WWYB: What would you buy? Food budgeting...

[christinahudler]

DH and I have been buying a lot of convenience foods because, simply put, there's a newborn in the house who literally wants to BF *constantly* and so cooking has been hard.  But I really want to get back to cooking on a regular basis because I need to be more in control of what I'm putting into my body, especially right now when I'm breastfeeding and whatnot.

The budget for DH and I is $200 per month, firm...there is literally $0 of wiggle room with that.
I can't have avocado (allergy), tomatoes (allergy), or dairy (O is showing some issues with my eating dairy).
DH and I both don't like onions or peppers, though I do eat shallots sometimes if they are cooked way down and are put in something like a casserole.

We don't eat a lot of meat, and when we do it's never red meat because I don't like the way it tastes.

Also, I receive WIC so those foods don't need to be included to be bought with our $200 budget.

So...if you were me, what kind of things would you buy?  I'm mostly just trying to get some ideas because the few times I do cook it's always the same ol' same ol' and I'm sick of it!  Thanks :)

[ollyoxenfree]

What foods do you already enjoy cooking and eating? I would start there and look for variations, because it will be easier for you. 

For easy, inexpensive meals, I often make soup because it doesn't require a lot of attention after I do the initial prep. Often it just involves cutting veggies and a quick saute (often not even that much) before I add the stock and walk away. A quick puree at the end with the immersion blender and add some cheese or croutons and voila! You can make a double batch and freeze the extra for another meal. I'll serve it with bread, cheese, hummus, etc. to round out the meal. 

Pasta casseroles are also fairly easy. Look for pesto-based recipes rather than tomato sauce. 

Last night, I made a chicken and rice stovetop dish that needed a little more work, but not much. In a dutch oven, I browned chicken thighs and then removed them. I drained most of the fat, then sauteed chopped onion and minced garlic (you could skip), added 1/2 cup each of slivered almonds and currants, then added a 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, allspice and cumin each. Add 1 1/2 cups of brown rice and mixed to coat the rice. Then pour in 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 1/4 cups of water. Bring to boil, turn down to simmer, return the chicken to the pot, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the rice is cooked. Garnish with chopped dill before serving. I cooked up some frozen peas to serve with it, but carrots or other veg would have been nice. 

I probably spent about 15 minutes at the beginning to chop the onions and garlic, brown the chicken and add the other ingredients, but I didn't look at it again until it was time to serve it.