It's Monday!

It's Monday morning....the start of a whole new week.     I need to do meal plans ; I have already printed coupons,    Tomorrow there should be a lot more.  
15 minute dinners take less time than driving threw the fast food line. There are many ways to achieve a 15 minute dinner,   The Internet is full of what I call dump dinners.    Basically , they are in three categories

1) slow cooker
2) stir fry
3) oven dinners.

We love a quiche ( aka impossible pie) with sausage and cheese or cheese and vegetables.    There has to be a zillion possibilities.

Soups are easy in the slow cooker.   Anything from split pea to vegetable bean, chicken and orzo. Navy bean.  Clam chowder or potato soup. Chilli.

Costco has the organic, tomato and roasted red pepper soup back.   It comes out to be two dollars a box and is a whole lot cheaper than buying it even at grocery outlet.   We Doctor ot up with basil and blue cheese.

Stir fry veggies are a good price at Costco and go a long ways.   You can add shrimp or chicken that has already been cooked .  Cook it while the rice is cooking, or add ramen noodles.  
Otherwise, you can get stir fry veggies at the dollar store or T Winco for 1.29 or so.   Prices vary.

Mac and cheese ( scratch) is a winner here, as well as tuna noodle, enchiladas, pork chops on top of stuffing with apple and craisens.  Pork chops with pineapple and green pepper, or chicken with pineapple and green pepper.  

Baked potato bar with cheese, broccoli. Chili. Sour cream,

Tex -mex is always a hit.   Nachos, tacos, enchiladas, burritos. A pie baked in a small round casserole with layers of tortillas. Cheese, refried beans, chicken or ground meat taco seasoned,  topped off with refried beans and cheese.   Baked in the oven.  

Pizza, glorious pizza.   Everyone likes it and it can be tailored to everyone's taste.  .

Pasta: speghetti. Meat sauce, primavera. With shrimp and alfredo sauce. With tomatoes, parm, peas and peppers and cut up cooked chicken breast., olive oil.

Breakfast for dinner.

What's for dinner at your house!



 Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro spective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.