Need cheap dinner ideas so i can go to disney again!

[MOpGrad2013]

We don't buy the rotisserie chicken anymore because we prefer turkey. About every other week, I put one (20 pounds and up) in the oven. I use the oven bag and 3 1/2 hours later, tah dah! Poultry for several days.

Debone, bag and freeze in pound increments, we can have sandwiches, pasta, quiche, on salads...

With our large family, this worked wonderfully. Now that 3 adults are out to work and college, it still works & then when they all return, less work for me.

 

[mrzrich]

And I admit to being a terrible grocery shopper lol! I don't use coupons or sales papers or really even look at prices.

This has to stop. If there is an item that you buy regularly, even if you arent buying the item this week, take down the price. Take a picture with your phone, or start a list of prices in your phone.

If you dont know the regular price for an item, then you wont know if a sale is a great deal or not.

For example last week Publix had Pork tenderloin for $1.99 /lb. I knew that pork tenderloin is usually almost $6 /lb in my area. I knew that normally when they go on sale, it is for around $3.99, so that meant that $1.99 a pound was an exceptional sale. I bought 2 whole tenderloins, 21 lbs worth for $42.

With that 21 lbs I made 4 ziplock of 4 boneless chops (16 chops), 1 ziplock of 8 thin sliced pork cutlets, 4 roasts sized for my family of 4, and one large roast for when company comes over. The remaining meat, and any mistake cutes that I made went into a pot with an onion and some BBQ sauce. It made enough pulled pork for 2 meals.

Thats 12 meals for $42. I wounldn't have realized what an exceptional price it was if I didn't know the regular price and the common sale price.

 

[kymom99]

I'm pretty good about checking sales and being frugal, but I'm not an adventurous cook. So we have the same things over and over. I have been trying new things here and there, but it is hard for me.

Since there are 3 of us, most things we make provide a serving left over which is great for busy nights and lunches. One thing I do is make extra of some things. For example, if I am going to make baked potatoes, instead of having the oven on for 90 minutes for 3 potatoes, I make extras for lunch or for another night. I personally like the reheated potatoes better because they end up so moist. You can save on electricity and have something to reheat quickly for another meal. Potatoes are cheap around here too.

Since you are a SAHM, would you be interested in canning? My husband has gotten really good at it and enjoys it. He had a boatload of tomatoes this past summer and he put up a bunch of quarts of pasta sauce. He used the Mrs. Wages packets and added in some of his own touches. He also made salsa that has been a hit with everyone. He adds corn and extra peppers to bulk it up. He made pickles too. I gave some of his stuff away for Christmas and everyone raved about what they got.

Last night's dinner probably cost about $3 total. I had a box of spaghetti for $1and used half of it, a jar of my husband's sauce, and some armor meatballs. I used 2 hamburger buns that were getting stale and broiled them with a little butter and mozzarella cheese. (My mom's little trick to use old buns.) It was a very tasty meal and we had a bowl left over for lunch or leftover night.

 

[kelconic]

I didn't read the responses yet but I have a question. Are you looking to only buy good quality meats and and non processed foods? Or do you eat anything? That makes a huge difference. You will find people on here can spend 75 a week for a family of 4 because they buy anything on sale/with coupons regardless of quality and they live where groceries are cheaper. If you want truly whole foods of quality and live someplace expensive you won't feed your family in 75 like they do.

Exactly! I've tried coupons but the things I buy (fresh fruit, veggies, meat) never get coupons! I have gotten some good ideas here such as using the circular to pick the fresh foods and meats that are on sale for the week as well as some good recipes and websites. That is what I was mainly looking for when I made my original post
Others have posted about feeding my family garbage because I don't want to work:/. Totally not the case, I would never do that! Just looking for some new recipes that are budget friendly.

 

[kelconic]

I've just got to say that if I
was working full-time to support my family
and my barely working to begin with spouse
decided to cut the grocery bill by more than a third
(instead of picking up an extra shift)
and started feeding me slop
just to go on another vacation
without discussing it with me
I'd be pretty darn angry.

And we'd be having quite the "discussion" about it later.

I would never feed my family slop! And my hubby wants to go back too, not just me
He has a stressful job working for his family business, long hours, etc., and I love being able to have things done so he can come home and relax. We get to spend a lot of time as a family just relaxing in the evenings and on weekends (when we aren't at football, basketball, soccer, or softball). I feel VERY blessed that I am able to stay home but would certainly work more if my family needed me to

 

[kelconic]

Thanks for posting these great ideas. I too am trying to cut our grocery bill down. We are a family of 5 and I spend about $600 a month, which is way too much I think. This does include breakfast, lunch, dinner for all 5 of us as the kids and I pack our lunches. Having 2 teenage boys does not help either.

I would love to get our bill down to at least $400 a month or less if possible.

Eek! I am sure 2 teenage boys can put down some food!!

 

[kelconic]

Is this the case for just groceries, or is this how you shop in general? You can start seriously saving by making a real effort to change this behavior. For non grocery items especially online purchases, you should check sites like retail me not for coupons and free shipping offers before clicking "BUY"

Now, back to grocercies:

Shopping based on the weekly ads is really important. When something you use is offered at an exceptional price, stock up. (Note the "you use" in the sentence. Dont buy stuff just because its on sale if it isnt something you would ever buy otherwise.)

Look at the ads before you go to the store and try to plan meals based on what is on sale.

Make a list! Stick to it! List items you saw in the ad, and other items you need for the house.

Match the items on your list to coupons that you find.

Coupons no longer require cutting, you can download apps to your phone that allow you to browse coupons on your computer, weekly ad in hand, click the ones you want, and presto! They are on your phone, the check out clerk scans a bar code on your phone, and the money is taken off your bill.

Just groceries. Otherwise I'm a tightwad lol!

 

[kelconic]

A lot of people have said it, but I disagree... shopping habits are a habit and can be changed with some effort... but I think a lot of people throw out/waste etc at least half as much as the OP is suggesting she cut out of her budget. Just putting 10 minutes a day into managing your leftovers, freezing and storing your "Bits" of fresh vegetables etc., and actually USING what you have... $200 seems generous budget to begin with for 4, which makes me think there is a good amount of waste going on or at least more prepared foods than you need. Simple changes such as Rice instead of Minute rice, nice homemade rolls instead of store bought, homemade pasta sauce made in big batches instead of the jar... you still have the same foods for your picky eaters, but you can spend less on them!
The other thing I wanted to say to OP is don't jump into a whole list of new cheap dinners, but try to work in one or two a week. Easier on your family and your budget if they don't like your new menu.

Yes! I try to only spring one new one on them a week. And I agree it can be done fairly easily. By shopping at wal-mart this week I spent $100 less buying the same things I normally buy and so far everything has been good. I just hate going to wal-mart but I will certainly do it for that kind if savings!. My family are not big eaters and $200-$250 a week just seems crazy to me!

 

[mrzrich]

Exactly! I've tried coupons but the things I buy (fresh fruit, veggies, meat) never get coupons! I have gotten some good ideas here such as using the circular to pick the fresh foods and meats that are on sale for the week as well as some good recipes and websites.

Try looking for them for Health and beauty, paper products, condiments, and grains.

 

[pocomom]

My favorite super cheap meal is a nice soup and homemade bread. Make the soup from leftover veggies I have frozen or are on their final days. Throw in beans, barley or pasta or whatever sounds good to make more filling. Nice warm homemade bread. Yum!
Today I'm making a nice roasted butternut squash and apple soup. One onion, one apple, one squash and some veg bullion makes enough for a dinner for my 5 and a lunch or two leftovet.

 

[sk!mom]

I'm always amazed at how many meals some get out of their rotisserie chickens. They must be HUGE chickens! My family of 2 (sometimes 3 depending if DD is home for dinner that night) can maybe get 2 meals out of them. The ones I buy must be small in comparison.

We don't buy them anymore because we have moved to a no processed mostly plant based diet but when we did, my family of 3 would eat only the breast by itself. Dinner one was sliced chicken breast with sides. Usually this left a small amount of breast that I would add to a Caesar salad for dinner 2- with whole grain pasta thrown in it was a filling meal. Each leg quarter would be stripped and saved to use in a variety of ways- Chicken noodle or tortilla soup, sour cream chicken enchiladas, chicken pot pie.

To the OP, I also think that amount of cut is ambitious and would choose to work an extra day or two a month to save for vacation however I will make a few suggestions. I stock up when HEB has a good price on something but my main tip is to cook from scratch and cut down on meat.

We have salmon once a week. All other meals are plant based except for special occasions and maybe once a month I'll make an old favorite beef or chicken dish.
This week for instance-
Wednesday- New Years Day so we had our traditional Crab Legs with twice baked potatoes, asparagus, black eyed pea kale soup.

Thursday- Cauliflower cakes, green beans, salad

Tonight- Black bean nachos - I use Central Market whole grain multiseeded chips

Saturday- DS's birthday so lunch out- We'll all probably have enough leftovers for dinner.

Sunday-Lunch-Whole grain Pasta topped with a fire roasted tomato and spinach sauce
Dinner- Caesar salad

Monday- Salmon, carrots, broccoli, baked potatoes

Tuesday- Caesar Pasta salad

I keep the freezer stocked with single portion leftovers that DH and I eat every day for lunch. Right now we have potato soup, home made whole grain macaroni and cheese with broccoli, black eyed pea Kale soup, black beans and brown rice, and the last of the homemade turkey pot pie from the Thanksgiving leftovers for lunches. DD eats from the freezer once or twice a week and eats out with friends the other days. She pays for lunches out from her allowance and usually only pays maybe twice a week. Once a week they go to the free lunch a church puts on for the high school and usually once a friend with a stay at home mom cooks for them.

The three of us eat breakfast at home. DD usually just greek yogurt with a scoop of peanut butter but sometimes Special K (the one processed cereal that DD can't seem to give up.) DH and I alternate oatmeal with fruit and almonds, Whole grain pancakes, egg sandwiches, omelets, and once in a while whole grain bagels.

Our grocery bill dropped as I cooked more from scratch and bought less prepared processed food and meat. Pasta is about the only processed thing I still buy consistently.

 

[worm761]

Have you heard of $5 Dinners? Google her. She posts dinners that she makes for her family of 4 for $5. While I know you have 5, I do too!, you can stretch it to 5 servings for not much more.

 

[figment3258]

You can try our thread eat at home 2 there everyone posts their menus and add recipes you could find some new ones that might help

 

[erinmomof2]

If you're looking for some healthy ideas on a budget, try the blog 100daysofrealfood.com She has one challenge where she does 100 days of real food (mostly organic) on a $125 week budget for a family of 4. While I didn't like all of the things she made I thought she had some great ideas.

Also, I find that if you look for them you can often find coupons for good healthy food. We are trying to eat as organic as possible (as well as gluten free because of an allergy) and I find tons of great coupons, mainly online. Coupons.com is a great resource. Also Kroger right now has TONS of coupons you can load to your shoppers card for their brand of organic items.

Another budget stretcher for my family is to shop the managers special markdowns. We have 2 Kroger's near us and 1 marks their about to expire meat WAY down. So I try to go there one morning a week. Last week we bought several pounds of organic grass fed 90% lean ground beef for $3.49 lb. Usually that is almost $7 a pound. Today we bought chicken breasts marked down to less than $1.50 a pound. Sales like that really help, and I try to buy a bit extra when I find deals like that.

In the winter we make lots of soups and stews because I find we can really stretch the amount of meat we use. Chili is a great inexpensive meal too, if you load it up with beans. I recently switched to using dried beans, and while it does take a little longer to prepare, they taste so much better and are so inexpensive. To really make a pot of chili go a long way serve the chili over baked potatoes or rice. That usually leaves a ton of leftovers to freeze or use for lunches or another dinner later in the week.

Food prices in our area have risen like crazy lately and we've had to increase our food budge significantly over the last year. Even with the increase we generally spend about $100 a week for our family of four (including paper products and things like our expensive sulfate free shampoos and soaps). Some weeks we might spend a little more, maybe $130, if sales just aren't that good.

 

[sugarnspicex4]

One of the best things I've done to help curb grocery spending is to stock up on freezer meals or meals I can put together in a hurry with items on hand. When I know I have several meals "ready to go," I can be selective in my grocery shopping and only buy more expensive items (especially meats) when they are on sale. This also eliminates the mad rush to the store when I don't have a clue of what I'm going to make for dinner and end up paying top dollar for convenience meals.

My target range for meat is around $2 a lb. I check managers' specials and meat that has been reduced for quick sale. Just today I bought two 7-bone chuck roasts for $2.99/lb marked down 30%, making them $2.09/lb. I brought them home and put them straight in the freezer. No coupons needed, no watching sales flyers!

 

[Minnesota!]

I was just reading some of these to ,y husband and he was shocked. He is big on protein like fish, cjicken, steak ..for most meals. Even when we have pasta it has meat sauce, shrimp, chicken..in it. I wanted him to hear how other people do just fine with less food costs.

Needless to say ur budget is much higher than most of yours. We also do lots of fresh produce. zfrom berries, melons, apples to salads, broc, cauli,...

He is from a restaurant family ansd his mom, aunts, grandmas and such always cooked from scratch for the most part. He doesn't like any frozen meals. He even fusses at crock pot meals.

I am going to try a couple recipes here and from websites that were recommended. I would really like to trim our numbers down.

I cook from scratch 90 - 95% of the time, and we always have a fresh fruit or veg with each meal. We do the majority of our shopping at Costco - fruit/veg/meat are so cheap there!

Our meals are veg/fruit heavy with protein and starches being minor components.

Can you share what you do with pork roasts? My dad, God love him, went to the store today. He came home with a ton of meat. Not complaining! I swear. BUT I have not clue what to do with all these pork roasts. I have close to 10 or 12 pork roasts now sitting in my freezer. We broke them down because most were too big for just one meal. It will save my grocery budget but I only know a few things to do with them. Any help is appreciated!



I have a bigger grocery budget than most here too I think. And I am with your husband. Freezer meals can be made at home cheaper and healthier. I am not a big fan of the crock pot. I own one but rarely use it because I just don't care for the way food tastes out of it. So he isn't the only one! Though I cook everything from scratch too! My most fantastical, best ever husband bought me a Kitchenaide AND the pasta attachment for Christmas. Ravioli, pastas, perogies...all so much easier now!

With pork, I tend to do carnitas or jerk pork. I also have a rub that is "Zesty Pineapple" or something like that I get at the Farmer's Market each summer. I rub that on there and let it cook all day. Shred, add some jerk sauce, and serve on lettuce cups for tacos.

We love shredded pork with cilantro, pineapple chunks, some lime juice, chopped jalapenos, and red onion on lettuce, too. I did it a few times this summer with a homemade BBQ sauce, served on buns and a salad. We really love pork rasts in our house. WI make one evey 10 days or so. Lasts for a few dinners (usually quesadillas for a few nights), and I bring it for lunch, too.

 

[SamSam]

I told OP at the beginning of this thread that I would get back with more recipes and life got in the way, but I'm finally here again. First, one thing I do that saves time is cook ground beef and chicken ahead of time, vacumn seal and freeze. I usually shred the chicken. Here are a few tried and true recipes that I use on a regualar basis, met the approval of many kids through the years even though they may sound a little 'different'. Here goes (if you have any questions, just ask):

1950s Easy Supper

1 pound ground beef
3 cups dry noodles ( I use whole wheat rotini)
3 cups tomato juice (I use Spicy Vegetable Juice)
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
2 tsps. Celery salt
1 tsp. dried basil
1 clove garlic
1 onion chopped
1 jalapeno ( chopped fine) - optional
1 can corn (if desired)

1. In Dutch Oven or Pot (6-8 qt) Brown ground beef, add onion,jalapeno & garlic, cook till tender.
2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 30 minutes.



Chicken Caruso & Rice
2 whole chicken breasts, cut into strips
garlic salt and pepper
1 jar Spaghetti sauce
2 cups sliced celery
3 cups hot cooked rice

Season chicken with garlic and pepper. Saute chicken and celery in olive oil (or use Pam), until chicken is cooked through and celery is tender crisp. Add spaghetti sauce, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Mexican Pazole

3 lbs.pork steak (or chops)
1 tbls. Vegetable oil
2 med. Onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (29oz) white hominy, drained
2 cans (10oz) diced tomatoes & chiles (Rotel or similar)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 tbls. Oregano
6 cups chicken broth

Place pork in slow cooker and cook until fork tender. Allow to cool, then shred. Set aside. Add oil, onion and garlic to stock pot and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent and starting to brown.



Add remaining ingredients and simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes. If desired sprinkle with strips of toasted corn tortillas. 8 servings

If desired chicken can be substituted for the pork.


Porcupine Meatballs

Sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 Tbls. Brown sugar

Mix all ingredients in small mixing bowl, set aside.

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
½ cup minute rice
½ cup minced onion
½ tsp. thyme
¼ cup sauce mixture
1 egg
Salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients together, form into large meatballs. Cook by either dropping into boiling water or place in baking dish and bake at 350deg. until cooked through. (after cooking drain thoroughly)

Place meatballs in baking dish, pour sauce over them, cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin – I’ve also used this with chicken and it’s delicious.
YUMMY! Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin 2 pound Pork Tenderloin 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce 1 TBS Yellow Mustard 2-3 TBS maple syrup 2 TBS olive oil 2 TB...S Diced dried onions 1 1/2 TSP Garlic Salt or Powder Mix ingredients above. Pour over Tenderloin in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.

 

[GothTink]

Our Costco membership pays for itself - might want to give them a try. We save a crazy amount on buying our meat/certain groceries & supplies in bulk.