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Question by Heather: Anyone have any recipes for dinners that are tasty, but not very expensive?
Just got paid today, and after deducting all the other bills, I’m not left with a very big food budget. And I don’t think my other half would be too crazy about 2 weeks of grilled cheese and tomato soup! 
Best answer:
Answer by juno622
Beer & Hotdogs
What do you think? Answer below!
Related Tomato Soup Recipe Articles
pasta with various souces
American Chop Suey….
1 lb. ground beef
elbow macaroni
can of tomato soup
little onion
salt, pepper
oregano
Cook the pasta, brown the ground beef, and onion. Mix together with the soup, salt and pepper and oregano…Heat through…
Very good and only costs about 4 to 5 dollars!!!
omlettes are always a good option. i dont know if your grocery store sells “older” produce at discounted prices to keep things moving, but thats a good route if you’re just going to throw it into an omlette.
Maybe hamburger helper and a simple salad? There may even be enough for left overs if it’s just the two of you.
Hey…ask him to chip in! LOL Try this cheap and easy meal if you have a slow cooker. In the morning, when you wake up, place a chuck roast of your choice in your slow cooker. Set your cooker on low. Spread a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup on the top of the roast and sprinkle over that a pkg. of Lipton or Knorr onion soup mix. Pop on the lit and let it go all day. Its a nice flavorful, tender roast which makes its own gravy in the bottom of the crock pot. Serve this with potatoes, carrots OR any veggie you like and your good to go.
I hope you like to read!! LOL This will be a LLLLLLLLOOOONNNNNNNNNNNGGGG answer! Sorry!!
I have to make a meal for 3 adults, and 2 kids, everynite, and I’m very picky about the way my food tastes, and(yes I’m bragging, just a little bit lol) I’ve not once had a complaint about my food. I’ve been cooking for about 8-9 years now.
Breakfast: Omlettes are fairly cheap, and you can use whatever you want. Eggs and cheese with ham, tomatoes, onions, pepperoni, salt and pepper.
Fish sticks would actually be pretty good for breakfast, because fish is brain food, and breakfast is the most omportant meal of the day, so they sort of go hand in hand lol.
Eggs, bacon/sausage and buttered toast.
Get some rolls, or buisquits, and some sausage gravy for buisquits and gravy.
Cereal is always cheap.
Lunch: Cheap, easy homemade pizza-put a tortilla on a plate, put some tomato sause on it covering it, but not alot of sauce, then put some cheese on, then another tortilla, more sauce, more cheese, then take the pepperoni and/or other toppings and sprinkle on. Or you can put some toppings on the first layer. I use the top layer for all of mine, because it’s easier to cut, and you don’t have to worry about the stuff peeling everywhere or not getting cut. Then toss it in the mic for about a min and a half, long enough for the cheese to melt. It actually tastes pretty good. It may not sound like the greatest, but it’s pretty good.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup lol.
Macaroni and cheese with a salad.
Make a chef salad-lettuce, carrots, (raw) cabbage, cheese, cherry tomatoes/tomato chunks, ham(the sandwich meat slices or left over ham) and/or chicken. Top off with your fav dressing.
Then you have your basic sandwiches-pb&j, balogna, ham and swiss, or whatever you like.
Drinks-instead of getting the lemonade in the packets, get some fresh lemons, about 12. They usually run fairly cheap, depending where you go. Then cut 6 of them into slices(6 for now, 6 for later), it doesn’t matter how thick or thin. Put them in a HUGE bowl, and put 1 cup of sugar, per 2 lemons, and fill the bowl about half way up the lemons with water. Let it sit for about 20 min, makeing sure you squish the lemons with a spoon every 5 minutes. Then after the 20 min, poor everything, but the lemons into a large pitcher. Then take the lemons and squeeze the hell out of them, to get as much juice out of them that you can! Poor the rest of the sugar water into the pitcher, using a little water if you have to. If you need it, add some more water, and a little more sugar if you really need it. There you go, homemade lemonade that will last longer then the packets.
Do the same thing with oranges, only without the sugar. Add the sugar later if you need it.
You can get a big box of tea, really cheap, if you go with the off brand! They’re just as good as the top brands. I like my tea better when I use the coffee pot. It’s alot quicker too. Get a funnel and use old, washed out bottles: milk jugs, soda bottles(2+ liter), ect. Then take some sugar and poor it in. Instead of having to stir it, you can jsut close it and shake it. Which makes a good stress reliever too! LOL
MEATS:
Take your choice of meat; chicken, pork chops, or any type of steak. Put it in a frying pan, put it on med heat. Get some virgin/extra virgin olive oil(it’s not as bad as it sounds, I swear!! I thought it was nasty, but when it’s cooked into food, it actually makes the food taste better!!), and put it about half way up the meat. Then take some worchestorshire(i think that’s how it’s spelled) sauce, and poor some in there, until you see a significant color change in the oil. Then take some seasoned salt and onion powder and sprinkle onto the meat. Not to much or it will come out tasting like wrotten sausage. You can’t really use not enough, but if you can see it on there, then that should be enough. Or you can take some Garlic salt/powder, onion salt, pepper and prinkle those one instead. Always cook your meat, all meat, untill it’s fully cooked.
You can try frying some chicken in cream of chicken soup.
You can also try some cajun or creole seasoning, with some onion powder. Teryaki with some pepper, Garlic salt/powder and seasoned salt. The onion powder can take out some of the hotness that some spices have. If you like cajun seasoning, but can’t eat it, then throw some onion powder on it, and it should take out the hotness, but not the flavor!! So your stomach can handle it! I use onion powder in alot of my foods.
You can get the cheap brand olive oil for around 2 bucks for a big bottle, less then a dollar and a half for a reg/small bottle. Most of the sauces are less then a dollar, unless you get the top brand name.
Hamburger meat; the obvious, make hamburgers or hamburger helper!! LOL If you want something a little more fancy, take the hamburger meat, throw it in a pan with some water. Cook the hamburger till it’s almsot done, then drain it. Then take some soy sauce, or teryaki sauce, and a little bit of butter, or, again, a little olive oil. Mix well, and you have some hamburger meat that is actually pretty healthy, granted you’re using oil.
Olive oil is just healthy as the corn or veggie oil. It has the same stuff in it, but the extra virgin is a little healthier.
If you want some baked meat, just take everything and toss it in an oven pan, and throw it in the oven. Depending on what meat, and what else you’re making, depends on how hot the oven is. I usually use 325-350 for chicken and pork chops, and 400 for all other meat. Just make sure you put it a little bit of water, so the meat doesn’t dry out, and so the meat won’t get stuck to your pan! You can also use different flavored bbq sauce, and toss them in the oven.
Something that the adults seemed to go nuts over is frying some meat in enchilada sauce. Put a little bit of water in the frying pan, wait for it to start boiling, then toss in the meat, and put in the enchilada sauce. Cook on med-a high-low heat.
Classic fried chicken-put mostly flour, a little pepper, and a touch of garlic salt/powder in a big bag that can be closed at the top. Mix well in the bag. Rinse off the chicken, and toss into the bag. coat the chicken entirely, and then toss into a pan of oil. Make sure you have a splatter screen, or at least a lid for the frying pan. Keep on a high med heat. Use tongs or a spatula to turn over. A fork will only cause bleeding of the chicken and cause the oil to splatter back onto you.(speacking from experience on that one!! LOL)
VEGGIES
Corn, green beans, broccoli/cauliflower, asparagus and brussel sprouts; drain the juice and put in a small sauce pan(or med, depending on how many people will be eating). Add enough butter to make about an inch of melted butter in the pan(usually around 1 of the large spoons, sort of over full), and a little salt. Keep on a high-low heat, and stir every minute or so, to avoid sticking to the pan.
Mashed potatoes-hopefully you know how to make mashed potatoes, but if you don’t, rinse them off, peel them, then cut the potatoes into little chunks, and toss into a pan full of boiling water. Then drain the water and throw the cooked ‘tatoes into a large bowl. Add butter first, so it can melt quicker, stir with a fork, or masher, to mix the butter and melt it a little, then take some milk and poor about a cup in, depending on how much potatoes you have. Then mix completely, and to avoid using as much salt, put a little bit of sour cream in them. Not alot, otherwise they will taste sour. While you’re mixing, keep tasting just a little. If you think you need some more salt, throw in another spoon ful of sour cream. I wouldn’t add anymore then 3 spoons full. Then you can add the salt, and pepper if desired.
Baked potatoes-make sure you stab them first. So they don’t explode. You can put them in the mic for a few minutes, wrap them in foil and toss them in the oven for about 20 minutes(or longer or whatever. I always use the mic so I don’t know how long it takes to bake them in the oven lol), or you can toss them in your pan of baked meat, when the meat is about half way done.
Fried potatoes-cook in oil, with some salt and pepepr for extra flavor.
Rice-follow the dirrections, and add some butter and salt after it’s cooked. You can mix the hamburger meat in with it, and put some brown gravy on top. You can mix the rice with green beans and some teryaki or soy sauce. You can do so much with rice. It’s a really flexible food!
EASY MEALS:
Take some noodles, of any kind; shell, elbow, ect. and boil them. Put a little oil in the pan of water, to avoid sticking together, and to the pan, then drain, and turn off the stove. Turn the oven on to about 375-400. Put some spaggetti sauce(your flavor choice) in the same pan, and a little water if you like. Rinse of the noodles, then toss them into the pan with sauce. Take the mix and toss it into an oven pan and throw some mozzerella cheese, and cover most of the top. Then toss it into the oven, and bake it for about 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, and just a little baked.
When you go to the store, grab some enchilada sauce, and look on the back for enhilada recipe. They’re really good with rice and black olives!!
That’s pretty much all I have lol. If you need any other ideas, click on the link below, or send me a message. My messenger is almost always on, but sometimes I’m just not at the computer. It has some pretty good ideas, good tips, and decent advice! Sorry it’s so long, but you wanted some ideas for meals lol. I’m on a VERY tight budget, so when I get money, I buy things I already have, for later down the road, when I run out, I can jsut grab another one. Instead of having to find something else. Buy in bulk lol. It’s alot cheaper in the long run.
Here’s a cheap, but definitely good, chicken casserole
2-3 lbs chicken legs (about 80 cents a pound here)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (under a buck here)
1 chicken bullion cube (25 for a buck here)
2 sleeves of (generic) ritz crackers (about a buck here)
2 cups white rice (about 50 cents here)
Simmer the chicken legs in water for 90 minutes. (This is way longer than necessary, but it makes the meat really easy to shred.) Take the meat off of the bones, and shred the meat with 2 forks.
Mix the shredded meat in a small pot with the condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of water, and 1 chicken bullion cube. Heat it and stir it all up.
Crush one sleeve of the crackers and put them on the bottom of a casserole dish. Pour the chicken mixture over the crackers. Crush the other sleeve of the crackers and pour them over the top of the chicken. Bake it at 300 for 35 minutes.
While that is baking, steam the 2 cups of rice in 4 cups of water (i.e. just make plain old steamed white rice).
Scoop the rice onto a plate and scoop the casserole onto the rice.
It’s a good, cheap, filling meal that will feed 2 people about 3 meals each.
Try Chili Mack! Its my favorite.
1 pound corkscrew shaped pasta with lines or elbows with lines
2 pounds ground sirloin
2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan in a slow stream) extra-virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seed and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 palm fuls) dark chili powder
2 tablespoons (1 palm ful) cumin
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce
Coarse salt
1 cup beer or beef broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Chopped scallions, for garnish
In a large pot, boil pasta until al dente.
Meanwhile, in a big, deep pot, brown beef in oil over medium high heat. Add onions, peppers, and garlic. Season meat mixture with chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Cook together 5 minutes, stir in beer or broth, and reduce liquid by half, 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain pasta. Add hot pasta to chili pot and stir to coat pasta evenly. Remove from heat and garnish big bowlfuls of chili mac with chopped scallions.
I also like to add chedder cheese on top. I like a green salad with this and some crusty bread. MMMMMM
Get stuff you can buy in bulk and use the leftovers creatively. Such as…
1 large can of chili
Hot dogs
Hot dog buns
cheese
fritos
spaghetti noodles
spaghetti sauce
now you can have frito chili pies one night, hot dogs one night and on the third night spaghetti and make garlic bread with the leftover hot dog buns.
Also …
chicken breast
lettuce
flour tortillas
salad dressing (and if you get italian you can use it for another recipe)
(you already have cheese from the other recipes)
grill some chicken one night with salad then on the next you can use the leftover chicken in some flour tortillas for fajitas and on the last night have grilled chicken salad. if you still have leftover spaghetti noodles, mix some grilled chicken, noodles and italian dressing for another meal.
This recipe calls for things you probably already have and won’t have to buy any more groceries.
1 # box ziti
cook as directed
place in 9 x 13 pyrex
top with one stick browned butter
then top with sauce made of one 8 oz can tomato sauce mixed with 2 tsp. cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar(heated in dish in the microwave)
finally top with grated parmesan
Substitute with whatever pasta you already have on hand. The butter must be browned and just trust me about the cinnamon and sugar in the tomato sauce. Trust me, try it. Everyone has parmesan in the fridge.
This is my family’s absolute favorite meal. I literally could make it day after day for them and they would never complain.
When I was a little girl, we went on vacation and there was another family staying at the same resort as us named Pappas from Chicago. Their mother taught our mother to make it and we have always called it “Greek Food” because their family was greek. Each kid in our family makes this for their children now.
Like I said, trust me, try it.