15 Cheap Meals You Can Make At The Last Minute
I have 15 cheap meals you can make at the last minute if your pantry is stocked with a few things. Yesterday, Mark was coming down with something and didn’t feel well. First of all, he never gets sick, I think he has been sick maybe three times in all our married life.
Well, you know how grandma made chicken noodle soup if we had cold or flu symptoms, right? Well, I grabbed the soup pot and filled it with water, then some cans of chicken, freeze-dried celery, carrots from the refrigerator that were on their last legs, so to speak, and some freeze-dried onions.
15 Cheap Meals You Can Make At The Last Minute
Sweet Basil
If you add the spice Sweet Basil (spice jar) to soup, it’s fabulous. Here’s the deal, if you have just a few items in your pantry, refrigerator, freezer or veggies fresh from the garden you can make several cheap meals at the last minute.
No Special Cookbook Needed
Please remember that you don’t need to buy a special cookbook to use your food storage. If you have some cookbooks in the cupboard, pull them out and use your favorite recipes with freeze-dried or dehydrated vegetables you have on hand.
Dehydrated food needs more water to hydrate, but it works great in soups. I’m not going to lie to you and say freeze-dried foods taste great when hydrated in a fresh salad; nope, it won’t work for me. Let’s be honest: they are great for some dips, soups, and stews, and we can sneak them into a few chicken salad recipes.
Yesterday, I must admit I thought I was out of freeze-dried celery, you know, to make chicken soup. My storage has to be in alphabetical order so I can see what I have stored at a glance. Luckily, I saw three #10 cans of the freeze-dried celery.
After I made the soup, I ordered two cases of #10 cans of freeze-dried celery to refill the pantry. I hate grocery shopping, although I went the other day and picked up some case lot sale items. Here are some items I suggest you store, and I’ll tell you the cheap meals you can make if these are in your pantry.
Gardens Are Awesome
If you have a large garden and produce enough to pressure can or water bath your food, that’s awesome. Now that I have just two of us to cook for, it’s more economical to purchase a case or two of canned vegetables, plus a few #10 cans or pantry-size cans of freeze-dried or dehydrated vegetables, whichever fits my budget.
Yes, freeze-dried vegetables are more expensive than dehydrated ones, but they typically have a longer shelf life, and you can eat them right out of the can if you have to. Plus, they use less fuel to cook. Please remember that we need to store water to be prepared for the unexpected and to make soups and other meal entrees.
Who loves the smell of soup simmering on the stove or in the slow cooker? I know I do. I could totally be a vegetarian, but Mark loves meat in just about every soup, chili, stew, or casserole.
Cheap Meals From The Pantry – Make Sure You Have These Ingredients
Spices-My Favorites
Chili powder, Sweet basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, parsley, Cayenne pepper, and cinnamon, to name a few.
Freeze-Dried Cheese
Of course, freshly grated cheese tastes better, but you can’t tell the difference in a casserole. I buy the Colby Freeze-dried cheese, but all are great in casseroles. Hydrated freeze-dried mozzarella is great for pizza as well. Please note now that the prices of freeze-dried products have skyrocketed, I have cut way back on purchasing them for right now. Luckily, I started stocking them about 15 years ago when the prices were more affordable.
Freeze-Dried Onions
For added flavor, these are great added to any soup, chili, stew, or casserole. Frozen onions are also great. Watch the sales and stock your freezer with a few bags.
Freeze-Dried Celery
Great added to any soup, chili, stew, or casserole.
Dehydrated Carrots
These are great added to any soup, chili, stew, or casserole.
Dehydrated Potatoes
I hydrate these and fry them. I make potato soup with all the vegetables I can put in the pot.
Canned Corn
Corn is great in soups or as a side dish.
Cans of Green Beans
Beans are great in soups or as a side dish.
Cans of Your Favorite Fruits
I used to can and preserve so many bushels of fruits, but it’s not in the cards these days. We buy canned peaches, fruit cocktails, and Mandarin oranges, to name a few of my favorite canned fruits. I keep a few cans in the refrigerator because they taste better cold. Do I love fresh fruits? Oh yes, but I have to keep within my budget, and case lot sales save me trips to the store. I still buy fresh fruits, but I need my pantry stocked; it’s who I am.
Cream of Chicken Soup
I still buy this soup because I have tried every “healthy” and homemade recipe, and I don’t like any of them as much as Campbell’s. I must have Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, even if I can’t pronounce some words in the ingredients.
Cans of Chicken
Great for soups, white chili, sandwiches, and casseroles.
Cans of Tuna
Essential pantry items for sandwiches, salads, and casseroles.
Cans of Roast Beef
Mark loves beef for stews, soups, chili, sandwiches, and casseroles. Cream Chipped Beef is great over toast, biscuits, or noodles.
Cans of Cooked Ground Beef
Great for tacos, soups, stews, and casseroles.
Cans of Cooked Ham
I like cans of ham over freeze-dried ham because once you open a can of freeze-dried ham, it has to be used within two weeks, or at least the brand I bought in a #10 does. So I buy smaller cans.
Tomato Powder-Tomato Sauce-Tomato Paste-Diced Tomatoes
I have every type of canned or freeze-dried tomato you can buy. I love fresh tomatoes from my garden in the summer, but I have to have some cans of different tomato products to make soups, casseroles, or chili throughout the year. Add some spices and veggies, and you are good to go.
Better than Bouillon-Vegetable-Chicken-Beef
I add a spoonful of this awesome stuff to all my soups and stews. They sell it at the grocery store and even at Costco. Once the jar is open, it must be refrigerated.
Boxes of Chicken Broth-Beef Broth-Vegetable Broth
These are easy to grab from the pantry to make soups and stews. Of course, we can make our own broths, or buy bouillon cubes.
Beans-Navy Beans
Great option for soups and stews or as a side dish.
Beans-Pinto Beans
Pinto beans are great for soups and stews or as a side dish. I love to make refried beans, adding a little cream to them before serving, they taste like the ones they serve in restaurants.
Beans-Kidney Beans
Kidney bean’s flavor adds to soups and stews or as a side dish option. I love these in salads as well.
Beans-Garbanzo Beans
These are great for soups and stews or as a side dish. If you have these you can make your own hummus.
Beans-Refried Beans
I could eat a bean burrito every day, no cheese, but I love salsa with them.
Tortillas-Make them or freeze them
I buy corn tortillas and flour tortillas and freeze them. I love to make homemade ones, but I don’t always have time to make them.
Salsa
I used to make salsa, but now I buy it and I have 12 jars in the pantry at all times. We could eat salsa on just about everything.
Spaghetti Sauce
I used to bottle my own spaghetti sauce, but now I buy it. It’s fairly inexpensive and I love having several jars on hand ready to open and serve with pasta. I can make spaghetti sauce from scratch with my tomato products, but sometimes I have very little time to do this.
Enchilada Sauce
My favorite is green enchilada sauce, mild.
Pasta
I love pasta, I buy all types, like vermicelli, lasagna, elbow, you name it, I have it.
Rice
I could eat beans and rice every day, I love sticky rice.
Cheap Meals – Easy Last-Minute Dinner Ideas
- Spaghetti sauce, cooked pasta, and green beans.
- Lasagna with canned cooked ground beef, pasta, spaghetti sauce, and cheese. I never use Ricotta because I never have it on hand. We love pasta dishes at our house all year long.
- Tortillas with refried beans and hydrated freeze-dried cheese or no cheese.
- Red Chili, all you need is a soup pot, some beans, and tomatoes with some spices, and onions.
- White chicken chili, cans of cooked chicken, freeze-dried onions, white navy beans, and freeze-dried Mozzarella cheese Linda’s White Chili
- Chicken noodle soup, freeze-dried celery, dehydrated carrots, freeze-dried onions, cans of cooked chicken and seasonings. Linda’s Chicken Soup
- Beef stew with cans of cooked roast beef or cooked ground beef, diced tomatoes, freeze-dried onions, freeze-dried celery, dehydrated carrots, and your favorite spices.
- Canned ham with navy beans, freeze-dried onions, dehydrated carrots, and freeze-dried celery make a great pot of soup.
- Bean burritos, tortillas with refried beans, hydrated freeze-dried onions, freeze-dried cheese, and salsa.
- Scalloped potatoes and ham, using cans of cooked ham, freeze-dried onions, cream of chicken soup and dehydrated potatoes (after soaking in water, then drain and cook).
- Chicken and rice casserole, using cooked chicken, rice, celery, onions, and cream of chicken soup. Linda’s Casserole
- Tuna noodle casserole, tuna, cooked pasta and cream of chicken soup. Brings back memories, right? I grew up on this stuff.
- Tacos with cans of roast beef, cans of chicken, or cans of cooked ground beef. Add some freeze-dried cheese and salsa and you have dinner.
- Bean soup, grab a soup pot, and add your favorite beans with some cooked rice and vegetables. Ham and Bean Soup
- Macaroni and cheese, boil your favorite pasta, add some freeze-dried cheese with a little butter and milk and you have a family favorite. Linda’s Mac and Cheese
Final Word
I hope my list inspires you to keep your pantry stocked so you can make some cheap meals and survive any disaster, and save money at the same time. May God Bless this World, Linda
Copyright Images: Spaghetti Bolognese On A Plate Depositphotos_24286173_S By Odelinde, Delicious Tacos Depositphotos_82827252_S By Gdolgikh
Cheap and quick… my favorites for when I get home from work after a long shift! You know how much I love to cook and bake from scratch, but sometimes you just want to have something quick, so you can kick back. Thanks for sharing your ideas, Linda.
So, did you and Mark have the kids down for Memorial Day Weekend? It snowed, here, most of the weekend. The sun did come out for most of the morning and early afternoon Sunday, but it was still on the chilly side. Then we got about 3-inches of snow! I drove home from work Monday morning in 4-wheel drive because the roads were so slick. It was pretty much a blizzard up at Bryce, but it tapered off by the time I got to Red Canyon.
I hope you and Mark are doing well. Take care and big hugs, Mare
Hi Mare, Oh my gosh, how are you??? Some of our kids came down on Friday but left Sunday night due to weather. We could see a storm coming in so I’m glad they took off. I’m so glad you have a 4-wheel drive car! I bet the snow was beautiful to look at where you live, but I’m glad you got home safely! Huge hugs, Linda
I’m glad you got to spend some time with the kids, even though your long weekend ended a little early. It’s probably a good thing they left when they did, though. That was a pretty big storm that came in overnight Sunday night/Monday morning. What’s weird is these are all northern storms. I wonder what’s going to happen when monsoon settles in?
We’ve been really busy up at Bryce, in spite of the continuous snow storms. It just started snowing again, but by Wednesday it’s supposed to warm up enough to turn to all rain/thunderstorms. I’ve been working 11 to 12 hour shifts. Good thing I only work 4 days a week! I got a couple of extra days off a couple of weeks ago… unfortunately, it was due to a stomach bug. *G* Other than that, I’m doing pretty well. I’m training a couple of back ups for the graveyard shift, so maybe by this time next month I can take a few days off. All I really need right now is to get some sleep, but I have a package being delivered by UPS and I don’t want to leave it out on the porch, in the storm, so I’m waiting for them to show up.
I decided since I wasn’t going to get to go to bed when I got home I would bake some bread, which should be about ready to bake, so I’m going to go now. Sorry I haven’t taken the time to reply to your posts and keep in touch recently. I do check each and every one out, though. *G* Huge hugs, back.
Hi Mare, you are such a good friend! Love you, girlfriend, Linda
Great list of quick meals out of the LTS pantry. Thanks!
My family had a slightly different tuna noodle recipe. We used cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken, and we added baby peas and a can of cut mushroom stems and pieces. All of them are canned goods except the egg noodles are bagged since I prefer the No Yolk brand since it tends to last longer in storage.
And while I love a good red sauce on my pasta, my wife prefers alfredo, so I have powdered alfredo sauce in pantry sized cans in my storage as well as the regular powdered cheese for that classic Mac and Cheese flavor. I figure having options will keep things interesting, don’t want to get palate fatigue if the situation lasts more than a week or so…
Hi Dmwalsh, you know I think my mom used cream of mushroom in her tuna noodle casserole. Wow, I guess I probably substituted it one year and then only used cream of chicken!! LOL! It sounds good adding mushrooms and baby peas! It’s so awesome to have items in our pantry to fix meals any time or day! Linda
Our favorite quick meal is 7 can soup. 3 cans beans, 1 can corn, 1 can rotel, 1 can chili and 1 can diced tomatoes. Dump everything in a soup pot. Do not drained any of the cans. Heat and serve
Hi Dorothy, wow that’s my kind of soup! Open a can and dump, I love it! Thank you!!! Linda
Dorothy, I love this idea!!! It would be truly quick and easy to heat up even in an emergency. I am thinking about the Butane Stove that Linda uses. This would make a lot for one or two persons, but I am thinking that with the Souper Cubes, I could freeze in smaller portions. That is how I divide up recipes so not to have to eat for several days. Easy to defrost for a quick already prepared meal.
Hi Carol, I love Souper Cubes!!! Linda
Dorothy, 7 cans of soup–what kind of soup and do you add water to it if its a condensed soup?
I have home canned soups, also meats and veggies. I can make soup anytime. Some I just add pasta, rice or dehydrated potatoes to make a tummy filling soup. I prefer homemade over store bought any day.Add a slice of home baked bread or cornbread and I’m in heaven. I also keep pasta sauce and a variety of pasta shapes on hand. I have cheese powder and bega cheese for a quick mac n cheese,to which I sometimes add my canned ground beef and rotel tomatoes. The possibilities are endless . Thanks for the great meal ideas. God Bless
I used to make Mac and cheese, add a can of cream of chicken soup, and a can of tuna or chicken. We loved it.
Hi Deborah, oh that sounds really good! Linda
I keep 32 oz bags of plain corn, peas, carrots, peas & carrots, green beans, pearl onions, and mixed vegetables in the freezer year round. They get thrown into casseroles, skillet meals, and soups to increase the amount of vegetables in any dish, or side vegetables. They are particularly valuable when the price of many fresh vegetables sky rockets. In the Winter, I also keep 32 oz bags of broccoli and cauliflower. As a side vegetables frozen broccoli is kind of gross, but works,well in soups and casseroles. Frozen cauliflower is ok as a side. For canned vegetables I keep LS corn, mushrooms, green beans (for salad), beets, and pickled beets. I do keep all the LS tomato products I can find. They are great for quick LS pasta sauce,(prepared while pasta water heats and cooks). Then we add onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, fresh garlic, and grated carrots for a very veggie sauce, also good for casseroles. Tomato products are perfect for tomato soups. Canned or frozen corn go into casseroles, chowders, soups and stews. I do buy frozen fruits for out of season use, too. My fridge freezer fits all the frozen vegetables, fruits, cheeses yeast, spreads, and butter. We have a small 6cf, freezer for meats I buy on sale. I consistently stock kielbasa, Italian sausage, hamburger, and chicken parts. Rarely I will buy roasting and broiler hens, beef round roast,(round roast is typically cheaper than stew beef), cube steaks (on sale), and shaved steak (soups and creamed chipped beef). On occasion I find plain shelf stable beef jerky on sale that can be cut up for soups. Powdered Skim milk and evaporated milk are perfect for cooking. I agree with you, dried and dehydrated fruits, vegetables and powders are ridiculously expensive, so the only ones I buy are dried fruits, onions, and soup vegetables (for broth). I do keep staple veggies on hand, potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery, plus mushrooms, if they are reasonably priced. I have a tight budget so when there are sales on anything I buy.
Hi MaryAnn, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your comment. I love buying frozen vegetables as well. I even bake the frozen broccoli on a cookie sheet with a little olive drizzled on it and garlic powder or salt. The nice thing is we don’t have to wash or cut anything into pieces, its already done in the frozen bags! I forgot about those 32 ounce bags of veggies, great reminder! Great tips, my friend! Linda
Joanne Decker, For Dorothy Browns, that kinda sounds like what we used to call witches brew. Take 7 cans of any soup, Veg. beef, chicken,vegetarian veg etc.All the same or each can a different one. We used to do that in Campfire girls when we did our camps. Every girl would bring a can of soup and toss it all in one pot, If we all brought different soups it made for an interesting pot of soup I’ll tell you.
Hi Kathy, oh my gosh, I love this story about the soup!! Thanks for sharing! Linda
Thank you We would have a blast with the witches brew but never thought to add beans or veggies. I’ll have to try doing that, it sounds like it would feed a crowd
Hi Kathy, now I want to make some of it! It would be a blast! LOL! Linda
Thank you for these ideas of quick meals to make. Just yesterday I was listing the meals that I make for the two of us and also thinking which ones I could make if I had to cook outside with limited options. Some of these are great especially ones that you can make in one pot.
You listed Cream of Chicken Soup and I wanted to tell you that now Campbells soup comes in Cream of Chicken and Mushroom together. Sometimes hard to find, but when I do, I stock up on it. It is so versatile. Add in chicken or turkey. I even use it like a gravy over mashed potatoes or toasted bread for something really quick. It can be a base for the sauce in Chicken Pot Pie, etc.
Hi Carol, WHAT??? I had not heard this about the two soups, thank you! I will be on the look out for them now! I love this!!! Linda
I like your list but I would add creamed chipped beef over toast or wide egg noodles to that list.
Hi Ray, oh yeah, I love creamed chipped beef or toast, biscuits, or noodles! YUMMY! Linda
Linda,
A lot of these would be great except that Campbell’s soups contain MSG. I have probably mentioned before that I am extremely allergic to that poison. So, Campbell’s soups do not enter our casita ever. MSG is not healthy for anyone even if they are not allergic like I am. I have no idea why Campbell’s insists on continuing to use it. Some other soup brands, like Progresso and Healthy Choice, do not use it but I have never seen any Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom in their lines.
Hi Harry, oh I forgot you told me that, dang! I need to read the cans, great reminder! Thanks for the reminder. I’m an old dog that won’t change. But it sounds Like I need too! LOL! Linda
Linda, these are great ideas and I like your logic for using some freeze dried foods also.
I have been working on what shelf stable meals I can make with my food storage….this led to adding canned chopped ham and cream soup to some re-hydrated hash browns and some cheese!!
I try to keep items on hand for a dessert now and then…..jello/canned fruit;instant pudding/graham crust; Gossner’s whipping cream/sweetened condensed milk/vanilla extract for ice cream.
Hi Janet, oh yes, Gossner’s shelf stable whipping cream is the best! It’s amazing what we think of when we want a dessert, we have the stuff to make it! I love youe chopped ham idea, I need to add that to my list. I love jello as well! Love your ideas! Linda
another idea: I have a friend that makes sloppy joes with the canned ground beef. I believe she uses the sloppy joe mix, canned, ?manwich for her sauce.
Hi Janet, oh I forgot about Manwich! Life is good when you make sloppy joes! Linda