Frugal Living: Beans and Rice

A very simple way we’ve been cutting expenses around here is this. In a two week meal plan, we have each of these at least twice:

• Breakfast for supper x 2
• Veggie plate x 2 (Batch cooked beans from the freezer plus cornbread or biscuits)

(Southern Plate’s Hoe Cake pictured above, is like a giant biscuit cooked in your iron skillet. Easy and quick!)

Plus, eating up what we have in the pantry and freezer. Building a Good, Cheap Eats menu around things we already have. Yet, sometimes it’s nice to have a little change and a little help! From around the web, here are some frugal and simple ways to eat cheap and generally save money.

• Exactly what we’ve been doing the last few years. Especially so as we head into May: Menu planning around budget foods and leftovers by Hillbilly Housewife
• Black-eyed pea casserole from $5 Dinners. One of our favorite recipes!
• Saving money with beans and rice by Happy Housewife
• Refried beans in the slow cooker by Household Ways
• How to cook dried beans by $5 Dinners
• The Freedom of Frugal Living at Habits for a Happy Home
• Two of my friends (both with large families) have started using emealz. Little Sanctuary talks about the ease of this plan in New Meals for the New Year and Sonflower shares in Makeover for Mom.

Here on Hodgepodge:

• Cooking black-eyed peas in the slow cooker
• Making our own bread, pancakes, muffins and more. Batch cooking and freezing
• Simple Strategies
• Frugal living

What’s your favorite frugal living, stretch your dollar sort of tip?