Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

With all the back to school nonsense ($80 for binders for 3 kids. ) and the fact that my husband's summer money is long gone, my food budget is TIGHT to say the least for the next 2 weeks or so.

I need some cheap, healthy dinner ideas for 5.

Whaddya got?

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

when we need to tighten the belt, I go to what I new growing up. I generally keep away from things that require multiple items to complete, unless it's a total main course (like salad).

a few meals I would do are (I can do all of these for less than $10 per night. and my supermarket is out of control $$- and it's just a friggin Key food)

roasted chicken legs or thighs
white rice
pink beans with recaito and sazon
veggie (broccoli, spinach)

one pound sweet italian sausage
one box pasta
one or two cans LeSeur Peas (a worthy splurge here)

boil pasta in salted water. reserve approx 1 cup cooking liquid.

grill sausage until cooked through in a heavy bottomed pan. remove sausage and cut into bite sized pieces. add a few cloves chopped garlic with a small amount of olive oil and saute until fragrant. add peas. add drained pasta, sausages, and add pasta cooking liquid until moist and well combined. adjust seasoning (salt and pepper) and hit off with parmesan cheese.

you could serve a few sliced tomatoes with a simple dressing as an additional veg. I just up the pea quota.

egg salad sandwiches
ice berg lettuce and tomatoes
cut up melon

Pasta salad with tuna
fusili pasta
canned tuna
chopped tomatoes
cucumber
celery
red onion
italian dressing

roasted whole chicken with potatoes and carrots.
spinach

rice with chorizo (saute onions and bell pepper with garlic in olive oil. add package of chorizo, diced. saute until fat renders. add one (or two) cups of white rice. saute until each grain is coated in oil/fat) add double the amount of water and cover until done.

serve with black beans (chop half an onion, saute in olive oil. add large can black beans and cook until heated through) and veg of your choice.

beef and chicken stew

ground beef and bean chili with rice
asparagus or spinach

generally I will purchase things like potatoes, onions, and garlic in "bulk" so I have them and kinda divide that cost over how many days I can stretch them.

I am working on doing dinner for less than $10 per night.

I usually allot $5 for the meat and then figure out the rest with the other half.

tonight I am making chicken with string beans over rice noodle.

chicken breasts (1lb) @ $4.99 (5)
green beans (.5lb) @ $1.99 lb (1)
red bell pepper...approx $1 (1)
rice noodle (I already haves ome)
and I have the seasoning so I don't have to spend.

so I should get away with this dinner for about $8.

usually, I'll give the supermarket the once over...figure out what meat and veg is on sale or a doable price, and create a few meals like the above from there.

good luck!

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

Thanks, Jess. I really appreciate the time you took to type this up. Some of those are Old School for me, too. But some I would've never thought of.

Thanks

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

Jess has sooo many great ideas.. and some of my go to's are very similar!

Some things I do when money is tight:

Breakfast for supper - egg white n' oatmeal pancakes, poached eggs over 'yesterday' hash, onion and potato frittata - all served with fresh fruit or a fruit salad.

Pasta with chick peas.

Pasta with meat sauce.

Pasta with sauteed spinach and crumbled ground turkey.

Meatballs and brown gravy with noodles

Soup.

Tacos

Salads - egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad.

I shop sales and do a lot of bulk buys to save $$. Big package of ground beef stored in smaller quart sized freezer bags, etc..

I reuse when it helps - yesterday's roasted chicken is tomorrow's chicken salad or chicken fried rice.

I jazz up leftover sandwiches. I don't have a panini press - but I DO have a cast iron pan! Normal sandwiches are just more special when you toast the bread on the outside and melt the inside! It's psychologically more satisfying.

Good luck!

Message edited 9/3/2009 5:27:40 PM.

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

no problem.

I was just telling my husband yesterday...it feels so much harder to make do on a budget than it did when I was younger. not sure if it's b/c it was my mom doing the budgeting...but she was awesome at that. I've never seen anyone stretch a dollar further in a supermarket than my mother. and we were a family of 7 by the time I was 17. and totally broke.

my mom would probably laugh at my "tight" budget of $10 per meal. but it's the best I know how to do.

you inspired me to look up my circular. Perdue chicken leg quarters are on sale for $.69 per pound I could do my first dinner for less than $5!! (too bad I absolutely HATE chicken on the bone though my mom always said I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth )

geez...this was long and unnecessary. I think I'll go home now.

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

A lot of the supermarkets that sell roasted chickens make them half price at the end of the night. You can have one for a dinner and use another to make chicken salad sandwhiches or chicken tacos.

I also love the breakfast for dinner idea! Pancakes!! YUMMY! :)

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

chili is always a cheap, easy meal!

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

Chili is really cheap to make (usually a meal for 4 for less than $10)
Also chicken with mushroom sauce and white rice
Chicken Fried rice is my go to meal when I dont have much at home.
Also Stuff pasta with meat sauce; in the freezer are of the supermarket you can find 1-2 pound bags of stuff pasta with chesse, cook. Separate brown 1/2 pound of ground beef and you can add some onions and green pepper, add your own red sauce and heat. Serve with the pasta.

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

Most of my dishes are cheap to make.

Chicken stir-fry or fajitas (use frozen veggies, chicken breasts, onions)

Potato and onion fritatta with bacon

Baked ziti

Chicken Francaise (chicken, lemon, lemon juice, egg, white wine) served with rice

BBQ chicken breasts

Flank steak sandwiches

Chicken and rice pot (I like Rachael Ray's Latin Chicken and Rice Pot)

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

macaroni & cheese w/ chopped up hot dogs in it

frozen raviolis w/ tomato sauce & garlic bread

shepards pie

meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes and a veggie

grilled cheese w/ tomato sandwiches & fries

italian sausage & peppers over pasta or on a roll

pork tenderloin w/ mashed potatoes & veggie

you can use left over pork the enxt day as a stir fry

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

My Mom would always make Lentil Soup with cooked spaghetti thrown in! Yummy, healthy and a great source of protein!

Also, pasta and peas! Take an onion, sautee in olive oil. Add a medium can of Hunt's tomato sauce, parsley, salt, pepper - cook about 7 minutes. Add can of small peas (drained and rinsed). Serve over cooked ditalini pasta! Soooo good!

Message edited 9/4/2009 2:01:12 PM.

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

When I was a kid we needed to have fast, healthy and cheap dinners (we got home from school and sometimes had as little as 30 minutes to eat and get back out for night swim practice).

1) Franks and beans with side salad (chop up the hot dogs, put in a casserole type dish with baked beans)
2) Waffle night (allow your kids to throw a few chocolate chips into the batter) - make sure they also eat some fruit on the side or something (can also do pancake night)
3) Make your own sandwiches - buy a bunch of cheap rolls, and some deli swiss, turkey slices, tuna fish, lettuce, chop up a tomato or two
4) omelette night - have some shredded cheese, tomatoes, broccoli, or whatever else you have lying around as the fillings. Salad, fruit, hash browns, whatever as a side
5) Fish sticks and potatoes and salad - you can buy frozen fish sticks pretty cheap, potatoes are cheap. For an alternative, cut up potatoes into fries, or get sweet potatoes.
6) Veggie tacos - taco shells, black and/or pinto beans, lettuce, shredded cheese, tomato or salsa. If you feel like adding meat, although that will increase the cost, swap out the beans for turkey meat (for a healthy hamburger meat alternative).
7) Pasta - you can buy two cheap boxes and easily feed your family. Add-ins can be really easy - steam some veggies and toss in, bake some boneless chicken, chop it up and toss in, etc. When I was in college and I wanted a nice pasta meal but I didn't have much money, I would make some pasta with a simple canned sauce and toss in some steamed slices of zucchini, carrots, whatever I had around.
8) Make a lasagna or eggplant parm and freeze. Cheap-ish to make, feeds a lot of people, and easy to heat back up.

Message edited 9/4/2009 2:20:48 PM.

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

when i have to buckle down & do "poor mans food " as i call it It usually consiists of some pasta & something
pasta & pease
tuna casarole
pasta with sauce
pasta with veggies

a rotissere chciken , leftovers can be chicken salad

grilled chesse sandwiches with tomatoes & bacon

egg salads

breakfast for dinner

i alwasy have on hand garlic, onions & potatoes

hth

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

boneless chicken breasts can of cream of mushroom soup, 16 oz container of sour cream a small container of mushrooms or canned sliced mushrooms drained and an envelope of recipe secrets onion soup mix.
In crockpot place chicken cutlets in bottom of crockpot, mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 -7 hours. Chicken will be very soft. Cut up chicken pour over rice or egg noodles with sauce. Delish!! and cheap!

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

Pasta and pesto. Just get a jar from the supermarket.

Vodka sauce is pretty cheap if you have the vodka in your house. You can always add chicken to it to add more protein.

Chicken salad. Just get one of those rotisserie chickens from the supermarket. Add to greens of your choice.

Grilled chicken in a marinade of your choice. Serve with a veg.

Roasted veggies with cous-cous with chick peas.

Soups with nice bread.

I do these things and there is always a lunch for the next day for us.

Message edited 9/9/2009 5:44:51 AM.

Re: Cheap Dinner Ideas Needed....PLEASE

soup and 1/2 sandwich or grilled cheese

tuna melts

sausage and peppers over either pasta or white rice

roasted chicken legs. I can usually get 10-12 legs for less than $4. Make some wild rice and a veggie

Ham and scalloped potatoes

Get a whole chicken and cook it. Eat the chicken the one night and the next night take the remaining chicken and shred it. Put it in a skillet with some chicken broth and chicken gravy and pour over egg noodles. You can add carrots or peas too. You can also make some crescent rolls on the side.