Budget Friendly Recipes

[jessp1021]

Ok so I am trying to shape a realistic budget for us as we need absolutely NO extra spending before our trip and I am looking for budget friendly dinner and lunch ideas other than hamburger helper, tuna helper, taco's, manwhiches, and noodles

 

[cluvsdisney]

When I am really watching the budget, I'll make things I get a few meals out of like baked ziti, meatballs, mac & cheese or we'll have breakfast for dinner, home made pizza,

I stock up on favorites when they are on sale like chicken cutlets, spiral ham, turkey breast. I try to keep a couple of containers of sauce in the freezer.

 

[brobrosmom]

I like things that are easy with a few ingredients:

Red beans & sausage over rice
Gumbo - I use a mix and add chicken and sausage
Chili over rice
Pizza casserole - noodles, pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese
Tater Tot casserole
Spaghetti Bake
Shredded chicken with gravy over rice or bread.

I use a lot of rice and noodles because they make more without a lot of cost. I know it's a lot of carbs but I am trying to stretch our grocery $.

 

[MamaJessie]

Roast chicken - with potatoes and veg

Use leftover to make stock and chicken soup for dinner


Homemade pizza

Spanish Rice

Baked chicken thighs. Found them when money was super tight and turns out my family loves them

Breakfast casserole - eggs / small amount of meat / shredded potatoes / cheese and diced onion

Fried dough - super unhealthy but super cheap and the kids thought it was a fun treat. Did serve it with veg and dip.

 

[azdisneylover]

I am coming out of lurking! Some of my budget stretching recipes are; roasting a chicken one night with baked potatoes, mixed vegetables, homemade bread, then, with the left over chicken, dice and put aside for chicken enchiladas. I will make stock with the carcass to use later along with any left over baked potatoes for the Disney loaded baked potato soup (recipe is on the boards). I make homemade pizza like many others on the board, with ingredients purchased on sale. With any left over homemade bread, I slice and freeze for a 'breakfast' dinner. The breakfast dinner includes eggs, bacon or sausage, either waffles, pancakes or french toast (using the frozen homemade bread), fruit and milk.
I would suggest looking at the recipes people have collected and posted that are favorites you eat when at Disney, and try to incorporate them into your menus.

 

[katesorad]

Do you have access to a Costco or another store like that? They sell giant cans of diced tomatoes. Throw those into a big pot with onion, garlic, basil, oregano, onion powder, bay leaf, garlic powder, thyme, etc., and make a giant pot of meatless pasta sauce. You can even throw a couple pounds of ground beef in there and make it meaty. It will make a LOT of sauce. Boxes of pasta cost around $1 - $2. Freeze leftover sauce and you'll have tons of inexpensive meals. If you do it without meat, you can make several meals for less than $5.

 

[heatherleigh]

I just made chili in the slow cooker the other day, with ground beef I bought on sale. The ingredients it calls for are pretty cheap, so I'd have to go with chili. We do not use beans in ours either, but I don't think beans would be much, even if you decided to use them.

 

[leight]

My biggest part of my food budget is lunches for DH . Dh is a driver so most leftovers don't work(no way to heat and he's not a leftover kinda guy either) so he takes sandwiches everyday. Most of which I can't coupon to reduce the prices. He prefers boar's head coldcuts- which are not cheap and the rolls he likes are usually $3.49 for a 8 pack- I can't freeze bakery rolls like I did in NY because they just don't taste right.

With leftover cold cuts I will make a stromboli on friday or saturday. Pizza dough either homemade, or pulled from the freezer in advance. I also try to have a pillsbury pizza dough on hand for quick fixes too-get them on sale and no defrosting. Just layer the cold cuts in a rolled out dough, add cheese- any kind but I usually add mozzarella too- add leftover veggies if you like them and roll it up and bake. If you have sauce on the side great. I loved my mom's spinach pie which was a stromboli with italian sausage, onions and spinach. Delish. If the pillsbury pizza dough is about to expire- I will make fried dough as zeppolis for desert. They love that!

You can definately stretch meals with pasta, rice and potatoes. As a kid during lent we wouldn't eat meat and since my family didn't like fish we were pretty limited. We'd have spaghetti pie or potatoes and eggs(great way to use up leftover baked potatoes or plan in advance and throw an extra 2 on the grill to serve the next night) Just fry up the sliced potatoes and add in eggs. Egg dishes are so versatile. Omelets, scrambles-etc. Spaghetti pie is cooked spaghetti baked with eggs and anything else you care to throw in(I like it with broccoli) bake it until it is firm and golden brown. It can be sliced into pie pieces-and you can let the kids eat it with their hands-which kids love.

I think the key is planning.If you have your go to items conveniently on hand you won't feel the need to eat out or feel deprived when planning the evening meal. I buy meats only on sale and individually wrap servings or amounts used in common meals dh makes since he cooks for the kids M-thurs- I work late those nights. He can pull chicken breasts from the freezer individually wrapped to grill or bake or already fried into cutlets for parmigiana, wraps or salads. I always keep extra pasta sauce in the freezer and there's usually enough in the fridge from sunday(pasta on sunday is tradition) to make easy meals during the week like the parmigiana or meatball heros. Don't be afraid to add an extra serving or two of meat to a meal then freeze after being cooked. I made salsa chicken breasts in the crockpot for lunches last week and froze the leftovers. This week I defrosted, shredded it and made my own version of soft chicken tacos for a work lunch. You can also use it to make chicken quesadillas . Brown some extra ground beef and freeze in individual servings. You can mix with sauce to make lasagna, use for tacos, casseroles, chili. Quick and easy if you plan ahead.

Good luck!

 

[sherry7]

Roast chicken - with potatoes and veg

Use leftover to make stock and chicken soup for dinner


Homemade pizza

Spanish Rice

Baked chicken thighs. Found them when money was super tight and turns out my family loves them

Breakfast casserole - eggs / small amount of meat / shredded potatoes / cheese and diced onion

Fried dough - super unhealthy but super cheap and the kids thought it was a fun treat. Did serve it with veg and dip.

How do you make fried dough? I love eating that stuff at the fair, etc.

Some more cheap ideas:
Chili, especially if you use dried beans which are inexpensive.
Soups & stews
Chicken & dumplings
Breakfast for dinner

 

[wide awake]

Turkey thighs, legs, and wings are great if you're trying to save money. The thighs can be roasted...legs also but they are a little more difficult to eat...I prefer to cook those and shred for tacos, enchiladas, etc... The wings can be used for stewed turkey which you can eat w/ bread, potatoes, rice, etc..
Polenta is a great side if you're watching your money. Cornmeal and water. Some stock, or butter, or cheese if you want to make it a little richer.
Dried beans are great. So cheap, yummy, and healthy.

 

[TiffanyK]

I recently did a blog post about this. Here are 63 Budget Friendly Meals, Meal Stretchers and Desserts.

 

[ferrytale]

Looking for new ideas myself, but here are a few I like -

"Stir fry" - I usually get away with 1-2 pieces of chicken or pork, you could use beef too (uncooked or leftover from the night before). Cut them up small and throw them in a frying pan with some soy sauce and/or teriyaki sauce. Throw in a cup(or 2 depending on how hungry we are) of cooked rice and some frozen snap peas or broccoli (usually stock up on them when they are $10 for 10).

Tuna Melts - Tuna on a bagel with some cheese on top. Pop them under the broiler or in a toaster oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Mini Pizzas - English Muffins or bagels with pizza sauce and cheese.

Poor Man's Burgers - MIL makes these, ground beef - make a small patty (like you are making a burger, but no seasonings or anything. Put it on top of a plain piece of white bread with a slice of cheese on top and put them in the oven - bake until done. I know it sounds ridiculously easy, but they are good!

Sheppard's Pie (or a version of...I know it's not "authentic") - Brown ground beef, mix in some sauce or gravy and some frozen veggies of your choice, we usually use corn or mixed veggies. Mix up some instant mashed potatoes Layer the beef/veggie mix in the bottom of an oven safe pan, top with mashed potatoes, sprinkle with some parmesean cheese and bake until top is slightly brown or heated all the way through.

Tuna burgers - Mixed canned tuna, 1 egg, some bread crumbs, a little mayo. form into patties, pan fry or bake.

Lots of what I make is budget, but I don't ever think of it that way since that's how I was raised! Always just used what we had around, never thought of it being budget, but they are always cheap and pretty tasty!

 

[MamaJessie]

How do you make fried dough? I love eating that stuff at the fair, etc.

I just make a pizza dough, divide it into about 6 portions, roll it into a circle and fry it in a couple inches of oil, flipping once it gets golden. I googled it the first time to get a couple ideas. It really is easy.

 

[sherry7]

I just make a pizza dough, divide it into about 6 portions, roll it into a circle and fry it in a couple inches of oil, flipping once it gets golden. I googled it the first time to get a couple ideas. It really is easy.

Thanks! Sounds yummy.