This post may include affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy for more information.
A budget friendly menu doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to eat well, it means that you are going to eat smarter.It’s about creating meals from things that are on sale, things that you have on hand and preparing things from scratch.
Here’s what our budget friendly meal plan looks like this week:
Budget Friendly Meal Planning
Ricotta Spinach Stuffed Shells– served with garlic toast.
- Serves 8 – refrigerate leftovers for dinner on Wednesday.
- Tips for cutting the cost on this meal
- Make your own ricotta cheese, it’s really simple to make.
- Make your own marinara sauce using crushed tomatoes.
- Garlic toast can be made from slices of buttered bread sprinkled with a little garlic and Parmesan cheese.
California Chicken Noodle Casserole– served with cold fruit co*cktail.
- Serves 8 – refrigerate leftovers for dinner on Friday.
- Tips for cutting the cost on this meal
- Pasta tends to go on sale often, pair the sale with a coupon for big savings (stock up).
- Make your own cream of chicken soup for a fraction of the price.
- Use leftover chicken that you froze from previous meals.
Leftovers (Ricotta Spinach Stuffed Shells)– served with a salad.
- Oven (reheat) – place in an oven safe dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375°F . Bake until the internal temperature of the shells reaches 165°F
- Microwave (reheat) – place a single serving on a microwave-safe dish, sprinkle with a little water, cover and heat on high for 1-1 1/2 minutes. If they are not done, continue heating in 15 second intervals.
- Tips for cutting the cost on this meal
- Instead of purchasing the bags of salad, purchase the ingredients separately, you’ll get more for your money.
- Make your own salad dressing, it’s cheaper and tastes better. Bonus, you only have to make what you’ll use so no more wasted space in the refrigerator.
Bean & Cheese Burritos – served with Spanish rice and orange slices.
- Serves 4 – topped with taco sauce and onions
- Tips for cutting the cost on this meal
- Try making your own tortillas, they’re delicious, inexpensive and a great way to get the kids involved.
- Replace the canned re-fried beans with homemade ones. Dry pinto beans are inexpensive, simple to make and they freeze up easily.
- You can make Spanish rice from scratch but I find that the Knorr brand is the cheaper way to go. It costs around a dollar and there are no additional ingredients that need to be added.
Leftovers (California Chicken Noodle Casserole) – served with drop biscuits.
- Oven (reheat) – place in an oven safe dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes or until heated throughout.
- Microwave (reheat) – place a single serving on a microwave-safe dish, sprinkle with a little water, cover and heat on high for 1 – 1 1/2 minutes. If not completely heated, continue heating in 15 second intervals.
- Tips for cutting the cost on this meal
- Instead of purchasing prepared biscuits, try making biscuits from scratch.
Slow Cooker Onion Pork Tenderloin– served with garlic butter quinoa and Parmesan zucchini.
- Serves 6 – leftovers can be frozen or served for lunch. It’s also a good meal to serve if you’re having guests.
- Tips for cutting the cost on this meal
- Pork tenderloin frequently goes on sale, stock up when prices are at there lowest.
- An economical substitution for the red wine, is pomegranate juice or unsweetened grape juice.
- Make your own chicken stock using ingredients you normally throw away.
- Quinoa is something that I always have on hand, since it’s a complete protein it’s great to serve on nights that we don’t serve meat.
Eye of Round Roast– served with Hasselback potatoes, buttered asparagus, biscuits and for dessert earthquake cake.
- Serves 6 – freeze the leftover meat (approximately 1 pound) for a meal to be made next week.
- Tips for cutting the costs on this meal
- I made an Eye of Round roast because it was on sale, but you can use the same simple recipe for any thick cut roast that you find on sale.
- Don’t throw out the broth. Once the broth from the roast is cooled, strain it and pour it into Ziploc baggies.
- Purchase asparagus in bulk when it’s on sale, then freeze it for future uses.
- Instead of purchasing prepared biscuits, try making biscuits from scratch.
Budget Friendly Tips
✔ Stock up on pantry items when they go on sale. Having a well stocked pantry is essential to cutting grocery costs.
✔ Buy store-brand products when possible, they are a much cheaper option. Many times the off-brand products are made by name brand companies.
✔Instead of throwing out the uneaten heels from loaves of bread, put them in a freezer bag and use them the next time you have garlic toast on the menu. They also make great bread crumbs.
✔ Instead of throwing out the trimmings from onions, celery and carrots, toss them in the freezer. The next time you need vegetable stock, cook them up in a large pot of water. Add a chicken carcass, and you’ve got a delicious chicken stock.
✔ Stock up when prices are at there lowest. Sales usually go in a 3 month cycle, so if you see an item at it’s rock bottom price, buy enough to use between now and the next sale.
✔ One way that I keep my grocery bill low is by using coupons for the items that I need. I rarely plan my menu around the coupons that are available, I find that I end up spending more. Instead I create my menu first and then look for coupons that will lower my bill.
Time Saving Tips
✔Many grocery stores are now offering online ordering. For a small fee, they will do your shopping for you and even load it into your car. This is a excellent way to save time as well as being in control of what you spend.
✔Spending a little time meal planning can make your life so much easier. It’ll save you time,money, improve your nutrition, make cooking more manageable and give you more control over what you put on the table.
✔A simple way to save yourself some time in the kitchen is by prepping your food for the week. This can be done by simply washing your fruits, chopping your vegetables or portioning the food for each meal. It’s up to you how much you want to do to save yourself sometime later in the week.
About Our Meal Plan
✔Our menus are designed to feed a family of four, two adults and two teenage boys. It can also feed two adults and 3-4 young children.
✔Many of the meals included in our meal plan are budget friendly to begin with, however we do offer tips that will reduce the grocery bill even further.
✔ Our menus do not include breakfast or lunch, but there is space for you to fill in what your family likes. Our family eats a pretty simple meal for breakfast and lunch, like cereal or sandwiches and sometimes leftovers. We don’t make to much of a fuss over it.
✔ Sunday dinner is our biggest meal of the week, that’s when all of the family gets together, so we tend to spend a little more money and include dessert. I try to make enough for leftovers during the week.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a commission. I only recommend products or services that I personally believe will add value to my readers. All opinions stated are strictly my own. Read our full disclosure policy for more information.
