Need a Cheap Meal Idea!

Taco Bar (super easy & cheap!)
Lasagna and garlic bread
DiGiorno pizzas, salad
Serve beer and soda (the carbonation fills them up). Ha ha :)

Chili. Vegetarian chili is cheaper - black bean or white with garbanzo beans. Dried beans are cheaper (and better) than canned but even so it's pretty cheap. Side of brown rice. Steam a big bag of broccoli or green beans (yeah Costco) as a side. Might even leave you a few bucks for dessert (strawberries are $4.99 for 4 lbs right now).

Ingredients (feeds 8 so I would double)
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin (use Pork Butt Roast - much cheaper and really good)
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
Directions
1.Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

I've doubled the amount of meat and it was still done in about 7-8 hours. Add some coleslaw and pickles and you have a meal.

Carnitas. Put the roast in the crockpot all day with a coke and some taco seasoning. The sugar in the soda is great for cooking. Some flour tortillas, quacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, tomatoes and onions to top it with. Some rice and beans on the side. Delicious, easy and nutritious.

Tacos or chalupas and chicken tortilla soup

casseroles like Chicken Divine or Chicken Spaghetti

What about a cold dinner? My husband and I do this evey once in awhile and I love it. Grab a bunch of veggies, Ex. Peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, etc and some fresh fruit. Then some pitas and hummus and salsa and chips. Maybe a bit of cold cuts and cheese and crackers. Grab a veggie dip or make one with sour cream and voila. Something for everyone. And bonus - no cooking and no cleaning

I just made chicken soup using the back from a whole chicken. I used 1 carton of chicken broth, boiled the chicken back, chopped onion, celery, & garlic, zucchini, & corn. I also added one New Mexico chili pod and let it all boil. I removed the chili pod and pulled bits of chicken, then trashed the chili & bones. I then took a little rice flour and butter and made a gravy paste with the soup juice.

I added cheese sandwiches on the side. I think you can do that for less than $20.

A crockpot of chile and cornbread with a salad. I am not quite sure if the cost will be right but I think it will

1 flank steak cut into small cubes (or see what beef is affordable)
2 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
2 can chopped tomatoes
1 onion
1 green pepper
add salt pepper cumin and chile powder
cook 5 hrs on high

jiffy corn bread mix

lettuce and tomatoes for the salad.

you could do alot... anything with a pasta and a salad... or tacos are cheap....hamburgers, hotdogs, all of these are great with kids...

Rotisserie Chicken. I discovered this a few weeks ago. Most local stores sell rotisserie chickens and if they have been there for a little bit will mark them down. I take the chicken and pull it off the bone for bbq chicken. You could also do chicken tacos or chicken in dumplins (with store bought dumplins if you don't have time). These are all super easy since the chicken is already cooked.

Red beans and rice, cornbread

BBQ chicken: use whole fryers or boneless. Bake in oven, season it as you prefer. Shred it, dump the chicken & bbq sauce in a crockpot ....& let it simmer for at least 4 hours. Absolutely easy & delicious to boot.

We serve it on buns, dollar rolls, in pitas, & on bread. Add a salad (or green beans) & a baked potato (or potato casserole)........cake or cookies for dessert. & you're done!

Ooops, couple more thoughts: when serving a large group, I use the big #10 size can of green beans. This usually costs less than $4 & serves a huge crowd! It's much cheaper than buying several regular size cans. If you don't need the whole amount for your party, then you can store the leftovers for the next week. Saves a lot of $$!

& for a quick potato casserole: slice raw potatoes & onions into a 9x13 baking dish. Season with garlic, S&P, & paprika. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil & bake for 1 hour at 350. When taters are tender, you're ready to serve......it's quick, simple, & very tasty!

Get a 2.5 lb chuck roast, place in crock pot with an onion, quartered.
Cook, then drain. Shred meat with 2 forks.
Mix BBQ sauce and about 1/2 cup of apricot preserves.
Pour onto meat, mix, heat again for about 15 mins.
Serve on buns.

My fiance's new favorite costs our family of 4 $5... and we have leftovers. Just multiply as needed :)

Buy the 1lb sausage links ($3)... we like the all beef ones.
Buy Uncle Ben's long grain and wild fast cooking rice ($1.70)

Mix the sausage and rice together, it's pretty!!

Takes 15 minutes to cook!!

For an additional cost and something on the side, make a salad :)

Breakfast for supper! Not really sure which meal you are looking to provide, but breakfast is always a hit at my house. Some ideas:

French toast bake
Pancakes
Egg bake/veggie quiche/scrambled eggs
Fruit salad

Tasty! If you need recipes, let me know.

See what's on special this week at your grocery store. If there's having a fabulous sale on chicken you can grill chicken and mix it in with pasta or rice (add tomatoes, ham, cheese, red peppers, onion, mushroom, broth, veggies liek peas, brocoli, corn), tex-mex like burritos, tacos.

Chopped meat can be made into tacos, meatballs, burgers, lasagna.

Pork or chicken can be made in to pulled pork/chicken -served with cole slaw, burger rolls and cornbread.

The trick is to stretch it out with less costly items like pasta, tortillas, rice, potatoes - then to make it either Italian, mexican, asian, caribbean

Inexpensive appetizers - deviled eggs, carrots and celery