VERY CHEAP dinner ideas. I have about $17 to spend

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bga008
bga008 Posts: 90
in Recipes
I only have $17 left to spend and it needs to be spent on our dinners this week.

So any verrrrry cheap meals would be greatly appreciated... I am only feeding 2 people.

Any suggestions would be great!!

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  • Jexebel
    Jexebel Posts: 67
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    Spaghetti bolognese with ground beef/chicken
    Chicken legs/thighs baked w/ potatoes/peppers/onions and seasonings of your choice (or sausage instead of chicken)
  • cmadison381
    cmadison381 Posts: 5
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    Fish Taco - Tilapia, lettuce tomatoes, tortillia (wheat)
  • Trauma_mama
    Trauma_mama Posts: 42
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    Do you have pasta, canned soup, frozen veggies on hand already? You could buy a beef roast. Have pot roast 1 night, beef and noodles 1, beef tacos one, veggie beef soup. There are lots of ways to turn 1 piese of meat such as whole chicken, beef roast, or pork roast into multiple dinners.
  • fishax
    fishax Posts: 33 Member
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    baked poatatoes with baked beans and cheese on top - one of my favourites adn cheap as "chips" !
  • eddysuchydvm
    eddysuchydvm Posts: 110 Member
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    I don't know what prices are like where you are, but I can get two big packages of chicken for around 10-12 dollars.
    With the remaining 5 - 7 dollars you can either go with cheap pasta (like the 88 cents a pound kind in the bins) or a bag of russet potatoes (or both).

    I try to avoid the carbs, so usually I'll just spend the money on the protein and scrounge through my cupboards to find anything I can as a side dish. Rice is cheap, too.
  • eddysuchydvm
    eddysuchydvm Posts: 110 Member
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    Do you have pasta, canned soup, frozen veggies on hand already? You could buy a beef roast. Have pot roast 1 night, beef and noodles 1, beef tacos one, veggie beef soup. There are lots of ways to turn 1 piese of meat such as whole chicken, beef roast, or pork roast into multiple dinners.

    This is a great idea. I love the crock-pot beef idea to go a long way :) Thanks!
  • HappilySingle
    HappilySingle Posts: 149 Member
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    quiche. There is a great easy receipe on this board. Eggs, spinach ($2.00 here) mushrooms ($2.00 here) and cheese. I always have eggs and cheese on hand.
  • crystalmath
    crystalmath Posts: 7
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    Maybe not totally dieting meals, but here's my cheap dinner list (cooking instructions and ingredient measurements are always whatever makes sense to combine/cook ingredients and have enough to eat; and add salt and pepper to taste; add fresh vege sides when possible):

    Hamburger noodle casserole: browned hamburger meat, canned whole peeled tomatoes, cooked large shell noodles (i like to eat this with sauteed yellow squash)

    Picadillo: browned hamburger meat, tomato sauce, diced potatoes, garlic, oregano, lots of cumin, eat on tortillas

    Ground meat and gravy: browned hamburger meat, flour, butter, milk, eat on baked potatoes (or biscuits for breakfast) (if you like sauerkraut, definitely add some of that too)

    Beef macaroni: browned hamburger meat, macaroni and cheese, optional: tomato sauce

    Green bean potato soup: diced potatoes, fresh cut green beans, spices of your choice (I like rapunzel vege bouillon, but chicken stock works too), water

    Chicken noodle/rice soup: chicken, spices of your choice, celery, carrots, water, noodles/rice

    Chicken tortilla soup: chicken, celery, carrots, garlic, oregano, picante sauce, water, serve with tortilla strips (chips work fine) and cheddar cheese

    Cheesy chicken rice: cooked rice, cooked broccoli (I usually put broccoli in pot with rice while it is cooking), cooked chicken, cheddar cheese

    Chicken / Steak stirfry: cooked meat, vegetables of choice (I like green beans, and broccoli and carrots), teriyaki sauce (you can get several meals out of 1 bottle), rice or egg noodles

    Chicken stuffing bake: cooked chicken, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, stuffing, bake in oven until stuffing is cooked and sauce is bubbling

    Meatloaf: ground beef, celery, bell peppers, spices of choice, top with tomato sauce and bake until cooked through, serve with mashed potatoes

    Spaghetti and meatballs: spaghetti, pasta sauce, frozen meatballs

    Meatball subs: hoagie buns, pasta sauce, frozen meatballs, provolone cheese

    Salmon patties: canned salmon (don't forget to pick out the bones) , bread crumbs, eggs, fry in oil, I like to eat this with ketchup and mashed potatoes

    Sausage and noodles: cooked sausage links cut into pieces, egg noodles

    Sausages on bun: hoagie rolls, cooked sausage links, cheese slices

    Sorry I went overboard there, but I hope it helps.

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