frugal food

[Cathie]

so I am hosting 3 days in a row of food and I am stressing out because I don't have loads of extra money to really do this.

So my question to you - what frugal dinners would you make? I am blessed they will help bring stuff but it's mostly on me to do this.
These are dinners only

This is what I have so far:

Friday:
pizza - I will make the dough, I have mozz cheese, onions and bacon - need to buy pepperoni
they will bring caprese salad and a dessert
wine - I will buy

Saturday:

Sunday:


of course these are outside - BBQ types I need to think on this - I don't want to spend a ton of money on meat and can't really figure out how else to do this

suggestions?

[Anne Ofalamo]

chicken breast are my go to cheap feed happy. cut the big breast in half longwise,marinate in oil and garlic and grill. I cut the meat again after cooked too. (we have large fellowships at our home monthly, I see the kids grab a huge breast and then leave untouched on plate) Add favorite sauce in bowl for after for those that want it. Then any left overs shred for tacos or sandwiches?
pork is another good one to shread?

take lots of pictures and concentrate on the fun...

[Cheryl]

Spaghetti is good for a group and can be made inexpensively.  How about tacos?

[greyhoundgirl]

Fajitas?  Not super frugal, most definitely, but if you marinate and grill lots of veggies you could do less meat.  I love the marinade from Pioneer Woman's website.  Even my kids love the veggies that way.  Serve with the crockpot "refried beans" from Pennies and Pancakes blog for a quick and easy make-ahead side.

[Rooney]

How about getting some of those super big aluminum baking pans and making up several lasagnas?  That way you could add in as much (or as little) meat into it as you want.  In fact, the lasagna that I make is meatless anyway.  Add in a couple of loaves of sliced French bread (as garlic toast) to make it go farther?

[Cathie]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I am going to go freezer diving and see what I have in there to use for the BBQ 

I will keep you posted! 

[Proudmama]

Salsa chicken in the crockpot is a good way to stretch chicken breasts so winds up being quite cheap.  You can also do the same refried beans Catherine suggested to make the meat go even further.

Denise

[allison5273]

I bought a pork shoulder for about $11.00 at BJ's (our wholesale club) and it fed my family of 6 2 large dinners with left overs. I cut it in half and cooked it in BBQ sauce for pulled pork sandwiches. Another night I made pork carnitas. I made them both in the crock pot so they were easy. With a couple inexpensive sides it could be a reasonable dinner for a crowd. Slaw and baked beans and not expensive or beans and rice if you are going with a Mexican dinner.

[MissMandy]

Chicken thighs are great on the grill as well, and super cheap!  I like the slaw idea, and if you made it yourself it could also be inexpensive. 

Hmmm...  Thinking caps...

Hot Dogs
Walking Tacos (not grilled, but still outdoor-friendly)
Kielbasa
Something meatless/bean-based (again, not really for the grill)

[greyhoundgirl]

I bought a pork shoulder for about $11.00 at BJ's (our wholesale club) and it fed my family of 6 2 large dinners with left overs. I cut it in half and cooked it in BBQ sauce for pulled pork sandwiches. Another night I made pork carnitas. I made them both in the crock pot so they were easy. With a couple inexpensive sides it could be a reasonable dinner for a crowd. Slaw and baked beans and not expensive or beans and rice if you are going with a Mexican dinner.

Carnitas are a great money stretcher.  I pick up a pork roast at Aldi, use the recipe with beans from Preschoolers and Peace, and this goes a long way.  This is one of the few recipes I can still count on to give us leftovers around here, and ones people want to eat at that!

[greyhoundgirl]

I was also thinking, if you can get chicken drumsticks or quarters cheaply, if you prebake them a bit then put them on the grill, they get done easily and are super tender and delicious.

[Cathie]

Thanks everyone!

Cathy - I am going to look up that carnitas recipe.

That sounds awesome!