Are you looking for simple budget friendly meals or recipes? If yes, this article is for you. Many people don’t cook at home because they don’t have the time. However, they don’t realize that food prepared in restaurants is expensive than homemade food. Even if you don’t have time and want to save money, you can look for simple budget friendly meals.
We have come up with some easy and quick meal recipes that you can use to save time and money. You can save as much as 50% of your meal budget. However, it depends on how frequently you eat out. Research shows that a family of four spends between $80 and $100 at a moderately-priced restaurant.
However, you can make one of the following recipes by spending between $8 and $12. So, the choice is yours. The time it takes to cook or prepare these meals is no more than the time you take to drive to a nearby restaurant and wait for your meal. So, let us now discuss these simple budget friendly meals. Read on!
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Entertainment or leisure does not have to be expensive. You can make it reasonable and fun to bring back quality family time around the table. Spaghetti with meat sauce is a simple, fast, and easy recipe that uses ingredients commonly available in your refrigerator and pantry. It is an excellent recipe to use when your children show up with their friends for dinner.
Ingredients
You will need:
- ½ quarts of boiling water
- 8oz. of spaghetti
- 1-2 packages of onion soup mix
- 1.5 pounds of ground beef
- You can also use turkey or ground chicken
- 8oz. can of tomato sauce
- 7oz. of tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- ½ teaspoon of basil
Procedure
Add the pasta and onion soup mix to the boiling water. Cook these ingredients until the pasta is done. Make sure you don’t drain the water. Brown the meat in a large skillet. You can also use an air fryer to get the job done adequately. Stir the remaining ingredients into the meat you have browned or fried in the air fryer. Add the pasta mixture to the meat mixture. Heat through and serve.
Pizza Fondue
If you are looking for simple budget friendly meals, look no further than the Pizza Fondue. It is an excellent recipe, especially for children, which costs no more than $10 to $12. The exciting thing you can buy a drink or lemonade within this budget.
The cost of a party of eight to ten children at a restaurant is 2-3 times more than cooking this food item at home. So, you can place a blanket on the floor and enjoy an instant picnic. We recommend getting creative with this recipe.
For example, instead of bread, you can use any other ingredient for dipping that you often put on a pizza, such as chicken fingers, olives, green peppers, mushrooms, or pepperoni. You can prepare this meal easily and effectively without wasting your time. So, this recipe does not have to wait for a snow day, rainy day, or party. Your kids will love it!
Ingredients
- 1-24oz. jar of prepared spaghetti sauce
- 1 loaf of crusty Italian bread
- Make sure you cut into cubes
- 1 pound of cheese
- You can use shredded cheddar cheese or mozzarella
Procedure
Add the cheese and sauce to a large saucepan. Now, cook over low heat and make sure the cheese melts properly. Spear the bread cubes on a fork and dip them in to enjoy the food. So, not only is Pizza Fondue, a delicious meal for your family, but it is also budget-friendly and saves time.
Easy Stir-Fry Recipe
It is an easy and quick recipe that can use any vegetables. For instance, you can use frozen vegetables if you don’t have enough fresh veggies. Make sure you cook twice the amount of meat. Freeze half of the cooked meat to make the recipe again in the future.
Bear in mind that this recipe uses ingredients already available in the pantry. So, you can make this food item when there is nothing else in the house. If you follow the steps below, you can prepare a delicious meal, which will taste as it came from a reputable restaurant.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- Meat cut into strips
- You can use beef, pork, shrimp, chicken, or a combination
- Vegetables you have on hand, including:
- Mushrooms
- Spinach
- Onions
- Carrots
- Green peppers
- Broccoli
- Green beans
- Peas
- Cauliflower
- Tomatoes
- Snow peas
- 2 cloves of garlic or 2 teaspoons powdered garlic
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon ginger root
Procedure
Cook or fry the meat in oil in a large wok or skillet. Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside. Cook the veggies in the same pan, starting with the ones that take more time to cook. Once you have cooked the veggies, clear a spot in the pan’s center and add the ginger, garlic, and sesame seeds.
Now, fry for another minute or two and add additional veggies that require minimal cooking, such as spinach, tomato, and snow peas. Add the cooked meat to this mixture and pour some soya sauce into it. Toss unit the mixture is heated through. You can serve this recipe with white rice. However, if you don’t like white rice, you can eat it with brown rice.
Final Words
There are hundreds of recipes available, but not all of them are simple budget friendly meals that save you time and money. We have come up with this list of three simple recipes that you can cook at home. You don’t have to go to the market and buy specific ingredients because these recipes use the ones that are readily available in your refrigerator and pantry. Until Next Time!
