Remember our $1.00 Real Food Breakfast ideas? I promised then that I would share some lunches and dinners too.
Undoubtedly, lunches and dinners are trickier than breakfasts if you want to eat on the cheap. And just to be clear – I’m not into cheap. I’m into nourishing. But it’s always great when cheap and nourishing collide, don’t you think? (I actually prefer the word inexpensive. Cheap sounds so…cheap.)
As I stated in my $1.00 Breakfast post, the following dinner servings are my size, not my teenage boys’ size. They usually eat what I eat multiplied times four or five. Technically, these dinners still cost about $1.00 per plate. It’s just that my kids eat 3-5 plates. Each. But who’s counting?
Ooh, good news not entirely related to food but about the cost of teenage boys! We just learned how to lower our 18-year old son’s car insurance bill. So now we shall proceed with allowing our 15-year old son to pursue his license. Hey, it was “you can either eat or you can drive, which do you want?” I’m kidding. Mostly.
5 Real Food Dinners for $1.00
Each of the following meals can be made for approximately $1.00 per plate. They are all made with real food ingredients. They are all served with 2-4 fruits or veggies (which ups the bill, but it’s worth it by a million).
1. Chili or Chili Mac
The trick to this one is to go easy on the hamburger meat. Let the beans offer the protein. Stretch it with a little whole grain pasta. And if you happen to have home-grown, home-canned tomato sauce all the better on the money savings.
2. Chicken Pot Pie
The best thing about this recipe is that it is a one-pot meal. It comes with veggies baked right in. Serve a salad on the side. Maybe a fruit. It is so good.
P.S. I just figured out a Hamburger Pot Pie recipe that I’ll be sharing tomorrow!
3. Pasta Alfredo
This is so delicious and tastes even better than a restaurant version (which you get for about twelve bucks a plate). Serve this with salad and steamed veggies. Adding some chicken will add to the cost, but it sure does taste delicious. If you have a little leftover chicken, stir it in, and you’ll still be keeping this low in cost.
4. Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
This casserole is super nourishing because you’re cooking your rice in veggie-rich broth. Plus there are carrots in the casserole. Plus you can serve a salad on the side. Plus you can make extra and freeze it for another time. So convenient!
5. Garden Veggie Chicken Skillet
I love this recipe because you can use whatever veggies are on sale or that you have on hand. The potatoes help stretch this dish. Everything is flavorful.
I’ve got more $1.00 Breakfasts coming soon (here’s the first one I posted). Plus I’m working on some $1.00 Lunch ideas too!
I love all this proof that healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive. :)
I look forward to trying your chicken pot pie! Mitch makes great chili, and we always make chili mac with the leftovers! Chili makes the best leftovers in my opinion because the flavors just seem to get stronger. :)
So, what did you learn to save some money on insurance? Teenage drivers are Sooo expensive. Love your blog. Thanks.
We’ve had our home insurance through State Farm and our car insurance through Geico. We checked with State Farm a while back to compare, but they couldn’t offer much. But there’s a new SF rep who saw our policy and worked with us to add car insurance to our policy for WAY less. I have no idea how the other guy couldn’t have done that or why Geico was so much more. We just thought since they are teenage boys, we were stuck with crazy high fees each month. So…check with State Farm. Ask a lot of questions. See what they can do. It is amazing to us how much less it is!
Thanks so much!
I would love to see a cost break down of these recipes. I’m not sure I could make them for $1 and would appreciate some tips1
My mouth is watering! I’ll be sharing this post. Thanks for the frugal meal tips. I’m always on the lookout for those!