Cheap dinner ideas

[Jones1978]

What are your cheapest dinner ideas? It's getting closer to pay day but my account it really hurting. Getting paid once a month is difficult!!

 

[verleniahall]

Check out the "Eat at Home" threads - there are three of them now - TONS of great ideas

 

[tasha99]

Fried rice, spaghetti, dal with rice, Senate navy bean soup, pea soup, red beans and rice

On the meatier side, roast a chicken or fry some chicken thighs. Nomnom paleo has good recipes for these (spatchcocked chicken and cracklin chicken respectively). Her orange sriracha chicken is really good too--we make the orange sriracha sauce as a chicken tender dipping sauce as well (with double sriracha).

 

[grumpy28]

Black beans and rice, breakfast dinner, Costco rotesserie chicken can stretch to 3 meals for us, hot dogs, veggie chili and cornbread, crockpot pinto beans and tortillas, grilled cheese sandwiches or quesadillas.

 

[Dakota731]

I got a large pork roast at Aldi this week for $6 that fed us for several days. I made a roast then shredded leftovers for pork barbecue sandwiches and quesedillas. I did the same thing last week with chicken breasts. We had variety plus I saved time and money.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

Check out reddit's eat cheap and healthy subreddit.

Otherwise, how it works for us is eating variations of chicken plus veggie plus sometimes a carb. So, teriyaki stir fry (chicken, rice, veggies, sauce), bbq chicken meal (chicken on the grill, veggies on the grill), mustard chicken (chicken plus a dijon sauce, quinoa, broccoli).

We get chicken for no more than $2/lb from our local health foods store, and we usually just grab whatever veggies are on sale, as those are the ones in season anyway. Make enough so you can eat the same meal as leftovers for lunch the next day and life is good!

On the weekends we typically try to fill up on breakfast meals (so the full spread, pancakes, eggs, bacon), and eat one late lunch/early dinner, usually a sandwich/effortless type meal.

 

[Scifidiner]

Back in college I'd make chili cheese dogs (I still love 'em) or make a box of mac & cheese and throw in a can of tuna. When you grocery shop check the meat section for sale items, Walmart always has a day old bread section.

 

[kymom99]

Aldi has huge pizzas for like 5.99 for cheese. Get a bag of salad to go with it.

 

[EscalatorKid]

I do a lot of instant pot stuff. I also buy bulk bags of basmati rice at BJs.

A jar of salsa, seasoning, and chicken bouillon broth and 25 mins later, I have chicken tacos for two or three days.

I can also cook dried beans with some onion, bacon, and garlic and spices in 35 minutes and eat beans and rice for a few meals.

Pasta cooked stovetop in sauce made from canned tomatoes, onions, celery, and garlic. Or you can even do Hunts canned sauce for $1 a can.

I add a vegetable (peas or green beans, sometimes carrots or zucchini) or salad.

I have done noodles stove top with a sauce made of Sriracha, soy sauce, and honey or brown sugar. Or Peanut Butter, soy sauce, and honey with enough pasta water to thin it out. I use ramen and 1tbsp each of sauce ingredients. I scramble an egg per serving in either butter or sesame oil, add the sauce, and then add cooked noodles. Add in cooked stir fry veggies or peas...

 

[usnuzuloose]

check out pintrest. They have a lot of good ideas.
Left over chicken can make pot pies. Homemade crust, canned veggies. Freeze well.

So much can be made on the cheap.

 

[mrsboz]

This is so cheap and so easy everyone loves it. Cook penne pasta the last five minutes throw in broccoli. Drain mix in butter, pepper and garlic salt. That’s it. If you want to put in chicken and/or cheese you can but I’ve served this tons of times to all age groups and everyone loves it and has no idea how easy it is.