Wwhow, look at these savings!

Holiday shopping is just around the corner and if your kids are like mine they want one of everything. Gifts and toys are expensive, especially considering today’s tight budgets and not so perky economy. One way to ease the strain on your holiday pocketbook is to cut down on grocery and meal costs for a few months. By cooking inexpensive meals and buying items on sale you should be able to set aside the money you saved for the holidays.

Inexpensive meals can be just a yummy as more expensive options. The trick is to serve foods that your family will like so that no one realizes you are cutting costs. Many inexpensive meals are also very kid friendly.

$2 Basic Meals

Spaghetti! Pasta and sauce can each be found on sale at grocery stores for around $1 each and even at dollar stores. Change it up by changing the shape of your pasta. Serve spaghetti style noodles on Monday and bow ties or shells with spaghetti sauce on Friday. If $5 is your meal budget you can add homemade toast, salad, or meatballs.

Beans and cornbread. You can get a pound of packaged beans for around $1 and cornbread mix for around .50. Cook your beans in a crockpot and you can dump them in and forget about them all day. Beans are also yummy with shredded cheese sprinkled over the top.

Hot dogs! Kids love hot dogs as do most grownups. Purchase one of the lower priced brands like Bar S and pick up some $1 store brand buns for a quick and easy meal. Hot dogs can be cooked on the grill, boiled, microwaved, or cooked on top of the stove in a pan. If you don’t have buns, wrap hot dogs in biscuits and bake in the oven using the recommended temp for the biscuits until the biscuits are done. The $5 version of this meal is to ad mac n cheese, chips, fruit, or veggies.

Grilled cheese sandwiches can feed a hungry family with just a few minutes of work. The options are endless as you can use any type of cheese from block to pre-sliced to spreadable. Use white bread, wheat bread, potato bread, store bread, bakery bread, or even homemade bread. On colder days add a cup of soup to warm up your loved ones.

$5 Meals

Breakfast for dinner is super fun! Your kids will love the idea and really get excited. Pick up a dozen eggs for $1, store brand bread for around $1, and bacon. With a dozen eggs you can make omelets or scrambled eggs. Toast the bread and serve as a side, or have bacon and egg sandwiches. Substitute bacon for sausage or ham, and if you have an extra potato lying around shred it up for hash browns.

Chicken and stuffing skillet is a favorite at my house. It cooks up in just one pan to make cleanup quick and easy. Cook two boneless skinless chicken breasts in your big skillet with two tablespoons of butter, and then remove them from the pan when cooked. To your empty pan add one and 1/3 cups of water, a package of your families favorite frozen vegetables, and two tablespoons of butter. When it boils add in 6 ounces of dried stuffing mix, place the cooked chicken on top of the mixture, reduce the heat, and cook for 5 minutes or until done. I like to sprinkle cheese on top too and it‘s really good!

Once you get started cooking frugal meals it’s hard to stop. If you don’t enjoy being budgety just remember that you only need to do so until you have saved enough to help out with your holiday shopping. I like to cook frugal meals year long and pocket my savings for things like family road trips and unexpected bills.  If you have a yummy cheap recipe or cheap meal ideas be sure to leave a comment!