Published 10/27/25
Make the Most of Grocery Money
Unless our elected leaders work together to legislate in the VERY near future, Bridge Cards will not reload in November. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is federally funded and administered by the USDA, which has halted the program. This is a real crisis for low-income families who depend on government-funded assistance for buying food. Even for those who do not use government assistance, grocery prices are high, and feeding a family takes a lot of energy and planning.
BlueWaterParent.com reached out on social media to get help from the community, and they delivered. I asked what your tricks and tips are for feeding a large family on a budget. Here are some suggestions and a few recipes from the BlueWaterParent.com community.
Learn to Cook
If you’ve been skating by with take-out and ready-to-serve meals, now is the perfect time to learn how to cook. Amy Brown suggests made-from-scratch meals. And, no, “scratch” is not an ingredient. “Scratch” means starting with raw ingredients instead of pre-packaged or pre-cooked foods.
Brown said, “Rice, pasta, and legumes are inexpensive, easy to cook, and fantastic bases. Flipp is an app that allows you to access store flyers (sales) all in one spot. Buy your proteins on sale and dry goods in bulk if you can.”
Brown shared this simple and inexpensive one-pot meal that her family loves:
Brown 1 pound of ground chicken with a large diced sweet onion.
Add 3/4 cup rice (I use jasmine), 1 1/2c cups chicken broth. Bring to a low boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook 20min.
Optional: Add fresh or frozen spinach, broccoli, or sweet peas when rice has 5min left to cook.
Six-Can Soup
David Stenske shared this recipe that uses six inexpensive cans of food, mixed together for a hearty soup that provides protein, fiber, and some nutrients. You really just need a can opener and a heat source.
6-Can Soup
Makes 8 servings
Ideal slow-cooker size: 31/2- or 4-quart
Ingredients:
1 10 3/4-oz. can tomato soup
1 15-oz. can whole-kernel corn drained
1 15-oz. can mixed vegetables, drained
1 15-oz. can chili beans, undrained
1 41/2-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 41/2-oz. can chicken broth
Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover.
3. Cook on low 3-4 hours.
Copy-Cat Meals
Chicken nuggets are a childhood staple, but driving through the drive-thru adds up quickly. Roxane Campbell shared that she makes her own Chick-fil-A copycat nuggets. She said, “I’ll make up a whole family pack of chicken and separate it in freezer bags and warm up when my daughter wants them…..way cheaper than buying. I also make mini corn dogs, and out of one pack of hot dogs, get 32 mini ones and freeze ahead.” Campbell suggested making mini muffins, cookies, and other baked goods instead of buying premade and paying almost three times more for all. Here’s a link to copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets.
Easy Hamburger Rice Casserole
Cassandra Kendrick shared a recipe for Easy Hamburger Rice Casserole. The recipe jazzes up humble hamburger with beef consommé and French Onion soup.
Here you go: Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish by spraying it with nonstick spray. In a medium skillet, over medium heat, brown 1/2 pound ground beef about 8-10 minutes. Drain excess grease. Layer the cooked ground beef evenly in the prepared baking dish. Then, spread one cup long long-grain white uncooked rice on top of the beef. Pour one can (10.5 oz.) French Onion Soup and one can of beef consommé (10.5 oz.) over the rice and beef. Gently stir to combine all the ingredients. Distribute 1/2 cup unsalted butter, sliced into pats, evenly over the top. Cover the dish with foil, bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove foil, stir, serve, and enjoy.
Soup and Salad
Our grandparents and great-grandparents knew how to make do when times were tight. Suzanne Shults said she keeps some form of bread on the table at every meal, just like her grandmother used to do. Shultz also suggested having soup on one night a week and salad another to use up any leftover meat. She also suggested a pasta dish. Pasta is inexpensive and can be used to bulk up a meal. Shults said, “I also suggest growing your own veggies! Whether in pots or a larger plot of dirt, it can really cut down on spending.” This growing season is winding down, but now is a great time to make a plan for growing some of your own food next season.
Baby Your Produce
Fresh fruits and vegetables can be pricey. The worst is when you grab those expensive grapes from the refrigerator and they are covered in mold. Tayler Morrison has a great tip: to keep produce fresh longer (berries, grapes, etc.), soak them in cold water and vinegar, give them a good rinse, and then dry. You can then store them in a glass container in the fridge, and they will last significantly longer! Canning jars and canning lids (mason jars) are great for storing fruit.
Make a Plan and Stick to It
Patricia Sanford Hatfield shared her favorite tips. She said, “My best money saver when coupons started going away was going through the store ads, shopping the sales, and making a list of each meal for seven days and sticking with my list.”
Making a plan takes time, but parents can get kids involved and teach them just how much food costs and how much work it takes to feed a family.
Know Where to Go For Help
Click here for a list of Food Distributions through Eastern Michigan Food Bank. If you are taking care of a senior citizen, he or she may be able to get food through Senior Nutrition. Click here for details. Port Huron’s Operation Transformation publishes a list of local food distributions here: https://www.optrans.org/fooddistribution.
Story by Jennie McClelland for BlueWaterParent.com.
