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5 Budget Friendly Meal Ideas

Dan has been telling me for FOREVER that we need to make a list of recipes that we have tried and loved. I hesitate to offer suggestions on “budget friendly” meals, because, choosing meals that use ingredients you already have or choosing multiple recipes that use the same ingredients is key to making a budget friendly meal plan. This way you aren’t buying a container of feta cheese, using a tablespoon of it and then throwing it out. However, who doesn’t like trying a new recipe? So here are a few to add to your list!

  1. Budha Bowl– This is one of Dan’s favorite meals we make! It is a bit more time consuming, (because you have to season and prepare each ingredient separately) but I love how flexible it is. If you don’t have chickpeas? Substitute black beans. If you don’t have sweet potato? Use normal potatoes. Swap the quinoa for rice. etc. Make it your own based on what you have on hand!
  2. Corn Zucchini Bake– A staple at our house!
  3. Stuffed Peppers– Another great one to throw in whatever you have! Beans, rice, sausage, ham etc (Really whatever you want to put in them!) with a bunch of seasonings and cheese on top. Easy, yummy and flexible.
  4. Zesty Chicken Salad- This one has been a recent discovery. I might just buy their cookbook and cook through the whole thing! So refreshing and actually kept me full!
  5. 6 Ingredient Taco Soup– Couldn’t include a post without at least one soup! If you eat half and freeze the other half, it will make it even more budget friendly and great for those last minute cooking nights. I left out the ranch seasoning and made homemade Taco Seasoning because I generally don’t keep those on hand– everything else we almost always have in our pantry as well!

Hopefully some of these recipes will be wins for you and your family too!

And there you have it! What have been some of your favorite meals? I am always on the hunt for a good recipe!