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

[grlpwrd]

Oooh, that black bean soup sounds easy and tasty - thanks from me, too!

Last night we had Chinese style stirfry, brown rice, and green tea. It was ethnic night.

Tonight I am making beef stew because my hubby is back in town. Not budget or totally healthy, but yummy.

 

[marcyinPA]

I'm debating... Either grilled cheese sandwiches with leftover lentil soup or Eggs in a hole with something on the side. You all remember those from your childhood, right? You tear the middle out of bread, butter both sides, and fry an egg in the middle?

Mmmmmm...

We call those Popeye eggs! My DS8 loves them, especially the circle cut from the bread, which DADDY loads up with butter and then fries in the pan... Eh, we don't make them that often!

 

[marcyinPA]

After shoveling snow all afternoon, the last thing I wanted to do was cook. We had take out pizza and a very large chef salad from the pizza place. It was $17 for both, but the salad fed all 4 of us, and we have one slice of pizza left for lunch.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Last night was cheesy tuna noodle casserole and fajita garlic toast w/ applesauce. Total cost about $3.00. Not a great dinner but it was a quick one and we had running around to do.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Kritter, I have the black bean soup in the crock pot. Smells really good! Thanks again!

 

[momx2]

Not budget tonight. We have not had a good steak in forever. So I bought sirloins yesterday. They look beautiful. Having these with creamed spinach, baked potatoes, homade bread and sauted mushrooms! I can't wait! It's still much cheaper than eating out.

steaks $20
potatoes and toppings $2
creamed spinach $4
sauted mushroom $4
bread .25 cents

Total = $30.25 Way cheaper than eating out!

 

[luv2nascar]

I made kritter's black bean soup from pantry today. I had everything needed to make it. It turned out really good.

DH and I like hot spicy food. So I added double cumin, black pepper/garlic grinder spices, double the garlic, a little salt, and hot sauce. It was delicious. Kids wouldn't go near it but I didn't think they would.

 

[aepecoraro]

Tuna Triangles

Tuna, drained and flaked
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Ranch-Style Dressing
Crescent Roll Dough

Mix in a bowl then spoon onto the crescent dough, fold over to make a triangle. Cook at 375 for 14 - 16 or until golden brown.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

tonight is polish sausage $3.50 cooked all day in the crockpot, betty crocker potatoes $1.00, green beans .50, and rolls $1.00.

$6.00 family of 4 will have leftover for sandwiches (one or two depending on how hungry the kids are).

 

[Sorsha]

We are having Chicken Enchiladas tonight. Not very budget, and SO not very calorie-conscious, but SO tasty!!

1) EITHER boil a chicken OR buy a rotisserie chicken. If you boil it, reserve a cup of broth. Pick all the meat off the chicken and chop it into bite-size pieces. If you use a rotisserie chicken, you will need purchased broth.

2) Put the broth in a large, high-sided skillet, and whisk in 1 tbsp flour. Cook this until it is slightly thickened. Add 1-2 small green onions (tops and all) finely chopped, and a pint of heavy cream. Season with S and P to taste. bring this to a boil and remove it from the heat. Stir in a container of sour cream until it is all incorporated.

3) Meanwhile; combine the chicken, one can Ro-Tel Tomatoes and Chiles (well drained), and about a bag of shredded cheddar cheese.

4) Now, have all your ingredients lined out on the counter, and a large greased baking dish sitting close by. This gets messy.

5) Dip a flour tortilla into the white sauce. Submerse it completely so it is totally coated. Don't burn your fingers! Lay the tortilla into the baking dish, and put a handful or two of the chicken mixture on it. Roll it up pretty tight. Repeat until you run out of tortillas, or chicken. I usually end up with 1 8X11 dish full, and one 8X8 square pan as well.

6) Now, pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas, dividing evenly. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, top with another bag of shredded cheddar, and return to the oven until the cheese is melted, and a little toasty.

7) Spread some shredded lettuce on a plate, serve an enchilada on the lettuce, and top with fresh chopped tomatoes, and/or salsa. YUM! These are almost even better the second day around, re-warmed for lunch.

 

[punkin]

Very budget: beef pot pie with leftover steak from my birthday dinner.

 

[lntsmom]

I'm on a budget thing myself; mainly because I moved to a town where two chicken breasts cost $9.98! I've given up on serving traditional meat and potatoes meals. These aren't low cal, but they're dinner:

Friday: Crab Poofs

1 bag of lump crab (in the bags similar to tuna...about 4 oz)
1/2 block of cream cheese
1 handful shredded cheddar cheese (I used Mexican cheese)
1 tsp lemon
1 tsp flavoring of your choice...I used sesame/ginger sauce
1 diced scallion
1 tube of ready-to-bake French bread (I got the lowfat Pillsbury kind)

Mix the first 6 ingredients together.

Follow the directions on the bread as to how to preheat your oven.

Spray a cookie sheet. Using a pizza cutter, slice the bread into 3/4" slices, flatten each one. Place half the slices on the cookie sheet. Divide the crab mixture evenly amoung them. Top with the other half of the bread slices. Use a fork to seal the edges. Brush with butter. Bake until golden brown. I was able to get 6 Poofs out of one loaf of bread.

Total cost: Around $5 for 6 servings.

Saturday: Chicken Pot Pie

1 boneless chicken breast, cubed and fried
1/4 cup frozen brocolli
1/4 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 box pie crust mix (Jiffy)
2 servings of instant potatoes, cooked
Half a jar of Campbells creamy chicken gravy
1/4 cup parmesan or other grated cheese.

Line jumbo muffin pans with foil then sprayed them.
Mix the pie crust mix divide it into 4ths. Flatten each ball and use it to line a muffin cup. Spoon the veggies and chicken into the cups, dividing evenly. Fill each cup to the top with gravy. Mix the cheese into the potatoes. Spoon this over the top of each filled cup.

Bake at 350 until the potatoes are golden brown: about 15 minutes.

Carefully lift each pie out of the muffin tin by lifting it out via the foil.

Total cost: (I used the cheapie WalMart chicken) $3 for for 4 servings

Sunday: Sausage Ziti

Ziti or other tube noodles (prepare 1 serving per person)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 diced onion
2 breakfast sausages per person, fried and cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 400. Fry the sausages. Drain and return to the pan. Add all the other ingredients. Mix well. Bake in oven about 15 minutes. Top with parmesan or other grated cheese.

Total cost: About $4 for 4 servings

Monday: Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground beef
1 can chicken gumbo soup
1 tsp. Worstershire Sauce
1 can Contadina tomato paste
1 package hamburger buns

Fry up the ground beef. Drain and return to pan. Add the soup (don't add the extra water), worstershire sauce, and tomato paste. Mix well. Now, here's the secret: cook over low for at least 2 hours. For the best taste, cook this one night and serve it the next!

Total cost: $8 for 6 servings. (Hey, ground beef here is $4 a lb!)

 

[babytrees]

tonight is beef stroganoff:

roast cut in pieces: about $2.50
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup: $2 ???
sour cream: less than 25 cents.....I was thrilled our grocery store had sour cream close (almost a week) to it's best by date for 25 cents for 16 oz.
can of milk
noodles

peas I think


so for about $8 feeding my family for more than just tonight

 

[bluehen]

1 1/2 lbs pasta 1.50
2 lbs ricoota 3.00
2 lbs mozzarella 3.50
4 jars sauce 4.00
1 can diced tomatoes 1.00
lots of romano 0.50

Total was delicious...er...I mean....13.50 and dw and I ate and packaged up 12 more individual meals for the freezer ( would have been less but I'm cutting down). Less than a dollar for a great meal and using part skim mozzarella and low fat ricotta it's not all that unhealthy.

 

[Sorsha]

Making homemade chicken noodle soup tonight.
Its snowing (again ) and the two youngest kids are sick with headcolds (AGAIN! ) so soup seemed like a good plan.

 

[Adi12982]

Last Night:

Ham Steaks (we bought a small ham on sale - like 60% off. .. whole thing was $5.xx, we used about a 1/3 of it) ($1.80)

Mashed Potato's ($1.50 - fresh potatoes, butter, spices)

Gravy ($1)

Veggies ($0.40)

Drinks ($0.30)

$5 total for two adult dinners, and one adult lunch (So $1.67 a serving)

Tonight

I have a craving for Chinese, so we are going to make some at home

Fried rice (rice, onions, ham, eggs,veggies, soy sauce): $3
Mongolian Beef (Flank Steak, soy sauce, honey/sugar, ginger, onions): ~$7
Drinks: $0.50

Total: $10.50 (not so cheap, but saves us $$$ and is healthier because I don't use oil and less salt, etc.) (planning on getting at least 4 adult servings - so $2.50 a serving without drinks).

 

[OceanAnnie]

Happy Monday Everyone!

First of all, Kritter the black bean soup was really good! The next time I make it, it won't be in the crockpot. It was a little thicker than it would've been had I done it on the stove, but it still tasted great. The only reason I did it that way was I was/am under the weather. I have a ton of it because I used a 1 lb bag! Help! I wonder if I can freeze some? It's just little ole me eating it. No one in the family likes beans for dinner. Wouldn't even try it! (Don't ask, I don't know!) I know I can't finish all of those beans, nor do I want to try! Does anyone know if they freeze ok?

The meal plans all sound great. Thanks for giving me some ideas!

Tonight we're having meatball subs, baked chips and probably bananas and yogurt dip.

 

[Adi12982]

Happy Monday Everyone!

First of all, Kritter the black bean soup was really good! The next time I make it, it won't be in the crockpot. It was a little thicker than it would've been had I done it on the stove, but it still tasted great. The only reason I did it that way was I was/am under the weather. I have a ton of it because I used a 1 lb bag! Help! I wonder if I can freeze some? It's just little ole me eating it. No one in the family likes beans for dinner. Wouldn't even try it! (Don't ask, I don't know!) I know I can't finish all of those beans, nor do I want to try! Does anyone know if they freeze ok?

The meal plans all sound great. Thanks for giving me some ideas!

Tonight we're having meatball subs, baked chips and probably bananas and yogurt dip.

I have frozen beans before. . . made differently (Cuban style) but they heated up in the microwave well

 

[OceanAnnie]

Great, thanks!

 

[kritter]

Happy Monday Everyone!

First of all, Kritter the black bean soup was really good! The next time I make it, it won't be in the crockpot. It was a little thicker than it would've been had I done it on the stove, but it still tasted great. The only reason I did it that way was I was/am under the weather. I have a ton of it because I used a 1 lb bag! Help! I wonder if I can freeze some? It's just little ole me eating it. No one in the family likes beans for dinner. Wouldn't even try it! (Don't ask, I don't know!) I know I can't finish all of those beans, nor do I want to try! Does anyone know if they freeze ok?

The meal plans all sound great. Thanks for giving me some ideas!

Tonight we're having meatball subs, baked chips and probably bananas and yogurt dip.

Oh, I'm sorry I should have told you I've never done it in the crockpot before. I have frozen it before and it is good. I just add a bit more broth when reheating it!~!~!~!~!