DiscussionsEasy Weeknight Dinners

Feeding a family can be a challenge in many ways, including keeping costs in line.  What's your favorite budget-minded weeknight dinner?

pick a starch (rice or pasta or potatos)

pick a meat

Pick a vegetable

Pick a theme ( mex, italian, dutch, asian ,indian)

get creative,

examples..rice+chicken+asian veg and soysauce

rice+burger and mex flavors OR rice+burger+tomato sauce OR rice+burger+curry or....

pasta and (olive oil with garlic and romano or tomato sauce or brown gravy or....)

pick a starch, pick a meat, pick a veg, pick a theme.

You can go for months and never have the same combo twice

 Thanks for reading, have fun!

 pk

1 package of Saffron yellow rice (about $.70)

1 lb of Ground Beef (on sale at $1.99)

1 lg. can black beans, drained and rinsed (less than $1)

optional ingredients:  onion, taco seasoning, salsa, sour cream, tortillas, corn chips

Prepare rice as directed.  Brown ground beef (with onion if you like), drain grease (add taco seasoning or not).  Warm beans.  To serve, layer rice, ground beef and black beans. Top with salsa and sour cream.  Serve with warm tortillas and/or chips.  My kids love this dish!  It is good without any other ingredients, but makes a nice presentation when topped with salsa and sour cream.  You can easily feed a family of 5 for under $5 and have dinner on the table in 20 minutes.  Great during the work and school week.

I like to make a quiche, easy to do with "on hand" ingredients, take a ready made pillsbury pie crust and add veggies, cheese and seasoning of your choice. Add a nice salad and you have a great healthy meal and filling too!  Another thought, now that summer is upon us, all I can say is plant something! Even if its in a container, veggies are easy to grow and nothing is cheaper or better tasting, with no pesticides,  than your own home grown vegetables! Get your neighbors together and everyone can plant a few different things and exchange. We all know how many zucchini we can get from just 1 plant.

When we have a particularly busy day that hasn't allowed me to prepare a full meal and the left-overs are just plain tired, I throw together chicken quesadillas.

1 can of chicken, drained and stir in chili powder and cumin, shredded with a fork
drained rotel (diced tomatoes with chiles)
diced chiles
Mexican style cheese
whole kernel corn
chili beans
diced onions
jalapenos
2 tortilla shells (per quesadilla)
sour cream

You can add or substitute ingredients according to your preferences.  The chicken will keep in the fridge, ready to use, for days.  There's also no need to pre-heat any of the ingredients before assembly or cooking up.

I spread the ingredients on the tortilla in a plate, then transfer to a skillet, placing 2nd tortilla on top.  Allow the bottom shell to get crisp and light brown before flipping.  Allow to crisp and brown on the other side and the  ingredients will be warm.

One of our quick easy favorites on a busy night is:

one pound lean hamburger
1 medium onion - chopped up
1 package of frozen vegetables
1 package mashed potatoes

Brown the meat with the onions, cook the vegies as instructed
mix together in a bowl, and serve over mashed potatoes.

I never have any leftovers from this!

I have also came up with a quick, cheap, and filling meal for a group. I get these packages of chicken at walmart for around three bucks for five or six chicken breasts. I get a large piece of aluminum foil, lay it out line up the chicken breasts then put whatever seasonings you like. I prefer some minced onions, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. Then you fold over the foil and make a sort of pocket with the chicken inside. Put it in the oven at 375 and then get out a box of a pasta of your choice. Those usually will run you about a buck fifty. Boil the pasta and then take out whatever kind of veggie you like. I use tomatoes and chilis. You can get a can of tomatoes and chilis for about a dollar or so for two cans. Mix pasta and veggies with a bit of salt, pepper, and butter take out chicken and serve!! It's delicious and cheap. It will cost you at a maximum ten bucks! And you can add the pilsbury biscuits with some butter or you could just use regular bread. I hope this helps!!

I like to make what I call chilli potatoes.  Make a "baked" potatoe for each person in the microwave and then top with your favorite canned chilli (that has been heated up already), shreded cheese, sour cream and sliced green onions.  I love them.

Any cooked ground,  cubed,  or shredded fully cooked meat is a must when on a budget.  Brown meat when 3/4 cooked add your spices  [  mexican, italian, indian, asian, russian,  german,  etc]  then water and tapitio hot sauce or soy sauce or chicken stock  or worcestershire sauce or barbeque sauce [the options are there].  [go with your theme] then add your vegetables,  rice,  potatoes,  or whatever you want.  The point is to add a starch and enough liquid to make a gravy or sauce then pour over noodles,  rice,  or make thick and roll up in tortillas tightly then fry in a little oil and make chimichangas,  the dish is endless just depends on what theme you want.  Note:  if using shredded meat cook in crock pot the night before and its a snap to prepare.  You don't need all the expensive condiments that are filled with sodium to prepare great dishes.

It's getting even harder now with today's prices.  I grew up on "Picadillo".  It's a  combination of ground beef,onions,potatoes,canned tomato sauce and water, also salt,galic powder added to meat for flavor and a couple of bay leaves for rounding it all out.  We ate it with spanish rice and beans. The good thing is now when I'm feeding my family I take what ever is left over the next day (drain out the liquid)and make tacos. That way I can serve the family something "new",instead of left overs the next day. Maybe sneeky but it works well for everyone including our budget.

Thank you for such an easy and quick way to use chili. I have often gone to the store and wanted to get chili but didn't want to just eat chili. I usually have corn bread mix on hand. I never thought to use chili with the corn bread to made a casserole.

shepherd pie made right in the casserole dish w/ ground beef then add graded onion, carrots , celery a little garlic , and one package brown gravy mix. can corn grated cheese and top w/ instant potatoes..takes about 20 min to bake.

I am a mother of four very picky eaters. So when I am cooking a meal for my brood that is quick, easy and doesn't cost much I break out the hillbilly tuna helper. I used to make it all the time when I was the neighborhood babysitter (when I was younger) and they could not get enough of it. It is very simple. There are only three ingredients to the recipe. Take one box of macaroni and cheese and prepare as suggested. Take one regular can of tuna-drained,  and add to the macaroni and cheese. Then you need to add about one to one and a half cups of mayo and stir until well blended. You can add as much mayo as you feel it needs to get the desired taste. Then I usually serve with salad. The kids and my husband luv it and it only costs about two dollars to make.

Try this one and let me know what you think.

2 large boxes of chicken rice o ronieI

1 large can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

2 large can of chicken or you can use real chicken ( boiled and deboned)

1 can of mushrooms

Just cook and mix all together, sorry about the spelling. My e-mail is **********************. I am looking for a easy meatloaf recipe.

I use 2 boxes of Oriental riceroni with almonds and add 1 large can of chicken or approximately 1 lb. cooked hamburger plus some halved black olives,  sliced water chestnuts,  and green onions.  It turns out great, but stir it for it has a tendency to stick to the skillet. If anyone figures out why or how to fix that, please tell me.