I know from experience just how important it is to keep family expenses low. I have a family of 6 and a household of 9 so I do a LOT of cooking! I try to keep our food budget as low as possible.
In this article, I list 10 of my favorite delicious dinner recipes that are both simple and inexpensive. If you need to save money on a regular basis like I do, these ideas will be of great help!
Chipotle Chicken Fajitas
Chipotle Chicken Fajitas will give your family a spicy southwest meal for less.
All you have to do is simply season the skinless boneless chicken breasts with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
Heat the oil in 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally.
Cook it through 5 to 7 minutes.
You can add pepper, onion, mushrooms and garlic to the skillet and cook it all up.
It only takes about an hour to make this meal, and it doesn’t cost very much at all.
Anchor Steam Mac and Cheese
Anchor Steam Mac and Cheese is a wonderful meal idea, both easy and cheap.
This particular idea comes from Country Living, and it offers you a way to give your family a delicious meal without spending a lot of money.
The ingredients for this meal include a single 16 oz package of short pasta, unsalted butter, one shallot, one garlic clove, all purpose flower, cayenne pepper, Anchor Steam beer, half-and-half, Dijon mustard, Havarti cheese, cheddar cheese and a kosher salt.
Full recipe is here.
Quick Beef Ragu
If you are a big fan of pasta and need to save as much money as possible, this recipe for Quick Beef Ragu is certainly worth looking into.
All you need to make this dish is spaghetti, a lemon olive oil, garlic cloves, lean ground beef, salt and pepper, tomato paste, dry white wine, and tomatoes.
If you are accustomed to making spaghetti and other pasta dishes, this one shouldn’t be too tricky at all, and you will save quite a bit.
Cheesy Shells and Greens
Cheesy shells and greens offers a quick and cheap meal that you can make for your family so you don’t have to spend a lot.
You will just need to cook some medium pasta shells according to the directions on the package, and then melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a large pot.
Throw in some mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, pepper and a cup of cheddar.
This meal takes a little less than an hour to make, and it yields 4 servings.
Pasta with Walnut Pesto and Peas
The walnut vinaigrette and dash of lemon really make this particular dish very delicious, and it’s perfect for anyone who loves pasta in general.
One of the best things about making this dish is that all you will need is some farfalle, olive oil, an onion, salt and pepper, a lemon, walnuts, garlic, Parmesan, frozen peas and dry white wine.
Prep time is about an hour, and it can easily feed a family of four.
Baked Spaghetti
There are many variations of baked spaghetti, and it is definitely a classic.
This dish doesn’t cost a whole lot to make, and it’s something the whole family will likely enjoy.
Spaghetti casserole only really requires about 16 ounces of spaghetti, a pound of ground beef, a medium-sized onion, salt, a couple of eggs, Parmesan cheese, butter and cottage cheese.
It only takes about 25 minutes to prepare and 1 hour to actually cook, which means that your family will be eating in almost no time.
Inside Out Stuffed Cabbage
While it’s true that preparing stuffed cabbage rolls can take a lot of time, inside out stuffed cabbage is much easier and simpler.
You will need a pound of ground beef, two cups of cubed peeled butternut squash, 1 medium green pepper, one envelope of Lipton beefy onion soup mix, one tablespoon brown sugar, a van of spicy hot V8 juice, 6 cups chopped cabbage and a half cup of instant brown rice.
Using a Dutch oven, simply cook and crumble beef with squash and pepper over medium-high heat until it is no longer pink.
Stir in the rice and return to a boil. This should only take about 10 minutes including prep time.
Ham & Cheese Potato Casserole
Ham & Cheese Potato Casserole is a great meal choice if you are busy all the time like I am, and if you need to save some money as well.
For this meal you will need 2 cans of condensed cream of celery soup, 2 cups sour cream, a half cup of water, teaspoon of pepper, 2 packages of frozen O’Brien potatoes, and 2 cups of fully cooked ham.
The result is a delicious meal that the whole family will love.
Farmer’s Casserole Recipe
Farmer’s Casserole is made up of 3 cups of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, ¾ cup of shredded Monterey jack cheese, 1 cup of cubed fully cooked ham, ¼ cup chopped green onions, 4 large eggs, 1 can of evaporated milk, ¼ teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
There are a lot of great things in this casserole, so it’s both healthy and satisfying.
Antipasti Penne
Antipasti Penne is an incredible dish that doesn’t take very long to make, and it’s very cheap.
If you have a deep love of pasta dishes, you will certainly find that this one is a great choice.
You will need 12 ounces of whole-grain penne, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 3 ounces salami, 14 ounces can artichoke hearts, 6 stuffed Spanish queen olives, one 14-ounce diced tomatoes, 4 to 5 fresh basil leaves, and ½ cup of fresh mozzarella.
It only takes a little over half anh our to make this dish, and your family is bound to love it.
Conclusion
Did you enjoy reading about all of these dinner ideas?
Let me be honest with you. A friend of mine recently took out a no credit check loan when they were in a tight financial situation. Because money was so scarce, they started to look for ways to lower expenses and save more money. In an effort to help my friend, I found that one of the best options to save money was by making cheap but delicious meals like the ones I’ve listed in this article. This really helped them save money.
Let me know which of these recipes you are going to try first in the comments section, and please share this article with your friends if you liked it.
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