Food budget help...share your cheapest dinner meal..

[ma23peas]

Progresso Chicken Enchilada Soup

Rice

 

cook the rice, mix the two and serve with carrot sticks... :)

[georgialee]

This probably isn't the cheapest but it's pretty darn good.

 

Baked chicken thighs (skinless), chopped

1 lb of pasta cooked in salted water

1/2 bag of frozen broccoli

sauteed onions (and mushrooms if you have them)

1/4-1/2 cup fresh grated asiago/parmesan/whatever you like cheese

 

Mix it all together with a little olive oil & YUM! Pretty darn cheap for about 6 servings - maybe around $1 a serving?

[NicAnn]

BBQ baked beans and mashed potatoes.

 

Honey Baked Lentils with brown rice

 

I rarely have recipes, but I know you can find the lentil one online easily.

[Lady Marmalade]

Red Beans & Rice is one of my favorites. I loosely follow the recipe at $5 Dinners, using what I have on hand when I'm in a budget crunch.

 

If you haven't checked out that site before, it's well worth searching for inspiration.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[silliness7]

2 boxes mac n cheese. 35 cents each

boil for 5 min.

then add 1 package of cut-up hotdogs. 75 cents

boil another 5 min.

1 stick margarine less than 25 cents

1/2 cup milk - no idea

 

about $2.00 feeds my 7 kids.

 

add in half a bag of baby carrots for 50 cents

 

so $2.50 with a veggie.

 

Those are mid-west Aldi prices. Prices will vary. :001_smile:

 

ETA: eat the carrots on the side. it sounds like i'm throwing in the pot. i'm not.

[ErinE]

Red Beans and Rice

Pinto Beans and Homemade Cornbread

Black Beans and Rice with Corn tortillas

 

Pretty much anything with beans and a cheap starch

[jennsmile]

Refried Beans and white rice/brown is nice but more expensive.

 

Fried potatoes with eggs and some green onion from my garden (only thing that is growing.)

[clementine]

We often do breakfast for supper. So, our cheapy dinner is:

 

Pancakes, syrup & cut-up fruit. Add bacon or sausage if you need a protein.

[BillieBoy]

Rice and eggs. Really cheap, especially if you have your own hens.

[TheAutumnOak]

BBQ baked beans and mashed potatoes.

 

 

:iagree:I like this too...To make it even cheaper, just boil the small chunks of potatoes and put butter, salt, and pepper...No milk needed...

[curlylocks]

1 large can of chicken noodle soup - prepare as directed

1 stock celery, cut up

1 carrot, cup up

1/2 can corn

1/2 can peas

 

serve with grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwiches

[love2read]

Right now it's this fabulous lentil soup

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lentil-Soup-III/Detail.aspx?ms=1&prop25=73929284&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2011-12-17&prop28=CompleteYourMeal&prop29=FullRecipe2&me=1

I make my own broth a few days before with chicken thighs and use half of the broth for the Lentil soup. With the other half I make chicken noodle soup using an easy egg noodle recipe at allrecipes too. Very low cost.

[MamaSheep]

You know...I think my cheapest meals tend to be ones that use planned leftovers, which spreads the cost of ingredients over more than one day. For example:

 

Day 1: Whole roast chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots. (I get a chicken big enough that there will be some meat left over after my family gets done with it. Larger families might need 2 chickens.)

 

Day 2: Chicken pot pie. I make this with the leftover chicken meat, potatoes, carrots, onion, and any other leftover veggies I might have around from other meals. I cook it all up in a pot, make a gravy in with it using milk thickened with cornstarch or flour and seasoned with salt and whatever other seasonings I have on hand that sound good. You can use water if you don't have milk. It makes a broth with the drippings from the meat and veggies as it simmers in the pot. Then I put it in a pie crust and bake it until the crust is cooked--around an hour, I think. (For our family there's often enough pie left over for a lunch because there are only four of us.)

 

Day 3: Chicken noodle soup. I boil the leftover bones and skin of the chicken in a soup pot for half an hour or so. Then I fish them out, pick off any remaining shreds of meat and add them to the pot, and throw away the bones and skin. Then I add cut up onions, carrots, and potatoes (and whatever other leftover veggies didn't make it into the pie), some salt and whatever other seasonings I have at hand that sound good, and some noodles. (Although sometimes I drop big fluffy dumplings in there instead of noodles and we have chicken and dumplings instead.)

 

So that's three suppers with...what...a largish chicken, a small bag of potatoes, a bag of carrots, a couple of onions, and either purchased or homemade pie crust and noodles (or dumplings), a little flour or corn starch, salt (and other seasonings already on hand) and maybe some milk. A can of corn or some frozen peas can make the pie and soup more interesting, but increases the cost.

 

Pie crust, noodles, and dumplings are pretty easy to make and wouldn't require expensive ingredients. Pie crust can be made with flour, shortening (or butter or lard) and a little salt and water. For hearty homemade noodles I stir an egg and a little cooking oil together with a fork and then mix in a pinch of salt and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Then I roll it out thin and cut it into strips. Dumplings are a little more complicated and I'd have to go look up the recipe, but if I remember right my recipe just has flour, salt, baking powder, oil, egg, and milk, and I like to add a little garlic powder and parsley, which are yummy but unnecessary. I'm lazy and dislike rolling things out thin, and at this point we're not suffering too badly for money, so I usually just buy rolled pie crusts and dry noodles at the store, but my family occasionally begs for homemade noodles and now and then I give in. :)

Edited December 23, 2011 by MamaSheep

[alpidarkomama]

Homemade veggie burgers! They cost $0.35/each last time I added it all up (a couple of years ago). That's on homemade buns, and using dried beans. I just soak the beans overnight (pinto, chick peas, or black), then put them in the food processor w/garlic, oatmeal, onion, flour/matzo meal, egg, lemon juice, sometimes herbs. Add all the fixings too, and it still comes out this cheap.

[Joker]

I agree with a previous post about the cheapest being about leftovers. We like beans and rice one night and then have the leftover beans and rice with chicken or steak. We add sour cream, guac, pico and cheese. Usually we add shredded chicken that's leftover from another meal.

 

The next night I would use the remaining sour cream and cheese to make twice baked potatoes and add any fresh/frozen veggies we have.

[ma23peas]

Homemade veggie burgers! They cost $0.35/each last time I added it all up (a couple of years ago). That's on homemade buns, and using dried beans. I just soak the beans overnight (pinto, chick peas, or black), then put them in the food processor w/garlic, oatmeal, onion, flour/matzo meal, egg, lemon juice, sometimes herbs. Add all the fixings too, and it still comes out this cheap.

 

I would love your recipe for buns!

[KungFuPanda]

Falafel is cheap, easy, and a complete protein if you serve it with whole wheat pita (which is also easy to make).

[eternalknot]

Baked potato can be done inexpensively, depending on your toppings. Even a pat of butter, some shredded cheese, and windowsill fresh herbs wouldn't add much expense. If you wanted meat, it'd be easy to buy chicken as it expires at the store, prepare it all at once, shred or cube, portion into individual or serving sizes, thaw as needed.

 

My friend does this - straight from grocery store clearance cooler to her crock pot for 8 hours, shredded, separated, frozen, and stored. She does 6 ounce serving sizes, which would be enough for her and her daughter to use atop a baked potato. She also saves the resulting broth, which is portioned out later for chicken soup.

 

At my grocery store you can find frozen veggies 2/$5, and a bag of frozen carrots and broccoli would work with the potato (leaving enough to spare for another meal or two as well.

 

Soups always come to mind when I think cheap, but filling.

[m0mmaBuck]

Risotto is cheap and filling... I usually get arborio rice for about $1.50/lb at WinCo...

 

2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 an onion finely chopped, 2 cups rice, and 6-8 cups chicken "broth" made with bouillion or soup base (or actual broth but that makes it more expensive).

 

Last night I diced and fried 4-5 slices of bacon and added them in before serving and we had a side salad.

[Tohru]

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that we eat ramen and like it. I throw in an egg or two and add some frozen broccoli. Or just cook the noodles, drain the water and stir fry it with chopped cabbage as Yakisoba.

 

baked beans and toast

potato soup

veggie and egg fried rice

[MamaSheep]

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that we eat ramen and like it. I throw in an egg or two and add some frozen broccoli. Or just cook the noodles, drain the water and stir fry it with chopped cabbage as Yakisoba.

 

baked beans and toast

potato soup

veggie and egg fried rice

 

 

My daughter loves ramen and begs for it frequently. Except she calls it "juicy noodles".

[Audrey]

Quesadillas and Tomato soup

 

About $0.25 worth of masa harina makes 3 dozen corn tortillas. you can do it with flour, too, if you prefer. Add cheese and leftover chicken or beef or maybe just a bit of salsa for filling (price varies). Tomato soup is home canned from the garden so I don't know how to estimate that cost. Add about $0.50 worth of cream for the tomato soup.

 

Or, Many Bean Soup

Uses all the little bits of all those dried beans and peas you have leftover. Throw into a crock pot with enough water to be soupy. Add in a smoked ham hock and some chopped onion, celery and carrot. Season with dried savoury, thyme and the tiniest pinch of sage (and salt to taste). Serve with lettuce rolls (just iceberg lettuce leaves smeared with a wee bit of cream cheese then add shredded carrot and minced parsley, roll up and cut into bite size pieces).

Edited December 23, 2011 by Audrey

[Excelsior! Academy]

beef and bean burritos and spanish rice. We make our beans and rice from scratch, so it's pretty economical.

[justasque]

"Mexican Mashup"

 

Basically, brown rice cooked with onion, garlic,canned diced tomatoes, canned corn, black beans, and often homemade chicken broth instead of water.

Scoop up with tortilla chips or put in a tortilla or eat in a pile with a fork.

Serve with salsa, shredded cheese, guac if you can get cheap avocados.

Makes a ton; we make it for parties to feed teenagers.

 

So about $4 for the cans of veg and beans, maybe $2 for the rice, plus a bit for the cheese, but as I said makes two meals worth.

 

Sometimes I add carrots or turnips or whatever's in the fridge.

[chepyl]

Ground turkey and cabbage. We buy the 1lb packages that come packages like sausage. Cook the meat, shred the cabbage and saute. We cook it in olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, but you .could season however you want. We like the tang it gives!

 

Black beans and rice

[Element]

Not terribly healthy, but we do this one weekly for less than $5:

 

Pesto (the Knorr dry mix prepared as directed with olive oil and water) & 8 oz. of vermicelli with some chickpeas mixed in right before serving

 

Lettuce salad or whatever vegetable I have available

[Element]

My daughter loves ramen and begs for it frequently. Except she calls it "juicy noodles".

 

That is dd's all-time favorite food! She called it "squiggly noodles" until a year or so ago. :D

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I think the cheapest meal I make is spaghetti with brown rice pasta. If I don't have homemade sauce, I'll occasionally buy a jar of organic marinara.

[DawnM]

Anything with noodles is cheap. I can throw together my own sauce very easily (can of tomato sauce with pesto and a few seasonings) and I can usually get pasta for either very cheap or free if I use coupons.