How to Make Dinner Meals Under $5

Does your dinner meal cost more than $5 to prepare? If you are serving four to six family members and trying to cut your grocery expenses, making dinner meals under $5 is possible. Whether the reason for eating more financially conservative is because of job loss or because you want to save, finding meals which cut the grocery bill will help reach the goal.

If you need help figuring out how to reduce meal costs to allows funds to be freed up for other needs, following the advice and resources provided in the steps below to end up with a grocery bill which you can live with. If tough times have forced you to live on less cash, or try to feed your family using only food stamps, cheap dinner meals are a necessity.

The definition of cheap dinner meals is determined by the individual. Cheap to a person with a high income has a different meaning than it does for a struggling family trying to live on unemployment and food stamps. The meal ideas below focus on dinner meals under $5 in total cost, not $5 per person or serving. The same type of tips can be applied to breakfast and lunch also.

The $5 estimate is dependent on location as high cost areas may encounter grocery prices which exceed these projected amounts. However, even with higher per recipe costs, these meal ideas and tips on reducing grocery costs should produce lower food bills. For those looking to stretch food stamps or reduce grocery expenses due to tight cash flow, use this guide to determine how to make cheap dinner meals under $5.

Loss leader grocery items can help reduce costs of meals to under $5. Use the weekly grocery ad to prepare a menu for the week or a two week period. If ground beef is on sale, plan to buy enough to freeze some for a later meal after the price returns to higher amounts. Using the grocery ad, plan main meal items based on sale items. For the ground beef sale, visit these pages and add these low cost meals to your weekly menu:

1. Homemade Beefaroni - This meal can be a favorite for both children and adults and for serving purposes can be the main course. Serve with a vegetable or a salad as a side dish.
2. Beef and Potato Casserole- Making a ground beef dish may not seem like the most filling dinner but adding potatoes to the beef makes it more so. This dish serves well with corn or other vegetables.
3. Shepherd’s Pie- This family favorite varies from cook to cook but almost always is a low cost meal when made with a ground meat. The type of meat and the quantity can be changed to lower the cost of the dish.
4. Ground Beef Cabbage Casserole-This is an excellent low cost summer meal when fresh cabbage is cheap. Ground beef can be bought in quantity for multiple meals and browned and frozen until needed for casseroles like this one.

Consider your family favorite meals to plan your cheap dinner meals under $5. For those meals where the cost is more expensive look for substitutes. If the meal is a casserole with meat, consider reducing the amount of meat and adding more rice or pasta to the casserole. Family favorites which can be reduced in cost include:

• Steak: Rather than serve one piece of steak per person, serve beef tips over rice.

• Roast Beef: When cooking a roast, plan to use the meat for more than one meal. For the first meal have the beef with gravy served with several side dishes and bread allowing the amount of the meat per person to be reduced. For the leftovers, divide the meat into two portions. If each provides enough meat to supplement another meal make roast beef hash from one portion and beef soup from the other.

• Meatloaf:To reduce the cost of meatloaf, stretch the meat with shredded vegetables, oats as the binder or cooked rice. Consider using a combination of beef, pork, chicken and sausage for the meatloaf depending on which meat is on sale.

Breakfast items are often lower costs than meat based dinner meals. Consider adding one breakfast meal to the dinner menu plan each week. Breakfast casseroles may be considered for an occasional dinner also. Breakfast type meals under $5 include:

• Pancakes and Sausage
• Oven Pancakes with Fruit Topping
• Hash Brown Casserole with added Ham
• Low Carb Crustless Quiche
• French Toast
• French Toast Casserole

When chicken is on sale, stock up to make cheap dinner meals. Look for sale items on leg quarters, family package meal packs with drumsticks and thighs, and whole chickens. A whole chicken can be boiled or roasted and used for multiple meals. http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2009/02/1-chicken-17-healthy-meals-26-bucks-no.html Family pack chicken pieces can be split into smaller packs of meat for meals. Bag the chicken in a Ziploc and add marinade before freezing. Boiled and chopped/diced or shredded chicken can be used in these cheap dinners for under $5:

• Chicken Taco Salad
• White Chili
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Three Meals from One Chicken