Sunday, January 06, 2008
Frugal Dinner Menu
| By Lynn Forgy I am heading out to the grocery store this morning, with my shopping list in hand - I spent about 30 minutes last night planning out next week's dinner menu. My budget for the week is $50, feeding a family of 3. Included in the budget are my daughter's school lunch items. Below are the dinners that I have planned for the week, along with the prices of items (I have these memorized :P ) If you're interested in the recipes, let me know and I'll be happy to post them! Night 1: Creamy Chicken Macaroni - Cheese (I buy the slices, low fat or fat free) $2.49 - Chicken ($5.00 per bag - I have 1 bag in the freezer leftover from last week, and can usually get 3-4 meals per bag) - Pasta $.50 per box TOTAL $3.00 Night 2: Vegetable and Rice Casserole - Veg All (2 cans) $1.00 - Stuffing mix $.90 - Cheese (1/3 cup) $3.00 per bag (again, I buy the low fat or fat free, hence it's more expensive) TOTAL: $4.90 Night 3: Vegetable night - Green bean casserole: green beans (have on hand), cheese (use remaining from Night 2), and sour cream (1 cup) $.50 - Rice (have on hand) - Mashed potatoes (have on hand) TOTAL: $.50 Night 4: Cheesy Rice Main Dish - Cheese (1/2 cup, use remaining from Night 2 & 3) - Rice (have on hand) - Egg Beaters ($2.50) TOTAL: $2.50 Night 5: Crockpot Mexican Corn Chowder  - Corn (1 can) $.50 - Onion (1) $.30 - Cheese (3 cups) $3.00 TOTAL: $3.80 Night 6: Pizza  - Dough (homemade, bread flour $1.80) - Cheese $3.00 - Sauce (have on hand) - Pepporoni (have on hand) TOTAL $4.80 Night 7: Potato & Onion Soup Mix - Potatoes (may have enough on hand, but if not a bag is $3.00 and I can get several meals out of it) - Onion soup mix $1.00 TOTAL: 4.00 The grand total for 7 dinners should be around $23.50, not including tax. My grocery list also includes: Daughter's lunch items $4 Cornstarch $1 Cat food $3 Butter $2 Coffee $4 My Grocery Total for the above items: $23.50 + $14.00 = $37.50 plus tax You may be wondering where the breakfast and lunch items come in - I usually don't eat breakfast, but I will eat cereal or pretzels for a snack or brunch. I have these on hand, and my daughter's breakfast is usually biscuits or rolls, toast with fruit, etc. which we currently have on hand. Lunches for the adults are leftovers from the previous evening meal. |
posted by Krista at 6:54 AM
