Cheap and Easy Recipes: Tex-Mex Casserole (Feed 4 for $4.54)

One of the best things to make if you want to create a cheap and easy recipe are casseroles. There are so many ingredients that can be perfectly combined to create a variety of casserole dishes. When I’m creating a casserole dish as a Feed 4 for 5 meal, I generally choose ingredients that I find on sale. Some of the best casseroles I’ve ever created were from items that were on sale..

Mexican food is a favorite in our house, we have it about once a week. Tacos and burritos are the most requested, but that gets a little boring week after week. I’m sure the kids wouldn’t mind, however I get bored cooking and eating the same thing over and over. To add a little variety to our Mexican menu I created some Feed 4 for 5 meals that have a Mexican twist but in no way resemble a taco.

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4 ounces black beans, dry ($0.32)

1 cup white rice  ($0.42)

1 pound ground beef ($1.88)

1 medium onion, chopped ($0.08)

1 cup corn, frozen ($0.30)

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes w/green chilies ($0.49)

1 teaspoon chili powder ($0.05)

1 teaspoon ground cumin ($0.07)

1 teaspoon garlic powder ($0.07)

Salt and pepper

½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ($0.38)

3 tablespoon corn oil ($0.12)

6 corn tortillas, quartered ($0.36)

• Black Beans, dry – (16 ounces for $1.29) purchased them from a discount grocery store. *To save time, I’ll cook the whole bag and then freeze in 2 cup portions. You can usually get about 6-7 cups of cooked beans from a 16 ounce bag. If you don’t have time to cook the dry beans you can substitute them with canned beans, but you’ll be paying a little more.
• White Rice – (32 ounces for $1.69) purchased the rice from a discount grocery store. *To save time, I’ll cook a whole bag of rice and freeze it in 2 cup portions. When freezing, to keep the granules separated, lay the rice out flat on a baking sheet and flash freeze. Once the the granules are frozen divide and store in freezer bags. **One cup of dry rice makes about 3 cups of cooked rice.
• Ground Beef – (1 pound for $1.88) purchased on sale from our local supermarket. I track the sales and when ground beef goes on sale for this price I stock up and freeze.
• Onion – (3 pounds for $0.79) purchased at a discount grocery store on sale. *There are 3-4 medium onions in a pound.
• Corn – (16 ounces for $0.59) purchased on sale from a local supermarket.
• Tomatoes w/Green Chilies – (15 ounces for $0.49) purchased on sale and with a coupon from our local supermarket. *I purchased a case of tomatoes using coupons that I purchased from ebay. 
• Chili Powder – (3 ounces for $1.00) purchased from the Dollar Tree.
• Ground Cumin – (4.65 ounces for $2.09) purchased on sale from a local grocery store.
• Garlic Powder – (2.5 ounces for $1.00) purchased from the Dollar Tree.
• Cheddar Cheese – (8 ounces for $1.50) purchased on sale from a discount grocery store. *1 ounce of shredded cheese equals about a 1/4 cup.
• Corn Oil – (48 ounces for $2.39) purchased from a discount grocery store.
• Corn Tortillas – (30 count for $1.79) purchased from a discount grocery store.