Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

Ok, I just went through our bank statement and it is absolutely ridiculous how much we spend on food every week/month. We're wondering why we don't have any money, lol... seriously!!!

We don't eat fancy or organic foods, so we need some plain (yes, we're boring) meal ideas that can either be used for 2 nights or cheap 1 night meals for a family of 4. We just can't afford what we've been spending on fast food, etc. We're really busy and get home late, but I'm just going to have to find the time to cook something during the week and on weekends.

ETA: I'm also kitchen illiterate! LOL!

PLEASE HELP!!!

Message edited 4/4/2011 2:02:27 PM.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

pasta w/ meat sauce..
you basically need 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef, 2 28 ounce cans of crushed tomato, a yellow onion, 2 or 3 cloves garlic, a bay leaf and a pinch of oregano

throw a little olive oil in the pot, add onions and the beef over medium heat. Brown beef add rest of ingredients and salt & pepper and let simmer on low for 15 minutes and you're good to go.

Do you have a slow cooker?
One of my favorites is boneless skinless chicken thighs in there with 1/2 jar of salsa and some sliced garlic... after 9 hours you pull the chicken apart and use it as taco fillings.. get some flour or corn tortillas and make some rice & beans and you are set...

The next night w/ left overs you can make quesidillas!

I also think roasting a chicken is good idea b/c if there is anything left over you can make quesidillas as well.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

slowcooker! you can throw everything in the pot in the morning and you come home to a meal. I just made french dip, its a rump roast, can of beef broth, can of onion soup and can of beer. it is def more than one meal. I also make a lot of chicken or soup dishes.

Pasta is always easy & cheap if you get everything on sale. I throw in roasted chicken pieces, chopped meat, veggies to mix it up. Or i change the type of sauce to mix it up too.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

Yes, pasta is cheap...
Hot dogs & hamburgers can be inexpensive too.
If you have chicken or steak one night(like london broil) - keep the leftovers and make quesidillas another night.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

I shared this recipe a while a go and is soo easy because you can get 3 dishes for practically the price of one and at the end I think it come out to like $10 or less (depending if the meat is on sale) for each meal. Also chili is so cheap and and you can make a lot and freeze.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

Lasagna! You can make it with frozen spinach instead of meat. Makes a lot and leftovers freeze wonderfully!

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

yup. pasta dishes are the cheapest and last the longest.

baked ziti
pasta and meat sauce
macaroni and cheese
macaroni and meat sauce
potato dishes

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

English muffin pizzas
Baked ziti w/ or w/out meat
Tomato soup and grilled cheese
Veggie stirfries w/lo mein noodles
Baked mac and cheese
Homemade chicken nuggets
Tacos

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

1 box of pasta (I like shells)
1 can of chickpeas with the liquid
salt, pepper, garlic powder and grated cheese. Easy, cheap and yummy!

I also do the same except use a can of lentil soup in place of chickpeas. Good filling meal.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

I cook in bulk most of the time, and we're always eating leftovers during the week (sometimes it's morphed into another meal). Anything in a crockpot or something you can make a tray of goes a long way! Salsa chicken in a crockpot is really easy. You can either eat this with rice and a side of black beans for one meal and later take the leftovers and use it to make tacos for another meal. I also love roasting chicken. We usually eat it with a side of veggies and potatoes one night and use the leftover meat to make panini sandwiches another night.

Salsa Chicken in a Crockpot

2 packs of boneless skinless chicken thighs (or you can use chicken breasts)
1 packet of taco seasoning mix*
1 jar of salsa (has 2 cups in it)

Directions:
1. Mix taco seasoning with chicken and place in crock pot.
2. Cover with a jar of salsa.
3. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. (Personally, I cooked on high for 1 hour and then switched to low for another 5 hours).

*I'm not sure what spices are in your pantry, but it's not too hard to make your own taco seasoning:

Taco Seasoning Mix (from allrecipes.com)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Mix all together in a bowl and you have taco seasoning!

Message edited 4/4/2011 3:23:59 PM.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

I am probably repeating what some people say but my go to cheap meals include:

pasta with meatsauce
french toast
hamburgers and hot dogs
penne alla vodka
soup or chili

for meals that last two nights i use these options:

eggplant parm
lasagna
hot dog mac and cheese casserole
big pot of soups (various)
big pot of chili (various)
chicken pot pie casserole


Here is some advice i can share:
-i cook every meal, every day, meaning i do breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks and desserts.
-when planning my weekly menu, i go based on sale prices of the paper if I can.
-I also plan for one night to be a "cheap" night and one night to be a "2-night dinner" meal and the other nights i don't worry so much about cost but I try to use some similar ingredients so fresh produce gets used and does not go bad since it is cheaper in bulk.
-for example, if a big bag of potatoes is on sale I buy it and then I decide I will make soup with potatoes in it one night, mashed potatoes as a side dish a different night and also put it in my chicken pot pie casserole dish. One $2 bag will be a big part of three dishes that week. If you plan for things like that ahead of time, you will see your cost go down a lot.

Message edited 4/4/2011 3:44:14 PM.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

pasta with marinara
homemade pizza
tacos


your best bet its buy whats on sale each week.... then plan your meals around that! This is what I have started to do to!

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

i like to make a big batch of chicken cutlets on sunday to use for dinner that night and then "re-make" during the week.

can put it over a salad, make chicken parm etc.

also pasta dishes are cheap and go far!

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

I add a small can of mushrooms and some black beans to my meat sauce.

You might want to consider getting smaller plates - you'll put less on, probably won't miss it and save $$ on food!

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

A whole roast chicken when it's on sale can be under $.99 a pound. You can definitely get at least two meals out of it if you do chili or a casserole.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

My great-grandmothers each raised 11 children during the Great Depression, so a lot of my cheap go-to recipes have been passed down. I make lentils over pasta, and since it's only DH and I we get 3 meals out of that. Also, they made pasta fagioli, but not as a soup, as a pasta dish. Kidney beans, a small can of tomato sauce, some spices, pour over pasta.

Breakfast for dinner nights are great too!

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

Rice & beans can be very inexpensive.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

You'd be really surprised how much money you will save if you plan a weekly menu before you food shop for the week. The trick is.....stick to your shopping list and stick to your menu. No ordering out!!

Pasta w/meatsauce
breakfast for dinner
meatloaf
tacos
roasted chicken, you can get these already cooked fairly cheap at the grocery store or even at costco. You can use the leftover to make chicken salad for lunch

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

beans, rice, and pasta dishes are all cheap and easy.

the cheapest meals for us are lentil soup, chicken soup (with leg meat), rice with chorizo (I buy a fancy version now but we used to use Goya).

there is a great and cheap lentil soup recipe on the back of barilla pasta.

and I cannot say enough about whole roasted chickens. you can buy one (or two) on sale and one roast makes at least 2 meals for us.

last night we had it with roasted root veggies and tonight I am making chicken tacos out of the rest.

we are a family of 3 adults and one hungry 17 month old.

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?

Re: Need meal ideas that will last 2 meals or VERY cheap for one night?