Inexpensive dinners

[squirt]

i know we have had similar threads before but struck by nerdy's question yesterday about her spending one thing for a single person compared to a family of 4 spending not much more, i was talking with DH this morning and discussing what's a cheap dinner. is $10, $20 or $30 considered inexpensive for an a home cooked meal?

last night i cooked a dinner, with mostly items in the pantry that i felt was good and inexpensive (and we had leftovers). so i am on a quest to see what inexpensive dinners are out there. the prices i give are what i can remember prices, if you got a better deal, your total may vary.


Bean/Collard Stew

1 can black eye peas .67
1 can del monte diced tomatoes .60
3 cans swanson veggie broth 1.12 a can
2 cups cubed red potatoes 3.99 a bag
1 bunch collard greens 1.79
1 loaf french bread 1.50

Total 11.91
with half a loaf of bread, about 3 cups of collard greens and half a bag of potatoes left

bring broth and 2 cups of water to boil in dutch oven. add in 6 cups chopped collard greens, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. then add tomatoes and potatoes. bring back to simmer for 10 minutes. then add black eyed peas until heated thru. 2-3 minutes. serve hot with bread.

[mnm'z]

One of my cheapest - feeds DH and I for 2 nights.

1 Can Chunky Chili - $1.25 can
2 handfuls of macaroni noodles, cook per directions. cost ??
Handful of shredded cheese $.50

Mix noodles and chili together, put into a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly. Wa-Laaa, Chili Cheese Mac for less than $2.00.

If your stores double q's, obviously you could make this cheaper than I can.

Or:

Macaroni/Cheese casserole

1 box mac/cheese
1 can Hormel chunk ham
1 small can peas

make mac/cheese per directions, add ham (break it up like tuna) and peas. My kids favorite!

[mam]

Bean Soup

Use's some of what you already have in the house.

3 -4 cloves chopped garlic
1-2 slice of carrots chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
2 cans chicken broth (on sale should be around 50 or 60 cents a can)
1 can cannelonni beans - 99 cents or less
1 can tomatoe paste 60 cents or less
1 cup of small pasta (elbows, something like that) - maybe these were free?

Sautee vegetables in olive oil for a few minutes. Add can of tomatoe paste, continue browning. Add 2 cans chicken broth and at least 3 or 4 cans of water. Add beans. Season with salt and pepper and maybe hot pepper flakes if you like. Let simmer for an hour. Add small pasta in last 5 minutes.

I make this soup alot during the winter. Sometimes it's a dinner starter, sometimes it's dinner or lunch with some bread on the side.

[twinsplus14me]

Can of Campbell's tomato or chicken noodle soup .59
Pilsbury Grands biscuits .25 or FREE after my last sale run at Albertsons

Super cheap and great on a chilly day!

For a family of 5, I usually average about $6-8 a meal unless I've found some great deals.

I make chicken stir fry with broccoli, onions and carrots over jasmine rice for about $6.

[JDOGGETTE99]

Originally Posted by mnm'z

One of my cheapest - feeds DH and I for 2 nights.

1 Can Chunky Chili - $1.25 can
2 handfuls of macaroni noodles, cook per directions. cost ??
Handful of shredded cheese $.50

Mix noodles and chili together, put into a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly. Wa-Laaa, Chili Cheese Mac for less than $2.00.

If your stores double q's, obviously you could make this cheaper than I can.

Or:

Macaroni/Cheese casserole

1 box mac/cheese
1 can Hormel chunk ham
1 small can peas

make mac/cheese per directions, add ham (break it up like tuna) and peas. My kids favorite!

Now on the chili cheese mac I am kinda curious... I am not a big fan of canned soup or chili, etc. unless its Cambell chicken noodle soup. Yes I do realize I sound like a kid. Anyways, does the chili have a real strong flavor? This sounds pretty good. Anything with cheese sounds delicious!

[love free Bzs]

Originally Posted by twinsplus14me

Can of Campbell's tomato or chicken noodle soup .59
Pilsbury Grands biscuits .25 or FREE after my last sale run at Albertsons

Super cheap and great on a chilly day!

For a family of 5, I usually average about $6-8 a meal unless I've found some great deals.

I make chicken stir fry with broccoli, onions and carrots over jasmine rice for about $6.

the jasmine rice can be a little expensive but it is really GOOD!!!!

[Jenni]

I love hearing what everyone else eats!

One of our favorites--maybe it's not as cheap as chicken noodle soup and Grands, but it's under $10 to feed six of us--is Chicken Alfredo.

When the Classico pasta sauce and Mueller's pastas were B1G1 free, we stocked up on Classico Alfredo and pasta. I also bought some b/s chicken breasts at $1.99 a pound. (I went ahead and cut, stir fried and froze lots of chicken in "serving sizes" to have on hand.) When we need a quick and cheap meal, I boil some pasta, throw some (thawed) chicken in a pan and saute, add two jars of Alfredo sauce--and it's my kids' (all four of them) favorite meal. I also steam whatever veggie was on sale to go along with it, preferably broccoli.

Total cost is around $8-9, depending on the veggie. It feeds all six of us, including my 17-year-old son who eats A LOT, and we have at least one serving left over.

Yummo!

[twinsplus14me]

Originally Posted by love free Bzs

the jasmine rice can be a little expensive but it is really GOOD!!!!

I buy a 20# bag of rice at the Asian market for about $16 and put it in the freezer. We love rice! My kids also love the sticky sweet rice because they can eat it with their hands.

[twinsplus14me]

Originally Posted by Jenni

I love hearing what everyone else eats!

One of our favorites--maybe it's not as cheap as chicken noodle soup and Grands, but it's under $10 to feed six of us--is Chicken Alfredo.

Yum, we do chicken alfredo a lot too with broccoli florets. I also do shrimp alfredo for DH and I. So fast, easy and yummy! Luckily, 2/3 of my kids don't like shrimp so it's still affordable for me to make it!

I can't stress enough how much of a time saver it is to precook your chicken breasts. I buy them in bulk on sale, cut them into strips or chunks, stir fry with a little oil, garlic and pepper and freeze in zip bags. This way, I can boil pasta, rice, whatever, and have dinner on the table in 20 min. or less. It really comes in handy during baseball season! And, it doesn't take up very much freezer space when it's cooked.

I do the same thing with ground beef. That way it's all done to add to soup, spaghetti sauce, make burritos, etc.

[squirt]

sweet pepper pasta with kale

1 red bell pepper chopped 2.50
1 yellow bell pepper chopped 2.50
2 cups kale .99
1 box bow tie pasta .97
1 pinch cayenne
1 pinch dried basil
1 T EVOO
8oz crumbled feta 2.00
salt and pepper to taste

Total: 8.96
lots of kale remaining (fyi: .99 is for a lb, but since this calls only for 2 cups it would probably only cost a few cents), and some feta

boil pasta. heat oil on med heat in skillet. add peppers and kale and spices. heat thru. drain pasta, mix pasta and pepper mix in box then add half of feta and mix. serve and use remaining feta to sprinkle on top. served with remaing half loaf of french bread from previous recipe.