Inexpensive family meal ideas incorporate sales, coupons and leftovers.
Parents looking to provide nutritious and filling meals for their families on a budget have a number of options, including coupons, sales and store-brand products. With a little creativity and smart shopping, parents can put together inexpensive homemade recipes that will not only please their family's palettes, but also provide meals that they can stretch for multiple days.
Baked Chicken with Curry, Mustard and Honey
When chicken is on sale, it is a good idea to stock up, as chicken is a nutritious and prolific protein that can be used in a large variety of recipes. One inexpensive recipe idea is baked chicken with a curry, mustard and honey marinade. The ingredients are:
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. curry powder
8 pieces bone-in chicken
Melt the butter and mix in the mustard, honey and curry in bowl. Put the chicken in a casserole dish or large resealable freezer bag and pour the marinade over it. Let the chicken marinate for the desired time (one hour to overnight). When ready to cook, place the chicken in a casserole dish and pour the marinade over it (if you used the freezer bag to marinate instead of the casserole dish). In an oven preheated to 350 degrees, bake the chicken for 30 minutes. Turn over, and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Serve with rice and mixed greens.
Slow Cooker Chili With Turkey and Beans
Slow cooker meals provide an easy and inexpensive cooking option for busy parents and typically make enough food to last for several days. This is especially true in the case of chili, which is a simple and filling dish that can be thrown together in the slow cooker in the morning and eaten immediately at dinner time. For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
2 cans (14 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes, drained
2 cans (14 oz.) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (12 oz.) tomato sauce
1 lb. cooked ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
3 tbsp. chili powder
4 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Amaretto (optional)
Throw all of the ingredients together in the slow cooker, and cook on high for seven hours. Serve with shredded cheese or sour cream.
Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce
The classic cheap and quick meal is spaghetti with marinara sauce. The easy route in serving this dish is to buy a jar of sauce and a package of noodles. Heat the sauce, boil the noodles, and combine. However, you can also make your own marinara sauce to add a homemade, yet still inexpensive, touch to the meal. For this meal, you will need the following ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
2 tsp. minced or pressed garlic
1 can (28 oz.) tomato paste
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Dried pasta of your choice
In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and sautee the onions until they soften. Toss in the garlic and saute for a minute or two, until the garlic starts to brown. Add the tomato paste and crushed red pepper. Stir together and simmer for 20 minutes covered. Add salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, boil water in a pot and add the dried pasta. Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and cover with the sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the pasta and serve immediately.
Spinach Lasagna
One dilemma in preparing inexpensive meals is that proteins like meat, fish and poultry can be expensive if they are not on sale. A solution is to make a vegetarian meal. This serves two purposes: cheaper meals and adding vegetables to your family's diet. One inexpensive vegetarian meal is spinach lasagna. For this recipe, you will need:
12 oz. lasagna noodles
10 oz. frozen spinach, chopped
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 large egg
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
15 oz. cottage cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Defrost the frozen spinach and soak the lasagna noodles in hot water for 15 minutes. (Alternately, you can buy no-boil lasagna noodles which do not require a pre-soak). In a bowl, combine the spinach, Alfredo sauce and the salt and pepper. Combine the egg and cheeses in a separate bowl and mix thoroughly. Layer the drained noodles with the other lasagna ingredients in an ungreased 13x9x2 baking dish, starting with a layer of noodles, then one-third of the spinach mixture, then one-third of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layers twice, or until you run out of noodles and filling. Cover the top of the lasagna with mozzarella cheese. Cover the dish and bake for 45 minutes in a pre-heated 350-degree oven. Cut and serve.
Tags: casserole dish, lasagna noodles, salt pepper, will need, Alfredo sauce, Alfredo sauce salt, beans rinsed