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

[Sorsha]

Mmmmm french dips sound so good! I don't think I've had that since I was a kid.

They are so yummy and SO easy... everyone in my family LOVES French Dip nights. You have to watch your deli counter though, and wait for the roast beef to go on sale... it can be as much as $7-$8 bucks a pound otherwise... I got this on sale for $4.50 a pound.

Buy however much roast beef you need to feed your family (it takes 1.25 - 1.5 lbs for my 5). Make up a couple of packages of Au Jus and then put the roast beef into it and let it simmer for a few minutes. Slice, butter, and broil your rolls till toasty, then pile the beef high on the rolls. Top with cheese and put back under the broiler for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with the Au Jus on the side for dipping.

 

[babytrees]

They are so yummy and SO easy... everyone in my family LOVES French Dip nights. You have to watch your deli counter though, and wait for the roast beef to go on sale... it can be as much as $7-$8 bucks a pound otherwise... I got this on sale for $4.50 a pound.

Buy however much roast beef you need to feed your family (it takes 1.25 - 1.5 lbs for my 5). Make up a couple of packages of Au Jus and then put the roast beef into it and let it simmer for a few minutes. Slice, butter, and broil your rolls till toasty, then pile the beef high on the rolls. Top with cheese and put back under the broiler for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with the Au Jus on the side for dipping.

another way to do it....put a roast in the crockpot with a packet of au jus and some water. Cook on low until done to the way your family likes it.

We take hoagies and put provolone on and toast. Make another batch of au jus and we grill onions.

French dips are yummy and a treat in our house!!! I like your way of doing it when the deli roast beef is on sale!!


We are having ham & homemade mac and cheese:

the ham was just over $9 so I'll put the cost of it on this nights dinner but I am expecting to get 3 meals out of it plus some lunch meat.

mac & cheese: about $1.50

peas: 25 cents maybe.

just in case I don't get back this weekend I am planning:

ham & baked taters on Saturday

and ham & beans and cornbread on Sunday

about $5 more dollars to round out those meals so

for about $16 I've got a weekend of meals made.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Saturday Feb 9. Used turkey stock that I made earlier this week. I added the last of my celery, 1/2 onion, carrots and simmered for a few hours. Added left over turkey, 2 scoops of leftover turkey gravy. I had one cup of brown rice left in the pantry. Cooked it up and added to the soup. Very delicious dinner plus lunches for about $2.00.

I also had to make a dessert for my daughter's confirmation meeting tomorrow. I had a chocolate cake mix in the pantry. Made cupcakes. Since I did not have frosting I made a chocolate glaze with powdered sugar, a little milk, and some leftover chocolate chips. Very yummy.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

Tonight we had Bison Burgers w/ potato salad, fruit and homemade chocolate chip cookies. I also put pork shoulder in the croc pot for tomorrow.

Tomorrow it's Carnitas tacos w/ spanish rice and beans.

 

[stacy347]

Really simple dinner last night...pasta with marinara sauce and grated parmesan. Approx. $2.50

 

[OceanAnnie]

We had a tacos last night with all the usual toppings. Thinking about tonight's dinner. Maybe we'll have a vegetable lasagna that's pre-made in the freezer. It's really good! I got 2 for $10.00 so that's not too bad. I think we'll have that with some garlic bread. Maybe a pudding pie for dessert. Yeah. I think that will do it!

Have you guys started thinking about what you're having for Valentine's Day dinner? I'm thinking about it, but haven't come up with anything smashing yet. I really want a special dessert. I'm leaning towards an Angel Lush with Pineapple. Looks light, sweet, and tasty!

* I'm also thinking about what to pack for lunches on Valentine's Day. I'd like to make it special. Any ideas?

 

[marcyinPA]

Last night, we had a leftover stromboli that I had purchased on Friday. Our Giant store had store-made stromboli's B1G1 Free, so I got two of them for $6.05. The four of us ate one on Friday night with a salad, and then three of us ate the other one last night. They were SO good...I'm going to have to keep an eye on the ad for when they run that sale again. Quick and easy too...just 20 minutes in the oven and they tasted like they came from the local pizza joint!

I have Thai Pork in the crock pot for tonight. I got the recipe on these boards from another DISer last year. It's a family favorite. I used the pork I had bought around New Years and froze. It was like 1.69 a lb, and I bought a whole pork loin. I cut it into 4 roasts. The recipe calls for red peppers, which I was lucky to get at the farmers market for 1.69 lb. Sure beats the $3/lb at the regular grocery. It's not a cheap meal, but it's yummy and nice for Sunday!!

 

[carissanboys]

Tonight we're having stewed beef over mashed potatoes. I had a nice steak that I got on sale a couple of weeks ago and I cut it into chunks. Then I put it in a pot with the leftovers I had from my pot roast (there's no meat left in it, but some potatoes and carrots and lots of "juice.") I'll make some mashed potatoes and serve this stewed beef over the top with broccoli on the side.

 

[stacy347]

Tonight we had the last of the steaks from the slab of beef my mom bought us and mashed potatoes (no green veggie today ) ~ about $2.50 total for the meal.

 

[carissanboys]

Instead of stewed beef over mashed potatoes, I turned the leftover pot roast with steak cubes added into a stew and threw in some leftover pasta. Cooked scrambled eggs for the kids and made up some biscuits to go with it. Grapes for the boys too.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I made pretzel crusted chicken fingers w/cheese dipping sauce and mashed potatoes. Nothing green at my house tonight either. Went grocery shopping at 5 stores and never thought to look how the weather was going to be... -18degrees w/the wind chill. No wonder I am tired and my bones hurt
If i had to guess dinner cost about $6.00. Not too bad for not wanting to cook.

 

[goofyisinphilly]

Tonight we had a very healthy yet inexpensive dinner

Thin Chicken Breast- $5.56 (leftovers for lunch tomorrow)
Broccoli- from the freezer
Corn- from the freezer
Rice- from the pantry

Not too bad. Hello Weight Watchers

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

I made pretzel crusted chicken fingers w/cheese dipping sauce and mashed potatoes. Nothing green at my house tonight either. Went grocery shopping at 5 stores and never thought to look how the weather was going to be... -18degrees w/the wind chill. No wonder I am tired and my bones hurt
If i had to guess dinner cost about $6.00. Not too bad for not wanting to cook.

18 degrees I shouldn't tell you this but we Bar-B-q'd our Bison Burgers yesterday, it was 65 and I decided to turn my canitas into a enchilada pie instead of tacos, it's one of DH's favorties.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Yep -18degrees and going down. Some of the schools are already closing.. Too cold for the bus stop. I told my two that they have had too many days off and I would personally warm the car tomorrow and drive them in... Mean Mommy..

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

I made pretzel crusted chicken fingers w/cheese dipping sauce and mashed potatoes. Nothing green at my house tonight either. Went grocery shopping at 5 stores and never thought to look how the weather was going to be... -18degrees w/the wind chill. No wonder I am tired and my bones hurt
If i had to guess dinner cost about $6.00. Not too bad for not wanting to cook.

Could you tell me how you make the pretzel crusted chicken fingers? They sound delicious!
By the way, the actual temp here right now is 13 and falling! Yuck!!

 

[Samandmom]

We had leftover meatballs from other night. I made the meatballs without sauce (used gravy instead) so I took the leftover ones and reheated them with a jar of homemade sauce (free, dad made it). I then baked some simply tastefully beer bread (I use club soda instead) ($4 something for the bread) and my daughter had nuggets leftover from lunch.

 

[carissanboys]

Could you tell me how you make the pretzel crusted chicken fingers? They sound delicious!
By the way, the actual temp here right now is 13 and falling! Yuck!!

Someone mentioned this recipe on a thread I started last week about chicken. If you do a search for Pretzel Crusted Chicken and Rachael Ray, the recipe should come up We're going to try it this week.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Thankfully I know how to copy/paste..

Tonight is Ham/Potato Casserole. I need to actually clean out the fridge so here it goes... (No new items needed)

Turkey Ham - fridge leftovers
1/4 cup green pepper - fridge leftovers
1/4 of an onion - fridge leftovers
1/2 brick of cheddar cheese - fridge leftovers

The recipe also calls for 4 cups cooked potatoes which will come out of my monthly potato bin, 1 1/2cups milk, flour, and spices. I will add one can of green beans from the pantry and one can of peaches (drained and rinsed) from the pantry.

Cost: $5.00 (this is factoring in small amounts for the leftovers)

 

[OceanAnnie]

I got a great deal on a a small young & fresh whole chicken (Tyson's). I think it's about 3 pounds. I got it for $2.32! I just couldn't pass it up, so that's dinner! I mainly went to the grocery store for Valentine cookies (ready to bake) and milk.

I threw it in the crockpot with green beans and whole potatoes. Put some pats of butter over the chicken and a liberal amount of Jenny's Crazy Mixed Up Seasoning and set the crockpot on high. It'll be like a baked chicken. Easy, easy, easy and we all love it! I'm sure we'll have lots of left over chicken. I bought a few deep dish pie shells on sale (Pillsbury- $1.69 for 2), to make a chicken pot pie later this week.

They also had a great deal on zucchini squash, .49 a lb.! So I got .69 worth. Maybe tomorrow night we'll have zucchini boats with the left over taco meat. I need to find my recipe. It was from Family Fun. The kids loved it!

Most of the week is taken care of! Yea!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

For those of you who dont want to look around this is how I make my pretzel crusted chicken. It was originally from Rachel Ray book but adapted for my pantry..

2 chicken breast cut into small chicken fingers.
2 eggs beaten with a little water in a shallow dish
3-4 handfuls of pretzels crushed and put into a shallow dish with a big dash of Mrs. Dash

Coat chicken in pretzel, then egg, then pretzel. Let sit for a few minutes to set up. I put them on a baking rack with a pan under to catch any fall-off. Put enough canola oil on the bottom of a frying pan to cover and add a few splashes of olive oil. Fry each side 2-3 minutes depending on how thick you made your chicken.

I also make a cheese dip..

1 tbsp. flour in 1 tbsp butter/margarine in a pot until combined and flour cooks out. Do not brown. Add one cup of milk and 1-2 cups cheese after thickened. I also put in 1tbsp. dijon mustard. (for the pretzels)

My kids love this dinner but its is time consuming, so it is a Sunday meal...