Taco in a Bag

Taco in a Bag:
This is one of my all-time favorites. My daughter came home from school with this idea after the canteen at school started serving this every Wednesday.

• Here's what you need:
  
• a single-size bag of doritos or tostitos or taco-style chips for each person.
• Taco ingredients such as seasoned ground meat or tvp
• chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, lettuce (whatever you have)
• sour cream
• grated cheese
• salsa
• black olives
  
• Directions:
• Carefully slit open one long side of each bag and let each person slightly crush the taco chips in their bag. Then, open up the bag, and spoon your favorite taco ingredients into the bag, on top of the chips. Stir gently to mix and eat right out of the bag!

Now you see why its one of my favorites! Talk about quick, easy, cheap and it also saves on dish washing. This is very fun for a party, as well. Enjoy!

Quick Easy Cheap Meals: Haystacks Unlimited

The traditional haystack consisting of a pile of rice topped with a variety of tasty additions is the inspiration for this post. Here are the parts we need: something to make the stack out of. That could be rice, pasta, potatoes, couscous, bulgur, barley, etc. These are all cheap and healthy and the toppings are quick and easy. Let your imagination run wild: pineapple, chow mein noodles, chopped nuts, chopped veggies such as red pepper, cucumber, sauteed onions, celery-raw or sauteed, any leftover cooked veg, chopped apple, raisins, grated cheese, leftover cooked meat, etc. Choose a sauce that goes with your creation. Maybe tomato sauce for pasta; honey-garlic sauce for rice; mushroom sauce for barley, etc.

This meal can actually fall together very quickly and easily, even on a minute's notice. First, get your water boiling for cooking whichever food you choose for the main stack. While that is happening, raid your fridge and pantry for possible toppings. Serve them in separate bowls and line it up on the table like a salad bar. Serve each family member a stack of the main ingredient and then let them top it as they like!

A little at a time

Quick Easy Cheap Meals: Most of us know the benefits of cooking a lot of meals on one day of the month and then freezing for later use. This is a great plan to follow and can save lots of time and money, and be very quick as well. This is an excellent plan, and I highly recommend following it.
However, there are some circumstances where this doesn't work very well. These circumstances may be:

• You don't have enough money to shop for 1 month's worth of food at one time
• You don't have a day in the month to commit toward cooking and freezing
• You don't have the freezer space to store the frozen food
• You don't have your hands free to start a big cooking day

If this is the case, try doing it "a little at a time."
Here are 3 examples of preparing food to use later "a little at a time."

• You are cooking rice for supper tonight. Cook an extra cup or two and put it in the fridge to use in a few days or in the freezer for quick use on a night you're too busy to cook rice. For example, if you have steamed rice today then you can have fried rice in a few days. Or you could make a rice salad. Just add some chopped fresh veggies and Italian dressing. Let stand for a couple hours in the fridge for flavors to blend and voila!
  
• Soak some dry beans overnight (or use the quick soak method) and cook them until soft. Since this is a fair amount of work, soak some extra. Take them out of the pot just before the rest are cooked. (Freezing helps soften beans so you want to slightly under-cook them before freezing.) What can you do with these beans later? Take them out of the freezer. If you have time, let thaw. If not, heat up a pan and add a little oil. Throw in the beans and break up as they thaw. Add chopped onion and maybe some garlic. Mash if you like. These refried beans are wonderful in tacos or as part of a hearty salad.
• You are washing and cutting carrots for tonight's meal. Wash and cut a few extra and put in a container in the fridge. Makes a quick snack or the start of a side dish for another meal. (You only have to get out the peeler once and wash it once instead of twice)

There are many more ways to prepare food ahead "a little at a time." Use your imagination. Remember to plan to use your left-overs and also your planned-overs. Here's to another quick easy cheap meal idea!

The Ground Beef Short-Cut continued:
1c of pre-cooked ground beef, frozen until needed, can go a long way:
Besides the two options mentioned in the previous post, you can also use it to:

• Add to pasta sauce and serve over spaghetti
• Use to fill tacos; along with other fillings you have
• Add it with a can of tomatoes, leftover veggies, and some beef broth to make hamburger soup
• Thaw it in microwave while mixing some instant mashed potatoes. Then layer the following in a 8x11 pan: ground beef, can of corn, hot mashed potatoes, cheese sprinkled on top (optional) Heat to melt cheese and serve.
• Cook some macaroni while defrosting cooked frozen ground beef in microwave. Add the following together: macaroni, can of peas, ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, a little milk (1-2 Tbsp). Season with a dash of garlic powder. Serve with biscuits or carrot sticks.
• The possibilities are endless, really. It would be nice to hear some entries on this one by our readers. (Hint, hint.)
  

The ground beef short-cut

This trick is one of my favorites. With only a little bit of advance time, you can be meal-ready for several meals later. Here's how it works:

1) Next time you shop for ground beef, buy an extra couple of pounds.

2) Fry this up with some onions and garlic (or whatever you like), and after draining and cooling, freeze it in 1 cup portions.

3) On a day you need a quick easy cheap meal, choose one of the following:


A) Quick chilli soup:
Add ONE of the following to the pot:

• Tomato soup + 1 can water for each can of soup OR
  
• Canned tomatoes + the liquid in the can

Add a variety of the following to the pot:

• Canned mushrooms
• Canned beans (kidney, garbanzo, lima, etc.)
• Canned corn
• Chopped sauteed onions/garlic/celery
• Chili powder, cumin, parsley, etc.

Drop in the 1cup of frozen ground beef and it will thaw while the rest is heating up.
You can increase quantities for larger families. Or you can make enough for chili soup tonight and then put the leftovers in the fridge to pack in thermoses for lunch or to serve with cornbread on another night this week. If your soup ends up really thick and chunky, you can serve it up in tortilla shells or as a topping for mashed potatoes, rice or noodles on another night.

B) Homemade Hamburger Helper


Put the following into a frying pan, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Partway through cooking, open lid and break up the ground beef:

• 2 cups water, 1 cup rice, 1c frozen cooked ground beef, 1 can tomato or cream soup, veggies of your choice.