Trying new things!

I've never had or made stuffed peppers until today. 

I'm not sure why I decided to try.. But I'm glad I did. 

I hate eating the same thing all the time so I look for ways to try new things without exceeding our budget. 

One way I do this is stretching expensive items as much as I can. 

(Such as beef.) It's 4.16/lb for the cheapest. However; when you split 1 pound into two meals it's really not that bad. Around $2.00 per meal, $1.00 per serving. 

(I know not everyone can do this.. We have a small family.)

Another way I do this by adding more of less expensive items. 

Veggies (sautéed, baked, raw) compare price of frozen/canned/ fresh if you'll be cooking them.

Fruit,  rice, 

pasta (make a pasta salad or use pasta sauce)

 bread (make garlic bread to go with it. Or cornbread.. ) Look for sales at the store on the deli loaves. You can often get them for .60 a piece. They can be frozen to keep them fresh longer and then thawed out the night before. To prevent re-thawing and freezing cut into portion-sized pieces and freeze in sandwich bags. 

Etc.. 

For this recipie, the same applied. I had 

1/2 pound left over of ground beef from yesterday's supper: hamburger helper. (Which I added more pasta too.. This stretched the meal and kept it a reasonable price)

I paired it with rice pilaf (.98 at Walmart.. Ready in 90 seconds!)

Sautéed squash, onions and bell peppers. (All are fairly cheap, in season and can help a new go a long way)

And topped it all with cheese. (Which I usually have in the fridge anyway) 

It didn't take long at all to bake which is also a plus because it means I'm not using much propane or heating the house. 

The best part is: I had some of the filling left-over that I can put in a tortilla (left over from tacos) for lunch tomorrow. 

Coking doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Have fun in the kitchen! There's so much you can do to create your own recipes or tweak others recipes to make them work best for your family. 

Hope you enjoyed this post or learned something new.