ziplock freezer bag
• 1 sandwich size freezer bag

Place ground beef, pepperoni, onions, garlic bread seasoning, pasts sauce, water and half of the mozzarella cheese in a gallon size ziplock freezer bag. Place remaining mozzarella cheese in sandwich size freezer bag. Freeze.
When ready to cook: Remove sandwich bag of mozzarella from freezer and place in refrigerator to thaw.
Place contents of gallon sized freezer bag into slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6 hours. Break up meat with spatula.
Add uncooked pasta. Cook for 15-20 minutes longer, until pasta is cooked. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover and let cheese melt, 5 minutes.
This meal again has a few dollars worth of beef, 1/2 a pack of pepperoni 1.50$, veggies 50 cents, pasta sauce 1$, cheese 2$, Pasta 1$ totals 9$

Fifth:

Mushroom Goulash:
1 1/2 lbs beef
2 cans of mushrooms soup
Fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup corn
place in slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, serve with pasta or rice
3$ in beef, 2 cans of mushroom soup 2$, fresh mushrooms 1$, veggies 50 cents totals 6.50$

Since I doubled all the recipes this totaled 80$ all together, that works out to 8$ per bag and our bags always last us a supper and a lunch, so 4$ per meal, that's 1$ per person, per meal. That is awesome! Great savings! I hope this helps you get through December with a little extra cash in your pocket for other fun things!