dinners for a week (4-5days) with $40? help please

[prettyingreen]

ok im trying to take control of our finances im a SAHM so we have one income and he makes enuff but we always ended up blowing our money away fast and still have bills to pay, so i started a budget so that we knew how much extra money we had to spend after every thing is taken care of, now i've been on a low cost grocery list for a few months now so when i made my budget i gave my self $150 for 2 full weeks, well i didnt do so good prolly with thanksgiving extras i spent 123 for one week! so that doesnt leave me much for the next week, so $27 and i allowed myself to take the budget for savings of $20 amonth this time to make it so i had $40ish to spend on a week of food, soooo help me out what are some good recipes that call for little ingredients but makes alot. thanks!

[tml06451]

shop at aldi's! They may not have name brand stuff but they are very cheap and I think their food is just fine! And they have really great hams, usually at around $10 which could feed you for at least a few days :D Hope this helps

[lilmacmama20]

Turkey soup, spaghetti, grilled cheese and soup, meatloaf,  tacos, chicken and rice, chili 

[carmenclrk]

Simple spaghetti...meat, noodles and sauce...jazz it up to taste and you have a meal that could last 2-3 days...its cheap and you wouldn't have to spend all the money...think of one more meal and there you go...try lookin in your cabinets and fridge and see what you have in there...I find myself always havin somethin in there that I just may not make all the time, but will make it when food starts gettin low...try lookin in there and go to supercook.com and put in some ingredients you already have and they will come up wit some recipes for you...hope this helps...

[Juliekat23]

In a pinch, these work.  Not healthy really, but, better than starving!!

spaghetti-noodles (or a different pasta) can run under a $1, sauce runs $1-2, and meat I can buy 1 lb $1.25

If you would rather have a better grade of hamburger meat, try Albertsons (or other store) that has a fresh meat/butcher dept. and buy at night.  They will usually mark all grades down to $1/ lb

A can of cream of mushroom soup, rice, and a couple chicken breast cup up makes a good meal (and I hate mushrooms!)

tacos are pretty cheap

rice, brown gravy, stew meat (slow cooked in crock pot) is AWESOME. (I had this for lunch)

chili dogs are good (and if you buy package of pre shredded cheese it will last for tacos and the chili dogs.  I pay $1.50)

I have had to do shopping under $50 twice in the past couple months (this is why I am now in charge of finances!!)  The first time I spent $48 the second $42.  And I bought other stuff with the above meals.  I also look for coupons and comp other store ads at walmart.  (ex. Target had canned veggies on sale 45 cents *normally $1/can.  I had a coupon for $1 off 8.  I paid $3 for $8 worth of veggies.)

[christiea]

Look on kraft.com

They have a 5 dinners one bag that isnt very much :)

[prettyingreen]

hehe got a ham for T-day, gotta leave my DH at home cuz he works all week, nights. so he's gonna have  A LOT of ham 7lbs just for him, thanks tho hehe. but checking aldi's is a good idea i usually shop Giant eagle because of the gas points.

Quoting tml06451:

shop at aldi's! They may not have name brand stuff but they are very cheap and I think their food is just fine! And they have really great hams, usually at around $10 which could feed you for at least a few days :D Hope this helps

[KokoJones]

hmmmm hopefully you will have some left overs... as for the forty, maybe a few pkgs of ground beef or turkey, it's versatile... mac and cheese.... my hubs and i usually spend anywhere from 160-200 for two weeks worth of groceries.... we stock up on those bags of frozen chicken, ground meat and sides like those easy pasta salads, au gratin and scalloped potatoes, white rice and instant mashed potatoes... it gives us a good variety and makes money stretch

[momma2-3boys]

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm

[Avabliss]

My top cheap and easy foods are:

Shepherds Pie (I make it veggie but Im sure you can get cheap gr. beef or chicken).  It costs me about $7 to make enough for the 3 of us for 2 days.

Soup....of ANY kind.  Buy whatever veggies are on sale and make soup (let me if your not sure how, I can make soup out of anything at all).  Serve with bread!

We dont eat meat but my mom makes meatloaf when she is broke so that must be cheap to make.

Baked Mac N Cheese!  I make it homemade then bake it with tomatoes and and veggies. 

I make a huge pan of roasted veggies (literally whatever is on sale) and keep it in the fridge.  We use it for side dishes, sandwiches, etc..  You can add goat cheese, nuts or whatever to it.  It is great when you are broke.

Umm....I can't think right now Im tired.  Thats all I got.  Good Luck!!

 

[tankgirl84]

http://www.angelfoodministries.com/

Try this site i don't know if there is a location in your area but it's worth a look.