Recently a request was posted on Facebook looking for a menu plan for one week for $50. The economy is really tight right now and I can understand that wives and mommas are looking for solutions to real needs. Now, I am no expert when it comes to money, but I know how to pinch a penny at the grocery store and I know how to plan a fairly comfortable dinner plan. I think it helps that I really love food, too. The size of your family makes a huge difference too; in general, though, we eat way more than other countries by comparison. Sometimes when you are feeling deprived, check out the World Health Organization. I does wonders for the appetite, I tell you. Anyway, these meals would feed me, my husband, and our six kids. Some days, we would eat more than others, but it all balanced out. Now, one is married and one is off to college.
So, for starters, I am going to make some assumptions. I am going to assume that you have a few basics in the pantry, such as flour, salt, crisco, honey, baking soda, baking powder, and pepper. I will not assume that you have things like milk and eggs. This way, if you have milk and eggs but are lacking flour, the trade off should be about equal. Prices vary significantly around the country, but Wal-mart seems to be everywhere. I live in a fairly remote area of Wisconsin, so I am going to assume that our Wal-mart prices - for the Wal-mart located about an hour away from our home - is comparable to Wal-mart everywhere else. I will provide a grocery list for my meals; however, if you already have an item on the list, don't buy it! Use it to get something that I assumed you already had - like flour - or save it for the next week. I am also assuming that you are buying generics. And my final assumption is that you are not follow THM (Trim Healthy Mama) because we are carb heavy here. Sound fair? Okay, then let's get started.
The Meal Plan
Here are the meals that I would make this week if I only had $50 to spend on groceries. We eat according to Leviticus 11 so there is no pork or shellfish on the plan.
- Sunday: Roasted Chicken with Peas and Instant Potatoes
- Monday: Chili with Cornbread and Honey-Butter
- Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie with Mixed Veggies
- Wednesday: Meatball Soup with Homemade Biscuits
- Thursday: Bean Enchiladas with Spanish Rice
- Friday: Homemade Mac & Cheese with Chicken and Green Beans (on side)
- Saturday: Beef Stew with Homemade Dinner Rolls
Doesn't that sound just scrumptious? I am sure that you are wondering how I am going to pull this off. The next step is create our shopping list. I have looked up the price for each thing on Wal-mart's website. Where prices are not available on the site, I put an estimate based on my 25+ years of hanging out at shopping stores. (Yes, I started at 15 as a cashier - that counts!) Prices that are estimated are marked with an asterisk (*).
The Grocery List
- 1 - Whole Chicken, approx. 3 pounds (bigger is better in this case); $4.00*
- 1 - Bag Frozen Peas; $0.88
- 1 - Box Instant Potatoes; $1.98
- 1 - Family Pack of Ground Beef, approx. 3 pounds; $10.00*
- 1 - Can Kidney Beans; $0.92
- 1 - McCormick Chili Seasoning Envelope; $1.00*
- 1 - Jiffy Cornbread Mix; $0.56
- 2 - Bag Frozen Mixed Veggies; $0.88 per bag; $1.76
- 1 - Can (14.5 oz.) Diced Tomatoes; $0.88
- 1 - Can Beans (Pinto, Navy, Black - your choice); $0.92
- 1 - Bag Whole Grain Rice; $2.00
- 1 - Package of Flour Tortilla Shells; $1.88
- 1 - Bag Frozen Green Beans; $0.88
- 1 - 1 Pound Box of Macaroni Noodles; $2.00*
- 1 - 1 Pound Package of Beef Stew Meat; $3.00
- 1 - 5 Pound Bag Potatoes; $3.00
- 1 - 1 Pound Boxes of Butter; $3.49
- 1 - 1 Gallon of Milk; $3.50*
- 1 - 2 Cup Bag of Colby Cheese; $2.48
- 1 - 2 Cup Bag of Taco Cheese; $2.48
- 1 - 1 Dozen Eggs; $1.88
To make this meal plan work you need to roast the chicken the first day, eat what you can, and then boil the heck out of it to get the rest of the meat and some broth. I get about six quarts of broth from one tiny little chicken. You need about 2 cups worth of meat that you can set aside. It doesn't have to be pretty, it can be the dark meat and small pieces. These "leftovers" will be used in the chicken pot pie and in the homemade macaroni and cheese. Also, make sure to save any leftover veggies that you have throughout the week as these will be used in our beef stew.
I am not telling you how to roast your chicken, cook your peas, and make instant potatoes since I think that is pretty self explanatory and basic. However, if you have any questions, just let me know.
The hamburger needs to be split in half - one half will be used for the chili and the other for making meatballs. You need the meatballs for the soup. I did not put tomato sauce on the list because you can use anything for the tomato in chili ranging from tomato paste to tomato sauce to diced tomatoes, etc. I have even been known to use a $1.00 can of spaghetti sauce a time or two. You can sprinkle a small amount of cheese on the soup, but don't go crazy because you need as much as you can spare for the macaroni and cheese. Okay?
The chili is basically ground meat, seasonings, something with tomatoes, water, and kidney beans. You can make it thin; you can make it thick depending on how many you have to feed. Now, one box of cornbread does not go far; if you can spare the $0.56, grab a second box. You're family will thank you, even if you pay for it in all pennies. And honey-butter really just makes cornbread great, doesn't it! If you have chili powder and other "hot" spices at home, skip the seasoning packet and make your own. Really, it is super easy and there are all sorts of recipes online for how to make it.
Chicken pot pie is really just a two crusted pie with meat, veggies, and gravy. Use one of the cups of chicken from the first night and make your own gravy using the homemade chicken broth, butter, and flour. It's that easy. Use one of the bags of frozen veggies since the other is for the meatball soup. But only use as much as you have to for your pie pan. You want a nice full pie, but you want to save some of the vegetables for your beef stew if you can.
Meatball soup is really just soup made with meatballs, a can of diced tomatoes, and a bag of frozen veggies. Pretty simple and filling. Fortunately, homemade biscuits are cheap and easy to make. Just don't go crazy with the butter because right now, that stuff is like liquid gold and priced the same. And you really need a good amount of butter for the macaroni and cheese. We could only afford the one can of diced tomatoes; you can use it with the chili or with the enchiladas instead. If not using it for the meatball soup, just puree it up and you have instant tomato sauce.
The night that you are making the bean enchiladas you will need to make the whole bag of rice ahead of time. Long grain rice takes at least an hour. Some of the rice you will use to make spanish rice; the rest you will blend and puree with your can of beans to stretch it out a bit. Season the bean and rice paste so that it tastes good to you. I am sure you noticed that I did not include enchilada seasonings on the list; we are cheating and using taco seasoned cheese. Divide the bag of cheese in half so that you use one half in the enchiladas and the other half on top. You can make homemade sour cream with a little milk and vinegar. For the enchilada sauce, see the chili instructions for options or see the meatball soup. You have a choice. Layer the enchiladas in a baking dish, cover with a red tomato sauce of some kind, cover with the rest of the taco cheese and bake. Quick, easy, filling, and delicious. Okay, so not authentic Mexican, but it still sure tastes good when you are on a budget.
Homemade macaroni and cheese is the easiest thing to make. Make a basic white sauce, throw in all the cheese you have leftover from the week, including the taco. Melt it in until smooth and creamy with a little salt, pepper, and ground mustard. (Liquid works too if that is all you have; just don't put too much in.) Mix the cheese sauce with the noodles and the last of the chicken. (I cook my noodles in homemade chicken broth. Give more flavor while requiring less meat. Yeah, I know, it's another cheat). Throw it in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes just so that it all melts together really nicely.
And finally, the beef stew. Fry up the beef stew meat in some butter. Throw it in a stock pot or crock pot and liberally coat with flour. Pour in some more of your chicken soup stock (trust me, no one will know the difference), and your bag of potatoes. I don't peel mine because I'm lazy; you can peel them if you want. Cut them into fairly big chunks and throw them in with the meat. Cook on low for several hours (high if using a crock pot and dinner is in 4 to 6 hours; later than that? Put it on low; earlier than that, put it on the stove in a stock pot). About an hour before dinner, throw in any leftover veggies you might have from earlier in the week.
All of my crusts, breads, rolls, etc. are homemade (except for the cornbread) and use only basic ingredients like flour, baking soda, water, crisco, baking powder, etc. I did not provide any specific instructions here, but feel free to let me know if you need a recipe for any of these.
Is this type of a post helpful to you? Would you like me to post other menu plans? If so, at what dollar threshold? Let me know and I'll see what I can come up with for you.
Be blessed.
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