I am so sorry to hear about your husband. I was "jobless" for about 4 monthes last year, and let me tell you I figured out how to make everything stretch.... My honey doesn't like chicken either unless it is deep fried and served with gravy.

 Some "meat" ideas that I made quite often are:

Nachos- you spread the chips and cook meat with seasoning, while cooking the meat, spread beans and other toppings of your choice on the chips. Top with meat and cheese and pop in the oven for like 5 on 350. Very easy too! I usually make extra hamburger meat and use it for Burritos or soft tacos, later in the week.

Also homemade pizza is a very inexpensive and feeling dinner!! Leftovers make good lunch for the next day too!

I make roast in the crock pot- and use leftovers for soup or shredded up for bbq sandwichs.

Meatloaf is very yummy too~ and you can make in to sandwichs. I have my mothers recipe if you are interested.

Other recipes I have if you want are for- tamale pie, and shepherd's pie. Let me know if these sound good.

All of these can feed many and are very inexpensive~ hope they are helpful! And GOOD LUCK!!

Wow so sorry.
I hope that you live in an area that has discount stores.  I live in the mid-west and we have a great inexpensive store here called Aldi's.  Very inexpensive compared to regular grocery stores.  Look for stores like that. 
I have also had great luck in finding meats that are reduced at the store because they are close on the sell by date.  Look for these at your store and ask if they will reduce the price.  Remember if you find a package of 10 pounds of ground beef you can freeze it cooked as well as frozen, for use in sauces, tacos, casseroles. Frozen 1 pound takes up less room than raw 1 pound so you save room.
Try the stores that sell items in bulk and add a little of the meatless soy protein in with your meat, it will taste the same but stretch your meat dollars.
If you find turkey on sale get 1 or 2 have your butcher cut it in half on his band saw.  You now have  something you can toss on the grill and have some leftovers.
I hope some of these ideas help.
By the way think of the kids and DO NOT hesitate to find out if you qualify for help either through WIC of food stamp program.  You and he have been working and paying taxes so this is something that you have a right to.  It is for the kids to make sure they are healthy.  There are also programs for medical care. Please do not hesitate to check into this as well.

Yes please. Any recipes you have would be great. I will be "incomunicado" for about 5 or 6 days. A friend invited us to go to his cabin on the mountain. My hubby and I are so excited, we really needed this break!!! So anyone wanting to share recipes with me I will greatly appreciate. We are avid hunters, so I have a freezer full of deer and fish, so those recipes would be great too. Especially if you can make the meat not taste the same as the night before. Love to all, Thank you, Julie aka cookingjewel

Hi cooking jewel. I to am sorry to hear of your husbands lay off. I know that is hard, prayfully he'll find work,. I remember one year that my D.H. was layed off just before Christmas, will had 2 teens st home, and he went back to work in Jan. and never drew a full weeks pay untill May,.  We ate a "LOT" of biscuits & gravy, beans, chili, & pasta dishes. We did get a deer and I used it just like ground beef. I love deer stew, made with a beef stew seasoning packet.YUM! When I cook a roast, I save the broth and veg. and make veg. soup or beef & noodles. I froze all left over veg., no matter how few, mixed together and when I had enough I made veg. soup. My mom uses left over mashed potatos to make potato soup. Beside the goverment helps that was mentioned, there are also "food pantry's" that you can go to. Here is what I tell people when I sugest that," If you get grocery's there, that's money that you can use on a bill or other expenses. Lots of luck,

Thank you all for all of the great suggestions. I really appreciate all of you. But this lay off is a blessing in disguise. We have the oppertunity to spend a little time together, alone. We have already applied for unemployment, we hope that we get a check soon, its been 3 weeks already. If we get a check this week hubby and I are goin fishin next weekend!!! FUN!!! My girls are going to be away visiting their dad in Calif, so we will be alone for a month or so. We will be ating a lot of deer roast and bbq, but thats ok, we love deer. We are going to have to grind up a couple of roasts, we have already used up all our deer burger. If we catch enough fish we'll freeze some. We do have a grocery warehouse down the road and I spent one third of his severence pay on groceries, so we are set for about a month. So thanx again for all of your help, you all are wonderful, and yes please pray for us, as we did lose our health insurence. But God IS good, all the time, and we have faith He will see us through.             Lotsa love, Julie, aka cookingjewel

Julie,

I'm glad to hear that some things have worked out...it's amazing how God provides when we get in a situation where we don't know what comes next. 

I was eight when my dad was laid off, in the same situation your husband is in.  He worked in computers in the early 80s when PCs were barely normal in the offices and no degree was required, by the time the company went under, college degrees were necessary to keep up with the computer technicalities.  It took him the next 8 years to get back into a position of similar pay and type, and those 8 years were rough.  There were four kids, and neither parent had college education that could secure a salary.  He went through a lot of temp jobs, we survived on food stamps, and my mom did amazing things with food. 

 We survived on tuna, mac'n'cheese, ramen noodles and various other pasta.  My mom could stretch a can of tuna for all four of us for lunch.  We had to sacrifice a lot of flavor, but my love for casseroles still continues today.  So your meat lovers might have to deal with a break from some meat.

 Stretch hamburger with beans, veggies or sauce..."beef" up meatloaf with onions, bread crumbs, peppers, even sauces (ketchup, sloppy joe sauce).  Maybe less per serving.

Five dollar meal...egg noodles, can of cream soup, can of chicken/tuna and bag of frozen peas and carrots.  Cook noodles, mix all together, top with crackers or bread crumbs and bake until bubbly. Can of chicken will be a little more expensive.

Pasta always fills out a meal and fills up a belly.  Frozen veggies mixed in or served with a little basil on the side can help to fill out the food pyramid, beans can fill in for meat in the protein department.

Breakfast for dinner can be pretty inexpensive.  Jiffy mixes make okay pancakes, eggs, sausage, even mixed together in an omelette (everything in one pan, all your food groups).  I've had a "cowboy breakfast" before, where you cook the sausage, peppers, onions, set it aside.  Cook hashbrowns, put sausage mix back on top of hashbrowns, pour over scrambled eggs, top with cheese, all in a skillet, place in the oven until eggs are cooked.  Probably need a cast iron skillet.

And you've got the right idea buying in bulk, especially with meats.  Get the ground beef or turkey in the frozen rolls, sometimes you can buy a big pack of those rolls for a lot less than you'd pay for fresh meat.

Should you have to deal with this circumstance through the winter, soups are pretty inexpensive and can be eaten as leftovers for a day or two.  My mom made corn chowder on a regular basis that had some cheap ingredients thrown into a pot.  I love it to this day.

 I pray that your time of "scraping by" will be short and that work will be found quickly.

I just discovered this new recipe for 'Shepherd's Pie'.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef; 1 can of green peas (or vegetable of your choice); 1 bag of Tater Tots;

Cheddar cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Pepperjack cheese (optional)

Brown ground beef and drain thoroughly; layer in a long baking dish; then spread can of peas all over ground beef;  sprinkle cheeses on top of peas and meat.  Then cover with Tater Tots and then sprinkle left over grated cheeses over the Tater Tots.  Bake at 400 for about 35 minutes and you got yourself a good===EASY==meal.  

Hope you all enjoy this one.  Really good.

Phoebe

take 4  pork chops, brown in a skillet with a small amount of oil (no flour) place in casserole dish, prepare au grautin or scalloped potatoes mix, pour (uncooked) over pork chops, and cook according to potatoes directions.  soooo good!

hi, uh, this is to kgreen04... i was just wondering if that tamale pie recipe you have happens to NOT include tomato paste? my mom found a recipe and she wants to make it this week but im fifteen years old and quite frankly an extremely picky eater.... the pie has got corn bread, tomato paste, corn, beans, and beef and quite frankly that sounds disgusting (at least to me)

if that happens to be what your recipe is im sorry but keep in mind i am a really really really picky eater, so no offense if it is... but if your recipe is something without tomato paste, PLEASE let me know as soon as possible... i'm grossed out here.

Thanks in advance  

p.s. i really dont like beans either, but if its just a few then thats cool too....

p.p.s. even if the recipe does include these things please post it anyways... i would still like to compare.... 

p.p.p.s. THANKS!!!!!!!

cookiemonster428

 The last post by kgreen04 was on 6/6/2008 so its doubtfull kgreen04 will respond to your query.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/CommunityForums/forums.aspx/7/1853/5474#5474

Hey, Ju;ie.  my brother-in-law hunts and makes sausage, hamburger made with 1/2 venison, 1/2 beef (for fat) and what my son says are "AWESOME" Italian meatballs with his deer.  Oh and saurbraten.  If you like spicy, my favorite fish is baked topped with diced tomato, jalapeno and onions.  Sprinkle with lemon or lime juice and drizzle a little oil or dot with butter.  Super easy and not as spicy as it sounds but VERY yummy.  Good luck - just wait, there's better times coming and it sounds like you have good friends to help ya'll through. - Pam in PA

Julie - many doctor's offices have reduced cost programs they do not advertise for obvious reasons.  ASK your Doc if they have any sort of temporary assistance available to you.  Mine did and it was a life saver unril Medicare started for my disability. - Pam in PA

You guys with 1 or 2 posts really make me LOL. I know the web people are at home havin fun in here.

 Keep posting I have pinged your isp's as well you have pinged mine.

Sorry to hear about your situation.  Here is a wonderful website for cheap recipes

www.hillbillyhousewife.com

There's also a few other communities for saving money with food and around the house.  Just google frugal food, frugal living, etc.

Also, for inexpensive food, check out Angel Ministries.  There are no questions asked regarding income.  You just fill out the form, pay, and pick up your food.

www.angelfood.com

I also make all my own breads and bread products (think pizza dough, pretzels, bagels, tortillas, etc).  It saves a ton of $$.  I also make my own baked goods (cookies, cakes, pies, etc.) and pasta noodles.  I also make my own biscuit mixes, just google make your own mix, you'll get plenty of information.  Also make my own pasta sauce, etc.  I think you get the idea.  If it's cheaper to buy the ingredients, then do that even if the recipe makes like 30 servings (hello crock pot recipes!).  Package into individual or family serving sizes and freeze.

I buy only basic things-ingredients only.  No meals in a box type of stuff.  Always check unit price-bigger is not always cheaper.  Compare prices and use coupons whenever possible.  Some stores double or triple coupons so it is possible to get items for free.  Also, become good friends with your freezer.  Buy on sale and freeze.  Google freezer recipes for lots of books and ideas of what freezes well.

Also, don't forget about your library and the internet.  You can find lots of recipes for free.  Just google the main ingredient, or check out a book from the library.

I hope this helps.  If you're looking for a specific recipe, please let me know.  I have a ton of cookbooks.

And, no.  I don't live in my kitchen!  I only cook about once a week, due to my freezer stash. 

I am not sure if this is truely budget concious.  I always buy a 4 lb roast.  I make alot of meals out of it.  The first night I cook the roast with potatoes and vegie, basic.  Then I freeze small 1 cup portions of the meat with its juices. 

Hot beef sandwiches- bread, mashed potatoes, and the betty crocker pan gravy recipe

Beef Pot Pie, a favorite-  Betty Crocker chixen pot pie recipie with beef broth instead and beef (I my own pie crust recipe and make it traditional style)

Beef Stroganoff- Again the beef stroganoff recipe with shredded beef instead

This makes the meat streach out for a long time.  My pastors wife has six kids, she spotted me scraping up the leftover roast beef from the pan after a fancy pastors meal.  She wondered what on earth I was going to do with scrapings, they wouldnt be enough for her family.  The very next night they all came over to our house for supper.  I made 4 beef pot pies (all I had to buy was veggies, beef broth, butter, flour, crisco, salt and pepper basically staples).  I told her when we were done that we all just ate on last nights scrappings.  She couldnt believe how far I made the meat streach.  Butchers would not like this post.  Hope this helps,  will pray for you and many Americans living tight, (but eating good.)