Dinner ideas for a tight budget?

Question

I'm on a mega-tight budget and need some ideas for dinners for two. Neither of us are vegetarians or have picky appetites, but we're pretty poor this week and are about to go grocery shopping. Any ideas would help. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

My husband and I are recovering college students. We spend very little money on food. Our basic method is 1)Mostly meatless 2)Lots of beans & rice. That might sound gross, but there are some awesome ways to cook beans & rice. Like Brazilian Black Bean Soup over a bed of rice (that's cooked in broth/butter/garlic) topped with cheese, salsa or chopped tomatoes, and sour cream. It's cheapest if you buy dry beans, soak & cook them. I buy them bulk from a natural foods store. I make just about everything we eat, from pizza (including crust) to bread to yummy meatless meals - or meals with very little meat. It takes a little extra time, but it's well worth it on the budget end. Here's a way to use a little bit of cooked chicken (as little as 1/2 breast) to feed two people heartily:
1. Heat olive oil; add onions & fry; add garlic & cooked/chopped chicken; add paprika. Cook all together for about 5 minutes. Then, add two cups of broth (or water and a boullien cube), salt, and a cup of white rice (or brown). Bring to boiling, cover, turn down to simmer, cook for 15 minutes. (or 40 for brown rice.) Voila. Cheap one-dish meal. It's quite yummy, too.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

If you want to eat truly healthy, lose body fat consistently, normalize your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, prevent cancer, and even boost your brain health and energy levels, you may have heard all over the news that the Paleo Diet has been found to be one of the best methods of achieving all of these benefits compared to any other popular "fad" diets out there. Go here https://bitly.im/aMCNK

The truth is that the Paleo Diet will never be considered a fad because it's just simply the way that humans evolved to eat over approximately 2 million years. And eating in a similar fashion to our ancestors has been proven time and time again to offer amazing health benefits, including prevention of most diseases of civilization such as cancer, heart disease, alzheimers, and other chronic conditions that are mostly caused by poor diet and lifestyle. One of the biggest misunderstandings about the Paleo Diet is that it's a meat-eating diet, or a super low-carb diet. This is not true

Answer 4

This is very good and very inexpensive to make.
One of the first meals i made as a newlywed on a very tight budget.

Quick Beef STroganoff

1 lbs ground beef; cooked and drained
2 cups of cooked rice
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream.

Mix everything together let simmer on low until heated completely through . Really good served with green beans and dinner rolls.

Hope this helps. ENJOY

Answer 5

I'm thinking Italian, yeah? Stuffed Cheese Shells, 3 Cheese Lasagna, Spaghetti. You can make most of it ahead of time and plenty of cheese in each. Hope this helps!

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDAH7

Answer 6

I used to make a meal we ended up calling Welfare Stir Fry. 1 or two pork chops cubed into bite size pieces. Fry these in a pan with an onion and some soy sauce a little garlic or garlic salt if you have it. When it has been cooked thouroughly add in a bag of Oriental Top Ramen with the seasoning packet and water. Cook this until the water evaporates. It actually turns out really good. You can serve it with white bread broiled with bread and garlic salt also.

Answer 7

I would say make a tomato sauce because it will only cost a few dollars for the ingredients, but pasta is like $1.00 and you can make it last a few times if you make a big batch. Have it a few different it ways over the course of the week. . . .I'm a big beleiver in just making one big thing if budget is tight. Buy a roasting chicken, which will cost about $10.00 but you can cook it as a meal one night, and have sandwiches the next, etc.

Answer 8

Pasta is extremely versatile, and cheap.

Or if you have a crock-pot:

1 small package of hamburger, browned and drained
1 pouch instant garlic mashed potatoes
1 medium onion, diced
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes
frozen mixed vegetables
pepper, garlic, oregano, sage, and a bay leaf according to taste

Put the ingredients in your crock-pot along with a can or two of water and let simmer during the day. That will feed you for several days, and for not much money.

Or you could get eggs and cheese, and a few vegetables or maybe salsa and have omelets.

Answer 9

Cubed Beef Steak or Pork Steaks.... cheap and wonderfully delicious fried.

Soak in a mixture of 1 cup milk and 1 egg, slightly beaten.

Dredge in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper.

Fry and enjoy.

Answer 10

Target has a bunch of frozen entree items on clearance this week. I bought a bunch of them, like frozen pizza rolls, chicken breast strips, frozen dinners in a bag, etc. You might try there. If you have a Sam's Club, they mark down meat on Tuesday that didn't sell over the weekend. I have bought beautiful pork chops and steaks for cheap there.

Answer 11

Trader Joe's frozen pizza margarita - it's about $3 and delicious (for frozen). Pair that with a simple salad and you'll have a good meal.