Eating Out Can Take a Big Bite Out of the Budget
November 26, 2013I took a call last week from a frazzled father of two young kids who was stressing over his budget. He made good money but was living paycheck to paycheck and still coming up short some months, which meant charging some things on his credit card. After reviewing his monthly expenses, what jumped out was the fact that his family was spending over $500 a month on eating out, and many of these meals ended up on his Visa card. His wife worked part-time and felt like between working and dealing with the kids, she had no time to make dinner, so they’d head out to a restaurant at least four times a week. Not only is this expensive, but eating out is usually not good for our health either.
While I’m certainly not a gourmet chef, I do love to cook, and most of my favorite meals take me less than 1/2 an hour to prep, cook, AND serve. Here are some of my go-to dinners when time and money is limited, and stomachs are growling:
Chicken Stir Fry
1 lb. boneless chicken breast ($1.99 on sale) 1 whole carrot ($0.15) 1 green pepper ($2.19) 1 head of broccoli crowns ($1.69) 2 cups white rice ($0.99) 1 cup sesame teriyaki sauce ($1.29) 5 minutes to prep by cutting chicken and veggies into bite size pieces 20 minutes to cook rice and sauté chicken and veggies in large frying pan 5 minutes to set table and serve meal Total Time: 30 minutes Cost: $8.30 for family of 4Beef Stew
1 lb. beef cubes ($3.99) 1 pack baby carrots ($1.50) 1 can beef broth (($0.89) 1 package of egg noodles ($1.99) 1 small can of tomato paste ($0.59) 5 minutes prep time to add beef cubes, carrots, and beef broth in slow cooker before heading out the door and allow to cook for at least 5 hours (add spices for add’l flavor: dash of paprika, pinch of basil and onion powder) 15 minutes to cook egg noodles 5 minutes to set table and serve beef stew over noodles Total Time: 25 minutes (plus 5 hours slow cook), Cost: $8.96 for family of 4Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli
1 lb. boneless chicken breast ($1.99 on sale) 1 head broccoli crowns ($1.69) 1 small jar Alfredo sauce ( $1.89 generic brand) 1 box of bowtie pasta ($1.19) 1 loaf Italian bread ($1.99) 5 minutes to prep by dicing chicken and broccoli 15 minutes to cook pasta and sauté chicken and broccoli, then add Alfredo sauce after chicken has cooked for 10 minutes 5 minutes to set table and slice bread for serving Total Time: 25 minutes, Cost: $8.75 for family of 4I’ve shared 3 of my favorite home-cooked meals that I can whip up with less than 1/2 an hour of work involved and for less than ten dollars a meal. What are some of your own easy at-home meals? Share your recipes by commenting below.