Cheap Dinners

[smilie]

Help! I need ideas.... what are some of your dinner ideas that are reasonably cheap? I have a few but would like to broaden out. I'm getting tired of the same things.

 

[tvguy]

Easy. What ever protein is on sale at the store that week served with what produce is on sale.
Last night we had boneless chicken breast topped with marinara sauce, and broccoli. The chicken was $1.99 a pound and the broccoli was $1.27 a pound and the marinara was $1.98. A pound of chicken, a pound of broccoli and a 1/4 jar of marinara and dinner for two was $3.76

 

[Floridaman999]

Have you looked at the budget board?

 

[sjrec]

I second TVguy-whatever protein is on sale-I baked a 7.00 ham Sunday and produce. Baked potatoes, corn is really cheap right now. I bake the potatoes, slice longways and scoop out the flesh. Mash with a little milk and Parmesan cheese. Pile it back in the shells and bake another 5 minutes. We are happy with just one half and save the extras for dinner the next night with soup.
Remember whatever your fixing is probably better for you and cheaper than eating out!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Browned hamburger + frozen peas + ramen noodles.

 

[GreatLakes]

Just about anything you can make in the crock pot. Some broth, vegetables, and beans and/or meat and you have multiple meals.

 

[NYCgrrl]

GAnother person who avidly studies the supermarket fliers.
This time of year fresh produce is cheap and plentiful so I buy enough for now and flash freeze for later.

Here are some of the dishes I've made during the hot and muggy days we are having currently:

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/04/chicken-cashew-ding-stir-fry-recipe.html
Made it last night minus the jicama (replaced it with an ear of corn that I sliced straight through making mini ears of corn) and added more zucchini as it's really coming into it's own right now and removed the 'shrooms since one of us doesn't like them. Had no more Chinese rice wine so used white vermouth instead. You might want to ignore the instructions to add salt during the marinating portion since I think it would make the final dish too salty what with the soy sauce and salt used later in the recipe. Oh and if you've no cashews on hand peanuts will work just as well. Nut allergy? Just don't use any; dish will still taste fine. Think it took about 30 minutes of active cooking to bring to table.

This is the time of year to make a big ol' pot of ratatouille on my end. The main ingredients are nice and fresh. I serve it as a side dish, a main over rice or pasta, in an omelet or w/ grilled meat.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/257125/lemon-sopressata-chicken/
This dish is so simple to make and flavourful it boggles the mind. Twenty minutes (I timed myself making it, LOL) and it was done before the table was set.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/262152/guacamole-chicken/
Another simple to make and easy on the money dish. DGD's had no cheese on it since she still doesn't like it and it tasted fine. Same dish can be made with pesto or salsa/pico de gallo with minor adjustments. Use any mild flavored melting cheese you've on hand such as Fontina, Pepper Jack, Swiss, etc.

a salad Nicoise (tons of recipes via Google; I just do it out of my head). My only caveat is to try using tuna packed in olive oil since it tastes much better for this dish. When I can't find the versions in glass jars I use Progresso's or Genova's canned version. Can't find any packed in olive oil? Drain the liquid off and add olive oil into the can, place in fridge and allow the oil time to premeate the canned goods. Generally if I do this in the morning it's ready come dinner time.

Steamed mussels. Serve a pot of them seasoned with garlic, parsley and white wine or beer for a Gallic version. Italian is much the same with the addition of tomatoes. A loaf of bread, a green salad and you're done.

Speaking of salads if you've an abundance of soft leafed herbs on hand mix them together in equal portions, make a vinegarette and serve. Parsley, chives, mint, basil, jump to mind. Nice with any grilled meat or fish.

Finally, it isn't summer on this end if I don't make a rice salad. Again I do it w/o a recipe but here's an article about the hows and whys as well as a recipe. You can make it as simple as foraging through your fridge or follow a recipe to the letter. I generally use cukes, a little radish, tomatoes, and fresh mint in addition to the canned oil packed tuna. Frozen peas defrosted via cold running water are good too.

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-08-05/food/fo-20608_1_rice-salad

HTH.

 

[Scifidiner]

Beans, rice and ground beef, a shot of hot sauce and a side of cornbread.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Cheap dinners depend greatly on whatever is on sale. I try to stock up on meat and shredded cheese when they are on sale, portion them into freezer bags and freeze them. In the past week, I've seen ground beef, chicken breast, pork chops, pork loin, and cheese all for less than $2/ lb. Potatows can sometimes be found for $2/5 lbs, fresh veggies for less than $1/lb, canned for around 50 cents. Cook some rice or potatoes and vegetable with whatever meat, and you have a meal for $2 or less/ person.

If we have leftover mashed potatoes and vegetables, I'll cook some ground beef with it and make shepherds pie. Some of our other cheap meals are any kind of pasta and sauce (usually can get 1 lb pasta for $1 and sauce for less than $2, homemade garlic bread with regular bread, butter, and some garlic powder that I always have on hand- cheap). Also, grilled cheese and tomato soup (maybe 50 cents per serving), hot dogs and Mac and cheese (less than $1/ person), cheese or chicken quesadillas with rice (leftover chicken works great for this). Leftover ham bone with some beans can make bean soup, leftover chicken on bones and some veggies can make chicken soup. Ground beef, egg noodles and brown gravy and you have beef pasta for $1/person. Stuff some chicken breast with left over ham (regular ham or even lunchmeat ham) and cheese and bake and you can have cheap chicken cordon Bleu. Sometimes we will have loaded baked potatoes for a meal stuffed with leftover meat, veggies, and cheese. Day old leftover white rice can be fried up with some egg and leftover veggies to make fried rice. Pair it with some chicken and whatever sauce you prefer, or just add some leftover chicken to the rice and you have Chicken Fried Rice. Meatloaf typically isn't too expensive per serving since it's bulked up with the breadcrumbs and egg. I sometimes make it in muffin/cupcake pans, topped with some leftover mashed potato and a little bit of cheese and bacon bits and you have some cute meatloaf cupcakes.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Chili Mac.

1.5 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 onion diced
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1 can kidney beans
1 can rotel or diced tomatoes with jalapeños
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 package elbow macaroni
Cumin
Chili powder
S&p

One pot meal! All cans are the 14 ounce rough size give or take.

Cook meat with onion, drain grease and add garlic and spices to taste.
Add tomatoes, sauce and on can of water. Drain and rinse beans and add. Simmer for a few minutes.

Ad UNCOOKED pasta, give everything a good stir and pat down the noodles to make sure all are submerged. Cook 15 minutes or until pasta is done stirring at least once. If it seems dry you can add one small can of tomato sauce or a bit more water.

 

[firefly_ris]

I shop weekly sales... I also have a stand-up freezer in the basement so I buy meat in bulk when on sale, divide and freeze to pull out as needed.

Mexican Quinoa (quinoa isn't exactly cheap but it's filling and a little goes a long way) --

Follow directions to make quinoa in a large pan... once it has absorbed most of the water I add:
- Shredded cheese
- Diced tomato
- Corn
- (drained & rinsed canned) Black Beans
- Lime juice
- Salt/pepper/paprika/cilantro/Frank's to personal taste

Then I will top it with diced avocado if it's on sale that week, if not I omit it. Alternatively I don't always have cheese in the house so sometimes that gets omitted. Basically I just try to use what's on hand. If you don't like quinoa, rice would be a fine replacement. This is meatless, and I usually make a big enough batch for leftovers for lunch the next day, plus all of my kids eat it.


Pizza Sandwiches --

- I do these in an electric hot sandwich maker but on the pan would work too. White bread, mozz cheese, a bit of tomato sauce, and a few pepperonis if desired. Make in sandwich maker or stovetop (weigh the sandwich down with a smaller pan or something to smoosh it together a bit). These are my "oh crap we have 20 minutes before soccer practice" type dinners. Cheaper than pizza Hot Pockets.


Turkey Chili (or ground beef, or go meatless for cheaper) --

- Dark red kidney beans, mashed with a potato masher ('hides' some of the bean ingredients and makes a thicker chili)
- Black beans (left whole)
- Corn
- Diced tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Ground turkey or other ground meat
- Paprika
- Salt/pepper
- Cumin
- Frank's
- Chili powder
- Minced garlic
- Diced onion

I make pretty big batches of this in the fall and freeze portions for quick meals later.


Shrimp fried rice -- omit or replace shrimp if not on sale. I often get frozen raw shrimp and these do just fine

- Rice
- Shrimp
- Peas
- Corn
- Scrambled egg
- Soy Sauce


Or Shrimp Rice Bowl...
- Rice
- Mix lime juice and cilantro in with the rice
- Corn
- Black beans
- Marinated shrimp (I try all sorts... soy sauce/Old Bay/green onion marinade, hot sauce/garlic/butter marinade)
- Avocado


1-Casserole Chicken dinner
- Bone-in chicken thighs (usually the best bang for my buck)
- Potatoes, cut up
- Whole fresh green beans

Line each of these in a row in a casserole dish. Drizzle olive oil, and sprinkle an italian dressing seasoning packet (like Good Seasons, but generic store brand just as good for this and cheaper). Bake.


Shrimp, meat and the avocados are the highest cost ingredients, but I try to just keep pantry and freezer stocked with the other base ingredients, as you can see I re-use a lot of base ingredients frequently.... I always keep big bags of frozen corn on hand, stock up on canned beans on sale, tomato sauce/paste, buy meat on sale/bulk and freeze, etc. Then I can wait until shrimp, avocado, or other specialty ingredients are on sale, pick them up that week and already have the rest of the stuff.

I really love an occasional fancier meal but a lot of them call for "one-off"/specialty ingredients that are either expensive, or I won't use all of and it will go bad. I try to just keep a lot of basic stuff "in stock" in the house and then I can sort of just make stuff up based on what I need to get rid of or what we have time for.

 

[luvsJack]

When I am trying to cook the cheapest possible meals, I do a lot of one pot meals or casseroles.

I first see what meat is on sale and go from there. Chicken breast or thighs and ground beef is usually the go to. But this time of year country style ribs go on really good sales. As does any meat that’s great on the grill.

With ribs, I either oven bbq or do a one pot meal with ribs, potatoes and cabbage. If you like cabbage, it’s really good.

Red beans and rice with or without sausage or black beans and rice are both good for cheap meals too.

This week, I am making chicken and broccoli casserole (with chicken thighs), goulash, Lima corn bbq, bbq ribs and sweet potatoes. Leftovers will be served a couple of times, plus plenty for lunches.

This weekend I will cook a pork roast- it will be served one night with sweet potatoes, one night as tacos and one night as bbq pork sandwiches.

 

[NYCgrrl]

When I am trying to cook the cheapest possible meals, I do a lot of one pot meals or casseroles.

I first see what meat is on sale and go from there. Chicken breast or thighs and ground beef is usually the go to. But this time of year country style ribs go on really good sales. As does any meat that’s great on the grill.

With ribs, I either oven bbq or do a one pot meal with ribs, potatoes and cabbage. If you like cabbage, it’s really good.

Red beans and rice with or without sausage or black beans and rice are both good for cheap meals too.

This week, I am making chicken and broccoli casserole (with chicken thighs), goulash, Lima corn bbq, bbq ribs and sweet potatoes. Leftovers will be served a couple of times, plus plenty for lunches.

This weekend I will cook a pork roast- it will be served one night with sweet potatoes, one night as tacos and one night as bbq pork sandwiches.

Got recipe or technique?
I wuvvvvv me some succotash and since on my end dried lima beans are getting hard to come by I buy them online from:

https://www.ranchogordo.com/

Another un related to beans quick nourishing and inexpensive meal is pasta carbonara.
This is my go to recipe:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes...edCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article

I add one extra egg yolk, cook the bacon in the nuker or sautee in a pan with water instead of any type of additional fat; am not afraid of adding water slowly to the finished egg + cheese sauce and add some microplaned garlic. I use any type of Italian cheese I've on hand: a mixture of Parm, or Romano, or Asiago. Use the leftover whites to make a Swiss meringue for a fast fruit dessert or just freeze them in a dedicated ice tray.

 

[luvsJack]

Got recipe or technique?
I wuvvvvv me some succotash and since on my end dried lima beans are getting hard to come by I buy them online from:

https://www.ranchogordo.com/

Another un related to beans quick nourishing and inexpensive meal is pasta carbonara.
This is my go to recipe:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes...edCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article

I add one extra egg yolk, cook the bacon in the nuker or sautee in a pan with water instead of any type of additional fat; am not afraid of adding water slowly to the finished egg + cheese sauce and add some microplaned garlic. I use any type of Italian cheese I've on hand: a mixture of Parm, or Romano, or Asiago. Use the leftover whites to make a Swiss meringue for a fast fruit dessert or just freeze them in a dedicated ice tray.

It’s actually canned limas. My sister gave me the recipe and she got it from an aunt when they made her a recipe file for her wedding gift.

It’s just a pound of ground beef, browned with about a fourth of an onion chopped. Add a can of tomato soup, a can of green Limas (I guess you could use dried that have been cooked), and a can of corn(both canned veggies drained), 2 Tb of chili powder and 1T of yellow mustard. I add a tablespoon of sugar to cut the acid of the soup, just because it gives me heartburn. Let it simmer down until most of the liquid is gone. It’s also one of those things that’s better the next day.

I have also done it with frozen corn and limas just because that is what I had. Just cooked the limas first, the corn will cook in the pot but I wasn’t sure the beans would.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Help! I need ideas.... what are some of your dinner ideas that are reasonably cheap? I have a few but would like to broaden out. I'm getting tired of the same things.

Ramen 25 cents a piece.

 

[Minnesota!]

We do a lot of omelets and quesadillas when money is tight. You can throw anything in an omelet, and almost anything between some tortillas. I grate up 2 decent sized potatoes, salt and drain and then fry for some yum homemade hash browns, too.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Browned hamburger + frozen peas + ramen noodles.

sounds bland. I would use the sauce packet, too

 

[Micca]

Not a meal, but a basis for one: Chicken thighs. They are very cheap and very tasty. They have a lot more flavor than chicken breasts, just season them and bake them until the skin is crispy.

 

[kimblebee]

You guys are so lucky to have such cheap food prices. The lowest our chicken goes is about $4.99/lb and that’s only 3-4 times a year. I stock up with about $100 of chicken and try to stretch it til the next time it goes on sale. Maybe our quality is better? I’ve never compared taste but it would be interesting.

 

[firefly_ris]

You guys are so lucky to have such cheap food prices. The lowest our chicken goes is about $4.99/lb and that’s only 3-4 times a year. I stock up with about $100 of chicken and try to stretch it til the next time it goes on sale. Maybe our quality is better? I’ve never compared taste but it would be interesting.

So much seems to really be dependent on where you live (in the US anyway) -- I live in Buffalo NY, we probably don't have the lowest food prices ever but I don't think they are particularly outrageous (with the exception of convenience/packaged or specialty/gourmet type stuff) -- and for chicken I just have to keep a close eye on sales -- a few times a year bone-in chicken breasts will go on sale for 99cents/lb -- but have to read the label carefully, as some chicken is injected with sodium broth, which falsely increases overall weight, plus that added sodium, etc. I have 3 different stores I rotate through and do a lot of comparison shopping that way (Aldi, Tops and Wegmans are the three). I can usually find someone with on-sale chicken that hasn't been injected with the broth with some effort, but if I had more money I'd just buy all my chicken from the local farm about 3 miles from my house, but it's simply out of my budget feeding 5. Now if I lived in NYC or San Francisco my grocery budget and bills would be a lot different I'm sure. Even when I go back home to Maryland, a 6 hour drive, I notice price differences at the grocery store near my parents' compared to my places here in Western NY. Some things are higher, some lower. I guess a lot depends on how far the trucks have to go to get things there too... like how grocery costs in Alaska are very high.