A Meal For Tight Budgets

There’s not many of us who don’t stick to some sort of budget when it comes to food shopping. Especially now that so many are hard hit by the present situation. And worse yet, prices are still rising and as a result, it’s necessary to be especially prudent with a dollar.

There are very good options for making tasty meals with lower-cost ingredients. This budget hamburger casserole uses three of the most cost-effective main ingredients that you will find: ground beef, pasta and tomato soup.

Despite the rise in prices, you can generally find ground beef at a special price as well as elbow macaroni and condensed tomato soup.

Cheese Or No Cheese

Shredded cheese is not a major ingredient in this. I use two varieties–cheddar and mozzarella. However, any melting cheese will do. While it adds flavor to the casserole, I look on it as more of a binding ingredient that makes the sauce creamy.

But you don’t have to include it if it’s out of your price range at the moment. The casserole will taste just fine without it. Another option is to use less cheese; cut the amount in half and it’ll still be good.

Very recently, one of my stores had bags of shredded cheese 2 for $5 which was a pretty good deal. And remember, if you won’t be using it again for some time, hard cheeses such as cheddar freeze well.

Soup And Pasta

Just plain old tomato soup is called for here; nothing fancy. Of course you can jazz up the flavor with some herbs and spices, but I never find that necessary because the taste of the old standby goes perfectly in this casserole.

Another plus is tomato soup is often on sale along with other standard flavors. If you can, stock up during these sales because you can doctor tomato soup to make sauces and fancier forms of tomato soup.

As far as the pasta is concerned, nothing fancy again. Elbows are best, but any tubular pasta works here. As always, use what you have on hand.

Feel free to up the amount of pasta if you wish. That way, you will be able to serve more people and really s-t-r-e-t-c-h that pound and a half of ground beef.

The Recipe

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Budget Hamburger Casserole

A big dish of comfort

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: budget hamburger casserole, budget meals using ground beef, meals that stretch your food budget

Servings: 6

Calories: 589kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 tbs onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 cans condensed tomato soup 10.75 oz each
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 cups elbow macaroni

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Lightly spray a 2 1/2 qr/2,5L (11x7-inch is good) baking dish.
• Cook elbows per package direction; drain and set aside.
• Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in soup, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Check for seasoning and add more if necessary.
• Add cooked elbows, mozzarella and 1 cup of the cheddar; stir to combine. Turn into prepared pan, cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.
• Remove foil, top with remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 589kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 761mg | Potassium: 596mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 409IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 323mg | Iron: 4mg

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This cream of tomato soup is so easy, you’ll never open a can again.

Tomato Soup Is Comfort Food

Who doesn’t love a big bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese on the side? I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t and in fact, I believe it’s one meal we remember fondly from our youth where our love never fades.

As we head into winter, my thoughts turn more and more to soups since it’s one of my favorite meals. Pair it with a sandwich, crusty bread or a salad and it’s a complete meal.

I do admit that I’m not overly fond of the canned variety of tomato soup because I always preferred the one my mother made from scratch. This scratch version is a lot richer than my mother’s was, but it’s just as easy.

Crushed Tomatoes–More Than For Sauce

Mom always used crushed tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, but they are also perfect for this soup!

Crushed tomatoes still have enough texture to give this soup some body. If you prefer a velvety smooth soup, then all you have to do is process the soup in your blender or use a stick blender. Either way, this soup tastes great.

If you do intend to process the soup, then even a can of whole tomatoes may be substituted.

The Recipe

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Cream Of Tomato Soup

This cream of tomato soup is so easy, you’ll never open a can again.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Comfort Foods, soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: creamy soup, tomatoes

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 322kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp finely chopped onion
• 2 tbsp shredded fresh basil -OR- 1 tsp dry
• 1 - 28 oz can crushed tomatoes undrained
• 2 cups light cream -OR- half-and-half
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until onion is translucent.
• Place tomatoes and basil in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add the cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper; stir. Heat about 5 minutes longer.
• If you want a completely creamy soup, process in a blender or use a stick blender (more convenient)

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 322kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 634mg | Potassium: 479mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1277IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 2mg

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