Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Can we share our cheap meals? Without going into too much detail, I have very limited funds to keep my family fed until DH gets paid on July 8th. Let's share our cheap meals! Nutritious is a plus, but if it fills the belly I'm ok with that too!!

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Grilled cheese sandwiches
Pasta with jarred sauce
Rotisserie chicken
"Breakfast for dinner" - pancakes, omelettes, french toast, bagels
Cold cut sandwiches

I would also plan my dinners around what's on sale at the market.

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

-pasta... you can just do so much with it.

-shop for the meat that is on sale, pork chops can be very affordable on sale, a little garlic powder, pepper, cumin and chili powder on them then grill them... delish!

-tacos - ground beef is always on sale, even if its a big pkg, you can freeze the extra or make burgers. But we always have leftovers when i make them and can eat tacos 2 or 3 nights!

-baked/mashed potatoes on the side

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Make baked ziti or lasagna- usually good for 2 nights worth of dinner

If ground beef is on sale- stuffed peppers

cheese quesadillas

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

i think one way to cut costs is add in more veggies and use meat to supplement the veggies.. like if you do a stir fry.. load up on the broccolli, mushrooms and carrots.. and slice up 2 chicken breasts.. serve over rice..

i made a pea pesto the other day.. thawed peas, some walnuts (i had no pine nuts), garlic and cheese over pasta..

we do homemade pizzas as well... i usually top it with whatever is in my fridge/pantry

also soups.. you can load them up with rice or barley, veggies.. it will be yummy

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Chili with only beans
Baked ziti/lasagne/stuffed shells (no meat)
Pierogies
English muffin pizzas

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Stop N Shop has chicken cutlet on sale this week $1.99/lb - you can make one of those packages go a long way.

Cook or BBQ it all. Dice/shred it all up (makes it go further if you mix it with other things - rice/pasta/veggies, etc instead of giving someone a whole chicken cutlet as a portion) :

1. chicken salad (mayo, etc.) (cold)
2. chicken with red beans & rice (hot)
3. chicken (cold) - mixed with:

I make a black bean salad that goes a long way too:

2 cans of black beans rinsed
1 can corn
1 small can of diced tomatos
1/2 red pepper diced
italian salad dressing

Pasta salad (leftover of 1/2 red pepper, peas, or whatever else you have) - italian or caesar salad dressing.

BBQ hot dogs/rolls, pasta salad

Baked mac & cheese in a casserole dish (you can make hot dogs too)

Message edited 6/28/2011 8:23:17 AM.

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Buy whatever you can manage in it's simplest form--it's almost always cheaper.

For example, buy whole carrots instead of pre-cut carrot sticks or baby carrots.

Buy jars of crushed tomatoes (whatever brand is on sale) instead of tomato sauce.

(Just brown onion & garlic & simmer the sauce for about 45 minutes for a quick simple sauce.)

Rice & beans are inexpensive & go a long way. Dried beans are really cheap, but if you don't have time to make thme, canned beans are cheap too. And they don't vary too much by brand, so get whatever is on sale.

I like to simmer red beans with sauce ( usually Goya) and mix that with cooked brown rice, and crumbled, browned turkey sausage, but you could use whatever meat is on sale. The meat is not the main focus of the dish, so you can use less & you get protein from the beans.

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

What do you have on hand?

Soups are a good, filling meal
Eggs are pretty cheap
I add black beans to chop meat (cheaper and more filling)

I'd get what's ever on sale - pasta, chicken, pork chops....

GL!

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

the cheapest things at the super are generally chicken legs/thighs, sausage, and ground beef/stew beef.

then fresh carrots, potatoes, celery, iceberg lettuce, cucumbers. onions, garlic.

frozen spinach is great, canned peas.

noodles/pasta/beans.

when I am doing meals n the cheap these items feature prominently.

I would take a package of sausage (5 or 6 in a pack) and split it in half and make

sausage and peas over farfalle

sausage stew (potatoes, canned green beans, carrots onions stewed in tomato sauce with sliced sausages) serve with a loaf of crusty bread. this was one of my moms "go to" dishes growing up.

chicken legs and thighs. two family sized packages.

braise enough pieces for your family (I need 5 for dinner, and one extra if I am giving dh lunch the next day) with carrots, celery, onions, garlic. dried herbs. serve over egg noodles

season another batch with garlic and lemon. let marinate. baked and serve with white rice and black beans sauteed with minced onion. iceberg and cucumber salad.

chorizo. Goya makes a pack for like $3.
arroz con chorizo, pink beans, sliced tomato and cucumber salad.

ground beef.
chili. stuffed peppers if you can get the peppers on sale. quick meat sauce (you only need a bit) sancocho.

eggs. spinach omelet. scrambled eggs with home fries and toast. frittata. chorizo and spinach frittata.

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

When we were in our apt and had very limited funds I would buy chicken cutlets and chopped meat on sale.

I would make:

Chicken cordon Bleu and egg noodles
Breaded chix cutlets and mashed potatoes
Grilled Chicken cutlets and Rice
Chicken parm and Pasta with jarred sauce

Burgers and Fries
Meatloaf and mashed potatoes or egg noodles
Meatballs, pasta and sauce
Tacos

We would also have just pasta and sauce
Hot dogs and mac and cheese
chicken nuggets and mac and cheese
grilled cheese and fries or a salad
breakfast for dinner (we generally didn't have meat just eggs, pancakes, waffles and toast)

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Here are my we're broke this week meal ideas We do these a lot because....well we're broke a lot

Whole Roasted Chicken with mashed potatoes and a veggie on sale
The leftover chicken makes homemade chicken noodle soup the next night with grilled cheese

Stuffed peppers when it's all on sale and crusty bread and a salad.
You can then easily make the left over a pepper soup by adding a jar of canned tomatoes and simmering with some stock.

Taco's
Then leftovers into Taco Salad



I think the best way to help would be to know what staples you have on hand. We're all different so what could be a super fast cheap meal for me may not work for you and so on.
What veggies/fruit/grains/meat do you have on hand? Are you looking for quick meals as well? Meals you don't need to use an oven for?

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Well, I basically had nothing on hand. No meat in the freezer, no veggies, rice, nothing. I had used everything we had.

I had $180 to go two weeks, and that needed to include diapers, wipes, and toiletry items, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner for every day. I did it, with $9 left over!!! Here's what the dinners will look like for the next 12 days:

Mon: Tuna Casserole ($7.50)
Tues: Hot dogs and corn on the cob ($9)
Wed: Eating at my parents
Thurs: Grilled chicken cutlets and homemade macaroni salad ($6.50)
Fri: Homemade baked mac and cheese ($4.79)
Sat: Going to a friend's for a bday party
Sun: Spaghetti and meatballs ($10)
Mon: Crock pot ribs and pasta salad ($16)
Tues: leftovers
Wed: Baked chicken cutlets with rice and mixed veg ($6)
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner ($3)
Friday: Smorgasboard day- eat everything left in the friidge!!!

So, dinners for 12 days for about $63. Bought a few boxes of cereal on sale, bread, peanut butter, and jelly, and some mixes to bake brownies, cake, etc. for snacks. Also target brand diapers and wipes, cheap shampoo, soap, and toothpaste.

Thanks for all of the tips!! I'm poor most of the time too, and I will definitely be bookmarking this thread for use later!

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

This was just posted on AOL this morning...i def going to try it!

Easy Ways to Make Freezer Meals Frugal and Good

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

I am bookmarking this. We (bf & I) are going to be on a tight tight budget for the next few months.

Everyone has great ideas

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

You can look into angel food ministries too...they provide boxes of fresh food for very cheap prices and you pick up at a local church.

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

Someone on here had posted this recipe awhile back. It my cheapest meal and makes a lot and tastes great!

1 package of extra firm tofu ($2)

1 bag frozen veggies, any stir fry type is ok ($1 on sale)

2 packages of ramen noddles (.50c)

Soy sauce to taste ( $2.50 for bottle if you dont have it on hand, but it obv last a long time)

Cut tofu into cubes and brown with a little oil. Add the bag of frozen veggies and a bit of soy sauce to taste.

Separatly cook the 2 packs of ramen noddles (without flavor packet).

Add cooked noddles to tofu and veggies, add both noddle flavor packs, a bit of soy sauce and combine.

It is very yummy and filling all for less them $4

Re: Need help- Dinners on the cheap

this is my most favorite super cheap dinner....we call it Pasta Fagioli, but it's hardly that...

Saute 3 cloves of crushed garlic in some olive oil. Add 1 can cannellini beans (do not drain) and 1 can of unseasoned tomato sauce. Add salt to taste. Simmer for as long as it takes for you to cook a box of Ditalini pasta. Combine sauce & pasta and serve with parmesan cheese! Absolutely delicious and so cheap to make! I have also added chop meat to it to make it more filling, but I usually make this without meat. It's also my go-to meal on friday's during Lent!