If you only had $5.00 what would you fix for a family of 4?

[buckytom]

don't forget arroz con pollo. buy some chicken thighs, brown in evoo with a diced onion and garlic, toss in rice and water and seasonings, and simmer covered on very low until all of the water is absorbed into the rice. top with a roasted red pepper cut into strips, and a 1/2 cup of steamed peas. it should come in around 5 bucks to feed 4.

or linguine in white or red clam sauce (i've posted this recipe a few times before).

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I usually have some rotini noodles in the pantry, so I'd opt for the stuff my Dad used to call goulash (not even close to the real thing). Boil up the noodles, brown the ground beef (I've got lots of that in the freezer), add cliced onion and chopped green pepper (I'd have to purchase the green pepper), mix in tomatoe sauce, canned diced tomatoes, garlic, oregano, bay leaf, sweet basil, thyme, rosemary, and mix the noodles with the completed sauce. Serve with some garlic bread (I'd have to buy that also), and a big glass of cold milk.

So I'd have to purchase one green pepper, a gallon of milk, and a loaf of garlic bread. I think that would work.

Or another option, pancakes and sausage. I'd just have to purchace the sausage.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[cooking=love]

Michael,
My mom made "slumgullion" with brown ground beef, instant rice and ranch style beans. That would be cheap.

I couldn't eat that anymore...I had it to much growing up. (besides I am "strung out on basmati rice now, nothing else will do)

 

[htc]

I'd make stir fry veggies w/ 1 skinless chicken thigh & have rice w/ it. When I had a roomie we would budget 40 bucks per week on food. This was enough for us to make 3 meals a day and also have company over occassionally. Traditional Asian food can be cheap to make and isn't as meat heavy as the restaurants want you to believe.

 

[luvs]

Sizzlin' - we could almost do a "challenge" so to speak - a whole week of $5.00 dinners - see how everyone does - Let me eat my steak first

Start out on a Sunday - end on Friday with a manicure? 8)

elf, you should start a thread on that. food logs and price per person per day. guess i'd better find something besides my daily $3, 64-oz. bottle of cranberry juice blends, lol.

 

[subfuscpersona]

my $5 worth of suggestions...

- if I'm allowed to use what's in my pantry -- hmmm...always have lots of veggies on hand, so,

dark meat chicken is cheap so ...
> chicken stew with dumplings or biscuts (or over rice or noodles)
or
> Chinese style stir fry with chicken and veggies with rice (same dessert)
with poached spiced pears and homemade cookies for dessert

or - since eggs are cheap a French theme...
> cheese/onion/spinach souffle and side vegetable or salad
or
> cheese/onion/spinach quiche and side vegetable or salad
plus I think I'd have $ left over for some pears or apples so...dessert would be a fruit tart

or - if we're going with no meat , as others have suggested
> any kind of robust soup homemade soup with lots of veggies, beans and good stuff in it plus homemade bread or rolls (any leftover chicken from menu #1 could go in the soup)
homemade cherry pie for dessert (I'd have to buy the canned filling)

- we could almost do a "challenge" so to speak - a whole week of $5.00 dinners - see how everyone does - Let me eat my steak first Start out on a Sunday - end on Friday with a manicure? 8)

Great idea - let's do it

 

[tweedee]

Ok!. How about some of those little white lima beans cooked with some diced ham. Mmmm Good. And maybe a pan of hot cornbread with butter. Mmmm Yummy. And a simple salad of, lettuce and dressing. Perfect.

 

[kitchenelf]

OK - I'll make a new post on it.

 

[Erik]

Anyone have an Aldi store near them??? That is a very cheap place to buy, pantry (dry and canned goods) items.

I challenged myself the other day!!!

Bought a 1 lb package of smoked sausage $1.00 (10 for $10.00 sale)

1 pkg of crescent rolls $.89

1 pkg American Cheese $.99

5 lb potatoes $.79

Small Bag of Baby Carrots $.49

Made a great dinner of Smoked Sausage wrapped in Cheese Stuffed Crescent Rolls, with Baked Potatoes and Baby Carrots.

 

[SizzlininIN]

Yea Erik...........they got a hundred dollars of my money today.........my cart was so heavy I could hardly push it I bought a lot of produce there.........the only thing I avoided in that area was the potatoes because I never have any luck with those.......some good but most bad.

I grew up with my parents going there so I'm used to not buying the namebrand canned vegs..........honestly I don't tell a difference and hubby doesn't either because when we first go together he was all about namebrand stuff.........well I snuck some of the aldi things in and he had no idea but you can bet I told him after

 

[tweedee]

Aldi's and Save-A-Lot

 

[auntdot]

A lot of great ideas here.

Also would think of a frittata.

Toss in some onion, green onions, a bit of ham, a slice or two of bacon that can be cooked and broken up, fresh or canned mushrooms, a tomato, cheese, almost anything in the fridge, and you can make a frittata.

Serve as is or put some mozzarella cheese on top and some pizza sauce, and the kids will love it.

Yep, a good old cheap, use anything you can find in the fridge, frittata, one of my favorite meals.

 

[texasgirl]

This sounds interesting and wanted to bump for the new ones, like me, that weren't around for it.
My cheapy would be, shredded chicken, rice, scrambled egg and soy sauce.

 

[letscook]

stir fry is a good one, chix or even ground pork bag of mix veggies throw in some pasta goes along ways.
This is a good topic. So many times i see young couples with small children or less fortunate family buying their grocerys. I see how much they waste thier hard earn money on alot of prepared foods when they could do just what every one above has said. I guess some haven't been taught to prepare foods also. I count my blessings.

 

[licia]

I don't think I'd ever seen this thread, but it is very interesting. I'd read somewhere about "declaring yourself poor" one week a month and saving whatever you would have spent. I thought that was a good idea, but haven't tried it. I really should and eat out of the freezer for more than a week until things are really more orderly there. I'm going to read all the good ideas in this thread. Thanks for bumping it up.

 

[middie]

probably a fritatta or french toast

 

[urmaniac13]

I agree with letscook... we probably spend a lot, lot more on groceries than average couple, but on a whole we are also saving a lot because we so rarely eat out in restaurants. It doesn't always have to be an elaborate effort to make an appealing dinner!!

these are just a few example of our "frugal gourmet" menu....

-Spaghetti amatriciana or spaghetti aglio, olio & peperoncino and frittata with potato and scallion.
-Stroganoff made with mince, instead of strips of steak.
-Tabouleh made with cous cous instead of bulgar (cous cous is much more economical, and works well with this recipe)
-pancakes with fruit salad
-(if tomatoes are in season) oven baked tomatoes stuffed with rice, garlic and parsley, with roasted potatoes.

 

[Robo410]

tuna caserole or pasta, pasta putanesca (bacon, olive, anciovy, capers, tomatoes...everything from a can if need be and sooooo yummy!) beans and rice of some type.

pantry meals can be wonderfully creative.

 

[GB]

This is one I made a few weeks ago that has become one of my wifes favorites.

Bowtie Pasta with Dried Cranberries.

Cook a box of bowtie pasta
In a saute pan, cover the bottom with evoo. Add minced garlic to your taste (I use about 4 cloves). Cook about 30 seconds. Add a few handfuls of dried cranberries. Cook until they start to plump up. Drain pasta and add to the saute pan. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

 

[vermontwebmaster]

Well my wife call's it Frito pie ..

Put a bag of Frito's in a casserole dish, Spread a can or 2 of chili on top and cover with shredded cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes.