How many meals can you make for 50 bucks? I set out to find out just that and with these yummy recipes, the answer is 7 Meals for Less Than $50!
Aunt Lou here.
So when Indiana Family of Famers contacted me and asked me if I wanted to take the $50 Challenge (take $50 and see how many meals you can make with it) and write a sponsored post to tell you guys about it, you know this penny-pinching gal was all in!
Now, ya’ll know I love my grocery “manager specials”, but to keep it fair, I did not use any of my meat that Michael bargains with the manager on the price for this nor did I buy the loaf of Italian bread that was on crazy markdown. THAT is how much I love you guys, I passed up a sale! The reason for this because I wanted to keep it as realistic as possible. However, I would highly recommend looking for sales in your area to go along with these recipes. That would make it even cheaper for you or you could add in an extra meal or two!
Also, just to make sure we are all on the same page, I did not include the price for staples in this challenge. You know, things you normally have sitting in your cabinets, spices and such.
Now I misjudged my prices when I was planning and did my shopping when I had only 35 minutes, so I didn’t have time to do a ton of math in the store. It wasn’t until I was in the second store that I realized I could have gotten an extra thing of biscuits and some eggs and still came out below. So I paid the higher price for the eggs but forgot the biscuits. (Do you ever have one of those days? You know, where you would forget your head if it weren’t attached?) The eggs were $1.29 at Ruler, but I paid $1.99 at Jay-C. Well, the biscuits are only $0.39, so if I would have time, I could have come out a little cheaper even with the biscuits, so will you forgive me on this one?
7 Meals for Less Than $50
What exactly was my total? $43.12! You can buy a lot of biscuits with the extra $6.88 that would take you up to $50.
In order to get the most bang for my buck, I bought a big ol’ pork loin and cut it into thirds and used it for three different recipes. If you aren’t exactly sure how that works, Mikey will show you!
I left one of my thirds together and made this delicious Rosemary Garlic Crock Pot Pork Loin..talk about flavor! And I paired it with some salad and crusty Italian bread (my loaf of bread was divided between 3 recipes…the loaf was huge!)
Next up, I cut the second third of my pork loin into chops and made this Crock Pot Pork Chop Delight. You serve this over noodles, so I just added in a side of corn and our taste buds and bellies were satisfied!
I cut the last part of my pork loin into chops for this Crock Pot Tangy Pork Chops recipe, which I paired with some salad and yummy Italian bread.
I also bought a 5 lb log of ground beef and divided it up between three recipes. I used on pound of it and made a half portion of this yummy Crock Pot Hamburger Casserole and paired it with some yummy green beans.
Then I made this Crock Pot Crustless Pizza and made up the last of my Italian bread with this Garlic Bread recipe minus the cheese, but if you want cheese, you still have $6.88 left, so feel free to splurge. 😉
I used the last 2 lbs of my ground beef to make this amazing Crock Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole and made up some seasoned french fries.
Then I used the 1/2 lb of bacon I had leftover, the biscuits I went back and bought (remember they were only $0.39) and my eggs to make up a yummy brinner for us.
So there you have it folks, 7 Meals for Less Than $50! And in total servings, you have 44 servings of your main dishes! That is a lot of eatin’ for just a little dough!
With a little planning, you can do your own $50 Challenge and feed your family for less! How many meals do you think you can make for $50?
- Budget Meal Plan: Week 3 - October 5, 2022
- Chocolate Donut Crock Pot Bread Pudding - October 3, 2022
- Crock Pot Beefy Gnocchi - October 2, 2022
So glad I found your crock pot menus! I use mine every week!
I look forward to lots of new ideas.
Thank you!