Chunky Cheesey Potato Soup

Another $3 meal. This is a family favorite. We eat potato soup a couple of times a month. Everyone looks forward to it. Sometimes we use polish sausage instead of bacon but the general recipe is always the same.

I should have mentioned with the first $3 meal, that my meals are based on Aldi prices.

First take 1/2 a bag of potatoes and chop them up. Leaving skins on for me depends on the type of potatoes. Today I am using gold potatoes that Aldi had on sale so the skins stay on. Total cost for potatoes: $0.99

I throw them in a big pot (I use my pressure cooker because it is the biggest pot I have) with some water and 1/2 a bag of frozen corn ($0.49)I also chop up 1/2 an onion and put that in. I only use 1/2 an onion because my girls are not huge fans so it is less for them to pick around. ($0.07)

While that is boiling, I cook 4 slices of bacon until they are crispy. Use your favorite method. I reccomend baking it in the oven for the easiest burn free method, but I am in a hurry so I nuked mine in the microwave.


Mmmmmmmm. Bacon. ($0.63)

I also use this time to shred the 3 oz cheese. ($0.56) If you are using pre-shredded cheese you can skip this step but I always buy block cheese. It tastes better to me.
When the potatoes are done, drain most of the water. You want just enough in there to cover the potatoes. Add in 1 cup of milk ($0.12), 1 tsp garlic powder ($0.02), 1 tsp oregano ($0.02) and salt and pepper to taste ($0.01) Crumble in the bacon, and stir in the cheese until melted. At this point add in 1/4 cup or so of potato flakes ($0.05) How much you actually end up with depends on how thick you want it. You can also use a handheld blender to puree some of the potatoes to thicken it up. I just like lots of chunks.

In the end you have this


for a total cost of $2.95

Tuna Salad

The blog that inspired my blog includes $3 meals. I like the idea. Honestly though, the recipes on that blog are not only completely unappealing to me, but make barely enough to be considered a snack. I figured I would start blogging my own $3 meals as I make them.

Todays $3 meal is tuna salad. Not exactly gormet but a good simple meal, especially if you are in a hurry. I can pull this together in about 20 minutes, and it can also be made the day before and stored in the fridge if you know you are going to be short on time.

Tuna salad - $2.92

2 cans tuna - $0.98
1 bag egg noodles - $0.99
1/2 bag frozen peas - $0.49
1/2 onion, chopped - $0.07
1/2 cup mayo or salad dressing - $0.30
Salt and pepper - $0.01
1 tsp garlic powder - $0.04
1/2 tsp oregano - $0.02
1/2 tsp basil - $0.02

Bring a pan of water to boil. Dump in noodles and peas and cook until done.
Drain, rinse with cold water until completely cool. Let drain completely.
In a big bowl mix noodles, peas and the rest of the ingredients together.
Eat cold. It's good.

Voila. A fast dinner that is super cheap and will make leftovers for the average family of 4.