Budget Dinner Ideas

[lukenlaurafan77]

We need some budget friendly dinner ideas for 7 people. Trying to save money for Disney in april. Son doesn't like chicken too much. So need to be creative. Thanks

 

[Eureka]

We make pasta and cut up kielbasa to add to it. Then we make a creamy red sauce with equal measures red sauce and half and half. The kielbasa gives it flavor and enough meat that you feel satisfied without using too much.

Also, eggs or breakfast for dinner with fruit tends to be on the less expensive side.

 

[mommajo143]

What about turkey or shredded pork? I buy huge pork loins when they go on sale / clearance & then slice into chops & roasts myself. Shredded pork sandwiches or shredded pork tacos or shredded pork over potatoes are all easy & not too pricey. Otherwise soups, chilis & stews are cheap. You can bulk up on veggies, potatoes, and beans or serve with rice / noodles for a filling & cheap meal.

 

[mommajo143]

Fish tacos are novel & cheap if you watch your sales cycles... tilapia rotates regularly here. I do a side of back beans & homemade coleslaw (cabbage is super cheap!)... We eat alot of fish but my husband is an outdoorsman so he keeps our freezer full of fish & game.

 

[arminnie]

I don't like chicken much either. I am quite fond of beans though.

Red beans and rice with sausage - wonderful if seasoned appropriately. Navy bean soup or white beans with pork chops. Cuban black beans. Tex/Mex pinto beans. My favorite recipe site is Allrecipes.

The key is to use meat as a seasoning or enhancement - rather than having it as the primary ingredient. My husband is a big salad fan. This week as we are headed to Disney I was trying to use up some stuff in the refrigerator.

All started out with lettuce and green onions:
Italian salad - salami and fresh mozzarella with red wine vinegar vinaigrette
Green salad - snap sugar peas with lemon vinaigrette - served with beef stew (cubed beef with lots of potatoes, carrots, celery and onions)
Deconstructed wedge - blue cheese crumbles, bacon and blue cheese dressing
Taco salad - ground beef (or chicken) with taco seasoning, salsa, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes as desired

Pork is cheaper than chicken or beef. I like pork with green chili salsa over rice. You can also use it as a filling for tortillas. Pulled BBQ pork is also excellent.

Turkey can also be quite reasonable. My DH found a turkey on sale at half price - yes in March. We roasted it. I made turkey salad with cranberries, apples, and almonds that was delicious. We had turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. I made turkey stock with the carcass. I made 12 individual turkey potpies with the stock, turkey pieces and gravy that I froze. I also made several pints of turkey stock that I pressure canned (could be frozen).

When I have leftover beans or meat I often make soup.

 

[kymom99]

My husband loves this and it can be eaten more than one night.

Buy a variety pack of pork chops. They are usually pretty cheap. Use 4 or 5 and put the rest in the freezer for another day. Mix 2 cans cream of chicken soup and an envelope of hidden valley ranch mix. You may als want to add some pepper. Place chops in a crock pot and pour the soup mixture over them. Cook on low about 6 hours. Serve over rice. The meat will fall apart.

I did have to start making my own cream of chicken soup though since my husband discovered he has a wheat allergy. It's not too hard for anyone who has diet restrictions.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Since you have 7, you can really stretch meats while filling up with other proteins/heavy carbs...dishes that I think are kid and wallet friendly...

Lasagna (tons of ways) - you can do meat lasagna, cheese lasagna, spinach lasagna, veg lasagna, etc. The noodles should cost $2, the sauce $2 (1 1/2 jars), and the mozza/ricotta/parm component about $5 (only make this when the cheeses are on sale and keep the other components in your freezer waiting - frozen spinach, ground pork, ground beef, etc)...

Eggs (all ways) - Omelettes, Quiches, Egg Bakes, Scrambled/Fried/Deviled, Egg Salad, etc - this is the cheapest protein going right now, and pretty kid accessible. Pair them with Ham, Pancakes, Potatoes, etc, add on a side of fruit, and call dinner a day.

Pork (cheapest "easy" meat cut going) - I just did a plain pork shoulder in the crockpot that I split into 2 meals - Pork BBQ sandwiches and Pork in Country Gravy over Mashed Potatoes - you can do a million things with it. You can also slice into pork cutlets, pound them and bread them, and fry in a little oil for a chicken tender replacement.

Fish "stretched" - I would think a homemade clam chowder or a fish stew could be delicious - made with Aldi-priced veg and when the fish is on sale, you can feed a lot with a hearty soup and a loaf of bread. The fish tacos were also a good idea.

Grains - There are 100 different types (quinoa, cous cous, rice, pastas, etc) - some with proteins and some without...and 100 ways to make a cheap meal with them from as simple as Mac and Cheese done 100 ways (with ham, baked, crockpot, with broccoli, with white cheddar, with blue cheese, etc) to a Pasta with sauce (pesto, arribiata, alfredo, carbonera, tomato, etc)...

Vegs - I'm thinking Eggplant Parm for a "kid-friendly" meal (done when mozza and eggplant are on sale) - serve it over capellini or with a green salad and be done! You could also do a Panzanella salad or a main "green and bean" salad...

 

[firefly_ris]

I tend to make large batches of chili (I make a ground turkey chili with black beans, mashed red kidney beans [to thicken], diced tomatoes, corn, paprika, Frank's, salt and pepper, and I also sometimes make a Butternut squash turkey chili -- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/131107/butternut-squash-and-turkey-chili/), as well as homemade chicken noodle soup, and then divide it up and freeze it. It makes several meals for us and is great on days I work -- just pull it out to thaw the night before or in the morning and it's ready to go. I do the same thing with spaghetti sauce -- I make a good, 4-5 hour simmered red sauce, freeze it in batches and then pull out as needed for pasta nights.

I also try to make meatless meals at least 3-4 times per week. We only eat red meat a few times a month, if that, because it can be so expensive. When we do purchase red meat, we split a grass-fed cow with family -- 1/4 of a cow easily lasts us a year in our basement freezer. We just finished using our last batch and I haven't bought any more red meat at the store, a bit of sticker shock I guess.

My recent favorite meatless meal is this mexican quinoa dish -- http://damndelicious.net/2014/04/09/one-pan-mexican-quinoa/ It's very easy to make, and is filling without using any meat. I sometimes add diced chicken or beef to it upon special request but I personally prefer it without meat.

And as mentioned above anything that includes lower priced fish like tilapia can be great too. Salmon is a more expensive fish but my husband and I enjoy making a big salad and then topping it with a cut up salmon filet.

I also agree with eggs for dinner -- we do that frequently especially because it's a cheap, lean protein that my kids will reliably eat (I have a 6, 5, and 3 year old).

 

[MamaBelle4]

You're speaking my language. Growing up, I was the youngest of 7. Every meal was a budget meal. My mom is an amazing cook so everything was delicious.
Chicken pot pie (not a meat pie with a crust, but a real pot pie made in a stock pot). You could use ham (make sure you use ham hocks to get the flavor).
Ham & Bean soup.
Ham & Green Beans.
Spaghetti.
Chili.
Tacos (my mom's recipe is awesome)
Roast Beef.
Sausage with mashed potatoes and veg.
French toast.
Eggs & toast.
BLTs.

If you want any of my mom's recipes, pm me and I'll send them to you.

 

[lukenlaurafan77]

LOVE these meal ideas. Thank you guys! Especially the pork ones. Thank you!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Veggies in a biscuit is one of our favorites.
2 bags Mixed frozen vegetables, 1/4 onion, 2 cloves garlic, whatever about to turn veg you have in fridge, 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 1 carton veg or chicken stock, frozen or canned biscuits- saute onion, garlic, and fresh veg in dutch oven until tender. Add frozen mixed veg, cream of mushroom soup, stock, and salt/pepper/bay leaf to taste. Cook on stove top 20 minutes.

While soup is cooking, preheat oven to 375. Place biscuits in a single layer on top of soup. Bake in oven until biscuits start to brown, about 20 mins.

DH likes me to add shredded chicken to his bowl
This is our favorite comfort food, its like a less gooey chicken and dumplings.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

black bean quesadillas

Baked cod (i usually get Krgoer to put their cajun season on it, rice, steamed broccoli

veg. soup.

chili, sometimes I serve the leftovers on top of a baked potato to stretch them

"vegetable plates"- baked beans, mac and cheese, green beans, basically a plate full of "side dish" type foods.

Baked Ziti with salad and garlic bread

Grilled cheese and tomato soup served with a salad

White bean chili

Baked subs. Its a fun meal, just set out the buns and toppings, let everyone prep their own, then bake. Could be served with a brothy soup for dipping.

I like to make homemade pizza with from scratch dough, and top it with any fresh vegetables I need to use up. Alternatively you could do individual pita pizzas. Pita bread makes a great pizza base.

Stir-fries are also a great way to make a cheap meal. Just saute whatever veggies and meat you find on sale
, finish with your favorite stir fry sauce, serve over rice.

 

[Elle23]

One cheap thing my kids all like is baked potatoes (topped with their favorite toppings).

After washing and drying them, I rub them in olive oil and salt and bake them at 450 for a hour. They are delicious!

 

[Thing 1]

One different idea is to eat the pantry. Simply skip buying groceries one week and eat what you have. Meals may be a bit odd but that might be fun.

 

[DisneyHardin]

When I cook hamburger for tacos or burritos, I add 2 cans of black beans to it and it practically doubles the lb of hamburger.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Reviving this b/c I had my husband refuse my yesterday meal plan of stuffed french toast (so I had a missing meal for the week), so I decided to run to a grocery early and grab produce...hit Aldi's and it was finally the week again to do it (with farmer's markets opening around here, they are obviously competing hard on produce prices - I guess they also figured people aren't cooking this weekend)...if you want a cheap idea for 6 you can make with Aldi's stuff and what's in your house, here goes...

"What's on Sale" Ratatouille with Fried (or Baked) Eggs and Fresh Mozzarella (optional) over Toast
Serves 6
1/2 Eggplant $.50 (they were HUGE today)
1 zucchini $.16 (1/3 lb each - got 2lbs of mixed squash for $.99 and used 1 of 6 items in it)
1/2 package of 8oz white mushrooms $.30 ($.59 for full container)
1 onion $.25 (2lb bag for $2 - 8 onions in bag)
1 bell pepper - $.84
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes (mine has garlic, basil, and oregano in it) $.80
1 tsp chopped garlic, (dried basil, hot red pepper flake, salt, pepper to taste - all optional) - $.25
2tsp-1 TB balsamic (also optional) and 2-3TB olive oil - $.50
1 dozen eggs $.59
4oz of fresh mozzarella - $1 (optional)
10 slices of bread - $.50 (from $.99 cent loaf)

$5.69 for this meal (it would be cheaper if I put in on orzo, but I really want the eggs and mozza thing b/c I've never done it before...plus, protein tastes good...

Adding 1lb on fresh strawberries I got today for $1.39 and it's $7.08 for 6 people...