Anyone out there have any good ideas for inexpensive meals? We have five good eaters in my house and I'm just looking for something different that we might be able to try that won't be too expensive.
R.
A family favorite (I’ve actually got this going in my crock pot right now) is chicken with olives. 1chopped onion, 2 cans Italian stewed tomatos, 2 cans chicken broth, 1 cup green pimento stuffed olives and 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts go in the crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Also works well on the stovetop with bone in chicken but then I usually brown it first.
Serve with rice, noodles or bread.
We were introduced to Dream Dinners about a year ago. Consistently I've found that I save about $200 a month on our grocery bill. (We buy the 3 serving instead of the 6 serving meals that they offer, because our kids are young and don't eat a whole serving by themselves yet. I imagine you might save more with the 6-serving meals.) I think the reason you save money is that instead of buying lots of ingredients and then only using a small portion, and then having the rest of the ingredient go bad, you're sort of able to "co-op" with lots of other people to share the ingredients. Plus Dream Dinners buys in such huge quantities, they get better pricing anyhow.
It's been a huge win for me, because we get a LOT more variety than we were used to (let's just say I'm not the world's most enthusiastic cook), and by and large the ingredients are quite healthy - not a lot of butter, oil, salt, etc. That, along with not really having to grocery shop, and not having to prep dinner EVER... It's one of those things I wish I'd known about years ago. I hope this helps!
My 3 kids are all great non-picky eaters. A few favorites that involve veggies are homemade pizzas, tacos, and pasta. We choose to buy the crust than add veggie's and cheese of choice including pesto sauce. Sometimes we'll have an all dipping dinner. (ie. broccoli, cumuber, carrots and ranch dip or chips, quesadilas and homemade salsa and guacamole. Pasta is an easy fix you can add any veggie or cheese, or sauce or not. We will buy different shapes and sizes for fun. My kids also love my broccoli cheese cassorole with broccoli, rice, cheese,onion, cream of chicken soup, baked for approx. 45 min @ 350.
Hi R.,
I would check out the Campbell's Soup website. They have a lot of good recipes that are quick and pretty good. I also try to shop at Trader Joe's and Costco because you can save a lot of money on meats, breads, and pasta. Dream Dinners is also pretty good.
My Husband is the SAHD and does the cooking. We have a few staples that are quick, easy and not too expensive. 1.Chicken and Rice from the Minute Rice box. He adds mozz cheese and Mrs Dash for flavor.
2.Beef stroganoff with beef gravy,sour cream and skillet browned beef steak strips over egg noodles(I am sure there are more ingredients, I am not the cook...If any of theses sound good, I can get you the recipe)
3. spaghetti with sausage rather that beef
4. cut pork into strips, skillet brown and add favorite bbq sauce, serve with steamed veggie and Baked potatoe
5. you can go onto kraft website and they have a great magazine they send out with yummy easy recipes. They also have a way to put in ingredients you have around the house and they will give you a recipe to make with them .
We have toddler boys but they eat like teenagers. We always have tons of fresh fruit that they eat as a dessert. I know these arent the healthiest, but like I said, My Husband cooks.
One of my favorite meals is Chili and Rice. It is very filling and very inexpensive. You can make your own chili or buy the canned, put it over white or brown rice with a little cheese and sour cream. YUM!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup is good too with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches...
I love a good and inexpensive meal. My fav is roasted chicken. Get a whole chicken (I buy organic so I can use the bones for broth...).
With the whole chicken you can rub it down with oil or butter, sprinkle your favorite seasoning on the outside, salt and pepper it really well and then put it in a preheated oven.
If I have time I do a slow roast at 350, or it can cook in an hour at 425 and it get's nice and golden.
Then for a one pot dinner I throw in carrots and potatoes in the bottom. Oh, and the extra meat is great for tacos, salads or just sandwiches! The bigger the chicken the more left over meat! Yay for leftovers!
My second fav is the Crockpot! I love the book Not Your Mothers Slow Cooker Cookbook for modern yummy recipes. But nothing beats the ease of the slow cooker!
1. pasta all types
2. strogonaff
3. tuna casserole
