Dinner on a budget

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Forum -> Recipe Collection -> Shabbos and Supper menus

Dinner on a budget

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Flip Flops

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 1:40 pm

Hi!
I'm looking for dinner ideas that are not so expensive. Would love suggestions.

Rutabaga

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 1:45 pm

I keep the ingredients for this stocked in my house for a quick weeknight dinner:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/it.....rpot/

You can skip the parmesan entirely or use a different type of cheese.

dankbar

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 1:52 pm

pasta with meat sauce

weasley

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 1:58 pm

- Baked potatoes with cheese
- Tuna cutlets (add lots of egg and matza meal to stretch) with mashed potatoes
- Meatballs with rice (also stretch mince meat with egg and matza meal)
- Pita flafel
- omelettes with roast veg

elaela

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 1:58 pm

tunapatties with couscous

bruschetta and salad

vegetable barley stew with homemade bulkes

spinach filled savory pancakes
ryebreaddumplings with mushroomsauce

any pasta with any sauce (marinara, vegetable, garlic-cream, pesto) and fresh vegetables

lentil patties in sweet sour sauce with rice

elaela

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 2:00 pm

yes baked potatoes, fried potatoes, boiled potatoes with cheese/sauce/vegetables

omelette, crepes, freid eggs, with: freid onions, fresh vegetables, bellpeppers...

string beans with dille and quinoa

dankbar

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 2:33 pm

How do you do dumplings with mushroom sauce?

Odelyah

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 2:34 pm

Rutabaga wrote:

I keep the ingredients for this stocked in my house for a quick weeknight dinner:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/it.....rpot/

You can skip the parmesan entirely or use a different type of cheese.

This looks like a great recipe that I would really enjoy! I'm curious what you use for the vegetable broth-- I don't think the one she recommends (Better than Boullion) is kosher. I use Imagine Foods broths sometimes but I wouldn't consider them super budget friendly, especially with the frozen spinach (I use bodek-type), in the quantities I would need to make for my family. (Probably a quadruple recipe which would be 4 boxes of broth etc.) I'm curious if there's a cheap kosher veggie broth powder that's kosher (and all natural)?

Also, I guess "on a budget" is a relative term anyway, and also depends on individual family variables like size, and where you live, because prices of different foods vary a lot in different places. Like someone mentioned quinoa, which I love, but started buying much less often to save money because where I live it is quite expensive compared to say, brown rice or pasta or potatoes, especially in larger quantities. But earlier in my marriage I cooked it weekly because a. we had more money and b. smaller quantities were needed so the price difference wasn't as significant.

Maybe someone would like to start a spinoff of super duper extra budget friendly recipes because I would love some new ideas for very cheap but healthful dinners. Most of the ones I can think of involve beans and brown rice and I would love some new suggestions! Smile

but OP thank you--I'm really enjoying this thread and think it's a great idea!

dankbar

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 2:38 pm

Sloppy Joe with veggies in a pita. Saute/brown meat with different veggies like peas & carrots/mushrooms/baby corn/celery/pepper etc

Rutabaga

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 2:38 pm

I just use whatever veggie broth is on sale when I stock up. I also sautee the onion and garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients to give some extra flavor and supplement with a bit of water since I use a whole box of pasta instead of just 12 oz.

teachkids

Sun, Jan 05 2020, 4:51 pm

In my house it’s about budget + easy so we’re a tad more limited. Main thing is I buy proteins on sale.
Chopped beef at $3.99 a lb gets bulk turned into:
taco meat - stretch by serving with rice and lots of veggies. 1 lb easily feeds a family of 4-5. Can stretch to 6. You can stretch further by mixing meat with beans.
Meat sauce served with pasta. Stretch extra with lots of diced onions.
Meat lasagna. Again stretch with sautéed onions and veggies.

Cheap cuts of meat ($4.29 a lb on sale) become stews and soups and pulled beef for sandwiches or pizza.

Tuna is served ontop of pasta and individual choice of sauce (tomato, salsa, pesto or none).

elaela

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 8:37 am

https://www.daringgourmet.com/.....ings/
I use any parev milk and margarine or oil to substitute the chalavi ingredients if served with milk

my mushrooms sauce is chalavi.
fry onions, add cut up mushrooms, roast, white wine (optional or broth), let simmer. add cream and let simmer for another 4 minutes, black, peper, seasalt and fresh parsley . yum.

Flip Flops

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 9:44 am

Thanks for the responses! My family is pretty picky so I'm seeing now why I have chicken every night... but some of these ideas look great! Can't wait to try!

avrahamama

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 9:57 am

I try to give more veg than meat. One very popular dish is chicken or beef cutlets.

I grate onions, potatoes, zucchini and carrots. Mix that with ground chicken and salt and tumeric. Then make patties and bake in oven. It's got protein, fiber, veggies and BH the kids love it.

I will sautee a bag of frozen broccoli with lots in garlic and then toss in a protein to serve with rice or pasta.

Sometimes I make "meat" sauce using walnuts and mushrooms instead of meat.

Any soup is always good. Rice and beans is very popular. Fried eggs in a frame with veggies also.

mha3484

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 4:35 pm

I serve One pareve meal a week either fish or something vegan, two fleishig meals (chicken or ground beef/turkey) and one dairy meal. I serve a veggie and starch.

I find the best way to stick to a budget is to meal prep. I buy only what I need and I cook on sundays so I dont step back into the grocery store to get the ingredient I forgot and then then end up with a bunch of other items. Since I started last spring my food costs have gone down a ton.

ra_mom

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 5:11 pm

Odelyah wrote:

but OP thank you--I'm really enjoying this thread and think it's a great idea!

You can boil up 4 cups water with a few crushed garlic cloves and add salt until the liquid is very tasty. I actually don't like bought stock and can't stand the MSG powdered versions either.

sky

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 6:41 pm

Flip Flops wrote:

Thanks for the responses! My family is pretty picky so I'm seeing now why I have chicken every night... but some of these ideas look great! Can't wait to try!

I don’t know we’re you live but I shop sales and can get chicken very cheap.

You can stretch chicken very far in stir fries or wraps or pasta
. But sometimes I wonder if the chicken is cheaper then all the veggies I pad it with.

dankbar

Tue, Jan 07 2020, 1:43 am

Soups are filling so if everyone fills up with soup first then they dont need so much from the meat

tsc3

Tue, Jan 07 2020, 3:27 am

ariela wrote:

Can I get bruschetta recipe?
And vegetable barley stew recipe?

baby12x

Wed, Jan 08 2020, 7:39 am

Here are 5 frugal soups that you can make in advance

https://adimesaved.com/5-frugal-soups

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