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

[Disneymaniacs]

I have both my crock-pots working today..

In #1 - Pepper Steak

Bottom Round Steak
One package beef gravy
2 small cans of tomato sauce
worcheshire sauce
dribble of molasses
one whole onion
one pepper (actually 1/3 green, red, and yellow) I froze the rest for another meal.
Will serve over brown rice, applesauce for a side.

Cost for pepper steak $6.00 - 2 meals
Rice 50cents
Applesauce $1.00

Applesauce - Homemade

1 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cut in to chunks.

Put 1/4 cup lemon juice in bottom of pan
Add apples as you cut them
Put 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon to taste
Put over medium-low heat, simmer, use potato masher to the consistency that you enjoy. I serve warm.

In the other crock-pot

Easy Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast cut in half
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use less sodium/fat version)
1 can cream of chicken soup (same)
1/4 onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic chopped fine

Serve with mashed potato's and applesauce

Cost for Easy Chicken $5.50
Cost mashed potato's $1.00
applesauce from above

This will also serve 2 meals.

I will have this tonight and reheat on Sunday. Sides will differ on Sunday and I may make enchilada's style meal instead.

How long do you cook the boneless chicken for? I've only tried boneless chicken once in the crockpot and it came out dry. Your recipes sound delicious!

 

[Msslaydbug]

This is our dinner tonight. The tomatoes were on sale 10lbs or $10. Everything else we had in the fridge. It is starting to smell really good !

Crockpot Tomato Rice Soup

Chop 32 Roma tomatoes or 15 beefsteak tomatoes (about 4 pounds) and place them in a slow cooker. Stir in 2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth and 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice. Add 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced, and 1 medium onion, finely chopped. Stir in 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, salt, and ground pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low until the rice is tender, about 8 hours. Makes 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each.

 

[Mickeys.friend]

Tonight we had QUICHE....actually it was leftover quiche! I made 2 on Saturday night...a ham and cheese AND a crab, cheese red pepper quiche.. My mother in law came for dinner, so five us ate them with steamed veggies and corn muffins.....There were 3 pieces of each kind leftover, so I served it up tonight with salad and leftover corn muffins...YUMMY! My family loves quiche...you can put almost anything in it and with eggs and cheese, you can't go wrong. You can make it in a pie shell or crustless or just improvise. I am not sure on the exact cost of it all, but I had most ingredients in the house and I had a coupon for canned crab for only 49 cents! I would imagine it's a budget meal, and pretty healthy for you as well.

 

[MerryPoppins]

We're having pork fried rice tonight. I have the leftover pulled pork from the freezer. Should be a budget meal tonight for sure.

 

[disneytraceyl]

Sounds like some great ideas.

We had Burrito bake:
5 Quesidia wraps $1.50
1 1/2 pd hamburger $3.00
1 pckg cheese $2.00
1 can of Refried beans $1.00

1 layer of wraps; then refried beans; then hamburger; 1/2 of the cheese; the rest of the wraps cut into strips; and the rest of the cheese. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.

We love it with salsa. $1.50

 

[Rootskate]

thanks for the recipe

Tonight is pot roast slow cooked in a package of au jus seasoning ($6 total)
onion rings from our Angel Food Ministries box....(about 50 cents guesstimating)
salad (50 cents of the $2 bag at Costcot)

hopefully there is enough of the pot roast left for sandwiches tomorrow.

I know that the meat at Costco is a bit more expensive but in the long run it is cheaper for us because we actually eat it.

For this pot roast....do you just mix the packet of gravy with water per the directions and pour it over the meat?

 

[OceanAnnie]

Sounds like some great ideas.

We had Burrito bake:
5 Quesidia wraps $1.50
1 1/2 pd hamburger $3.00
1 pckg cheese $2.00
1 can of Refried beans $1.00

1 layer of wraps; then refried beans; then hamburger; 1/2 of the cheese; the rest of the wraps cut into strips; and the rest of the cheese. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.

We love it with salsa. $1.50

I do something similar with leftover sloppy joe meat. (I usually make a double batch so I can make burritos another night!) I add a can of drained light red kidney beans to the sloppy joe meat mixture and mix well. I spoon in the mixture onto a tortilla, roll, and top with a slice of American cheese. I just put them in the microwave for about a min. per burrito. We love them!

 

[marcyinPA]

Tonight I made homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup. I used one leftover boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped up, and chicken broth, salsa, onion, lime juice, spices, frozen corn, and topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips. There is plenty left for tomorrow. YUMMY!!

 

[babytrees]

For this pot roast....do you just mix the packet of gravy with water per the directions and pour it over the meat?

I just put the mix in with a tiny bit of water (usually the pot roast is frozen and gives off more water) when we make it for french dips I only do half a package and a package and a half of the au just for dipping.

 

[beckanoah]

Wow, it was Mexican night for lots of people.

The Green Chile Burritos were a hit. I used Pinto beans instead of black beans tonight, and added a can of green enchilada sauce with the Stokes. YUM!

 

[Rootskate]

I just put the mix in with a tiny bit of water (usually the pot roast is frozen and gives off more water) when we make it for french dips I only do half a package and a package and a half of the au just for dipping.

Thanks, Im looking forward to trying this one.

 

[Disneymaniacs]

Tonight we are having pulled pork sandwiches on whole grain buns, oven baked potato wedges w/garlic and seasoning, and green beans.

Pulled pork (2.5lbs porkloin) $3.50
Bottle bbq sauce $1.50
1/2 package red potatoes $1.00
rolls $1.75
Green Beans 50cents

Total $8.25. I will have leftover for DH and one other person to have lunch.

Happy Eating today and if you are in the NE stay warm.

That is exactly what we had!

 

[hhartill]

We had a ham (purchased w/a $2 off coupon) sweet potato and broc w/cheese purchased w/a $1 off coupon) Fed 5 (dd had a friend over) with LOTS of leftovers for tomorrow's sand. and Wed ham & egg noodles.

 

[Dory's Twin]

We had grilled hamburgers and garlic fries...

Potatoes cut into strips drizzled with olive oil,salt and chopped garlic...stick in oven until crispy...better for you than frozen and oh so yummy!

Tomorrow is Fritatta...eggs, bacon and potato (leftover garlic fries chunked and thrown in) add a salad and we are all happy!

Keep these ideas coming please...you all are really keeping me motivated to cook

TIA

 

[Grendalynn]

We had this for dinner tonight! So good and the boys love it!! And healthy too! This is one of those meals that you can make with stuff out of your fridge, freezer or cupbards. All the ingredients are probably already on hand! Total meal costs less than $10 for a family of 5. Thats $2 each - not bad!!?? and a bowl leftover for lunch at work tomorrow! even better!!

A large bag of frozen broccoli cuts - less than $2
3 ribs of cellery - less than $1
chopped medium onion - $0.50
1/2 med block, or 1 small block of velveeta - $3 1 bag/2 c shredded cheddar cheese will work too
2 cups of Milk (give or take) -already have it
1 1/2 cups water - free
splash of white wine - gotta have that!!!
2 T butter/margerine
salt & pepper
sprinkle of flour - to thicken if needed...
dash of nutmeg
Box of frozen bread sticks $2


Saute Onion and Cellery in butter til tender in a pot over med heat. Add Broccoli, saute 10 minutes or so. As 1 1/2 cup of water. Bring to simmer. Add entire pot to blender, corarsly chop. do not blend until smooth, always nice to have some chunks of broccoli.

Dump contents of blender back into pot. Add milk, wine, and cheese & pinch of nutmeg. Heat on med lo until cheese is melted. Add last 1/2 cup of water if needed to thin out. Add sprink of flour with whisk if needed to thinken. Whisk fast to ensure no lumps. Add dashes of salt, pepper, stir. Serve with bread sticks and/or salad. ENJOY!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

How long do you cook the boneless chicken for? I've only tried boneless chicken once in the crockpot and it came out dry. Your recipes sound delicious!

I do chicken breasts 2 hours on high then on low for 2-3 hours. This method seems to keep them moist for me. I am not saying succulent juicy but definetely not stick to your teeth dry

 

[babytrees]

We had grilled hamburgers and garlic fries...

Potatoes cut into strips drizzled with olive oil,salt and chopped garlic...stick in oven until crispy...better for you than frozen and oh so yummy!

Tomorrow is Fritatta...eggs, bacon and potato (leftover garlic fries chunked and thrown in) add a salad and we are all happy!

Keep these ideas coming please...you all are really keeping me motivated to cook

TIA

I totally agree...like I said earlier you all are making me think ahead of time what's for dinner.

Tomorrow unless things change will be ravoli and salad

half a bag of raviolis ($1)
less than a half ragu (less than 50 cents)

salad about the same as tonight.....$1 at most

I may make garlic bread too......less than $1

 

[jsmla]

Here's ours:

1# 93% lean ground beef $1.99
1 pkg penne pasta $.79
1 jar Ragu $1.19
1/4 pkg seasoning veggies $.25
1/2 loaf French bread .$25-bought off day-old rack
1/2 stick butter $.25
1/2 bag romain lettuce $.85
Ceasar salad dressing ? (about 1/4 bottle. I stockpile this when it's on sale.) I'd guess around $.50.

For less than $6 this fed 4 of us, including DH and our 22 year old son, both big eaters. I have enough sauce and pasta left over for lunch for FIL and I one day.



Tonight we're having a sort of beef pot pie made from:
l/o roast beef frozen from Christmas (free-my parents paid for this)
Gravy made with the beef
potatoes $.50
carrots $.50
celery $.50
green peas $.75
onions $.30

I'll serve this with green beans (around $1) and homemade biscuits (No idea! I buy all of the makings in bulk and store in my deep-freeze.)

Jennifer

 

[Grendalynn]

I love this thread, not only because it gives me great ideas of what i can possibly make for dinner. But also because it makes me feel better about being frugal, or "cheep" as my husband calls it! He says cheep, I say penny-wise! If its a great meal and costs $5 compared to a great meal that costs $20, thats $15 back in our budget for Disney!! And he doesnt complain about that!! Ok, back to some thread-hopping than I HAVE to get "some" work done today, sheesh!

 

[beckanoah]

Tonight, I'm eating the leftover GC Burrito.