Today we’re doing something a little different. I want to show you some ideas for $5.00 dinners. The one thing you must understand is that this takes some planning. It means taking advantage of deals that you see to put them in the pantry for later. I looked in the pantry and freezer and came up with 6 meals that I could prepare with some additional ingredients from the store.
Stay with me while I explain what I did. Although my stockpile has a lot more in it, I only assumed that I had a few things. I really wanted to put myself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t use coupons to an extreme like I do or who has a few things, but not a lot.
Here are the things that I found in my fridge and pantry (that I thought some people might have on hand):
Pasta (Free)
Pasta Sauce ($0.40)
Whole Chicken ($2.92) on sale for $0.59/lb 2 weeks ago
Eggs ($1.98)
Pancake Mix ($0.70)
Salsa ($0.50)
Onions
Carrots
Celery
Apples
Grapes
Although I put some prices by the products, I am not counting them in my budget for this week because I bought them in the past. Below are the meals that I am proposing for this week. Then I will share the grocery list and the prices I paid without using coupons at Walmart. Some of these things maybe cheaper while on sale at other stores.
Chicken Enchiladas, rice, beans, salad
Sloppy Joes with ground turkey, whole grain buns, broccoli, and apple slices
Spaghetti with ground turkey, salad, bread
Chicken and Rice Soup, green beans, corn bread muffins
Breakfast for Dinner: Eggs, pancakes, sausage, and grapes
Chicken and cheese quesadillas, rice, beans, and salad
Breakstone Reduced Fat Sour Creams 16oz $1.38
French Bread from the deli $1.50
Arnold Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins $2.50
Flour Tortillas 20ct. $1.78
Great Value Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup $1.08
Manwich $1.00
Jiffy Cornbread Muffin Mix $0.43×2 = $0.86
1lb. of pinto beans $1.00
1lb. of brown rice $0.78×2
Great Value Pancake Mix Pouch $0.50×2 = $1.00
Great Value Shredded Cheese $1.96×2 = $3.92
Great Value Frozen Green Beans $0.96
Great Value Frozen Broccoli $0.96
Jimmy Dean Sausage Roll $2.50
Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey Roll 1lb. $1.96×2 = $3.92
Lettuce $1.48
Cucumbers $0.88×2 = $1.76
Tomatoes $1.78/lb I bought 4 = $1.82
After tax, I paid $31.72.
Now, let me add this: I actually had pancake mix, cucumbers, tomatoes, Green beans, broccoli, Shredded Cheese, Manwich, bread from the deli, bacon (which I can use instead of sausage) and sour cream as well. If I had planned based on what I actually had, I would have only paid $13.73 after tax. I would have more than cut my bill in half!
One key to my success: I used a whole chicken that was on sale for $0.59/lb. I am going to get 3 meals from that chicken that cost only $2.92. That’s less than $1.00 per meal for the meat! I will also use the broth for the soup as well.
One incredible resource is All Recipes. It’s an online recipe source. My favorite feature has become the recipe search by ingredients. You can actually put in the ingredients you have and the ingredients you don’t want, and it will pull up recipes! It really comes in handy when I look in the pantry and somehow end up in the black hole of “What can I fix for supper?”
Do you have some $5.00 Meal ideas? Let me know, and I can post them!
Happy Savings!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome post! This really helped me since we are on an even tighter budget than before.
I'll search my arsenal for lost cost recipes… and did you get the chicken from kroger?? I thought I saw them on sale… I"ll pick up a couple for my freezer. 
I bought a Boston butt from Food Lion a while back and froze it. It was 9.65 lbs for $8.59. I roasted it slowly and I will pick off the meat and freeze it in 1 lb bags for each meal. So I will get meat for a good 9 meals for $8. I'm using it for Brunswick stew, BBQ -pulled pork, and carnitas (pork tacos) once or twice a month for the next 3 months.
I'm looking for more ideas for the pork though. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it.
Thanks for the post Lori.
Hi Lori!
This is something that I have also been doing. Some of the other blogs I read have mentioned a website called 5dollardinners.com and I have found some neat recipes on it. We joke all the time that our entire dinner costs less than $5 because of couponing and stocking up on meat when it is on sale. Thank you again for all you do.
hillbillyhousewife.com has some great cheap recipes too.
I have a dozen or so dinners that I can make with cooked chicken, either bought on a super sale like you got for a whole chicken, boneless, skinless breasts when they're on sale for under $2 a pound, or when I'm really lazy I go to Harris Teeter either at 3:30/4:00 in the afternoon or after 8pm and get one of the roasted birds, which will be $3 off during those times, making them $3.99. (still… meat for 3 dinners…)
Chicken a la king, chicken & rice casserole, chicken enchiladas with red sauce (great way to use up ro-tel and sour cream!), general tsao's chicken, kung pao chicken, chicken tacos. manicotti stuffed with chicken.
Potato casserole dishes are a great way to make a dinner for cheap when they're in season (like now). Scalloped potatoes and ham (or sausage or ?) is a super-cheap meal that's easy to put together.
Boston Butts are wonderful to buy on sale (wait until they are less than $1 per pound) and do like Dena wrote… lots of meals.
Buy hamburger when it's really cheap and make up a bunch of meatloaves to freeze (raw), meatballs (cook these before freezing), loose meat (I boil mine, see post here: http://dollydomestic.com/392/boiling-hamburger-to-save-time-in-the-kitchen/)
Tuna is still a cheap option. Assorted tuna casseroles, tuna patties, tuna helper (wonderful entree when you get the mix on sale for 50ยข after sale & coupon)
With 2 teenage boys, myself and my husband, it's actually a rare thing for me to spend more than $5 for dinner. That way I can afford steak when they go on sale!
Just an idea for everyone. Try a vegetarian meal during the week. it gives your digestive system a break and cuts down on costs!!
Whooohoooo!! Whole chickens on sale $.88/lb at Farm Fresh this week!! I buy these all the time and they are huge birds, like small turkeys almost, usually around 7-8 lbs each. I just rinse and dry them, rub them down with some softened butter inside and out, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, and roast in a shallow pan til the button pops up – Perfection!! Then my hubby picks the carcass, boils it all down with some veggies like celery and carrots and onions and garlic, whatever we have, and we get a gallon of chicken broth for other uses. Strain and freeze in ziploc bags or ice cube trays.