My toddler loves this Pork Skillet, and her big sister will eat the meat, if not the vegetables. It's easy to make (though it needs to simmer for 30 minutes, so start early!) and budget-friendly as well. Here's the rundown:

Pork Skillet:
$4.99 - 1 lb pork
$0.62 - 1/4 celery heart
$0.17 - 1/4 onion
$0.45 - 1/2 green pepper
$2.40 - 2 cans diced tomatoes
$0.60 - Parmesan cheese
$0.63 - mozzarella cheese

$0.67 - 1/4 bag brown rice

$2.50 - fruit salad, your choice

Total: $13.03!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

Baked Ziti has long been one of my favorite dishes. Easy, delicious, and, when using fat-free ricotta cheese, healthy. I usually fill two pans with the noodle and cheese mixture, cook one and freeze one (uncooked) for later. When you need it again, just pop it out of the freezer and either thaw in the fridge for a day or bake it 1 1/2 to 2 hours, keeping it covered for the first hour.

Baked Ziti:
$1.00 - noodles
$0.33 - eggs
$2.79 - mozzarella
$2.50 - sauce
$2.49 - ricotta

$1.99 - Broccoli, 2 crowns

$2.29 - French bread

$2.50 - Fruit Salad, your choice

Total: $15.89

**The price for fresh broccoli crowns seems to be wildly fluctuating in my area. Has anyone else experienced this?

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

Wild Turkey Skillet can be made with turkey or chicken, leftover, fresh, or canned. I usually use one can of turkey that I get in bulk from Costco.

Wild Turkey Skillet:
$4.38 - wild rice
$0.75 - frozen mixed vegetables, 1/2 bag
$1.69 - sour cream (reduced fat)
$0.60 - 1/2 cup cheddar
$1.69 - can Cream of Chicken soup, 98% fat free
$1.50 - 12 oz from a frozen turkey breast

Broccoli:
$2.18- 1 crown

French loaf:
$2.29 - 1 loaf

$15.08 for an excellent meal!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

Easy Garlic Chicken
$5.29 - chicken breasts
$0.79 - lemon juice
$0.49 - head garlic

Roasted Cauliflower
$2.99 - head cauliflour

French Bread
$2.29 - loaf

Fruit Salad
$2.50 - your choice of fruit

In total, $14.35. You can use the lemon juice and the garlic for both the chicken dish and the cauliflour.

You will need a number of spices for the chicken (sage) and cauliflour (parsley, thyme, and tarragon, plus Parmesan cheese), so make sure those are in your pantry before making this dish. The cauliflour recipe calls for fresh spices, but I almost always make it with dried. If you are doing the same, use one teaspoon each dried parsley, thyme, and tarragon.

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

This stir-fry has been altered to be toddler-friendly. You'll still need to cut up the chicken, but the quinoa and vegetables are perfect for little mouths. I like to dice them in a food processor to speed things up. If you prefer, you can slice the vegetables (including the garlic) instead of dicing them.

Garlic Chicken Quinoa Stir Fry
$1.92 - 1 cup quinoa
$5.24 - 1.5 lb chicken
$1.60 - chicken broth
$0.69 - onion
$0.89 - red bell pepper
$0.59 - carrots
$0.49 - garlic
$2.99 - basil

$0.59 - apple for side

This dinner comes to $15.00 exactly, assuming you will use the rest of the quinoa package for some other meal. If you've never tried quinoa, pronounced keen-wah, it's time to give it a try! It's light and fluffy, with a slightly crunchy external germ, and packed with protein. A delicious alternative to white rice.

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

A fish meal for four for under $15.00! This fish is delicious with the Dijon mustard sauce, and the sweet potatoes and broccoli lend great color to the dish. Healthy as can be!

Dijon Mustard Fish Fillets
$6.99 - fish
$0.99 - sour cream
$1.99 - fresh chives

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
$1.78 - 2 sweet potatoes

Steamed Broccoli
$0.89 - broccoli crown

French Loaf
$2.29 - loaf

Total comes to $14.93! Your bill will run $6.00 more if you need to buy the Lemon-Pepper seasoning and the Dijon mustard, but the dish only calls for a small amount so I have not included it in the price. Enjoy!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

This delicious meal is a spin off Chicken Parmesan and much easier to make. The cost is a little difficult to calculate because it has quite a few ingredients where only a portion of the package is used. If everything except that optional hot pepper flakes and a salad dressing are purchased new, the total would come to $24.48. However, the cost of just the amount of each ingredient needed to make servings for 4 is significantly less:

Chicken:
$5.24 - chicken
$0.90 - 1/5 grated Parmesan jar
$0.15 - 1/10 jar breadcrumbs
$0.40 - 1/10 bottle olive oil
$0.21 - 1/16 bottle cooking wine

$0.50 - 1/2 box spaghetti

$1.25 - 1/2 jar sauce

Salad:
$1.59 - head romaine
$0.89 - red bell pepper

Total - $11.13!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

These succulent pork chops will satisfy even the pickiest eaters. (Such as my preschooler and my toddler, score!)

Pork chops:
$5.49 - 4 pork chops
$0.88 - Light Soy Sauce (assuming you will use the rest of the bottle for something else)
$0.49 - garlic
$0.39 - ginger

mashed potatoes
$1.47 - white potatoes
$0.89 - sweet potato

broccoli
$0.89 - steamed broccoli

A total of $10.50 for a complete dinner for four!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

Here is a list of 10 recipes for under $10. Most of them show only a main dish (some are lunch recipes) but sides can easily be added to round out the meal. My favorite is the calamari, $7 for 8 servings, and now I'm anxious to try it out. I'll be checking out my local asian market for calamari at a cheap price. I'll be adding bread ($1.99), pasta ($0.99), green beans ($1.98), and a fruit salad ($.98 - 2 apples, $1.58 - 2 pears, $1.58 - 2 oranges) to bring the price up to $16.10 for dinner for 8!

Update:
I found some frozen calamari at $4.69 for 12 oz. at my local Korean store. A bit more expensive than the original recipe, but not too bad. I used just the 12 oz, instead of 2 lbs., without changing the rest of the ingredients. It was perfect for our family, with some leftovers, but for eight servings you will want to use the entire 2 lbs.

This dish was absolutely delicious! The calamari was tender, not chewey, with a delightful lemon garlic flavor. Both my toddlers loved it! They even loved the cold leftovers straight from the fridge.

I'm excited to be able to add something a little bit unusual to my tried and true Recipe Box dishes!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

Crock Pot Chicken is a comfort food. It's worth the $0.60 extra to get 98% fat-free cream-of-chicken soup instead of the regular soup to make this a healthy meal. Round it off with a salad and some broccoli, and you have yourself a healthy meal for under $17.00!

Crock Pot Chicken:
$5.24 - 1.5 lb. chicken
$3.38 - 2 cans 98% fat free healthy request cream of chicken soup
$1.67 - can cheddar cheese soup
-------------------
$10.29

Starch:
$1.25 - box bow-tie pasta

Salad:
$1.59 - romaine
$0.99 - 1/2 pt cherry tomatoes
$0.33 - 1/4 bag croutons

Veggie:
$2.18 - 2 crowns fresh broccoli (steam, then season with salt and pepper)

Total for a meal for 6: $16.63, under $3.00 a person!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

Chicken Stir Fry is as simple as it is healthy. Here's the rundown:

$3.49 - chicken
$0.10 - garlic
$0.50 - carrots
$0.89 - green pepper
$0.69 - onion
---------------
$5.69, assuming you have soy sauce, sugar, and oil (any kind of frying oil can be substituted for the peanut oil) in your cupboard, and that you'll use the rest of the garlic head and carrot bag for another dish

Starch:
$1.99 - rice

Fruit salad:
$3.49 - blueberries
$1.75 - strawberries
$1.25 - grapes
---------------
$6.49

Total: $14.17

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

For the main dish, Baked Spinach:
$3.98 - 2 bags fresh spinach
$0.70 - 3 eggs
$3.69 - cheddar cheese
$1.49 - bread crumbs
$0.37 - butter

Vegetable:
$1.50 - baby carrots

Starch:
$2.29 - french bread

I love this casserole. It's packed full of nutrients, and delicious as well. For $2.33 a person for the meal, this can't be beat!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

For the main dish, Basil and Mozzarella Pizza:
$2.58 - 2 bags pizza dough (it's in the cake section of my store)
$1.98 - 2 tomatoes
$3.99 - Fresh Mozzarella
$2.99 - basil
$0.49 - garlic

Vegetable:
$1.59 - a head of Romaine lettuce

Total:
$13.33

I love it when the main dish includes a starch and a vegetable!

We had this pizza for dinner a few days ago and it was delicious.

To cut down on the cost even more, try growing your own basil. I have a basil plant in my kitchen window. I've killed most plants I've ever owned, but the basil has been around for a good three months now. I think I bought it for the same price as a sprig of basil at my local store, $2.99. So even if it's used twice, that lowers the price to $1.50 for the basil!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

For the main dish, Chicken Tortilla Casserole:
$0.99 - 1 onion
$1.89 - 1 quart milk
$3.00 - 8 oz bag cheese
$2.29 - 10 pack 96% fat-free flour tortillas
$3.38 - 2 cans healthy request cream of chicken soup
$3.59 - 1 can chunk chicken
----------------
$15.14

Starch:
$2.00 - 1 box mexican rice

Vegetable:
$.89 - 1/2 lb. green beans

Fruit Salad:
$.98 - 2 apples
$1.58 - 2 pears
$1.58 - 2 oranges
-------
$7.03 - total sides

The casserole in this recipe will easily feed 8 people. So when you're making it, make it in two different pans and freeze one. Then you'll have a main dish for another night, too!

So the total for tonight is $15.14 divided by 2 + $7.03 = $14.60.

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget

I will be posting a number of dinner options for the budget-conscious. Each dinner will be healthy, including 2 choices in the fruit/vegetable category, a main dish, and a starch. I'll be pricing the dinner based on normal (non-sale) prices from my grocery delivery service (peapod.com), so you will probably be able to find the ingredients for even cheaper.

I'll assume that you have some basic ingredients in stock, like salt, pepper, oil, milk, etc., and so I won't be including things like that in the prices.

Enjoy, and please send me ideas!

Labels: Healthy Dinner on a Budget