Need Cheap Dinner Ideas, Etc.

Anything with pasta, chicken breasts (I stock up when the individually wrapped frozen boxes are on sale), in season fruits and veggies - get creative!

I also think it helps for him to "sacrifice" a bit too - depending on his vice - no beer, alcohol, soda, or "extras" like cookies, chips, etc. I'm not saying eliminate, but significantly cut back. It's amazing how you "find" money doing this.

When you say he won't eat tomatoes, does that mean no tomato based products...like sauce? I can't think of too many cheap recipes I make that don't have some kind of sauce.

Chicken and Rice Bake. I'm not sure what the actual cost is but both chicken and rice are inexpensive.

1 can cream of whatever you like soup
1 cup water or milk
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. paprika
3/4 cup uncooked rice
4 chicken breast servings

Mix everything but the chicken in a baking dish. Put the chicken on top. Season with additional salt, pepper, any other spices you like. Cover. Bake at 375 for around 50 minutes (until the rice is tender).

You can also add frozen veggies to this if you like. You can use different soups and veggies to make different flavors so that things don'[t get boring. You can also top with parm or any other cheese you like when you have 10 to 15 minutes of bake time remaining.

There was a post just the other day about this. I believe it was titled 'your most inexpensive meal.'

Sorry about your husband not liking tomatoes and onions.

When I want to eat on the cheap, I cook from scratch. The most expensive food you will eat is food prepared for you by a chef, like hamburger helper, rice-a-roni, burgerking, McDonalds, lean cusine, Red Baron pizza, etc.

Hamburger, noodles and spices makes a real nice dinner or soup. If you add vegetables , it becomes less expensive per serving.

I like chicken leg quarters instead of hamburger or chicken breasts for chilli. I've won first place in chili cook offs with chicken chili made with chicken leg 1/4s.

Smoked Chicken Chili
1 28 ounce of enchilada sauce (I used hot, red sauce)
1 15 oz can of refried beans
4 15 oz cans of chili flavored beans
4 pounds of chicken leg 1/4's (leg 1/4's work better than breasts)
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 heaping teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/4 lb of fresh jalapenos. (canned won't work as well)

I used a 6 qt crock pot turned on high.
Smoke the chicken leg 1/4's. Place them in a pan, with 1/4" of water, on a BBQ grill with mesquite wood for smoke. Cook them over very low heat, until done. Put the chicken leg 1/4's and the water in a container in the frig over night. I put Canadian Chicken Seasoning on my chicken in the grill.

Put all the ingredients in the crock pot, including the water in the pan the chicken cooked in, except the jalapenos, and stir. 5 hours later, remove the leg 1/4's and place on a plate to cool. After the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the bones and place the meat back in the crock pot, then stir. Stirring breaks up the chunks of meat and makes it go through out the chili.

Cut the tops off the jalapenos. Cut them in half length wise. Use the round end of a spoon to scoop out the seeds and white part that holds the seeds. (The seeds and white membrane makes Jalapenos HOT.) Do the scraping under the water or with a fan blowing the fumes away from you. Dice the pods and add them to the chili 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!! (For thicker chili, remove 2 cups of sauce only from the pot when you remove the chicken to debone it.)

Good luck to you and yours.

I have a word doc that I have cut and pasted tons of quick and easy recipes into. If you (or anyone else) wants it, message me your email address and I'll be happy to email it to you. I believe its about 12 pages with several to a page so you may be able to get a lot of ideas from it.

Just this morning I went to the store. I never make a list and never use coupons and spend very little. I happened to be in the meat section the same time the butcher was there marking "managers specials" on some of the meat. I got a ton of chicken legs for $4 and a whole chicken for $3. There was also a pack of Sweet Italian Sausage (10 in the pack) for $5, normally it was $10. I have no idea how to cook them but thought that was a good deal! I also got bags of frozen veggies that were marked down to 10 for $10 so I loaded up on them since they are normally $1.99 each.

So when you go to the store, take some time to wander around to see what is on clearance/sale and build your meals around those sales. Good luck!!!

Breakfast for dinner: pancakes, eggs, toast.

BLT's

Tater tot casserole

Homemade soup

Chili

This is one of my families all-time favorite dinners:

http://www.beanbible.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=...

I find using Bush's Original or Homestyle baked beans in combination with Jimmy Dean original sausage is the perfect pairing!

I serve it over either rice or elbow macaroni. It heats up fantastically & freezes well, too!

I do not eat tomatoes, or peppers either. I do eat onions, but have some ideas.
Any type of pasta can be made with a pesto sauce. Basil, garlic, walnuts, or pine nuts, parm. cheese and some olive oil in the blender or food processor and presto! Mix it into the warm pasta.
Beans of any type with any type of rice and grilled veggies.
Kebobs on the grill, we grill broccoli, squash, and white and sweet potatoes.
Summer is a great time to eat a salad and throw in whatever protein works for you, including beans, fish, and the like.
Hope this helps.

Any kind of sandwiches, pastas with marinara, meat or alfredo sauce.

Lots of beans (if you like them). Get them dry and reconstitue them and use for bean soup, ham and beans, etc.

Egg sandwiches.

PB and Jelly (or PB and Honey, PB and Nutella, PB and Bananas).

Quesadillas with cheese and chicken (can use canned - probably cheaper).

Go to the store and only buy stuff on sale. Set a limit per week and see if you can eat off that (by only buying sale stuff). Buy frozen juice and water it down 1/2 - 1/3 so it lasts longer. Cut out soda/juice altogether to save money.

Cut out meat 1-2x a week. Substitute eggs, beans or pb.

Cut out all prepackaged meals.

Set up a make your own taco bar with either beef, chicken, or beans for the protien, some chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, etc.
I have several stove top casserole recipes that combine cooked chicken, rice or pasta, veggies (we mostly use broccoli), and either alfredo or cheddar cheese sauce.
Pasta, tomato sauce, and a salad can be an inexpansive meal. As can Macaroni & cheese with leftovers tossed into it.
Breakfast foods make a cheap meal anytime of the day. And sandwiches can also make a nice, but inexpensive supper - expecially in the Summer. As you move into the Fall, there are any number of soups and stews that don't require tomato or onion or where you can substitue onion powder.
Check you the local farmer's market and reduced racks at the grocery stores to save money and since he is on strike, the union should be able to provide some help - as a return on those union dues. Another thing is visiting the local food bank or your church pantry for help. With the high unemployment, those places are losing their negative stigma.
Good Luck.

Macaroni & cheese; hot dogs; quiche; soup - barley or lentil...........hope these ideas help. I'm sure you'll get lots more!
If you are open to a way to make extra money, feel free to be in touch; that's what I do.......help families with income from home to help pay the bills. I know that's not what you asked in your question, but figured it can't hurt to offer. Good luck! :)

Pulled pork! You can buy the Boston Butt of pork VERY cheap. There are tons of recipes online, but make sure that it involves slow cooking (200 degrees for an entire day). It makes a lot and it's very cheap.

Will he eat tomato products? If you mince the onions will he know they are in there?

Penne Vodka is really easy. Again, I make a double batch and freeze 1/2 of the sauce for later. Basically onion, garlic, heavy cream, canned tomatoes, vodka! I make the recipe and then toss it in the blender to reduce the texture b/c my husband also hates tomatoes with a passion, but because of the texture.

BBQ chicken- break down a whole chicken, smother it in BBQ sauce and bake. I usually serve it with cornbread and a veggie.

The hardest habit to break is buying things pre-packaged. You probably don't realize how much of what you buy is already broken-down and prepped. I know that I didn't until my mom pointed it out to me while they were staying with us.

Just an example, I bought a bag of frozen hashbrowns and my mom reminded me that those are just potatoes, peppers and onions- you can dice and cook those yourself!

Is he okay if they are large enough to pick out? I have the same issue and I sometimes just add them any ways and try to pick them out of his serving.

I do a a lot of stir fries with what ever meat is on sale. That way I can get my veggies and he can pick his out (if I got one on his plate).

Allrecipe.com has a link that if you put in your ingredients on hand it will give you recipes that have those ingredients., it also lets exclude certain foods. I have found some interesting menus that way.

I take it your husband works for Verizon Land line?

If he's on strike for a while - he may have to learn to eat tomatoes!! :)

If you have your own garden - GREAT!!! Saves a ton of money! If not - i wonder if you have a food bank or co-op...check into that...

Grilled cheese sandwiches with soup
rice with chicken breast
spaghetti - Giant has spaghetti sauce 10 for 10 - will he eat this? if not - he may have to learn to like it...
Taco bar (I think I saw that one) right now Harris Teeter has sliced olives 5 for $5...and as well as a lot of other great $1 deals...
macaroni and cheese with hot dogs or polska kielbasa
breakfast for dinner -
scrambled eggs with ham diced up...
pot roast - if you get a big enough one - you can stretch into sandwiches as well
Ham - yes, may be pricey - however, like with the pot roast - if you get a bigger one - you can stretch it out and use it for different things like the scrambled eggs, ham steak breakfast, ham sliced sandwich, mac & cheese
Chili
chicken and biscuits (with a white cream sauce - all made from scratch - flour and shortening for the biscuits, flour, milk and butter for the cream sauce)
casserole - using any leftover meat you may have or tuna or chicken

GOOD LUCK!!

I am sorry to hear about the lack of income - that's tough! Here's a simple and cheap recipe - chicken casserole - layer cooked stuffing (Stove Top or store brand is fine), steamed broccoli (can use frozen which is cheap), cooked chicken (can even use canned), cream of chicken soup (store brand is pretty cheap) and top w/some shredded cheese (can shred your own for more savings). Bake together for 20 mins or until bubbly. Also, I make enchiladas pretty cheap. Tortillas stuffed with beans (canned or dried that have been properly soaked), chiles (canned), meat (if you have it but not necessary), taco seasoning or some taco sauce, spinach (can use defrosted and drained frozen spinach which is super cheap), etc. I top with canned or package (look in the seasoning aisle) enchilada sauce and some cheese. I generally serve with a salad and/or fruit but you can serve just over lettuce. Those are 2 of my go-to quick and cheap meals. I don't know if you are already a couponer but you might consider looking into it. I save about $100/wk between sales and coupons and no, we don't eat just junk. Those meals are about the "junkiest" we get. Check out www.hip2save.com for more info if interested or feel free to PM me. Good luck and hang in there!