Last month I was contacted  separately, by 2 local women in need of help.  They had found me through my Greenwood Daily Journal Column.   Both were in need of a save, some real help.

I was both touched that they asked me and struck with the feeling that they, like me, were hard working women just trying to provide for their families.

Both of them had very different circumstances and their stories were heartbreaking.  Divorce, cancer, homelessness and loss of job. These 2 women were facing problems that any of us could also face.

Maybe some of us have already.

How did we cope? What could I possibly do to help them? I felt unworthy these requests.

I contacted a few local agencies, businesses and with the help of several kind people in the area we were able to get them set at leas until the end of the year.  Temporary working situations, a sparse pantry filled with the basics, a few staple clothing items for their kids and physician referrals.  I felt like I wasn’t doing enough,though.

This post will be a part of a Budget and freezer meal link up that goes live on Basilmomma.com on October 15, 2012

One of the ladies, Amanda, commented that she felt like the resources that she found while looking for budget friendly meals were geared towards people who obviously didn’t have taste buds.  Pasta filled, dishes with condensed soup and frozen veggies thrown in for good measure.

Cooking on a budget can be both tasty and rewarding.  I mean, just because you only have $10 or less to spend on a meal doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to eat well!  And when there are so many things that are beyond your control, you can take a measure of comfort in a good meal.  Something that reminds you of better times, maybe.

This is a recipe that I use when we need a quick comforting dish.  Something my whole family likes and it comes in cheap.   Beside each ingredient I have listed what it costs as of today (October 14, 2012) at my local Kroger.

Pizza Burgers

This comes in around $18 but can be reduced even further with ingredients at a better deal in your local market!

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs of lean hamburger- $7.75
• 2 small cans of Red Gold tomato paste – 1.10
• 2 TB of Italian seasoning blend-.20
• 1 tsp of granulated garlic-.05
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• package of sliced mozzarella cheese-1.88
• package of whole wheat deli buns-2.19
• 1/3 lb of thinly sliced Boars Head pepperoni-2.13
• 1 green pepper,sliced-.88
• 1 sweet onion, sliced-.59
• 8 oz of sliced mushrooms-1.00
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Brown meat, drain and add the tomato paste.
2. Stir to blend and add the seasonings.
3. Allow to cook through, 5-7 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, saute the peppers, onions and mushrooms until soft yet still a bit of firmness to them.
5. Split open the buns and layer the ingredients as you see fit.
6. Just like pizza on a bun!

7.6.6

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