Under 10 Dollar Recipes

Updated on June 23, 2011
T.C. asks from Minneapolis, MN
18 answers

Hey moms!! I have gotten some great recipes on here and im always looking for more. We try to eat as healthy as possible and was searching online for meals under 10 dollars, but keep getting the same ones. Im wondering if you have any reciepes for meals under 10 dollars. I need to cut money where i can so any ideas would be great. thanks ladies and im looking forward to some new dinner ideas!!

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J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

Fried Rice:
sesame oil or butter or any oil, 3-4 cups cooked rice. Sautee that with some onion and/or garlic and/or jalepeno. Toss in some pre-softened (steamed) carrot chunks, frozen peas, cooked chicken (I roast two chickens at a time and used the cooked meat in other quick recipes), green onion, seasonings, 3-5 scrambled eggs, soy sauce, and you're done. I sprinkle cayenne on my personal bowl for added spice.
This is super cheap. I use maybe 2 carrots ($0.30), half a bag of peas ($0.50), a few eggs ($0.50 or less), rice ($0.50 worth maybe), plus the chicken ($1-2 worth when I buy the whole chicken and cook it. I buy it when it's on sale 89 cents a lb). We like the rice. Some may say it's not much of a meal, but it has veg, protein, and carb. So we enjoy it. I use brown rice so that might be a healthier option for ya too.

1 mom found this helpful
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E.M.

answers from Honolulu on

10 dollars per person? That would seem easy. Not knowing if you are feeding 10 or 2 makes this hard...

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

On the cable, food network, has a show called "$10 Dinners". I've watched it several times and they have good ideas. I've noticed the host pays outrageously high prices for her groceries. I can almost always do her dinners for $5 or $6 for 4 people. She has lots of good ideas.

When my son was on his mission in Ohio, I sent him a book, "5 Ingredient Recipes". He really liked it and almost every meal for 4 was less than $10.

When I cook I find my per serving price for dinner is seldom over $1.50 per person, and its usually under $1. How do I do this? I watch what I pay for groceries. Example: A can of cream of chicken soup is $1.29 in the store. But when it goes on a really good sale I buy a lot and set them in my pantry until I need them. I have cans of Campbell's Cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup I paid $.50 each for. I have chicken broth I got for $.25. If I make rice pilaf, I use one can of chicken broth ($.25), 1 cup of rice ($.25) and one green onion chopped ($.03 each). That means it cost me $.18 each for three servings. I then cook a large chicken breast (16 oz, $.99 lb) and cut it in 1/3's and place it on a bed of lettuce (1/6th of a head $.33 head $0.06 serving) and tomatoes (Roma tomatoes $.33 lb, $0.06 serving) on the plate with the rice pilaf. Dinner for $.63 per serving. Sometimes I'll hard boil and egg ($.10 or less), cut it in 1/4's and place it around the salad. Dinner for less than $.75 a plate/serving.

Wise shopping and an imagination gets you dinners for Much Less than $10 for 4 people.

There have been lots of posts and questions lately on how to save money on groceries. Look them up, follow the instructions/suggestions and save lots of money. I have a $200 a month budget for groceries and house hold products (like toilet paper, dog food and charcoal briquets). I do that easily. My kids coming over for Sunday strains that budget, but I've been doing that for years.

Good luck to you and yours.

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A.H.

answers from Seattle on

I just made bbq chicken sandwiches last night and turned it into bbq chicken pizza. I don't know the specific money, but pretty cheap.
What am about to list fed my family of 3 (2 adults and one child) for 2 meals.
for chicken put 2 chicken breasts (they were large) and 1/2 bottle of bbq sauce, salt, pepper (if you have it also add 1/3 bottle of beer and some onion chunks, but it is NOT necessary) in the crockpot on low for about 4 hrs. Shred it, remove some liquid if too runny and add some extra bbq sauce. Serve on buns with coleslaw.
bbq Chicken pizza - 1 ball of pizza dough (about a $1 where I live) stretch the dough onto a pan or pizza stone, put a very thin layer of bbq sauce on, add the left over chicken, saute an onion until caremelized and add on pizza. cheese of your choice, and bake. I served mine with left over cole slaw and apple slices. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

C.W.

answers from Las Vegas on

tuna noodle casserole.
Tuna (store brand tastes just like starkist)
Frozen peas (1.50 for store brand)
whole grain egg noodles 8 oz (about $1)
Cream of mushroom soup 10 oz (about $1.25)
paprika on top

and the best flavor is french's french fried onions (that stuff is around $3.50) but it's so dern good

I love it!

L.B.

answers from Biloxi on

Try Melissa D'Arabian on Food Network. She has great meals that feed a family of 4 for $10 a meal.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/ten-dollar-dinners-with-meliss...

Claire Robinson "5 Ingredient Fix" and Sandra Lee has a show with low cost meals - both also on Food Network.

I use them all the time. Yeah, I am a Food network junkie. LOL

Shop sales, and check your local grocery for marked down items - many mark down items right before their expiration date - I buy bread, rolls and pastries from Walmart from their reduced rack. My local grocery regularly marks down meats, etc.

Invest in the Sunday paper simply for the coupon inserts- for $1.50 paper I get much more $$ in coupons for products that I use.

I also save $$ on buying generic or store brand cleaning supplies - b'c those are soooo expensive.

I buy the bulk of my groceries from Angel Food Ministries - check them out also and see if they have a distribution point in your area. http://www.angelfoodministries.com/

Good Luck
God Bless

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J.D.

answers from Dallas on

Pan Fried enchiladas

8 - 10 white corn tortillas
1 - 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 Tbs oil

heat oil in pan medium high
rip tortillas and cook to soften
pour in can of sauce
bring to boil
top with cheese
cover with lid
turn down to low and simmer until cheese is melted

optional to top with sour cream and onions.
serve with salad or refried beans

Slow cooker Lentils

1 pkg lentils
6 c water
1 can rotel tomatoes
half pkg bacon
garlic powder
onion powder
1 Tbsp cajun season salt

Rinse lentils
chop bacon
put all ingredients in slow cooker on high
cook 5 - 6 hrs stirring occasionally

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Shoyu Chicken (Asian dish):

1/2 Cup Shoyu (ie: soy sauce)
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup (or less if you want, like 1/4 cup) Sugar
Chicken Thighs (6 pieces or more depending how much y'all eat)- I use boneless/skinless thighs. You can use bone-in if you want.

Combine and mix together in a bowl.
In a pot, put in the chicken thighs.
Over that, pour the sauce.
Cook on Medium or so, and stir occasionally to mix and so it does not burn the bottom.
Cook until it is cooked well and the sauce has colored the chicken.

Serve with rice.

*You can also add a teaspoon of Sesame Oil, for added taste.

Its good.
Easy.
Cheap.
My family likes it.

L.L.

answers from Rochester on

I don't think any of our meals cost more than ten (unless we're having a roast) and they feed four.

A few casserole ideas I can offer that are delicious, healthy (enough) and inexpensive...

Bake a large chicken breast in a roasting pan. In a separate casserole dish (2 qt.) bake rice, cream of mushroom soup (we use a gluten free organic, which is yummier than Campbells...but we used to use that and it was yummy, too), a can of water, half a bag or so of frozen chopped (not cut) broccoli, and a half pound of shredded cheese (cheddar, colby, whatever you like.) Bake for about an hour (or a little longer...until the chicken is done) and then shred the chicken and add it to the casserole. It's very good...I have my husband make it all the time and I eat the leftovers for lunch!

Green bean hotdish...brown your hamburger or ground turkey, and place in a casserole with the cream of mushroom soup (same story!), half pound of cheese, a can of green beans, and either 1) a bag of frozen cauliflower (I prefer) or frozen tater tots (my husband and children prefer.) This one is also super yummy. Oh, and salt and pepper. I forget.

We also like egg bakes. I brown sausage links and cut into bite size chunks. In the bottom of a casserole, I put tater tots or cauliflower (same story), and layer with sausage, frozen broccoli, half pound of cheese. Beat six eggs (sometimes I add sour cream, sometimes not) and pour over dish, then bake for about an hour and 20 minutes.

All of these are sort of variations on the same idea...but they are all cheap and delicious and what I would consider healthy enough. OKay, maybe not the sausage...but hey...

D.F.

answers from San Antonio on

I have a family of 5. Two adults two teen boys and one tween. I also was umeployed for year. So I try very hard to keep costs down and still serve good food.
Chicken legs are cheap and easy to use.
Toss legs into baking pan. Cover with can of stewed tomatoes.Add sliced onion and garlic. Bake for 30-45 min. Until meat starts to pull away from the bone. Serve over rice or noodles with salad or veggie on the side. Can use thighs or white meat but dark meat is cheaper.
Also cover with Cream of mushroom and bake for 1 hr. Or crunch up potatoe chips or cereal in a large baggie. Dip chicken into bowl with cream chicken then shake in baggie to cover. Line in baking dish, drizzle melted butter over and bake.
I make my own version of Hamburger Helper. 2 lbs of ground meat and a large family box of macaroni. I cook the meat like taco meat with lots of spices then add cooked macaroni and cheese packet.
Fried Rice. I use any left over meat. It takes 6 cups cooked rice to feed my crew. I add scrambled egg, peas, green onions and any kind of meat I have on hand.
Another favorite for my family. French Bread pizza. Buy a large loaf of french bread, we use two. Cut lengthwise. Cover with canned pizza sauce or left over spaghetti sauce. I cut up left over meat or any lunch meat. This is also a good one for the kids to do themselves. Cover with cheese and back until cheese melts.
We have Taco Tuesdays. Another fun night for the kids to make your own. Brown the meat add spices. When done line the table with all the fixings, refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and the meat. I use the already made tostadoes.
There is so much you can do for little money and still make good food and have fun.
Good luck and GOD BLESS!!
D.

B.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

What we always do when shopping is get whatever meat is on sale at the time, and lots of it! You can freeze it and use it later, so we just stock up. That keeps things pretty cheap.

I looked in my kitchen the other day and had a ton of veggies and pasta sauce, so I made calzones. If you have a simple dough recipe, there ya go! You can really use whatever you have in your kitchen- any meats, any cheese or no cheese at all, any veggies or no veggies... Pretty dang awesome =)

I also have a chicken broccoli casserole that is tasty. It is just cream of chicken, mayo, cheese, bread crumbs, chicken, and broccoli. Again, a lot of things you may just have sitting in the fridge =)

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M.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

I love this lentil soup. I don't know the actual price, but I can't imagine it is very expensive. Probably the most expensive is veg broth, but that you could make your own by saving water from steamed veggies and adding salt.

http://www.food.com/recipe/turkish-red-lentil-soup-140836

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M.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I do my own version of Subway's BMT's with fresh veggies and homade dill dip. It's a little more than 10.00 because of the veggies, but my family of five gets two meals out of it so it ends up cheaper!

1/4 lb sandwich pepperoni, 1/4 lb Genoa Salami, 1/4 lb ham (all deli- all thinly sliced) runs about 1.50 a peice (running talley (RT): 4.50).

One large Italian loaf (Market Fresh-Walmart): 1.50- (RT:6.00)

Mozzeralla cheese (varies: usually 2.00 for 8 oz block) (RT: 8.00)

So, we're looking at $8 for the sandwich ( $4 per meal- you can just make 1/2 at a time) and veggies/dip depending on what your family eats.

Then, if there is veggies and dip left over, I'll buy two boxes of Pillsbury Hot roll mix (1.50/box) and two packages of coctail weenies (2.50/pkg) and have pigs in a blanket with veggies and dip for two meals.

So over all, not incredibly healthy with all the meats but I figure I balance it out with the veggies (my kids have to pick at least two).

I also like Burox.

ground beef or turkey
tortillas or pita
one bag broccoli slaw
one bag cole slaw cabbage
cumin
ground corriader
greek seasoning (blue container at Walmart)
garlic pepper
cheese (I use chedder jack or pepperjack)

Brown and drain meat. Start with 1 tsp each seasoning and then add to your tastes. Add both slaws and a couple of tbs of h2o and cook on medium with lid on (to steam the slaws) until desired consistency. Put in pitas or tortillas, top with cheese (my husband adds Tiger sauce to his but it's too sweet for me) and enjoy!

This is also a two night dinner....so....savings!!!

L.M.

answers from New York on

An easy one is to buy the Zatarains jambalaya box mix and you can add in any meat and veggies you want. I usually use a combination of shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage and add in chopped red peppers. Cheap, easy and delicious!
Also I find stir fries in general to be healthy and inexpensive. You can use chicken which is cheap and various veggies, whatever's in season and on sale, and make any kind of stir fry. Add some soy sauce and hoisin sauce.
And there are good chili recipes using ground chicken and a mix of beans, which is very inexpensive.

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C.A.

answers from Atlanta on

Well I found one on the back of a campbells soup can and it has become a family favorite now. Its called Polynesian Pork Chops I think??? Anyways I found the recipe on the back of a campbells Golden Mushroom soup can. I'm sure you can go to their website and find it if you can't let me know and I can get it to you. It's such a simple meal and all it calls for is some chops, the can of soup, honey, pineapple chunks, and a little soy sauce. It's really good and I don't think its that extremely bad for you. I brown the chops with olive oil spray instead of oil though. Then for a side I will usually do some type of rice and a veggie or salad.

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S.P.

answers from Seattle on

I just bought an "ALL YOU" magazine and it has tons of recipes in it for under 10 bucks. If you want I can send you some in a PM. They are to long and there are to many just to post on here. Also for other people who comment on here if you want some of the recipes feel free to PM and I will be happy to send you the recipes. there are dinner, snack, breakfast recipes. one of my favorites is Santa Fe grilled chicken tacos. I make the chicken and use it in salads and quesadillas. DELICIOUS

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