My recommendation for chicken fried rice: Make sure to use day old rice. Instead of oil I noticed at hibachi restaurants they use butter for their fried rice. You should put putter in your pan. Dice up some onion. Saute it. Add you peas and carrots. Push it to the side in the pan. On the other side of the pan scramble your eggs. Then mix. Now Add your rice in. Mix that together add soy sauce, white pepper, and a little bit of garlic. Sometimes I add a little bit of green onion on top. It tastes just like the restaurant fried rice.
Great job! I used to cook for 5 now 3 because 2 of my kids live on their own. Funny thing is the cost remains close because food prices have gone up so much. I love your simple, easy to prepare meal ideas. Thank you for sharing!
I tried your whole menu plan as you did it. Didn't feel deprived at all. Just wanted you to know that I really appreciate what you're doing. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Thank you. I'll be trying the next video's meals this next week.
Just a hint, when l make my Shepards pie, l add a whole small bag of mixed veggies, eg, carotts, peas, beans, it gives alot of vegg to the meal, makes the meal go further, l have also tried sweet potatoes on top, yum, l also like adding the cheese to the potatoes, takes to another level.
In the UK we have hotdog sausages in baked beans in a tin. You don’t like beans on toast over there but we have that here or with that and I throw a fried egg on the side? If you have potato cakes over there have them with fried egg, sausage and/or bacon or any English breakfast ingredients.
Lots of tasty and budget friendly meals here. I also love stir fries. That delicious aroma you smell when entering a Chinese restaurant is a combination of garlic and oyster sauce, not soy sauce. I use a minced garlic clove, 1-2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of sugar for a pan of stir fry. Chinese dishes almost always have a little sugar and garlic. This sauce is amazing on beef and broccoli. 😊
New subscriber here. I loved this video! It has a lot of meals that this 75 yo widow can cook fairly easily. I’m also gluten free so this one is a winner for me!
So happy to see meat in your meals! Many of the budget meal videos, understandable, but are meatless. I thought we were past that, but now in retirement and with inflation, I have to get creative again. I couldn't imagine feeding a family with children now days!! Don't know how y'all are doing it. God Bless.
Our goulash is tomato soup, spaghetti sauce, ground beef, large elbow macaroni, onion, bell pepper, and topped with a cheese blend of your choice. He might like that one!
If you cook your rice the night before and put it in the refrigerator it will stiffen up because of the starch in it. Then you can crumble it in your pan without it sticking so much and turning gummy. Also, try cooking it in steps and cutting your chicken into smaller pieces and seasoned or using chicken that has already been cooked. By cooking in stages will give you a more appealing dish and less scrubbing your pan. Use a small amount of oil to first cook egg that has been beaten with a little bit of water, S&P. Then remove it to a plate. Next add in your vegetables and stir fry them ( green onion, minced garlic, carrots, green peas, and any other your family will eat…I load mine up with fresh mushrooms, celery, the stalk of fresh broccoli that has been trimmed of the thick outer covering and cut into thins sticks. I buy the very young peas in a can because my family will not eat the frozen ones and I use fresh large carrots with tops on ( you get double duty from them- tops can be made into pesto for pasta ). Now add in about two tablespoons of bacon drippings to your pan add in your rice, some ginger( little goes a long way), soy sauce. Now add back in your egg. By cutting your vegetables in different shapes makes it more appealing to the eye. Also, even if I am using chicken I add in other protein products too. You can play around with this( I save bits of meats and vegetables from dinner’s that are not enough to serve to make my fried rice. This can also be done to make soups too and freeze in a container until a day comes you do not want to cook… place it all in a slow cooker, add a few things and make a pan of homage cornbread. I think this fried rice will taste more like what you get in restaurants…I got this out of a Chinese cookbook many years ago.
I just found your channel, love the name, and I'm totally into frugal grocery shopping / living / gardening, so had to subscribe! This was a great extreme budget haul!
My family loves goulash, add a bay leaf, 1 more cup of macaroni to what you are doing now. At the end of cooking a cup of cheddar cheese. Then see if they like it.
Using a hand mixer for mash potatoes is genius! We do a different version of shepherds pie. With peas and onions .no tomatoe sauce. Too much heart burn.
I spot a Pioneer Woman utensil holder! 🥰🤣 I loved how the rice turned out. Grocery prices are so highhhh so these kinds of videos have been so helpful for me lately.
I’d love to stay within a $400 budget but very rarely can. Usually it’s a $600 budget, mainly due to inflation, just can’t live without eggs unfortunately!
This video had a lot of great meals that we made all the time when my kids were young and we were broke! I make fried rice often it’s so delicious! I use a little bacon when I make it as a side and add some green onions. You did a great job! Thank you for sharing! I’m subscribing! You will be at 1000 in no time!
The meal you made with chicken and rice and cream of chicken you could of added cornbread or muffins on the side makes meal bigger and bellies fuller the meal looked delicious though
Add some oyster sauce to your fried rice. That's what makes it taste like "Chinese " Go to the closest Asian store .they got it for cheap as well as cheap rice.
It is so hard for me to do a budget meal plan. My family doesn't like beans or rice, and they also don't like Turkey, which is cheaper than hamburger meat right now. It is so frustrating. I wish someone would do one of these budget challenges without beans and rice. I mean I have seen some meals but not a whole weekly or monthly meal plan. Anyway, just rambling, I love the video, thank you for posting. 😀
@@savinja25 if it was me I'd start mixing a tiny amount of ground turkey in with your ground beef. I'd be very shocked if they can tell if you don't tell them😂 add a little more each time. Season very well. Also you can use another starch like pasta or potatoes. Those are both cheap and delicious.
I got excited when i saw the way you made shepherds pie. Tomato soup and green beans is how my mom always did it too. She is gone now but the memory was great, thank you. Your meals all look good.
I think you could have gotten at least two more meals out of your chicken if you had not used so much in fried rice and ramen dish. You could have stretched your meals using link sausage to make red beans and rice. Cut leftover sausage in smaller pieces, use some diced raw chicken, bell pepper, garlic, onion, celery cooked it all down and add can of diced tomatoes , chicken broth or water raw rice with some S&P and Cajun seasoning. If you do not mix In the macaroni could have turned half of it into sloppy Joe’s…hubby might have liked that better( just adjust seasonings for each dish. Also, just as cheap to buy a ball of pizza dough from pizza restaurant or get some out of can or mix and make one large pizza that makes more.
Which discount store do you use? I have shopped at the one in Oklahoma city, but we've recently moved to Ada area, and I want to go to the one in Henrietta. You seem to have good luck with your meat finds wherever you go!
I also make my fried rice with chicken, rice, eggs and peas and carrots then soy sauce. I am sure the great people watching this know that they can use less chicken here if need to cut back on something here or nee d some chicken for another recipe
I put this all in my walmart cart that is the cheapest store I have local...the total was $91 and I didn't add the eggs bcause we have chickens...and i already have soy and worcestshire sauces at home...not close to $60 at all! :(
I just found your channel! Love it! I also have a channel and film a lot of budget meals! You are doing so great! Do you care if I share your video in my facebook group?
