From time to time a reader will send me a question that I could answer on my own, but that I think would be worthwhile to share with the whole Southern Savers community of reader. Recently I got the following question from a reader: “I want our grocery budget to be $100 per week for a family of 4. Give me all your best frugal recipes!”

I posted this on our Facebook page and got a ton of great ideas. Hopefully some of these ideas are ones that you haven’t thought of and that will be a helpful addition to your family’s meal rotation!

Readers’ Favorite Frugal Recipes

The most common responses were just tweaks and hacks that readers wanted to share to make meals cheaper.

Melissa B.: “One night a week we do breakfast… eggs, grits, sausage, and biscuits. For a family of 4, it costs about $6 for dinner and we enjoy it because we are a busy sports family and usually don’t have time on the weekend for a good breakfast.”

Priscilla M.: “Throw all your leftover veggies in the freezer. Then, about once per month, or whenever you feel like it, you can grab all of them, throw them in a big pot with some tomatoes or tomato sauce and have an amazing vegetable soup. My mom always did this and it was the most delicious vegetable soup ever. The fact that the veggies were already seasoned from the first meal made it so easy to have a quick soup that was full of flavor.”

Becky B.: “We eat soup and sandwiches one night a week… dried beans are big help, breakfast for supper every so often helps… use leftover vegetables for a hearty soup.”

Jodie C.: “I try to only buy what is on sale and look at what I have already at home. Right now, hams are a good buy. I got one for .99/lb at Kroger and I’ll make several meals from that and freeze some to make more later. I also buy the whole chicken when it’s .99/lb and bake it and make soup and another meal with that usually. Roasts I won’t buy usually till it’s 2.99 or less. If you make lasagna or a big batch of spaghetti or chili or soup that’s good for two meals too usually.”

Priscilla M.: “My mom used to take a small bit of hamburger and scramble it, then add a couple cans of pork and beans (you could probably sub out other beans you like) and bbq sauce in a skillet and make a meaty bbq bean she served as a main course. It was a hit when she took to a church potluck. This was the dish she made when the bbq sauce jar was getting low, she’d add a little water and get every last bit of bbq sauce (and ketchup if that was low too). It was probably one of her most frugal meals because it stretched the meat and let her use up every last bit of sauce in her fridge.”

Melissa E.: “I get two meals out of a whole chicken. Boil chicken in chicken broth with seasoning of choice till falling apart. Remove chicken to strain and pick out bones, skin, etc. Use half to make a chicken noodle soup (chicken, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and noodles). Use the other half to make a chicken pot pie. Thicken broth with flour, add same ingredients as above but no noodles. Cook down until the consistency of your choice (we like it thick), add other veggies if you like. Pour into a pie shell. Place another pie shell on top. When it drops, pinch edges and carve a few slits. Freeze and bake the following week.”

Natalie L.: “Baked shells requires a box of seashell pasta, a jar of pasta sauce and a package of shredded mozzarella. Cook your pasta and drain, pour your heated sauce over it and mix in. Top with shredded mozzarella and run under the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. A filling meal meal for under $5.”

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