Receta Reader Question: An Easy Meal on the Cheap! -Breakfast for Dinner!!
I received a great letter and question from one of our readers so I thought this would be a great time to answer her question and see if we could help her. If you have any advice for our reader please post below.
Dear Colie,
My family and I are struggling financially right now. Because of everything going on we can’t possibly go out to eat so every night we are forced to eat at home, but in all honesty even eating at home is becoming a struggle. I say forced but I am happy we can at least eat right now.
Do you have any advice for me as to how I can make an affordable meal that I can feed my family of four on a budget that will go a long way, and will be good at the same time?
Sincerely,
Just making it in Indiana
Dear Just making it in Indiana,
I certainly can sympathize with what you are going through. There are many people in your shoes so don’t feel alone. With the way the economy is going, the jobs are fading, and the gas prices are going up, there are a lot of people reading your letter that could have written it themselves.
I don’t know if you have a Dollar Tree, or Aldi in your neighborhood but to me those are great places to shop when you are on a budget. Aldi is my favorite. I think breakfast for dinner is an awesome way to make a fantastic meal that goes along way, but keeps your family on a budget.
At the Aldi I shop at (I can only speak for our Aldi) you can normally get a 5lb. bag or either Idaho or Red potatoes for .99 cents, 3 Green Bell Peppers for $1 and 3 pounds of onions for $1. Using 2.5 pounds of potatoes, 1 bell pepper, and 1 onion you can make a mean pan of Chunky O’Brien Potatoes. These potatoes go a long way and are very filling.
Eggs are always easy and for the most part cheap! Once again if you have an Aldi in the neighborhood you can get eggs for .79 cents a dozen maybe a little more depending on where you live. One recipe I like is Fluffiest Scrambled Eggs! It’s a nice variation of the same plain old scrambled egg.
Another go to of mine is prepackaged pancake mix. I found these at my local HEB grocery store 2/$1 and this wasn’t even on sale. This was enough to make 12 pancakes. You might even have what you need in the pantry right now and can save that dollar and make pancakes from scratch. Here is my favorite recipe for Super Fluffy Pancakes.
If you have left over fruit in the refrigerator or freezer that needs to be used up make a fruit or Berry Compote up verses buying syrup because syrup can be expensive. You can use any fruit (you might leave out the Bananas) to get a delicious compote that will taste great on those pancakes.
Eggs, Pancakes, and O’Brien Potatoes will be plenty to feed a family of four and you can easily do it for under $10. If you are needing to cut your budget even more leave out the bell pepper and onion and simply pan fry the potatoes, and they too will be delicious.
Even consider serving oatmeal with your breakfast. You can buy a small store brand container of oatmeal for under $2 this will be very filling and will be a nice side with eggs and toast. Make the oatmeal extra special by adding sliced fruit and cinnamon to the top!
Pancakes with Berry Compote
There are so many variations you can make to keep your family on a budget. One of my all time favorites is the Trash Can Spiral Omelet! It’s called the trash can omelet because you are taking everything in your refrigerator that is days away from going in the trash but instead you are saving it and turning your trash into dinner. Add things like lunch meat, vegetables, or even left over steak, burgers, bacon bits, or potatoes!!
Breakfast for dinner is always a winner in our house. This can be a great dinner and a breakfast of champions! For a small amount of money you will make your family feel like they are eating at their favorite pancake house!
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