Report in with your quick, easy & cheap dinner ideas!

[imported_Stewy]

Let's hear your cheap and easy dinner plans. The 30 minutes must factor in everything -- no letting the food set overnight, ect. Also, please try to keep the ingredients to things most people would have sitting around, so no exotic spices/herbs, K?

I'll start it off with tonight's meal, a quick and easy spaghetti dinner.

Pasta: $.89
½ pound 7% fat beef: $1.50
½ can pre-made spaghetti sauce: $.79
Garlic salt: No real cost

Total cost: <$3.25

It was took less than 15 minute to make, and wasn?t all that bad.

The other ½ pound of ground beef will go to make my dinner tomorrow, consisting of:

Simple meatballs and gravy:

1 package brown gravy mix: $.59
Pasta: $.89 (multiple uses out of this package)
½ pound 7% fat ground beef: $1.50
Garlic salt:
Pinch of Bisquick mix:

I take the Bisquick, ground beef, and garlic salt, and mix them together. Then I form meatballs out of them, and fry them in a pan. I then mix the gravy in another pan, while the pasta is cooking. Once everything is cooked, it?s dinner time. This one takes around 20 minutes of cooking/preparation time.

Total cost: <$3.00

 

[bctbct]

KC strip, grill, 15 minutes

 

[E equals MC2]

Wendy's dollar menu

$1 cheese burger deluxe
$1 baked potato with sour cream and chives
$1 Small chili with crackers

$3.12 after tax, no cooking or cleanup required.

I cannot believe I used to actually buy meals at $5-6.

 

[funboy6942]

Chinese Buffet and stay there from opening to closing for $3.99 and only drink water to save on the bill

 

[tfinch2]

Bagels, fresh oven roasted turkey, swiss cheese, bake in oven, and serve with chips of choice. Makes for a good lunch.

 

[E equals MC2]

Originally posted by: funboy42
Chinese Buffet and stay there from opening to closing for $3.99 and only drink water to save on the bill

The only risk is the master chef coming out with a cleaver, wanting to chop your face in half.

 

[Journer]

chicken parmigiana

boneless-skinless chicken breast: ~1per breast...varries upon how large of a pack you buy
bread crums- 1.50 in a can...i suppose you could take the crust of your bread and dry it...thats getting pretty cheap though...
spaghetti sauce- 1-3can...depends on brand, sales, etc.
noodles - 1-2
cheeses (whatever you like, american, chedder, etc.) - 2-3
egg - 1 dozen is like 1-2
spices- salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, whatever you want...you can be creative, it will still taste good prices varry...
oil (veg pref.) people usaully have this...if you dont just use butter

mix bread and spices in one bowl, beat egg and some salt in another...
rub chicken in egg mix then in bread crum mix, fully coating
heat oil in pan and cook until the outside is brown, maybe even a little dark brown
put some sauce on a cooking sheet, make a little pile, put some cheese on top, palce chicken on top of that, add more sauce and cheese if you like...just make sure there is cheese on top of chicken...
bake at 400 until cheese is melted or browning...

cook noodles as the package says...put chicken on top of noodles, add more sauce...and enjoy!

i had some tonite, very tasty and takes like 20-30 mins...depending on how many breasts you cook...

it can cost from 5-8 per breast or two...depends on what you already have...always buy chicken in big packs...you WILL use it...i have a million chicken recipies.

 

[imported_Stewy]

Originally posted by: Journer
chicken parmigiana

boneless-skinless chicken breast: ~1per breast...varries upon how large of a pack you buy
bread crums- 1.50 in a can...i suppose you could take the crust of your bread and dry it...thats getting pretty cheap though...
spaghetti sauce- 1-3can...depends on brand, sales, etc.
noodles - 1-2
cheeses (whatever you like, american, chedder, etc.) - 2-3
egg - 1 dozen is like 1-2
spices- salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, whatever you want...you can be creative, it will still taste good prices varry...
oil (veg pref.) people usaully have this...if you dont just use butter

mix bread and spices in one bowl, beat egg and some salt in another...
rub chicken in egg mix then in bread crum mix, fully coating
heat oil in pan and cook until the outside is brown, maybe even a little dark brown
put some sauce on a cooking sheet, make a little pile, put some cheese on top, palce chicken on top of that, add more sauce and cheese if you like...just make sure there is cheese on top of chicken...
bake at 400 until cheese is melted or browning...

cook noodles as the package says...put chicken on top of noodles, add more sauce...and enjoy!

i had some tonite, very tasty and takes like 20-30 mins...depending on how many breasts you cook...

it can cost from 5-8 per breast or two...depends on what you already have...always buy chicken in big packs...you WILL use it...i have a million chicken recipies.

Sounds pretty good actually. Thanks for the serious reply to this thread.

 

[OS]

$2 bag of ranch 99 dumplings

 

[jadinolf]

This is cheap and delicious.

http://www.ehow.com/how_13685_make-spaghetti-with.html

 

[MajinWade]

Can of refried beens: $0.60 each
Bag of 20 tortillas: $1.00
Head of lettuce: ?
Cheese: $2.00+
Bottled hot sauce: varies

If you get the Gebhardt beens, they slid out of the can with no scooping. Bush beans need to be scooped, so avoid them. Mash it in kettle, set on medium and grade the cheese, rip the lettuce, and microwave the tortillas for about 30sec if cold. Put beans (when acceptably warm) in tortilla, put cheese, put sauce, put lettuce, eat. Minimal work, minimal cost. It makes 5-8 tacos. Maybe 15 minutes?

 

[BoomerD]

Other than the 30 minute time limit, Beer-can chicken fits the bill.
Rub a whole chicken with spices, shove half a can of beer up it's butt, stick it on the BBQ for about 45 minutes...
Cost...
$4 or so for the bird,
$1.00 for the beer
$1.00 or so for the spices..

Of course, any side dishes will add a bit to the cost, but all can be prepared while the chicken is cooking on the grill

Not much better than a chicken with a can of beer shoved in his ass...

 

[potato28]

Half dozen of reduced chicken wings-$2.00
Fish Crisp-$0.87
White Rice-$1.15
Propane-$2.50

This in CAD, not USD.

 

[dirtboy]

Bag salad with favorite dressing. Prep time... 30 seconds.
Precooked, prepackaged smoked salmon. Prep time... whatever it takes to open package.

Great meal and only costs about $3.50/serving. Plus it's healthy.

 

[silverpig]

Keg full atlantic lobster dinner w/baked potato and bread: $32
Gift certificate: -$25
Total cost: $7

 

[kami333]

Egg casserole
50g of ground beef
3-4 eggs

whip up the eggs, flavor with soy sauce/salt/pepper/etc, add beef and mix, pour into casserole dish, microwave for like 5min



Chicken parmesan
a couple chicken fingers (frozen)
spaghetti sauce
cheeses (parmesan and mozzarella)

oil baking pan, lay chicken fingers, cover with lots of sauce, top with cheese, bake in oven for 15min

 

[CarlKillerMiller]

Lo Mein Noodles: Less than a dollar at an asian grocer
1 red/green bell pepper: Usually about 50 cents, can be less
2 small onions: Usually less than 30-40 cents
1 carrot: Ok, it's as cheap as the rest
1 small ginger root: Cheap
1/8 of a clove of garlic: Cheeeeap
Soy Sauce to taste (everyone's got some lying around)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp oil

Prep:
1. Boil the noodles until they're a little shy of fully cooked. Drain and set aside. This step can be done while you're prepping the rest of the steps

2. Slice the vegetables into small strips, mash the garlic, chop the ginger. Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. Set aside a bit of the ginger.

3. Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger set aside.

4. Heat oil on wok. Add (in this order) garlic and rest of the ginger. Allow to brown.

5. Add onions, peppers, carrots. Allow to brown.

6. Add noodles and sauce mix. Stir quickly on high heat, (don't cook very long at all, or the noodles will dry out.) Remove while you can still see the sauce mixture on the noodles. if it's evaporated, you've been at it for too long.

7. Sit down on the couch. Put a table mat on your lap. Put a hot plate heat absorber dealy on top of the mat. Place wok on lap. Eat directly from wok.

8. Don't PM me if you burn your genitals.

 

[Dragoon42]

Originally posted by: MajinWade
Can of refried beens: $0.60 each
Bag of 20 tortillas: $1.00
Head of lettuce: ?
Cheese: $2.00+
Bottled hot sauce: varies

If you get the Gebhardt beens, they slid out of the can with no scooping. Bush beans need to be scooped, so avoid them. Mash it in kettle, set on medium and grade the cheese, rip the lettuce, and microwave the tortillas for about 30sec if cold. Put beans (when acceptably warm) in tortilla, put cheese, put sauce, put lettuce, eat. Minimal work, minimal cost. It makes 5-8 tacos. Maybe 15 minutes?

Dude when you make this....butter up one side of the tortilla, put the stove on medium setting....throw the cheese on the side that the butter isn't on. Fold in half, and throw it on the stove top. Let it sit there until it turns golden, it should be crispy also. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!!

 

[deftron]

Fettucini $0.89
Alfredo Sauce $2.00
1/2 pound of chicken breasts or shrimp $2.50


Boil the noodles
Sautee the meat
Heat the sauce
Pour suace over noodles, meat over that
Serves 2


or


Yakisoba package from asian market $2.50 (3 servings)
Shredded cabbage $.99
Loose bean sprouts $.20
1 Carrot $.20
Cheap steak very small amount (stir fry or stew meat) $1.50

Sautee meat, set aside
Prepare noodles half way
Add other stuff
Stir fry a minute, add seasoning, sauce

Awesome dish
Serves 2

 

[imported_Stewy]

Originally posted by: deftron
Fettucini $0.89
Alfredo Sauce $2.00
1/2 pound of chicken breasts or shrimp $2.50


Boil the noodles
Sautee the meat
Heat the sauce
Pour suace over noodles, meat over that
Serves 2

I love this meal also. Have you tried it with Tuna? I'm not a big tuna sandwhich fan, but I really like Tuna Alfredo!

 

[SWScorch]

Ziti: boil some water, throw in some ziti, put it in a glass casserole dish with some pasta sauce and mozzorella cheese, bake until cheese is melty.

burritos: get some tortillas, chicken, beef, beans, salsa, cheese. you can figure out the rest

chili cheese: cook some rice in one pot. in another, mix kidney beans, pinto beans and pasta sauce, add some chili powder for spice. Mix them together when cooked and cover with cheddar cheese. delicious.