Five Dollar Dinners?
How much do you spend on dinner each night? Do you feel like you’re doing well if you keep it under $10?
Let me introduce you to Erin, owner of 5dollardinners.com. Erin decided last year to see if she could make dinner every night for under $5–and now has a successful website sharing her recipes and tricks! You may have seen her on Rachel Ray today sharing her tips.
I’ve found her to be an invaluable resource for my Dieting on a Dime series. We’ve been challenged to eat healthy for only $10 a day. Her recipes have made a big difference for us!
I suggest you check out her site. Many of her recipes will work well with our stockpiling techniques!
Right now I’m cooking one of my favorite frugal meals–chicken with pancetta, apples and baby bellas.
Chop pancetta (bought on sale for $1.49) and heat over medium heat. Add package of sliced baby bellas. ($1 at Meijer. last week.) Add 1 chopped apple (.25) and 4 chicken breasts ($2 after discount). Saute till fully cooked. I added 1/2 can evaporated milk to the mixture for a ’sauce’ (free after coupon) and served with a rice/broccoli Steamers as a side. (Also free after coupon.)
Total for four servings: $4.74!!
These $5 dinners are much more in-line with my “coupon mentality”. Biggs recently started radio ads advertising $15 dinners and I’m thinking “Who on EARTH would think that’s a good deal?!?” Ha Ha. Guess I’ve been pinching pennies so long I forgot how much things really cost when you don’t coupon & stockpile…
While I am impressed with Erin..here is the problem: She grows a lot of her own stuff, and sometimes does not include the price of “little things” like “throw in some minced garlic”..well I don’t about you, but it’s not free.
I feed a family of 7 adults. Two parents and 5 grown children, 4 boys and 1 girl. I do this for under $15 per meal…not per plate…per meal. I cook dinner before I leave for work each day, so that everyone is discouraged from eating out and hopefully saving money.
I don’t begrudge Erin’s efforts, but after visiting her website, it wasn’t much help for me.