My goal is to provide dinner for my family for an average of $5 except on special occasions. We don’t have to eat beans and rice to accomplish this goal! We typically only cook a main dish 4 or 5 times a week, so each main dish cooked will be for 4-6 servings, and the leftovers will be for easy dinners on the weekend, or to freeze for another week. This cuts down on cleaning, cooking, and meal planning- saving us lots of time!
Season Salt Baked Chicken, baked potatoes, broccoli and cheese
1 lb chicken @ 1.78
2 large potatoes @ .35
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese @ .50
bacon bits @ .25
3 slices velveeta @ .45
1 cup broccoli @ .64
2 tbsp butter @ .03
Total Cost: $4.00
Tony’s Pizzas, bananas, carrots with ranch
2 frozen pizzas @ 1.00
2 bananas @ .50
2 carrots @.22 ranch
Total Cost: $1.72
Chicken Spaghetti, green beans, pineapple
1 lb chicken @ 1.78
spaghetti @ free
velveeta @ .88
cr mushroom soup @ free
1 can green beans @ .62
1 can rotel like peppers @ .55
1 can pineapple @ .75
Total Cost: $4.58
Chicken Enchiladas, chips & cheese dip, mandarin oranges
chicken enchiladas @ free (leftovers)
cheese dip @ free (leftovers)
tortilla chips @ .25
1/2 can mandarin oranges @ .35
1 banana @ .20
Total Cost: $.80
Ham Steaks, Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Peas, Pineapple and Toast
4 precooked ham steaks @ 3.00
macaroni @ .33
cheese @ 1.00
butter and milk for mac @ .10
1/2 can sweet peas @.27
1/2 can pineapple @ .38
3 slices toast with cinnamon & sugar @ .18
Total Cost: $5.26
Average Cost of the 5 meals we’re cooking this week $3.27.
If you wonder how I get food items for free or for next to nothing, keep reading my blog. Every week I post the best grocery deals in the East Texas area so you’ll know when and where to buy food products, what coupons to use and where to find them. I’m always looking for new $5 dinners to try. If you have any recipes, please send me an e-mail (link on my sidebar)