i need a VERY CHEAP idea for dinner...i am working with 8 bucks and i have to feed 5 people?

Answer 1

It's easy to make nasty food for little money, but making good food with a few bucks is an art!
OK, I'm very good at stretching a dollar with good food, so here are my tips for you, and at the end I'll give you one meal suggestion too:

A very inexpensive and yet popular and filling option is pasta. The other two great choices are rice or potatoes. Use one or a combo of these generously in your meal.

Meat is your most expensive item, so either go with ground beef or better yet, go for either chicken legs or chicken thighs which are the least expensive and most flavorful parts of the chicken.

Veggies are versatile and you can look to see what's on sale in the frozen isle and go with that.

OK here's my suggestion for a huge meal for around your budget. You can customize it to your grocery store's prices, but generally here it is:

Buy 2 boxes of Barilla bow tie pasta (also called Farfalle)
buy frozen peas or brocccoli or even carrots or any combo (whatever is on sale is fine)

Buy Chicken thighs with the bulk of the money leaving just enough money to buy bread, one can of cream of mushroom soup and a head of iceberg lettuce and one small roma tomatoe for color on the salad.

Fry your chickens with the skin on in a tiny bit of oil on medium high heat until done.
Boil your pasta according to directions and the last few minutes add your frozen veggies to the boiling water depending on the cooking time directed on the bag. Drain your pasta with the mixed in veggie.
Add the pasta and veggies to the pan with the fried chickens (hopefully there are at least 5 thighs there) add the cream of mushroom soup, undiluted, with just enough milk (or water) to make a thickish sauce. Cover and serve with the bread and salad.
I'm sure with minor adjustments, you'll be able to make this HUGE and colorful and delicious meal for about 8 bucks.
Good luck, it'll be easier than you think.

Answer 2

If you roast a fowl it'll final three foods in leftovers - first of all the roast fowl with vegetables, then you definitely would make a noodle soup with leftover meat, or a stir fry after which make a risotto or wraps with salad and chips for illustration. That's 3 foods - for the opposite 2 take a look at jacket potatoes with baked beans and cheese/curry/chilli con carne and many others after which ultimately what approximately macaroni cheese for meal no four? We consistently do a roast after which make the beef pass additional if cash is just a little tight. Hope you discover this priceless and that it is helping!

Answer 3

Flank steak for five people- about 3 dollars.
Baked potatos for 5 people-about 1.50
Head of lettuce and a tomatoe, about 2 dollars
Instant pudding for dessert-about 99 cents.

Flank steak. Season it and pound it out to tenderize it a little. Dust both side with flour (season the flour if you like) and place it in a very hot skillet for one minute. Turn and cook for one more minute. That's all it takes. If you cook it any longer you will make it very tough, so time it. One flank steak feed two people.

Serve with bake potatoes, also cheap.


Cut the head of lettuce into five wedges and plate. Dice the tomatoe and sprinkle over each wedge. Use whatever dressing you have on hand or make your own, and pour over. Mayo thinned down with milk makes a good base for dressing, and all you have to do is add some dried herbs and let sit in the fridge for a while before pouring over wedges. Ground pepper on top.

Answer 4

Get a couple cans of refried beans, a big bag of tortilla chips , some olives, cheese and the salsa of your choice.

Heat the beans in a pot with a small bit of water.After they are heated through, turn them into a baking dish , sprinkle cheese on top and bake for about 20 minutes of until bubbling.

Take the chips , cover with cheese and olives.Put in a slow oven for only a few minutes to melt the cheese.

You can have fun, dipping the chips in the beans .The beans are full of protein and fiber and the chips are just fun.

Make some instant pudding or Jello for dessert.
Enjoy.

Answer 5

Buy some Sausage ( Eckrich) or what ever brand they have on sale.Its the one with 2 big links. Also get 2 boxes of Rice a Roni. Cut up the sausage in slices and cook in a pan. It is already pre cooked so you are basically heating it up. Make the Rice a Roni as directed. Serve rice in a big bowl with the sausage on top. Its good cheap and filling. Some stores have their own knock off virgin of Rice a Roni and its usually cheaper. Enjoy.

Answer 6

You could impress your guests by making "Fettucini Alfreddo"
You should have about 80g -100g pasta per person.
Cook noodles according to directions on pkg.
Meanwhile warm up about 1/2 litre of cream (do not boil)
Add some salt, white pepper and about 2 tblsp fresh ground parmiggiano cheese to the cream. When it's hot, pour the sauce on the drained pasta and serve at once while hot.
(do not over cook the pasta)

Answer 7

Sounds like it's time for poverty pasta!

1) Radiator pasta
2) Basalmic Vinegar
3) Olive Oil
4) Parmesean / romano cheese
5) garlic salt
6) whatever spices you have. I use basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, fresh rosemary and a tiny bit of clove.
7) check your refrigerator and see if you have some onion, maybe some sundried tomato, scallions, fresh garlic. Whatever is there can be used.

Boil the bag of pasta, then mix the ingredients to taste so that you have about a cup liquid measure per bag of pasta. Toss it like a salad and you're done. The cheapest place to get the ingredients is Trader Joes. If you have one near you, you're golden!

Good luck...

Answer 8

Buy a bag frozen store brand veggies and a package of chicken breast (usually about $4 for a pacakage). Stir fry the chicken, once it is cooked throw in frozen veggies. You can add a little soy sauce for flavor if you have it on hand (or left over from last time you had chinese! lol!). You can eat it like that or make some rice and have it over rice.

Answer 9

CHEAPEST pasta recipe:

bag of pre-cut salad mix. $3
pasta $2
sauce $2
...(tax)

Okay, now this is what you do:

1. boil the pasta according to package instructions
2. in a large saucepan, heat the pasta sauce (get tomato basil flavor or garlic and onion, something robust!)
3. chop up some white onion and saute it in some oil and add it to the warming pasta sauce (gives it homemade chunkiness)
4. let all things heat and then spoon the chunky pasta sauce over plates of pasta. put a bit of salad on the side.

in the back of your fridge you probably have some cheese, shred some on your pasta. and you probably have bread and butter. butter yo'self up some toast and rub some gaahhhlic on the toasted bread and you have garlic bread!

and of course, enjoy.

Answer 10

this is something that is cheap, you prob have a lot of it on hand and it's YUMMMMMY. It feeds at LEAST 6 hungry adults


Inside-Out Lasagna

1 package (12 oz) bowtie pasta uncooked
½ medium onion chopped
1 ¼ lb 95% lean ground beef or Italian sausage links, casing removed.
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 jar (26 oz) marinara sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes in juice
4 eggs
1 container (32 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup (2 oz) grated fresh parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp snipped fresh parsley
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta according to package directions in Executive (8 qt) stockpot. Drain.
2.Meanwhile, chop onion using Food Chopper. Place onion and beef in family (12-inch) skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into small crumbles. Press garlic into beef mixture using garlic press. Stir in pasta sauce and tomatoes; remove from heat.
3.In stainless (2 qt) mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs with stainless whisk. Add cheeses, parsley, salt and pepper; mix well.
4. To assemble lasagna, place cooked pasta into bottom of rectangular baker (deep 9x13 pan). Top with meat mixture. Spoon ricotta mixture over sauce, spread evenly. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour or until ricotta is set and lightly browned.

Yield 15 servings.

COOK’S TIPS

A combination of ground beed and Italian sausage can be used in this recipe, if desired.

This recipe can be prepared up to a day in advance. Prepare recipe through step 4; do NOT bake. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake uncovered for 1 hour 15 minutes or until lightly browned and edges are bubbly.