26 Favorite Cheap-and-Easy Meals

If you ask a roomful of people what their biggest budget busters are, many of them will say their food spending is an issue. In fact, many Americans literally eat through their income, knowingly spending more than they should on dining out.

Fortunately, there are a ton of tasty, cheap meals you can make at home with very few ingredients and not much time.

A while back, I asked The Simple Dollar’s Facebook fans what their favorite dirt-cheap meal was. Here are some of the best recipes people shared, along with a few more ideas to help you and your family eat well for next to nothing. Swapping a lunch or dinner out with one of these cheap meals just once or twice per week is an easy way to lower your food expenses

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26 Favorite Dirt-Cheap Meals

1. Sticky rice, vegetables, and soy sauce

This meal, shared by Leslie, is pretty simple and similar to something I used to cook up during my college years with an unhealthy amount of soy sauce. Using the ingredients below, you can whip up a delicious dish in minutes.

All you have to do is steam some rice, dump a can of vegetables (or a bag of frozen veggies) in a microwave-safe bowl and heat them up, then mix the vegetables and rice together with just the right amount of soy sauce. These three ingredients may not make a flashy meal, but the concoction is fairly healthy, cheap, and easy. (Next time you order take-out, save any extra soy sauce packets to make this dish even cheaper.)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of uncooked rice: $1
• Canned or frozen vegetables: $1.19
• Soy sauce: $1.99

Total: $4.17 (makes six servings)
Price per serving: 70 cents

2. Black beans and rice

Black beans and rice, suggested by Angela and others, is one of those cheap, easy meals almost everyone loves. This recipe from AllRecipes.com only requires a handful of inexpensive ingredients, yet is full of flavor.

Start by heating your oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 4 minutes, then add the rice and saute for another 2 minutes. Next, add in the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes. The spices and black beans should be added right before you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. of olive oil: 25 cents
• 1 large onion, chopped: 99 cents
• 2 cloves garlic, minced: 50 cents
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice: 50 cents
• 1-1/2 cups vegetable broth: 50 cents
• 1 tsp. ground cumin and 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper: 25 cents
• 3-1/2 cups canned black beans, drained: $1.98

Total: $4.79 (makes 6 servings)
Cost per serving: 80 cents

3. Egg and black bean burritos

If you’re looking for a cheap, nutritious breakfast you can eat on the go, look no further than this recipe for egg and black bean burritos.

The idea is simple: Start by heating some tortillas on the griddle. While they heat, scramble a dozen eggs and heat a can of black beans on the stovetop.

Once your eggs are scrambled, assemble your breakfast burritos and add any extras you might want. Toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce all work rather well. (You can also make these in bulk and freeze them so they’re ready to heat up on a hectic weekday morning.)Ingredients:

• Can of black beans: 99 cents
• 8 pack of tortillas: $1.88
• Carton of eggs: $1.99

Total: $4.86 plus toppings (makes eight servings)
Price per serving: 61 cents

Source:http://www.thesimpledollar.com/20-favorite-dirt-cheap-meals/