Budget Recipes Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

14 Cheap Easy Meals On A Budget To Try Tonight

Last Updated: July 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 Comments

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Are you looking for recipes that will help you make cheap, easy meals on a budget? Look no further!

Today, I’m sharing 14 recipes for delicious, home-cooked, and flavor-packed recipes that are cheap and easy to make.

As you may know, I’m a new mom. Finding meals that are easy to make is a must these days. I am fortunate to have a flexible work schedule that allows me to work when I want, but I’m usually so tired when it comes to dinner time. I need something easy to cook!

But, easy meals don’t have to be bland or boring, and they definitely don’t need to be expensive. That’s why I was so excited to put together this list of recipes for cheap, easy meals on a budget.

I’ve tried several of these recipes already, and my favorites so far are:

Vegan Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole – This is a healthy one-pot meal that’s so easy to prep and cook. If you’re not vegan, this would be great with real cheese.
One Dish Chili Noodles – So simple and easy, and beans are always one of the cheapest things. This flavorful meal is filling and delicious.
Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chicken – I love spicy food, and I definitely added more jalapenos to this one, haha! This recipe is also low-carb and keto-friendly.
5 Ingredient Baked Apricot Chicken – I wasn’t sure about apricots and chicken, but this is so good and easy. This would be delicious over rice.

If you’re trying to save money on groceries right now, you can add one or two of these into your rotation each week.

To save even more money, look through grocery store fliers and coupons before you plan your meals for the week. Because the recipes in this article are already cheap, easy meals on a budget, you can save even more with a sale or coupons.

You’ve already gotten an idea of the kinds of recipes I’m sharing with your today, and they are great for busy parents, new moms, college students, or anyone who is trying to stick to a grocery budget.

Food costs have gone up significantly this year, and these recipes will give you lots of options to save.

And, as I said earlier, easy meals don’t need to be flavorless or boring. I was shocked by how much flavor was packed into these recipes.

These meals were also easy enough to prep and make while taking care of a new baby – that’s a big deal for me these days. [Read more…]

How To Meal Prep On A Budget: 10 Great Recipes To Try

Last Updated: March 3, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Would you like to learn how to meal prep on a budget?

Planning healthy and satisfying meals week after week can get exhausting.

Having a family, a full-time job, a side hustle, etc. makes it even more challenging to cook during the week.

I know I have fallen into that rut before, and many times I would end up eating something unhealthy or spending more money on takeout or restaurant food.

If you do that too many times a week, you can end up easily spending an extra hundred dollars or more on food each week. And, even though we all know it’s more expensive to go out to eat, making dinner at home can feel like a lot of extra work.

That is what I love about meal prepping – you do all of the work in advance. You can spend one afternoon or evening cooking your meals, then you divide them into containers, and they are ready to go for the week. [Read more…]

11 Vegetarian Meal Prep Recipes You Have To Try

Last Updated: November 23, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today, I have 11 great vegetarian meal prep recipes for you to try, and trust me, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy these delicious meal ideas.

Eating well doesn’t have to be expensive or hard. There are tons of tasty recipes that are easy to cook and can be done on a budget. One way that many people are eating healthy, inexpensive meals is by eating less meat.

Even if you eat just one less meat meal a week, like trying a meatless Monday, you can reduce the amount of money you spend on your monthly food budget. It’s a great way to cut some of your monthly expenses, while eating nutritious and tasty meals.

I’m not vegetarian, but we are eating less meat than we used to. When we do, it’s often fish we catch while sailing.

I have tried several of the vegetarian meal prep recipes I’m going to share with you, and I can’t wait to try the rest. [Read more…]

10 Slow Cooker Recipes That Will Make Dinner Time Easy

Last Updated: September 2, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking for some new and delicious slow cooker recipes so you can have tasty and stress-free dinners this week?

I love making meals in a slow cooker. Dinners are so much easier when you start everything in advance! I’m less stressed, can focus on things I’d rather do, all while knowing that I have a delicious meal cooking.

So, if you’re looking for some of the best slow cooker recipes, I have 10 new recipes for you to try – that’s almost two full weeks of meal ideas!

I think you’re going to like all of these slow cooker recipes, but here are my favorites:

Easy Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup – Cauliflower, cashews, and a smoky chickpea topping. This soup is packed full of protein, and it’s vegan. This soup is creamy, rich, and the chickpea topping is roasted, which gives it a nice crunch.
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Soup – Chicken, black beans, fire roasted corn, lime juice, and more. You can top this hearty soup with cheese, avocado, sour cream (I like to use plain Greek yogurt), and more.
Mozzarella Stuffed Crockpot Meatloaf – Garlic, onions, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and more. This meatloaf even has a delicious sweet and spicy glaze on top. I honestly had no idea that you could even make meatloaf in the slow cooker until I found this recipe.

Many of these slow cooker recipes take 15 minutes or less of prep time, which means you can easily make them before you go to work in the morning. They also make great leftovers for lunch the next day. [Read more…]

10 Quick Lunch Recipes That Will Make Your Day Easier

Last Updated: May 14, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking for some quick lunch recipes that are healthy, easy, and delicious?

If you’re like me, you probably forget about lunch most days. You might wind up eating leftovers, a simple sandwich, snacking, or not eating anything for lunch at all.

Living on a boat sometimes makes it hard to cook food like we normally would. These days, we’re so busy with things on the boat and more active than ever. But, it’s even more important than ever for us to eat healthy, filling meals.

That’s why I’m so excited about these quick lunch recipes! These are meals that are easy to cook in our tiny kitchen – they don’t take a lot of prep time or space. We can cook them quickly before heading out for a day sail or while exploring a new island.

Best of all, these recipes taste great! [Read more…]

10 Healthy Bowl Recipes – You Will Love These Delicious Meals!

Last Updated: March 3, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today, I have 10 of the most delicious and healthy bowl recipes out there, and I am so excited to share them with you!

Bowl recipes or meals in a bowl has become one of my favorite ways to eat these days. There is something that just feels so much easier about putting your entire meal in a bowl, haha.

Because I’ve been loving to eat my meals this way, I wanted to share some of the healthy bowl recipes that I have been enjoying.

These recipes are even great for meal prepping because you can put your meals together in individual serving containers and just grab them out of the fridge when you need a healthy meal.

This is great for busy weeknights or for bringing your lunch to work.

There are healthy bowl recipes that are great for dinner, ones that are vegetarian, vegan bowl recipes, gluten-free meals, and more. [Read more…]

10 Quick and Easy One Pot Meals

Last Updated: November 28, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

We split our time between a van and sailboat, so space is a major issue for us.

Our kitchen area is tiny, we have very limited counter space, and we just don’t have as many burners. Our cooking range is really small too, so we really can’t cook anything that takes more than one pot. Oh, and we don’t even have the storage space for tons of pots either.

I know that’s not the case for everyone, and one pan meals are still great options for anyone who lives in a traditional home – they simplify meal time!

So today, I have a great list of one pot meals for you to try. There are several vegetarian and vegan options, there are some delicious looking comfort food recipes, and a fun take on egg rolls. And more!

Personally, I’m really excited about the lemon spaghetti with spinach. The lemon seems like it will the dish taste refreshing and light, and adding spinach makes it a nice healthy meal.

These one pot recipes don’t require a ton of prep work either, and most of them only take around 30 minutes to cook. This makes them good for weeknight dinners, especially if you’re feeling busy and are tempted to go out to eat. [Read more…]