What's for dinner? Was it "budget"?

[Grendalynn]

I am curious to know what kind of veggies you all are using? Canned, Frozen or Fresh. I think, unfortunatly, that has a lot to do with the cost of meals, and actually groceries as a whole. We tend to use mostly frozen veggies, but use as much fresh as we can. Its usually more convenient to have a supply in the freezer than anything. Fresh is great, but with such busy schedules, I hate to waste anything should we not have time to use it. DH grew up on canned, I personally dont care for canned veggies. What do you all use and/or prefer!? Thanks!!

 

[momx2]

Frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh for the most part. Fresh veggies (unless you grow them and pick them fresh) lose alot of nutrients while being sent to the groceries, etc. We use all three. I know canned is not the best, but my kids will only eat certain things in a can. Example, if I mix peas in something like a casserole, they eat frozen, if they eat them as a side, they must be canned. Weird, I know. They also only like canned green beans and fresh, but I never buy fresh and they don't like frozen green beans.

Last night was left overs, cheap.
Tonight is spaghetti with meatsauce broccoli and bread for the kids.
1 box whole wheat spaghetti $1.35
1 jar ragu $1
1/2 lb. ground turkey $1.50
Broccoli frozen 1/2 bag .50 cents
Garlic bread .50 cents

Total $4.85 Cheap!

 

[BethR]

They also only like canned green beans and fresh, ... and they don't like frozen green beans.

I'm like your kids.

We're having stuffed peppers tonight. Not exactly cheap because I had to pay $3.59 a pound for 93% FF ground beef. I NEVER see it for $1.99 - even on sale - anymore. But hey! At least we are eating in, not out. And I will have leftovers too.

 

[tbrenk73]

I'm like your kids.

We're having stuffed peppers tonight. Not exactly cheap because I had to pay $3.59 a pound for 93% FF ground beef. I NEVER see it for $1.99 - even on sale - anymore. But hey! At least we are eating in, not out. And I will have leftovers too.

How do you make your stuffed peppers?

 

[BethR]

How do you make your stuffed peppers?

To 1.5 pounds of ground beef I add 2/3 cup of rice that has been cooked (that's 2/3 cup BEFORE cooking) along with one egg, 1.5 tsp of seasoned salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Mix all of these ingredients together.

Stuff about 6 medium peppers. If you have extra meat and not enough peppers, you can make meatballs.

Put the stuffed peppers (and meatballs if you have them) in a roasting pan that fits them comfortably. Then pour 1 can of tomato soup and 1 large can (29 oz) of tomato sauce over and around the peppers. Put the lid on the roasting pan and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or so.

If you find that you like your peppers really soft, then you may want to microwave them a little before you stuff them.

 

[jsmla]

I'm like your kids.

We're having stuffed peppers tonight. Not exactly cheap because I had to pay $3.59 a pound for 93% FF ground beef. I NEVER see it for $1.99 - even on sale - anymore. But hey! At least we are eating in, not out. And I will have leftovers too.

Our Albertsons here had it on sale for $1.99 a while back and I bought 20 lbs of it! I've never seen it at that price before or since and I've been looking! I used up my last 1# pkg on the spaghetti sauce

Jennifer

 

[marcyinPA]

I am curious to know what kind of veggies you all are using? Canned, Frozen or Fresh. I think, unfortunatly, that has a lot to do with the cost of meals, and actually groceries as a whole. We tend to use mostly frozen veggies, but use as much fresh as we can. Its usually more convenient to have a supply in the freezer than anything. Fresh is great, but with such busy schedules, I hate to waste anything should we not have time to use it. DH grew up on canned, I personally dont care for canned veggies. What do you all use and/or prefer!? Thanks!!

I buy frozen and fresh. For things like corn, peas, mixed veggies, and green beans, it usually frozen. Carrotts, potatoes, onions, salad fixings, it's fresh. I'll buy fresh green beans or broccoli if I see them on sale, but frozen are just as good, and easier to prepare, imho! I can't stand canned veggies....YUCK!! They are just too mushy for my taste. I'm one of those "crisp/tender" people.

 

[babytrees]

We like fresh and frozen...the exception being corn...for some reason if it's not fresh I have to eat it out of can. If I have to use canned I rinse them and then a little fresh water to reduce our salt intake.

Except of course for creamed corn because that would be silly

A local high end market had extra lean ground beef on sale for $1.50 a lb if you bought in 10 lb packs....if we would have had enough room in my freezer I would have bought more than the 10 lbs.

 

[marcyinPA]

Tonight is one of those nights when everyone is eating at a different time. So it's hot dogs for dinner. $2.99 for the hot dogs, $.99 for the buns, $.99 for baked beans (I think I have them!), and frozen fries were $1.49 for the bag. I'm sure we won't eat the entire package of hot dogs, unless one of the boys is extra hungry, and I'll only cook 1/2 the bag of fries.

Not the healthiest meal, but we don't do it often. Just under $6.00 for the 4 of us, with possible leftovers.

 

[cnj]

Last night we had left over pepper bellies ($7.50 for 2 nights).

Tonight we are having New York strip steaks and baked potatoes and pineapple. I bought 4 pounds for $12. So, it will be a total cost of dinner will be $17. It is expensive, but good!

Tomorrow I am going to make a 20 pound turkey that I froze in November. I paid $5 for it and we will have it for 2 dinners with mashed potatoes and my husband can take it to work for lunch for a couple of days. With potatoes, sage butter for turkey, turkey, and cranberry sauce, total for 2 nights is: $15.

 

[Msslaydbug]

Tonight in our house is Sloppy Joes ! I have had th Manwich in the cupboard for a couple of months now. It's about time I get it out and use it !

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

We are rushed tonight because DD15 has her "official" confirmation meeting at the church. I originally was going to order a pizza cause everyone will be eating at different times but I changed to

Chicken Romaine Salads

2 chicken breasts cut in small slices $2.50
shake in Mrs. Dash - fry in small amount of olive oil $.50
2 heads of Romaine $2.00
Parmesian Cheese, tomato, green onion, croutons, and dressing: All accounted for in other meals and are near the end of their shelf life.. Free
Left-over homemade applesauce from last night heated up
Total meal $5.00 - vs. $12.50 for large cheese/pepperoni pizza

I feel much better now.

 

[pjlla]

Tonight in our house is sort of a mixed bag. I pulled out some frozen lasagna rollups I made in November (this was half the batch). I made them to use up a box of lasagna noodles that had been sitting in my pantry (I don't make lasagna). I put the frozen rollups in the crockpot on low with the remainder of a can of spaghetti sauce. Those are for DH and DS. DD and I are watching our weight (plus there weren't a lot of the rollups in the batch and DH has a big appetite), so we will probably have oatmeal or Special K or such. I just got a HUGE box of Special K from the "dent and ding" shelf at the grocery story. $2 for the big double bag box (warehouse size). I buy very little cold cereal because of the price, but I do like my Special K.

Can't tell you what our dinner cost, but my educated guess would be well under $5.

I also spent some time today getting food prepared for the rest of the week. Tomorrow night is a hamburger vegetable soup in the crockpot (got the recipe from a crockpot thread here on the DIS.). 1 lb. of browned hamburg, 3 large chopped potatoes, two chopped onions, a few chopped celery ribs, one can of soup and some watered down leftover spaghetti sauce (obviously I am not following the recipe exactly... trying to use what I have). I'm sure that the soup will cost under $5 also. I may make cornbread to go with this, so add about $1.

Thursday night is "ski lessons 2:30 until 4:30, dinner on the run, swim practice 5:30 to 8pm-where-did-our-evening-go", so not sure what/where we will eat that night. I do occasionally pack sandwiches to have in the car, but the kids like something warm after skiing. And I refuse to pay the exhorbitant prices for food that they charge in the ski lodge!

Friday night will be baked ziti (or whatever pasta shape I have in the pantry) with spaghetti sauce and italian sausage (bought on markdown when they were short-dated, frozen immediately, and defrosted and cooked today. I'll put it together Friday morning and put it in the oven with the auto timer set to cook. It will be ready when we get home from swim practice about 7:30 pm!! (I love that feature on my stove!) The sauage was about $2 (gotta check the wrapper), sauce is about 99 cents, and pasta was less than $1 for the box (and I won't use the whole thing). I will forgo the usual melted cheese on top (not diet friendly) and serve it with a side of a green vegetable (planning broccoli) and MAYBE some rolls or such, if they have any on the markdown bakery rack. (I never pay full price for that stuff). Or if I have time I will throw the ingredients into the breadmachine in the morning.
Again, I would estimate that this dinner wouldn't exceed $6... max $7. (Not including drinks, which are usually just water for DD and DH, 1 glass of milk for DS, and a selter for myself.) ...............................P

 

[Sorsha]

I am curious to know what kind of veggies you all are using? Canned, Frozen or Fresh. I think, unfortunatly, that has a lot to do with the cost of meals, and actually groceries as a whole. We tend to use mostly frozen veggies, but use as much fresh as we can. Its usually more convenient to have a supply in the freezer than anything. Fresh is great, but with such busy schedules, I hate to waste anything should we not have time to use it. DH grew up on canned, I personally dont care for canned veggies. What do you all use and/or prefer!? Thanks!!

For our house, it just really depends on the veggie... also the time of year. Way up here in the Great White North (snowing AGAIN today... bleh.) some fresh veggies can be prohibitively expensive in the dead of winter. I just do my best to shop the sales. If I can't buy fresh, then it depends on the type of veggie. My picky people prefer their corn and green beans from a can. They will only eat frozen peas. Silly humans.
Have you guys tried the frozen mixed veggies in the "steamer" bags? We really enjoy these... we have two favorites. We enjoy one that is a combination of broccoli, snow peas, carrots and water chestnuts; this is awesome for stir-fry. We also enjoy one that has corn and asparagus tips, and I think carrots. I LOVE asparagus!!

 

[HenDuck]

Shoyu chicken.

2.5 lbs chicken thighs ($2.38)
1 C. Shoyu (soy sauce)
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Water
Brown chicken in pan. Put chicken with shoyu, sugar and water mixture in pot to boil for 5-10 minutes. Simmer 10-15 minutes or until ready to eat. Easy, easy, easy and delish.

Rice

Frozen veggies - carrots in sauce ($2.50? for part of the bag) (bought at Christmas but never used. I don't usually buy fancy schmancy veggies).

Enough for dinner for 3 of us and lunch for me

 

[bellebuzzandpooh]

Tonight is Pasta E. Fagioli soup.

Pasta E. Fagioli

1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
4 carrots, slivered
3 ribs celery, diced
1 24 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can drained red kidney beans
6 cups beef stock
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 tsp. parsley
3/4 tsp. tobasco sauce
3 cups spaghetti sauce (any brand)
4 oz. ditalini pasta, cooked and drained

(Ditalini, or "little thimbles" is a small tubular pasta like a very short macaroni. If you can't find it in your store, macaroni can be used. I use whole wheat.)

Directions

Brown the ground beef in the oil in a sillet, until crumbly. Drain if needed. Stir in carrots, onions, celery, and undrained tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain the kidney beans, then stir into the beef mixture. Stir in stock, oregano, pepper, parsley, and tabasco sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes until celery and carrots are tender. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and pasta. Serve hot with a salad and garlic bread. YUM O! (yeild, 4 1/2 quarts. I don't have nutritional information on this.)

 

[mom2my3kids]

Tonight is taco night, I purchased a big pack of ground chuck for 4.50, 2 boxes of taco kits 5.00, lettuce 1.50, cheese 2.00, already have sour cream and there is dinner for around 13.00 for a family of 5

 

[Sorsha]

Breakfast for dinner night!
Couple of cans of corned beef hash, cooked on the griddle till crispy. Mashed potato pancakes (made with some leftover taters), and over-easy eggs. Probably a can of peaches too.

We have been passing around a stomach bug for the last week.. there has been a nasty outbreak of Norovirus in our part of MT, and I am afraid we got caught up in it. DD4 had it first, last Wednesday. I got sick Saturday, and DD7 came down with it Sunday. DD13 was sick yesterday. DH is the only one who hasn't had it yet, and he is hoping not to... good luck to him! Its a very short-lived bug, you only feel truely awful for about 24 hours, but you feel run-down and just generally yucky for about 3 days afterwards.

The nice thing about having breakfast for dinner is that for the kids who are still feeling icky, I can just scramble up some eggs and make some toast... that's gentle food that they should feel OK eating. After subsiting on dry toast and bananas and applesauce and crackers, everyone is getting a little tired of the BRAT diet...LOL.

 

[Jaycey'smom]

Tonight we are having Baja Citrus chicken breasts (got on sale for .88/lb so 2.90), seasoning packets (2 so $2), lima beans (frozen .88 cent), mushroom rice ($1), and baked beans ($1) so we have dinner for 3 for under $8.

 

[Adi12982]

We had chicken tamales which we bought at Costco - made enough for two adults dinner and one adult's lunch, for $6.50