100%. I'm glad to see that this happens to even budget divas like yourself. Brilliant idea to change to soup. I learned something important because I would have felt like I needed buy more for company. But who doesn't love potato soup. It's my families favorite!
What a blessing to watch you. I am 67. My youngest daughter and I adopted 7 grandkids and have 4 left. Times get hard and you show how to adapt and persevere. Thank you.
I think that your channel is going to help a lot of people. I have recently come to Jesus about my spending and I need to save on food. I have no idea how to do it but you’ve given me so many ideas already in just 2 videos. Please keep up the great work I have a feeling that your channel will reach heights beyond your imagination.
Love the way you structured your video! From the great grocery store haul breakdown at the beginning, to each of the delicious looking meals you showed us how to make for each time of the day. :) Thank you!
The surprise meal is another of the reasons your channel knocks it out the park. You are very real, very humble and honest. What a breath of fresh air this channel provides. Its so nice to see genuine real people in real life managing the real way. Well done Lori xxx
I think the lesson teaching what to do in an alternative situation is valuable. Most people today do not have that skill. Much needed… ❤ Keeps a family from just throwing up their hands and ordering pizza… Love your channel… And I love the concept Contentment meal… That’s the lesson Paul was teaching us in Phil 4:13. ❤️
Amazing! The pizza is such a great idea and the potato and ham soup looks delicious. It's amazing how creative we can get with what we have. God bless you and your family.
When I was growing up, if we had family coming over they just knew to bring something with them. One might bring a can of corn and a stick of butter. One might bring a loaf of bread for garlic bread. It was like pot luck, and everyone helped cook too. 😊
Did you know you can use the tortillas to make a dessert. Take a tortilla melt some butter spread little over it. Then sprinkle it with little cinnamon-sugar. Now open a can of sliced pears and arrange them over the tortilla to make a spin wheel design. Place reserved juice from pears( pears in heavy syrup) into a small sauce pan and add little sugar and cook down until it starts to make a syrup. Drizzle all over the pears and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon- sugar . Make sure you place this on foil lined sheet sprayed with Pam spray , because it will stick with all of the sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until tortilla is lightly brown and sugar caramelizes on top. Take out of oven and let rest for about 5-10 minutes. Serve warm cut like a pizza, with a dollop of whipped cream or whipped topping. I buy a large can of pears, because my sone will eat one of these by himself! Also, I think large tortillas might work best, but use whatever you have on hand. 😊
If I may give a suggestion for your oatmeal..I snag apples when on sale or reduced, peel, slice and dehydrate. When preparing my oatmeal I add brown sugar, cinnamon and dried apples then microwave. The apples will rehydrate will cooking and I have homemade cinnamon apple oatmeal. I’ll also change it up and toss in dried cranberries. So much less sugar than the store bought instant oatmeal.
I often do that with apple peels if I’m removing them for a baking recipe. Dehydrate the peels, rough chop into smaller pieces and add to oatmeal or teas.
At the beginning of this video I wondered how you were doing all of these budget friendly meals and having food for guests. So, I'm thankful for the hiccup that showed me hospitality is still possible! Thank you!
Great video. Lots of good ideas. I get the family eating what I was saving for a meal. Happens here too. I made potato soup last weekend and had a bunch leftover. I froze it in portion sizes for lunches. That's one way I save on groceries.
I really appreciate these videos showing you cooking as well. As a single mom who works full time, your videos help remove some things from my mental load, and encourage me to set aside a few minutes to cook real food for myself instead of surviving on fruit and scraps from my kiddos plate ❤ thank you!
I’m surprised that you were able to get that much ham on such a low budget! Amazing! You got so much more than I thought you would be able to get. I spent $60 a week for our family of 5 ten years ago and people thought I was thrifty. You got me beat by a mile. Well done!
I'm a married man that doesn't cook. My wife and I both work and are childless, so budget is not an issue. But I find myself watching your videos with a great deal of respect and fascination. You are so genuine, respectful, and admirable in your approach to support your family. Thank you for your content.
First time commenting on your videos. Please don't apologize for life. We all go through this. I enjoy your videos, they give me great ideas for budget meals.
Another awesome video! Lots of work but you make it look so easy. Everything looked delicious. Tell Lane he did a great job with the cheese sandwich, such a good little helper. ❤
The pivot points in your videos are what have me coming back for more. I deeply appreciate real life insights on how to make things work in real life bc it never does go according to my plan. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so thankful for this feedback because I usually feel like I am talking too much. I want to be helpful without being annoying and that is really hard for me to differentiate sometimes…
Life just throws curve balls sometimes. I love how gracefully you just switch gears and improvise with a new plan. You definitely don't sweat the small stuff. Beautiful example you are setting for your children and viewers. Grace under pressure indeed.
Impressive video! If you want to add a little extra flavor on the bean fajitas, fold them in half instead of rolling them, and then fry them on each side for about 20-30 seconds. Delicious! Have you ever tried to sprout lentils? They only take a few days & then you have something else fresh for no additional cost. You are so sweet to be real and honest with us. If the haters hate, delete em!
We use cinnamon and sugar on toast instead of jam or jelly. Also if we have fruit we top or toast with it. Also we use a can of soup as a base and add appropriate leftover protein and vegetables to make it taste better and stretch it.
Hi Lori, have you heard of reverse meal planning? The idea is to make meals from what you have and what’s on sale rather than picking meals and then buying what you need. Just a different approach that worked well for me during pantry challenge in January. Also the little one on the stairs was cute 😊 try as you might they just sneak in.
I've been trying this for months. Works awesome for me. The only challenge is that it's time-consuming at the store looking for sale items. I shop at a local hometown grocery store that marks down meat several times a week. Many sale items are not in weekly flyers. You kinda have to plan meals while shopping but very cost-effective !!
That is the way I do my shopping and meal plan. It’s the way my mom always did it and now that’s how my brain works. I believe that is how she was able to keep us fed on an extremely low budget.
I've always done that.I do get sucked in when I see something I really like sometimes,I'm human. Or my rationale is it's on sale ,I'll use it But,I do try to stick with the plan
I just found your channel and absolutely love it! I watch A LOT of RUclips cooking/recipe channels and YOU are THE BEST. Your budget and meal ideas are unbelievable. I’m a disabled senior so these ideas are fantastic. Thank you so much and God bless you.
Love how you improvised when you didn't have enough potatoes at the end of the week when company was coming. Flexibility in the kitchen is a good "skill" to have when cooking. Also, the ham in your recipes looks a lot less "fatty" than many I've seen in the stores. Do you mind sharing what brand of ham you were using? (Edit for spelling)
I had never seen this kind of ham before....I went in thinking I would get a small whole ham or spiral sliced ham but I saw this was like the parts they didn't use for another type of cut or package. It was sort of the edges and scraps but it was REALLY good and really cheap, too! Less than $3 a pound! The package says FARMLAND Smoked Spiral Ham Slices and Pieces.
So glad you tried the tortillas as a pizza crust. We have been doing this for quite a few years with low carb tortillas, because there wasn't much else available at the time fir a low carb crust. It's still one of our favorite ways to eat them. ❤
Things like that happen all the time. That is the very reason I try to keep shelf stable milk in my pantry at all times. I usually get the whole milk at dollar tree for 1.25. I buy 4 at a time. Good insurance for only 5 bucks.
Great menu plan Lori! There is no reason to apologize when plans change i have teenagers and a husband i have had items eaten that were for a certain recipe and we just roll with it and figure something else out. I was wondering if you have done a video about your animals i love to see what people have on there farms thank you for all that you do i love your channel.
For your side of rice you add finely grated carrot in your pot and cook as you normally do ( this adds sweetness and flavor ) or add tomato chicken bullion. ( tastes just like Mexican rice ).
There’s nothing more satisfying than a big pot of homemade potato soup!! That’s truly a contentment meal in my opinion!! Thanks for all your wonderful meal ideas!!
All those meals looked amazing. Just found Your channel tonight. I loved the real life that really happens running to the store isn't always an options I like how You just made it all work out. Thank You I will now be watching all Your videos.❤
A FANTASTIC RECIPE AND THOUGH HERE IN CANADA OUR PRICES HAVE NOT SKYROCKETED AS MUCH AS YOURS. I'LL DEFINITELY TRY THIS ONE. JUST AS "POOR MAN'S MEALS" WITH CLARA, YOU ARE HELPING SO MANY, SURPRISINGLY NOT MORE SUBSCRIBERS!!
Thank you for your creativity. I love your transparency. Yes, life throws a curve ball often. Great pivot. You did a super job. Not so much anymore, but there was a time raising our kids that we would end up with 10 people for dinner instead of our normal 6. There is usually a way to feed them all without much trouble. Serve more rice. Serve toast and butter. Make mashed potatoes and dice up the chicken you were going to serve as pieces. Flexibility and pivoting I say. No one was anymore the wiser that I got creative. We all simply enjoyed each other.
Thank you for sharing these great ideas with us! We definitely need an extreme budget meal ideas. My husband has several surgeries coming up, the first being Monday, April 3, so that's where much of our budget is going these days. I'm scrambling to get us through this. Thank you again. I'm a new subscriber. :)
@@homemadesimplewithlori Thank you so much! We definitely appreciate the prayers. He can use all the prayers he can get. You're welcome. Have a blessed weekend. :)
@@homemadesimplewithlori The surgery went well, according to the doctor. We are home now and David is resting. His blood sugar is out of whack because they didn't want him to take his insulin shots this morning. It is still very high (500), but thankfully is coming down now that he's received his shots. Thanks for the prayers!
I absolutely agree, I live in Northern California and our grocery prices are absolutely insane ... It really makes you have to think about an extreme budget and how you shop especially for a big family ... I have a family of 6 and I'm always looking for savings and also making sure we have enough to feed everyone
Instead of butter on the grilled cheese use mayonnaise on the outside of the sandwich. Also can bake the grill cheese in the oven till chs melts. 350 degrees
I just saw where you can make pancakes out of bananas and oatmeal! Google this! They looked great! So many things can be made with bananas! This recipe had nothing but oats with a cup of milk that sits in frig over night until oats soak up milk. Then added two bananas mashed up.
I have the same sentiments about Walmart ❤ I usually do the AFB Commissary, Aldi, or Walmart neighborhood market for groceries. This video dropped just in time. I’m making my list tomorrow!
Don't like Walmart grocery shopping either. Although ours do not have the parking lots from hell, just large ones. I usually do Aldi, A local meat market/small grocery store (Myers Meats), Food Lion, Giant Foods, Dollar Tree, and sometimes Grocery Outlet, Weis, and Dollar General. Utz Outlet for snacks. Cereal comes from the $1.99 sale at CVS. These are all 4 miles or less from my house. I kind of shop backwards from most other people: My strategy is What's already in the house, What is on sale, What can I get discounted and or with coupons and or for free, What can I buy on sale to combine with what we already have to use up what is already in the house. Instead of "What do we feel like eating?" I peruse the sales flyers weekly prior to going to the store, and write at the top of each flyer what I intend to buy. I try to keep some extra money on hand or debit card, in case I find a great deal (meat markdown, reduced/dented can/discontinued shelf, reduced bakery items, etc.). You made some interesting and filling meals with your limited budget. I'm going to steal some of these ideas.
@@homemadesimplewithlori I’m so glad I have access to it. Ours here in south MS is very clean and organized. Just a nice, large grocery store on the base. Even though there is a service fee it’s tax free and more times than not the prices are cheaper than a regular grocery store. Especially on meat and veggies. I’d love to take you if you’re ever down this way!
@@nancyshrout-wankowski7147 I love hitting up the DG and Dollar Tree as well. An UTZ Outlet would be awesome! I usually buy the Malt-O-Meal cereals. I can get 2 for $5 where I shop and it’s bigger bags than name brand. I even like some of the generic better than the name brand. I also scour my fridge and cabinets to see what’s there before meal planning. I always keep stuff to make homemade bread and pizzas. I love all of the tips and tricks this community brings.
Try adding leftover corn to tacos, Mexican casseroles or even quesadillas or fajitas. The trick is to add small small amount of corn. It adds crunch and sweetness. You can portion a couple of tablespoons for pennies from frozen bag out of freezer.
I didn’t have pizza sauce but I easily adapted by using a can of tomato sauce just adding some of the Italian seasoning. Then a little sugar and it was great.
Great video. Another great meal is chili and make it mild so you can add it to potatoes, pasta and rice. You could also use meatballs as the meat. I love Dahl as well so easy and comforting. I love home made beans as well made with cannellini, tomatoes, solstice, veg cube, onion and garlic. You could have it on toast with potatoes or add ham to them.
Easy to spice up some rice dishes with a bit tomato, salsa, spices, simmer some raisins and sugar for a topping or a spoon of jam for a quick dessert or side rice,
Love your pizza idea on tortillas. I brush the edges with olive oil. Garlic in the sauce bumps up the flavor. I even use a little garlic salt on the top of the tortillas. Thanks for all your wonderful information. Bon Apetit
Fantastic! Thank you so much for all the hard work putting these videos together for us!!! For next time I really think you had everything on-hand to make tomato soup if the ingredients had been shifted slightly. Great ideas for meal-prep too if it’s too much food. 🎉
Like you video very much! Another cheap alternative for pizza sauce is a small 44 cent can of tomato sauce. We just add a little garlic salt and Italian seasoning! It is very good and nice thickness for pizza!
I've been using one of those small cans of tomato paste. Add part of a spaghetti seasoning packet, some water, and some grated parmesan. It's the best consistency for spreading!
Even without a milking cow, some could have milk from a prior week, or if adding it to this week, they could still be using next week. You get it Momma! Thank you so much for all of your helpful meals and planning! We appreciate you! 🙏
First and foremost, thank you for teaching people how to cook on a budget. Simple meals that don’t cost much and go a long way are such a blessing knowing how to cook. I have only watched a few videos and you do an amazing job at sticking to the plan. A small diversion to the plan, is called “life”. The older generation had to eat this way starting out in life. No money for gourmet meals. I was going to share about spices that I found out about from a friend of mine. He turned me on to garlic & pepper seasoning. A wonderful seasoning that he uses in most of his family meals and it does not have salt in it. Also uses it for a meat dry rub. The kicker is that they were at a dollar store. I also found your basic spices for reasonable price, lol, a dollar as were even generic at most stores can be two and a half dollars or more. You have a wonderful peace and humbleness about you. Keep up the good work at reaching your goals. Blessings!
I’m just an ol school home cook that was taught by his grandma. I always gave her credit and still do. Most of the time she would say I gave her to much credit, to something I figured out how to cook. She gave me the courage to try. My only claim to fame was I got to be the morning chef, only in name at “Youth with a mission” in Hawaii as a mission builder. I got to do some pretty fun things that I would never have gotten to do otherwise. Well, I can be a bit chatty, my apologies. You are an amazing blessing you your husband Chris. Thank you for responding. I feel blessed!
I'm 37 and cook my eggs like you do 😊 learned from my mamaw and my toddler son will only eat eggs with meat grease 😂 preschool didn't understand why he would not eat eggs from the cafeteria and his teacher was shocked when I told her. I loved watching your little boy help with his grill cheese 😍 he is precious and so much like my little man. This is my first video I've seen of yours and will be following you for more awesome ideas cuz my cooking style is very similar to yours. Sending much love and prayers for you and your family ❤🙏 keep on doing you 😊❤
Tortilla pizzas! I love making those to help use up extra homemade pasta sauce. I cook them on aluminum foil and brush the crust with oil or butter just like you did. The trick is to go veeeery light on sauce and toppings, that way the whole crust gets crispy. Just a few blobs of mozzarella, a few leaves of basil, and a drizzle of olive oil is amazing. If you want to add peppers or onions, you either have to slice them paper thin or sauté them first.
Your so blessed because our home sad a lot store has gone up on just about everything double and tripled. I've been blessed too find brown eggs at a good price and dairy products. And been dumpster diving why not when what I've founded can be canned or dehydrated and everything ins in a bag or box right on top. And I save all trimmings for bone broth.
Your tortilla pizzas are similar to what I’ve made for years. Recently I’ve layered two tortillas with cheese and herbs between. I saw it somewhere on RUclips and really like it. Could even do it with Mexican toppings.
Hello ! Great video I use water and chicken bouillon for my potato soup very good and frugal 😊 sometimes I don’t put meat in either but very satisfying with a grilled cheese! 🌸🌈🌸
I think you did a great job for the whole challenge. Ham is $0.99lb bone in this week, great time to stock up. When my family at home was larger and I had an upright freezer, I would buy one for school of the coming months. This met my goal of meat for $1 or less a pound. A few weeks ago, chicken quarters were $0.59lb for a 10lb bag. I would buy 12 bags, 1 bag per week, to last until the next sale. I would buy turkeys at Thanksgiving/Christmas already frozen ($0.39lb) and transfer them to my freezer, to used once every 2 months. Once a week, we had a hamburger meat dish. The cost was $0.99-$1.99lb. Now my goal would be $$2-$2.60lb. Though not the $1 cost it gets balanced out by the chicken and turkey prices.
For your fajita meal add a can of tomato sauce to the rice when cooking for a more authentic Mexican rice plus the color is great. Also with your lentils meal, try some Italian sausage instead of the ham sometime. Then serve over rice instead of adding rice especially if you to to extend the food. One of my favorites.
@@homemadesimplewithlori I don't have content on my channel yet (I work full time+ doing elder in home care, but did 42+yrs in a nursing home). My name is Anna & the homestead name came from that😊 ..
I'm really bad at trying to budget while in the store it hard now cause you can't stick with a budget. We just bought more cloth diapers cause diapers are so expensive now.
I’m watching the grocery list and amazed at how low cost they are, you could easily double that here in California. $.1.39 for one bell pepper is what I paid the other day and that was at Walmart! Either way I so appreciate these meals plans to keep my grocery bill down. ❤
For $60, this is amazing! I'm lucky if I can do $60 for two of us. My man is a big eater, lol. We're not on a strict budget, but if I can make a good meal for cheap, that is money I can put towards something else! Thanks for sharing 💜
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
No need to apologize for real life happening. I love your videos so much❤
Thank you!
100%. I'm glad to see that this happens to even budget divas like yourself. Brilliant idea to change to soup. I learned something important because I would have felt like I needed buy more for company. But who doesn't love potato soup. It's my families favorite!
Awww. Thanks!
What a blessing to watch you. I am 67. My youngest daughter and I adopted 7 grandkids and have 4 left. Times get hard and you show how to adapt and persevere. Thank you.
What a precious soul you are!!!
WOW
I think that your channel is going to help a lot of people. I have recently come to Jesus about my spending and I need to save on food. I have no idea how to do it but you’ve given me so many ideas already in just 2 videos. Please keep up the great work I have a feeling that your channel will reach heights beyond your imagination.
That made my heart smile so big. Thank you for that. ❤️❤️❤️
Love the way you structured your video! From the great grocery store haul breakdown at the beginning, to each of the delicious looking meals you showed us how to make for each time of the day. :) Thank you!
I agree 👋🏻 Lori puts her heart & soul into her videos. 🥰
I think the finished product shots need some improvement.....but thank you for the encouragement!
You're sweet. Thank you
I love the pizza idea 💡 ❤. My thirteen year old was watching with me and got excited about it. Thank you!!
That is awesome!
The surprise meal is another of the reasons your channel knocks it out the park. You are very real, very humble and honest. What a breath of fresh air this channel provides. Its so nice to see genuine real people in real life managing the real way. Well done Lori xxx
You are so sweet! Thank you!
I think the lesson teaching what to do in an alternative situation is valuable. Most people today do not have that skill.
Much needed… ❤ Keeps a family from just throwing up their hands and ordering pizza…
Love your channel…
And I love the concept Contentment meal…
That’s the lesson Paul was teaching us in Phil 4:13. ❤️
Thank you for that reference! You are so right!!!
I love pizza so much! It's good for me to have a quick home made option!
I especially like your attitude regarding the final meal. Be content and adapt are excellant reminders to all of us
Thanks ❤️
Amazing! The pizza is such a great idea and the potato and ham soup looks delicious. It's amazing how creative we can get with what we have. God bless you and your family.
Thank you!
When I was growing up, if we had family coming over they just knew to bring something with them. One might bring a can of corn and a stick of butter. One might bring a loaf of bread for garlic bread. It was like pot luck, and everyone helped cook too. 😊
What a wonderful tradition!!!
Stone soup. I love the idea too.
You have such great ideas! I'm just a single gal on her own and I can incorporate these ideas on a smaller scale save money! Keep the videos coming!
One person! You can eat for cheap this week!!!!! Thanks for watching
Did you know you can use the tortillas to make a dessert. Take a tortilla melt some butter spread little over it. Then sprinkle it with little cinnamon-sugar. Now open a can of sliced pears and arrange them over the tortilla to make a spin wheel design. Place reserved juice from pears( pears in heavy syrup) into a small sauce pan and add little sugar and cook down until it starts to make a syrup. Drizzle all over the pears and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon- sugar . Make sure you place this on foil lined sheet sprayed with Pam spray , because it will stick with all of the sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until tortilla is lightly brown and sugar caramelizes on top. Take out of oven and let rest for about 5-10 minutes. Serve warm cut like a pizza, with a dollop of whipped cream or whipped topping. I buy a large can of pears, because my sone will eat one of these by himself! Also, I think large tortillas might work best, but use whatever you have on hand. 😊
Sounds delicious!
If I may give a suggestion for your oatmeal..I snag apples when on sale or reduced, peel, slice and dehydrate. When preparing my oatmeal I add brown sugar, cinnamon and dried apples then microwave. The apples will rehydrate will cooking and I have homemade cinnamon apple oatmeal. I’ll also change it up and toss in dried cranberries. So much less sugar than the store bought instant oatmeal.
I often do that with apple peels if I’m removing them for a baking recipe. Dehydrate the peels, rough chop into smaller pieces and add to oatmeal or teas.
Great tip! Thanks!!
At the beginning of this video I wondered how you were doing all of these budget friendly meals and having food for guests. So, I'm thankful for the hiccup that showed me hospitality is still possible! Thank you!
Ha. Well. I love to have company. But they may not love the food options 😂😂😂
Great video. Lots of good ideas. I get the family eating what I was saving for a meal. Happens here too. I made potato soup last weekend and had a bunch leftover. I froze it in portion sizes for lunches. That's one way I save on groceries.
Sounds great!
I really appreciate these videos showing you cooking as well. As a single mom who works full time, your videos help remove some things from my mental load, and encourage me to set aside a few minutes to cook real food for myself instead of surviving on fruit and scraps from my kiddos plate ❤ thank you!
❤️❤️❤️
You did such a good job! Real life happens, and you're teaching people how to handle it! 👍🤗
Thank you so much!
I’m surprised that you were able to get that much ham on such a low budget! Amazing!
You got so much more than I thought you would be able to get. I spent $60 a week for our family of 5 ten years ago and people thought I was thrifty. You got me beat by a mile. Well done!
I'm a married man that doesn't cook. My wife and I both work and are childless, so budget is not an issue. But I find myself watching your videos with a great deal of respect and fascination. You are so genuine, respectful, and admirable in your approach to support your family. Thank you for your content.
How kind of you to say! Thank you so much. ❤️❤️
First time commenting on your videos. Please don't apologize for life. We all go through this. I enjoy your videos, they give me great ideas for budget meals.
Thank you so much!
Another awesome video! Lots of work but you make it look so easy. Everything looked delicious. Tell Lane he did a great job with the cheese sandwich, such a good little helper. ❤
Thanks, mama. You taught me well.
The pivot points in your videos are what have me coming back for more. I deeply appreciate real life insights on how to make things work in real life bc it never does go according to my plan. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so thankful for this feedback because I usually feel like I am talking too much. I want to be helpful without being annoying and that is really hard for me to differentiate sometimes…
Life just throws curve balls sometimes. I love how gracefully you just switch gears and improvise with a new plan. You definitely don't sweat the small stuff. Beautiful example you are setting for your children and viewers. Grace under pressure indeed.
I appreciate that!
Impressive video! If you want to add a little extra flavor on the bean fajitas, fold them in half instead of rolling them, and then fry them on each side for about 20-30 seconds. Delicious! Have you ever tried to sprout lentils? They only take a few days & then you have something else fresh for no additional cost. You are so sweet to be real and honest with us. If the haters hate, delete em!
Sprouting is something I need to start doing!!! Thanks for the reminder!!
Love the recipes and easy to follow along style.
Thank you for the Super Thanks. I appreciate it so very much! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
We use cinnamon and sugar on toast instead of jam or jelly. Also if we have fruit we top or toast with it. Also we use a can of soup as a base and add appropriate leftover protein and vegetables to make it taste better and stretch it.
Yum
I love how you improvise when life happens. I think this is so important for young cooks.
❤️❤️
Hi Lori, have you heard of reverse meal planning? The idea is to make meals from what you have and what’s on sale rather than picking meals and then buying what you need. Just a different approach that worked well for me during pantry challenge in January.
Also the little one on the stairs was cute 😊 try as you might they just sneak in.
I’ve not heard of that term before. I will look into it! Thanks!!
I've been trying this for months. Works awesome for me. The only challenge is that it's time-consuming at the store looking for sale items. I shop at a local hometown grocery store that marks down meat several times a week. Many sale items are not in weekly flyers. You kinda have to plan meals while shopping but very cost-effective !!
That is the way I do my shopping and meal plan. It’s the way my mom always did it and now that’s how my brain works.
I believe that is how she was able to keep us fed on an extremely low budget.
I've always done that.I do get sucked in when I see something I really like sometimes,I'm human. Or my rationale is it's on sale ,I'll use it But,I do try to stick with the plan
I just found your channel and absolutely love it! I watch A LOT of RUclips cooking/recipe channels and YOU are THE BEST. Your budget and meal ideas are unbelievable. I’m a disabled senior so these ideas are fantastic. Thank you so much and God bless you.
How sweet!!!!! Thank you so much for saying that. ❤️❤️❤️❤️. I appreciate you watching and I hope you stay in touch!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Love how you improvised when you didn't have enough potatoes at the end of the week when company was coming. Flexibility in the kitchen is a good "skill" to have when cooking. Also, the ham in your recipes looks a lot less "fatty" than many I've seen in the stores. Do you mind sharing what brand of ham you were using? (Edit for spelling)
That was some great looking ham, and a lot of it!
I had never seen this kind of ham before....I went in thinking I would get a small whole ham or spiral sliced ham but I saw this was like the parts they didn't use for another type of cut or package. It was sort of the edges and scraps but it was REALLY good and really cheap, too! Less than $3 a pound! The package says FARMLAND Smoked Spiral Ham Slices and Pieces.
@@homemadesimplewithlori Thank you soooo much!! I'll look for it next time I'm at the store!
@@bethbrec Me too.
That's $0.50 a serving Laurie! I hope I spelled that correctly - and I think that price is amazing!
YES!! And, that spelling is close enough ;)
Awesome job! Feeding a family of six, three meals per day for sixty bucks is amazing! Especially these days with prices today!
Thanks for watching!!
Keep canned milk and dry milk in your pantry to use when you cook. I actually prefer to use canned or dry milk to cook with.
So glad you tried the tortillas as a pizza crust. We have been doing this for quite a few years with low carb tortillas, because there wasn't much else available at the time fir a low carb crust. It's still one of our favorite ways to eat them. ❤
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My sister divides them in half so they are really thin. Great snacks.
That rice with the grilled cheese, add a bit of bullion to it and make a “chicken and rice” soup. That would be good with a grilled cheese!
Yes!
Things like that happen all the time. That is the very reason I try to keep shelf stable milk in my pantry at all times. I usually get the whole milk at dollar tree for 1.25. I buy 4 at a time. Good insurance for only 5 bucks.
That’s a great tip!
Great menu plan Lori! There is no reason to apologize when plans change i have teenagers and a husband i have had items eaten that were for a certain recipe and we just roll with it and figure something else out. I was wondering if you have done a video about your animals i love to see what people have on there farms thank you for all that you do i love your channel.
A homesteading video is in the works!!! Stay tuned!
@@homemadesimplewithlori yay thank you!
You are precious, and have been such an encouragement to me. I hope your channel blesses you and your family. Thank you for your valuable le content!!
Thank you so much!
I love your ingenuity in creating these simple meals and making them tasty and budget friendly. I can’t wait to try the pizzas. Thank you.
Thanks!!
For your side of rice you add finely grated carrot in your pot and cook as you normally do ( this adds sweetness and flavor ) or add tomato chicken bullion. ( tastes just like Mexican rice ).
I needed to know how to do this! Thank you!!
Love the carrot idea!
If you have a few peas great in it too.
There’s nothing more satisfying than a big pot of homemade potato soup!! That’s truly a contentment meal in my opinion!! Thanks for all your wonderful meal ideas!!
I totally agree!
Frugal milk tip: cut whole milk by 1/4 -1/2 with water. Same nutrition and 1/4 - 1/2 the fat!
Sometimes you gotta make it go further, don’t you!?!
If you get dry milk from the government, it's wonderful in recipes.
All those meals looked amazing. Just found Your channel tonight. I loved the real life that really happens running to the store isn't always an options I like how You just made it all work out. Thank You I will now be watching all Your videos.❤
Awesome! Thank you!
A FANTASTIC RECIPE AND THOUGH HERE IN CANADA OUR PRICES HAVE NOT SKYROCKETED AS MUCH AS YOURS. I'LL DEFINITELY TRY THIS ONE. JUST AS "POOR MAN'S MEALS" WITH CLARA, YOU ARE HELPING SO MANY, SURPRISINGLY NOT MORE SUBSCRIBERS!!
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I love you ,your pots and pans they are so real just like mine 😅
I love to use them!!
Thank you for your creativity. I love your transparency. Yes, life throws a curve ball often. Great pivot. You did a super job. Not so much anymore, but there was a time raising our kids that we would end up with 10 people for dinner instead of our normal 6. There is usually a way to feed them all without much trouble. Serve more rice. Serve toast and butter. Make mashed potatoes and dice up the chicken you were going to serve as pieces. Flexibility and pivoting I say. No one was anymore the wiser that I got creative. We all simply enjoyed each other.
That’s really good advice and a great perspective. Thank you for sharing that!
Thank you for sharing these great ideas with us! We definitely need an extreme budget meal ideas. My husband has several surgeries coming up, the first being Monday, April 3, so that's where much of our budget is going these days. I'm scrambling to get us through this. Thank you again. I'm a new subscriber. :)
Oh I hope your husband does well with his surgeries! I will pray for yall! Thanks for watching and subscribing!!
@@homemadesimplewithlori Thank you so much! We definitely appreciate the prayers. He can use all the prayers he can get.
You're welcome. Have a blessed weekend. :)
@@homemadesimplewithlori The surgery went well, according to the doctor. We are home now and David is resting. His blood sugar is out of whack because they didn't want him to take his insulin shots this morning. It is still very high (500), but thankfully is coming down now that he's received his shots. Thanks for the prayers!
Family of 8 here. So glad you are sharing your knowledge. Subscribed! ❤
Thank you for watching and subbing!
I look forward to talking to you more!
Another amazing video and so many good ideas, thank you!
Thank you!
We've made pizza tortillas or quesadillas for years. They are yummy, quick, and easy! Great for lunches.
YES!
I absolutely agree, I live in Northern California and our grocery prices are absolutely insane ... It really makes you have to think about an extreme budget and how you shop especially for a big family ... I have a family of 6 and I'm always looking for savings and also making sure we have enough to feed everyone
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Try olive oil and garlic spaghetti. Fabulous and the favorite of Italy. Recipe on line.
If you have chicken bullion, it's great to add to the water in the soup. Provides lots of flavor super cheap.
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Instead of butter on the grilled cheese use mayonnaise on the outside of the sandwich. Also can bake the grill cheese in the oven till chs melts. 350 degrees
Mmmmmmm
I’ve heard of people saying that using mayo is better. Never tried it. It prevents that burning that you get with butter.
I agree
Oooooo in the 50s we did the oven thing with cheddar cheese and a slice of tomato. Fabulous! Forgot about that one.
I just saw where you can make pancakes out of bananas and oatmeal! Google this! They looked great! So many things can be made with bananas! This recipe had nothing but oats with a cup of milk that sits in frig over night until oats soak up milk. Then added two bananas mashed up.
How much oats?
2/3 cup of oats
Sounds good
Wow! I need to try that!
I have the same sentiments about Walmart ❤ I usually do the AFB Commissary, Aldi, or Walmart neighborhood market for groceries. This video dropped just in time. I’m making my list tomorrow!
Don't like Walmart grocery shopping either. Although ours do not have the parking lots from hell, just large ones. I usually do Aldi, A local meat market/small grocery store (Myers Meats), Food Lion, Giant Foods, Dollar Tree, and sometimes Grocery Outlet, Weis, and Dollar General. Utz Outlet for snacks. Cereal comes from the $1.99 sale at CVS. These are all 4 miles or less from my house.
I kind of shop backwards from most other people: My strategy is What's already in the house, What is on sale, What can I get discounted and or with coupons and or for free, What can I buy on sale to combine with what we already have to use up what is already in the house. Instead of "What do we feel like eating?"
I peruse the sales flyers weekly prior to going to the store, and write at the top of each flyer what I intend to buy. I try to keep some extra money on hand or debit card, in case I find a great deal (meat markdown, reduced/dented can/discontinued shelf, reduced bakery items, etc.).
You made some interesting and filling meals with your limited budget. I'm going to steal some of these ideas.
I think I would like the commissary, too! I've never been to one, so my mental picture of them is probably WAY off--LOL.
The backward meal planning is interesting and I am going to do a lot of thinking on that! Thanks!
@@homemadesimplewithlori I’m so glad I have access to it. Ours here in south MS is very clean and organized. Just a nice, large grocery store on the base. Even though there is a service fee it’s tax free and more times than not the prices are cheaper than a regular grocery store. Especially on meat and veggies. I’d love to take you if you’re ever down this way!
@@nancyshrout-wankowski7147 I love hitting up the DG and Dollar Tree as well. An UTZ Outlet would be awesome! I usually buy the Malt-O-Meal cereals. I can get 2 for $5 where I shop and it’s bigger bags than name brand. I even like some of the generic better than the name brand. I also scour my fridge and cabinets to see what’s there before meal planning. I always keep stuff to make homemade bread and pizzas. I love all of the tips and tricks this community brings.
I have the same feeling about the big box stores😊.. Being frugal & intentional for meal planning (using on sale & discounted item) is called survival.
Ha. Yes! For sure
Try adding leftover corn to tacos, Mexican casseroles or even quesadillas or fajitas. The trick is to add small small amount of corn. It adds crunch and sweetness. You can portion a couple of tablespoons for pennies from frozen bag out of freezer.
Great idea!
I never thought about adding rice to lentil soup. Great idea!
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I didn’t have pizza sauce but I easily adapted by using a can of tomato sauce just adding some of the Italian seasoning. Then a little sugar and it was great.
Great video. Another great meal is chili and make it mild so you can add it to potatoes, pasta and rice. You could also use meatballs as the meat. I love Dahl as well so easy and comforting. I love home made beans as well made with cannellini, tomatoes, solstice, veg cube, onion and garlic. You could have it on toast with potatoes or add ham to them.
I love chili!
Easy to spice up some rice dishes with a bit tomato, salsa, spices, simmer some raisins and sugar for a topping or a spoon of jam for a quick dessert or side rice,
Sounds great!
i love this so much. real life happens to me all the time! perfect switch-a-roo!
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"Remarkable" is an understatement! I need to really learn from you and pay off bills faster. At 70 yrs old, it is obvious I have a lot to learn!😉💙
I’m sure you can teach us all a lot of great lessons! Thanks for watching! ❤️❤️
Love your pizza idea on tortillas. I brush the edges with olive oil. Garlic in the sauce bumps up the flavor. I even use a little garlic salt on the top of the tortillas. Thanks for all your wonderful information. Bon Apetit
Great addition!!!
Fantastic! Thank you so much for all the hard work putting these videos together for us!!! For next time I really think you had everything on-hand to make tomato soup if the ingredients had been shifted slightly. Great ideas for meal-prep too if it’s too much food. 🎉
Give me your best tomato soup recipe because....the last time I made it it was AWFUL! LOL
Like you video very much! Another cheap alternative for pizza sauce is a small 44 cent can of tomato sauce. We just add a little garlic salt and Italian seasoning! It is very good and nice thickness for pizza!
That’s a great idea!!
I've been using one of those small cans of tomato paste. Add part of a spaghetti seasoning packet, some water, and some grated parmesan. It's the best consistency for spreading!
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You did an awesome job. Your family is so lucky to have you. Take care & may God bless yiu & your family.
You’re sweet. Thank you so much for the encouragement ❤️
Even without a milking cow, some could have milk from a prior week, or if adding it to this week, they could still be using next week. You get it Momma! Thank you so much for all of your helpful meals and planning! We appreciate you! 🙏
I didn’t think of that! Good point!! Thanks for the encouragement
Absolutely! 🥰💖🤗
Great ideas; I especially love how you always incorporate life lessons in your videos. Thank you Lori ❤️
Thanks so much!
First and foremost, thank you for teaching people how to cook on a budget. Simple meals that don’t cost much and go a long way are such a blessing knowing how to cook. I have only watched a few videos and you do an amazing job at sticking to the plan. A small diversion to the plan, is called “life”. The older generation had to eat this way starting out in life. No money for gourmet meals. I was going to share about spices that I found out about from a friend of mine. He turned me on to garlic & pepper seasoning. A wonderful seasoning that he uses in most of his family meals and it does not have salt in it. Also uses it for a meat dry rub. The kicker is that they were at a dollar store. I also found your basic spices for reasonable price, lol, a dollar as were even generic at most stores can be two and a half dollars or more. You have a wonderful peace and humbleness about you. Keep up the good work at reaching your goals. Blessings!
This touched my heart. Thank you so much and thanks for sharing about the seasonings!!
I’m just an ol school home cook that was taught by his grandma. I always gave her credit and still do. Most of the time she would say I gave her to much credit, to something I figured out how to cook. She gave me the courage to try. My only claim to fame was I got to be the morning chef, only in name at “Youth with a mission” in Hawaii as a mission builder. I got to do some pretty fun things that I would never have gotten to do otherwise. Well, I can be a bit chatty, my apologies. You are an amazing blessing you your husband Chris. Thank you for responding. I feel blessed!
I'm 37 and cook my eggs like you do 😊 learned from my mamaw and my toddler son will only eat eggs with meat grease 😂 preschool didn't understand why he would not eat eggs from the cafeteria and his teacher was shocked when I told her. I loved watching your little boy help with his grill cheese 😍 he is precious and so much like my little man. This is my first video I've seen of yours and will be following you for more awesome ideas cuz my cooking style is very similar to yours. Sending much love and prayers for you and your family ❤🙏 keep on doing you 😊❤
You’re so sweet. Thanks
Love your videos and frugal cooking tips! FYI, you can use mayo for grilled cheese just like you would use butter! And..it tastes amazing too!
Oooooohhhhhh! I’m trying this!!
These ideas are all great! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
Agree with finally talk has been cooking off stock pile and freezer for meals and just cooking with we have. God bless you and your family ❤😊😊
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I’m impressed ❤awesome job on stretching the $$ .. Thank you 🙏 for sharing !!
God Bless you and yours !!
Thank you! You too!
Tortilla pizzas! I love making those to help use up extra homemade pasta sauce. I cook them on aluminum foil and brush the crust with oil or butter just like you did. The trick is to go veeeery light on sauce and toppings, that way the whole crust gets crispy. Just a few blobs of mozzarella, a few leaves of basil, and a drizzle of olive oil is amazing. If you want to add peppers or onions, you either have to slice them paper thin or sauté them first.
Sounds great!
Your so blessed because our home sad a lot store has gone up on just about everything double and tripled. I've been blessed too find brown eggs at a good price and dairy products. And been dumpster diving why not when what I've founded can be canned or dehydrated and everything ins in a bag or box right on top. And I save all trimmings for bone broth.
I am very blessed! I’m so thankful to have my chickens and cows to provide for us!
Your tortilla pizzas are similar to what I’ve made for years. Recently I’ve layered two tortillas with cheese and herbs between. I saw it somewhere on RUclips and really like it. Could even do it with Mexican toppings.
Sounds great!
We have a garden which helps on our budget. I also make our bread.
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Such a great video, again! No worries on having to use some milk. I probably would have added some milk to the plan anyway, for a few dollars.
That's a good point, most everyone is going to have milk on hand! I need to remember that for next Extreme meal plan...
Hello ! Great video I use water and chicken bouillon for my potato soup very good and frugal 😊 sometimes I don’t put meat in either but very satisfying with a grilled cheese! 🌸🌈🌸
Great idea!! Thanks!!
$60 is amazing! We are a family of 5 and we spend around $200 a week- one of us is on Keto so that ups our expense- but still wow! This is amazing!
It isn’t like this at our house every week…..but it’s good to know that we can do it when we need to ❤️❤️
I think you did a great job for the whole challenge.
Ham is $0.99lb bone in this week, great time to stock up. When my family at home was larger and I had an upright freezer, I would buy one for school of the coming months. This met my goal of meat for $1 or less a pound.
A few weeks ago, chicken quarters were $0.59lb for a 10lb bag. I would buy 12 bags, 1 bag per week, to last until the next sale. I would buy turkeys at Thanksgiving/Christmas already frozen ($0.39lb) and transfer them to my freezer, to used once every 2 months.
Once a week, we had a hamburger meat dish. The cost was $0.99-$1.99lb. Now my goal would be $$2-$2.60lb. Though not the $1 cost it gets balanced out by the chicken and turkey prices.
You have it down to a science!! Wonderful advice! Thanks!!
For your fajita meal add a can of tomato sauce to the rice when cooking for a more authentic Mexican rice plus the color is great. Also with your lentils meal, try some Italian sausage instead of the ham sometime. Then serve over rice instead of adding rice especially if you to to extend the food. One of my favorites.
Thanks for the tips!
Great job with your options!
Thank you!
I would love to hear more about your channel (or RUclips) name!
@@homemadesimplewithlori I don't have content on my channel yet (I work full time+ doing elder in home care, but did 42+yrs in a nursing home). My name is Anna & the homestead name came from that😊 ..
Thanks for Sharing.
Dollar tree has shelf stable whole milk for those days you need milk .🎉
Good tip! Have you tried it? Is it good?
@@homemadesimplewithlori yes
Dollar tree
I make tortilla pizzas all the time, I just bake them with all the toppings and they turn out great!!
Yay!
I'm really bad at trying to budget while in the store it hard now cause you can't stick with a budget. We just bought more cloth diapers cause diapers are so expensive now.
We used cloth for a while!
Please stop apologizing. You don't owe us an apology. Your videos are great.
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Enjoyed the video! New subscriber here! So very resourceful and very much needed in this economy of rising prices. Thank you!
Thank you!!
First time viewer. New subscriber !!❤️❤️
Welcome!! Thank you!!
Back again the meals looked delicious nutritious and filling yum!!
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for the video 😊
Definitely will have to try the dirty rice dish 👍
You are going to love it!
Holy cow, grilled cheese for the whole family in 5 minutes! Air fryer for the win!
I made sure to send this comment to my friend, Jenn, that told me about it! It really is a game changer!
I’m watching the grocery list and amazed at how low cost they are, you could easily double that here in California. $.1.39 for one bell pepper is what I paid the other day and that was at Walmart! Either way I so appreciate these meals plans to keep my grocery bill down. ❤
I’m with you there! I’m in nj and our prices are through the roof! But I still love all these meals and all her content 💛
I can’t imagine the prices in CA
I never thought of using a can of diced tomatoes for spaghetti sauce! Brilliant.
I do that.
absolutely loved this video 😊
Thank you!!
Amazing , quite the variety! 👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
All the meals look delicious!! I will try the tortilla pizza tonight!!
YAY!!!!
For $60, this is amazing! I'm lucky if I can do $60 for two of us. My man is a big eater, lol. We're not on a strict budget, but if I can make a good meal for cheap, that is money I can put towards something else! Thanks for sharing 💜
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Try olive oil and garlic spaghetti. No meat but a favorite of Italy and mine. He will be delighted. He'll never miss the meat.
Good job momma. Your voice is very soothing by the way.
You are sweet. Thank you!