Cheap easy dinner ideas

[smilie]

I need some new ideas. I'm getting into a routine of making the same things every week.

 

[Scifidiner]

Red beans, rice, ground beef, tabasco.

 

[wvjules]

Chicken breasts in crock pot. Pour salsa and a packet of taco seasoning over, heat on low for 8 hours. Make chicken tacos or burritos with the meat

Chili - ground turkey or beef, can red beans, can black bean, can canneloni beans, can of diced chlis, 28oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, chili powder

Spicy chicken sandwich (or tenders) - 4oz chicken breast per person. Marinate in buttermilk, salt and pepper for an hour. Coat with panko/cayenne breading. Bake until done. Serve over salad or on buns. Or just eat plain.


Stuffed peppers

Cabbage rolls

Baked mac n cheese with broccoli and chicken

Grilled chicken salads

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Ham and buttered noodles... cubed ham steak, egg noodles, butter...add a veggie on the side
Broccoli and garlic pasta... spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, broccoli (I love this cold)

 

[siren0119]

Homemade pizza (dough takes about 30 minutes to make and is super easy if you have a mixer with a dough hook, or small hands willing to help knead!)

Crockpot salsa chicken (dump chicken breasts, 1 cup of salsa and 1 block of cream cheese in the crock pot. just give the "sauce" a good whisk before serving

Italian chicken skillet - cut chicken into 1 inch pieces and season with italian seasoning. sautee until mostly cooked through with minced garlic and olive oil, then add a can of diced tomato (drained) and 1-2 chopped zucchini (depending on how much veggie you want) and cook for an additional couple of minutes. Serve over pasta.

"Cheap" kind of depends on how you shop, but years ago I got in the habit of watching the meat sales (meat protein is the most expensive ingredient in most everyday dishes) and buying up a few weeks' worth when it dropped to the lowest price. Makes it much easier to plan cheap meals when I have a stockpile of meat in the freezer that I got on sale

 

[barkley]

cheapest would be trying to use whatever you might already on hand. yummly has tools to plug in what you've got and come up with recipes.

EASY cheapish

-taco soup (ground beef, bell pepper, onion, 1 can each corn (optional), black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 oz dry ranch dressing mix/1 oz taco seasoning,

-spanish rice (ground beef, white rice, salsa, oil),

-pulled pork (pork is the least expensive meat around here these days)-pork (cheapest cut b/c it will be shredded anyway), bbq sauce, buns,

-baked potato soup (potatos, milk (or cream), onion, broth (dry cubes are least expensive), butter). if desired-sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, chives for topping.

 

[HeatherC]

Shepherds Pie
ChickenPot Pie...for easy and quick I use Pillsbury Pie Crust, two cans of cream of chicken soup and two bags defrosted of Birds Eye Steamfresh mixed veggies.
Jambalaya...I use NearEast mix and add turkey kielbasa and cooked chicken or shrimp.
Chili...I use fat free turkey breast and McCormicks seasoning packets. I also make it with just veggies sometimes. (Zucchini, Summer Squash, Peppers, Onions, Asparagus, Corn, etc
Center Cut Pork Roast with sauerkraut. I season meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I then use a little Kitchen .bouquet Or Gravy Master over the meat and put sauerkraut in pan around meat and add water.
Spare Ribs in crockpot with your favorite bbq sauce.

 

[mousefan73]

A cheap staple by is is boiled potatoes , creamed spinach and egg ( how ever you want it). I like mine runny over the eggs.

Brats with fried potatoes

Lentil soup

 

[Minnesota!]

made this for a gathering this weekend - I doubled it and it fed 14, with 2 small containers left. I threw lettuce, sour cream, and other taco toppings on the side.

Everyone loved it.

Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole
2 lbs hamburger
Salt & pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pkg Knoll Spanish Rice Mix
4 – 5 cups shredded cheese
1 cup (or more) Salsa of choice
1 can sliced black olives
Small Bag of Frozen Corn
2 cans enchilada sauce
Corn Tortilla Chips

Optional:
Jalapeno or Chili Peppers
Black beans

Optional Garnishes:
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Sour Cream
Guacamole

Directions:
Slightly brown hamburger with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Drain grease. Put a thin layer of tortilla chips in bottom of crock pot. Layer ground beef on top of that. Layer onion & Spanish Rice mix, cover with about half of cheese. Next, layer salsa black olives & frozen corn. Place tortilla chips on top and pour two cans of enchilada sauce over top. Cover with thick layer of shredded cheese. Cook on low for at least 6 hours. Serve with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, or whatever you wish. Serves about 8.

 

[Minnesota!]

I am looking at my meal plan for January right now, and things we have on here that are not routine are:

stir fry
veg/barley soup
brinner (like 5 days of it throughout the month)
dill pickle soup with crusty bread/butter
spinach balls, rice, veggies
green curry over rice
meatball hotdish.

Others coming up in February:

Cashew Chicken Quinoa Bake
1 cup Quinoa
1 Pound Chicken Breast
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Cup Snap Pea Pods
1/2 Onion
1/2 Cup Teriyaki Sauce
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Cashews
Coconut Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13 glass baking dish with coconut oil. Pour quinoa (dry, uncooked) into the bottom of the dish. Layer chopped vegetables over the quinoa. Cut chicken breast into cubes and layer over the top of the vegetables. Mix together water and teriyaki sauce and evenly pour over the entire dish. Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove, top with cashews, and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Slow Cooker Sausage and Ravioli
Ingredients
• 1 pound Italian Sausage
• 1 pound Frozen Cheese Ravioli
• 29 ounces Diced tomatoes, 2 - 14.5 ounce cans
• 15 ounces Tomato Sauce
• 3 tablespoon Fresh Basil
• Salt to taste
• Fresh Parmesan for garnish

Instructions
1. Cut Italian sausage into bite-sized slices.
2. Add sausage, ravioli, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and basil to the slow cooker.
3. Set slow cooker to low for 4 hours, or until sausage is fully cooked.
4. Add salt to taste.
5. Remove from slow cooker and serve with a garnish of Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

 

[GreatLakes]

If you are looking for easy and a wide variety get a cookbook full of slow cooker meals. There are so many things you can do in a crock pot from soups to more elaborate dishes. All of them can cook while you are at work provided you have a cooker with a timer.

 

[Southernmiss]

Loaded baked potatoes

Chili cheese fritos

 

[CT Yankee]

Quesadillas - place some fajita style or burrito style flour tortillas on a baking sheet. Cover with a layer of shredded cheese, leaving about 1/2" around the edge. If you have any leftover chicken or beef, cut that up into small pieces and sprinkle on top. You can also top with chopped hot peppers, sliced black olives, or any other vegetable or topping you may like. Put under the broiler for just a minute or two for the cheese to melt a bit. Take out of the broiler and put another tortilla on top. Brush with melted butter and put it back under the broiler for a few seconds for the top layer to brown up slightly. Watch this closely because it can go from "browned" to "burned" within a few seconds. Slice each quesadilla into pieces like a pizza pie. Serve with salsa, sour cream, guac, corn salsa or bean salad.

 

[amberpi]

I make this often and throw whatever fresh veggies I have on hand that are starting to get iffy in. It's a great way to use up veggies and is good for several meals if you're ok with leftovers (I love leftovers because I'm lazy). Everyone loves it as it seems really rustic Italian, I love it because it's easy:

1lb italian sausage, browned

half way cook a box of bow tie or farfalle pasta, strain and set aside a cup of the water, put back in the large pot you just made the pasta in, add the italian sausage and all the veggies you want, (if you do onions and/or red/orange/yellow bell peppers cook them down with the sausage so you just have 2 dirty dishes) like zuccini, spinach, yellow squash, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, kale, whatever you need to use up and a quart jar of tomatoes (or the equivalent tinned tomatoes), throw in some fresh basil and a lot of quality olive oil, parsely, s&p, and more fresh basil, i grow mine so that's free and it's awesome.

Sorry for the stream of consciousness. It's a cooking flaw I can't seem to break. It's a great dish and heats up even better. To me it seems cheap because it's mostly odds and ends and a box of pasta and ground sausage.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Some of our favorite meals are breakfast for dinner. Tomorrow night we are having waffles. We like the hashbrowns, eggs, bacon type meal. When I'm bored, I throw in a meal of soup and grilled cheese sandwich.

 

[low-key]

I need some new ideas. I'm getting into a routine of making the same things every week.

yep, it always seems like you eat the same things over and over, but to answer your question I always like some sloppy joes, chips and macaroni salad

 

[Nora03]

Seven layer casserole:
Layer of sliced potatoes
Layer of carrots
Layer of raw hamburger
Layer of sliced onion
Layer of frozen corn or peas
Handful of rice (uncooked)
Top with a can of tomato soup
Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Seven layer casserole:
Layer of sliced potatoes
Layer of carrots
Layer of raw hamburger
Layer of sliced onion
Layer of frozen corn or peas
Handful of rice (uncooked)
Top with a can of tomato soup
Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours

How funny. I made this years ago and have been craving. I just made my shopping list with it on it. YUM

 

[portocall]

Spaghetti. Too make sauce I use a can of tomato paste and two small cans of sauce. I sometimes add onion and Bell pepper. Season to taste. Never the same as tomato sauce isn't one reliable flavor. Sometimes it needs sugar. You can add meat.

 

[Poohforyou]

Baked potato bar with toppings - chili, salsa, cheese, steamed vegetables or whatever your family likes.

Stir fry over rice