Quick, Easy, frugal Cornbread Beef Casserole For a Hearty family Meal

With unemployment numbers chronic to rise and our economy chronic to falter, many of us are seeing for ways to cut expenses. If you are seeing for ways to cut back on your grocery budget, casseroles are one of the best ways to do so. This Cornbread Beef Casserole is a good example of an entree that is quick and easy to make and it is also economical. But you aren't giving up taste or feeding your house an unhealthy meal. In this one dish you have meat, vegetables, cheese, and the cornbread. Add a quick salad, steamed broccoli or some corn and you have a meal your house will love.

Cornbread Beef Casserole

Meat Casseroles

1 lb ground beef
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp chili powder
1 can (16-oz) pinto beans
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cans (8-oz) tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 pouch Mexican cornbread mix

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12 X 8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a 10 or 12-inch skillet crumble and cook the ground beef with the crushed garlic and onion until the meat is browned; drain off excess fat. Stir the chili powder and the tomato sauce into the meat mixture. Spoon the meat combination into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the meat mixture. Spoon the pinto beans over the cheese. Prepare the cornbread mix according to the container directions and pour the batter over the beans. Bake at 400 degrees approximately 25 minutes or until the cornbread is browned.

Variations:

If you don't want the extra spice of Mexican cornbread, use a yellow or white cornbread mix pouch. For a bit of a sweet taste, use Jiffy Cornbread mix.

If you like more heat, use pepper jack cheese instead of cheddar.

If you don't like to use red meat, substitute lean ground chicken or turkey for the ground beef. You will need to add a tablespoon of canola oil to the skillet before browning the meat.

Enjoy!

Quick, Easy, frugal Cornbread Beef Casserole For a Hearty family Meal

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4 Best Frugal Cooking Tips

Frugal cooking starts with great planning, as being wise with your purchased ingredients helps you get more from your small budget and at the same time will give you get the most for every meal you create with it.
Don't Run Out of Kitchen and Pantry Staples
Stock up on the most basic ingredients and supplies and shop just as soon as it runs out. One of the few things that as much as possible shouldn't be forgotten to stock up is vegetables, spices, oils and canned produces that you use frequently. Most people nowadays are practicing that frugal idea of "eating the entire pantry out", which they use any and every ingredient that's still available to make an off-beat dish. This is a great trick to eliminate wastefulness and utilize all of the stuff that's in there before going grocery shopping.
Plan your shopping
Last-minute grocery shopping always leads to wasting incredible amounts of money by buying more than what you actually need, or purchasing something more expensive because you haven't really compared prices thoroughly. It's funny too, because I remember my sister doing her grocery like this all the time. She does have what she calls a "guide", a short grocery list, but when she steps inside the grocery store she would remember important things that she needed to buy, only in the end she's short on cash than what she planned, and she bought more than she can use.
Cheap but fresh ingredients
Buying produce that's in season will cost less for you as produces will be abundant thus has a lesser price. It will surely taste better too, when you buy season's produce fresh! And when you're out picking fruits and vegetables, look for those that are heavy for its size which means a lot of meat and juice are inside. When it comes to buying fish ask to cut off both head and tail first before weighing it, especially if you're not fond of cooking fishes whole. If you're going to throw away the head and the tail, why pay for it, right?
Buy your herbs dry but whole, if you can't get them fresh. Whole spices can be kept longer, produce flavor better than their grounded counterparts and cost lesser than ones in prepackaged containers.
And as much as possible, buy produce from local farmers instead of just going to a grocery chain or supermarket. You can find it in every city and town, and you can visit the USDA website to search for certified farmer's markets nearest to you.
Get creative
Simple meals can easily become dull, tasteless food if you don't give it a little something. Though with frugal cooking you are encouraged to keep the ingredients minimal, but your food doesn't have to become lackluster. Get some resources on recipes for all kinds of breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack dishes that you and your family will love. The Internet is home to millions of recipes added daily that range from the simple to exotic, and grand to simple. You can even get creative with leftovers, too. And that will save you tons of money and you can utilize a previous dish to make a snack or be part of a lunch dish for the next day, or make a casserole or a soup out of it.

Dave is computer programmer and loves saving money by using coupons and promotional codes. He offers many of these coupon codes on his web site http://www.couponsaver.org

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Tasty Old Fashion, frugal Casserole Recipes

Wintertime is a great time for casseroles. It is a perfect time to use the oven as it can spread warmth throughout the house. The warmth, the tasty aroma wafting straight through the house, and you with your feet up while your meal cooks without your assistance! And one of the best things about casseroles is that they are economical. Here are two very dissimilar casserole recipes to add to your method box. This Spanish Rice Casserole is made with bulk sausage and rice. The Chinese Noodle Hamburger Casserole uses Chinese noodles and ground beef, as the name implies.

Spanish Rice Casserole

Meat Casseroles

1 lb bulk sausage
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 onion, chopped
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 cups boiling water
1 can tomatoes
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
5 slices bacon, cut-up

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook sausage until brown; crumble and drain. Integrate rice and onion; brown lightly in reserved drippings. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water. Integrate sausage, rice mixture, bouillon, tomatoes, chili powder and garlic powder; mix well.

Spoon compound into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Place bacon over the rice and bake an additional one 35 minutes.

Chinese Noodle Hamburger Casserole

1/4 cup butter
1 lb extra lean hamburger
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can Chinese noodles

Brown meat, onions, celery and bell pepper in a skillet in the butter. Add the soups and simmer for 30 minutes. Add Chinese noodles and mix well. Pour into a lightly buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tasty Old Fashion, frugal Casserole Recipes

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Frugal Food - How to Cook and Enjoy Delicious Meals Without Spending a Fortune

We're all worrying about money in the current economic climate, and anything that saves some of it would be good. And we all like eating, don't we? (Size zeros need not answer that.) So, can we eat well and spend less money?

Yes, if we learn how to eat frugally.

If that sounds a bit worthy, don't worry - it doesn't mean lentils and grinding your own grain. It means using every bit of food you buy, without wasting a thing. For example, instead of using fillet steak you could try braising steak but cook it more slowly - it will be deliciously tender, and a lot cheaper.

If the notion of 'leftovers' strikes terror into your heart - and there is something dispiriting about the word - think of them as tomorrow's ingredients cooked today. A few extra potatoes and vegetables today and a lovely crunchy bubble-and-squeak tomorrow. Almost any bits and pieces can be made into soup, just simmer with some stock (from a cube is fine) and whizz or not as you like. A hot meal for pennies.

Here are some suggestions for eating frugally but very well:

Cook local food in season - fewer food miles mean better taste, and food that is in season is at its best.

Use your oven wisely - try to use all the shelves. Put some jacket potatoes in the bottom of the oven while you are baking (cakes or casseroles), for instance. Alternatively, use a slow cooker if you have one.

Don't have meat or fish every day - try beans or pulses instead. The dried ones that need overnight soaking and then boiling have the best flavour, and they are cheaper than canned varieties.

Swap ingredients - substitute cheaper ingredients for pricey ones in your favourite recipes. Don't buy ingredients that you're not going to use in any other recipe, see what's in your cupboards already! If you haven't any breadcrumbs, use crushed crackers or oatmeal instead. Or use stock instead of wine in cooking.

Make double and freeze half - then you'll have a home-made ready meal.

Choose cheaper cuts of meat - and cook them gently for longer. Shin of beef has more flavour than steak in a stew or pie, but does need several hours cooking.

Add less expensive extras - to get more portions per dish. For example, put more vegetables in stews, pies and soups. Serve dumplings with stews and Yorkshire puddings with roasts, and cook plenty of cheap seasonal vegetables as accompaniments.

Use a steamer - one of the stainless steel basket type is ideal. Simply put it over a pan of boiling water - you could be boiling potatoes in the pan and steaming some broccoli over the top.

Go for strong cheeses - such as mature farmhouse Cheddar, Stilton or Parmesan. They are more expensive than milder cheeses but their strong taste means that you need only a small amount to flavour the recipe, so they last longer.

Try a whole chicken - instead of breast/leg portions. Roast it for the first meal, then strip off the remaining meat for a casserole, and finally boil the carcass for soup (you will be able to find more meat on the bones too, after it has been boiled for a couple of hours) - three dishes instead of one.

We can eat well, feel full and still save money. What's not to like?

© Eleanor Knowles 2008

For more information about eating sensibly without spending a fortune, check out http://EatLeanNotMean.com

The book is crammed with lots of information, tips, tricks, smart facts and recipes to liven up your routine. Frugal feeding has never been so much fun, or so healthy!

Just a final thought, did you know that in the UK we throw away almost a third of the food we buy? That's food we should have eaten, but often it never gets out of the packet. Can you afford to waste that much money? No, didn't think so - don't put your cash in the bin, use yesterday's ingredients...

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