Week 2 BBB Recipes

Welcome back to Budget Bites Brigade where we make grocery shopping for your family affordable! I hope you all enjoyed the recipes from last week and are ready for some more delicious affordable meals to add into your budget-friendly meal plan this week.

For those of you that are new this week, I’m just a regular mom with three kids (14 boy, 11 girl, and 20 month old girl). The aim each week is to feed my whole family of five dinner each night with a budget of $100. That’s a full seven dinners for five people for $100. You will always see two totals for my shopping list. One because I already have some items on hand in my fridge, freezer, or pantry. And then another total if you literally need every single item on the list. The only items I don’t include on the shopping list are salt and pepper. I’ll also tell you what I didn’t need to get to my own personal total each week.

This week, we are having Shipwreck Stew, French Onion Chicken, Queso Pasta, Chicken Casserole, Slow Cooker Taco Soup, Mustard Rosemary Pork Chops, and Aloha BBQ Burgers. If you follow us on my Facebook Group, you will notice I post my weekly meal plan. I like to give myself flexibility. As a mom, sometimes plans or schedules change. And to be honest, sometimes something else just sounds better that night. Let’s dive into the recipes!

Shipwreck Stew

I like to think of Shipwreck Stew as a fancy, more homemade version of Hamburger Helper. It has added veggies, but it comes together super quick! To make this recipe you will need:

To begin, brown the ground beef in a large pan or skillet. Make sure you pick something big enough that you’ll have room for all the veggies and the box of mac and cheese. If you don’t have a big enough pan or skillet, it is totally fine to use a pot. Cook the beef until all the pink is gone and then drain the fat.

Next comes the mac and cheese. Put the uncooked pasta and the unprepared cheese packet directly into the pan. Sitr it really well to get the cheese powder fully incorporated. You are going to get so much flavor from it!

Now we’re going to add most of the other ingredients. The order doesn’t really matter here, but I usually add the tomatoes first, then milk, then corn, then peas. Season with salt to your liking. Mix it all together. Cover the mixture and bring it to a boil. After you’ve reached a boil, you’re going to reduce the heat a little bit to medium. Let it simmer for about 12-15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the noodles are tender.

Top the whole mixture with the shredded cheddar cheese. I usually buy sharp cheddar, but you can use mild cheddar if you prefer. Give the cheese a minute or two to melt before serving. This dinner is a great way to get some veggies on my kids plates while still giving them lots of things they love. I also really love that it’s a one pan dinner! It makes clean up such a breeze.

French Onion Chicken

The next recipe we are going to make this week is one of my personal favorites, French Onion Chicken. I was pleasantly surprised to learn my kids also enjoy the French onion flavors in their food. Here’s what you’ll need:

For this flavorful dish, we are going to start by preheating the oven to 400°F. Next, we are going to get the onions cooking and creating the flavor profile for this dish. Spread out the sliced onions on a large baking sheet. I like to leave my slices a little thick for this. Top the onions with the minced garlic sprinkling it across the onions. Then drizzle olive oil over the top. Put the onions in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. You want them to be soft and translucent for when you serve them.

Next comes the chicken breast. I like to make sure I’ve portioned the meat prior to cooking it. Sometimes I have noticed that some of the chicken breasts are huge while others are tiny. So I will cut the larger portions and decide if some are so small someone will need a second piece. I also trim off the fat at this point. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Grab a skillet and add some oil and heat it over medium-high heat. I like to give the oil about 30 seconds to 1 minute to heat up before I place the chicken in. We’re going to cook it about 4 minutes on each side so it has a nice crispy brown. Check that it’s cooked all the way through with a meat thermometer.

Now is when the sauce comes into play. We’re going to leave the chicken in the skillet and lower the temperature to medium. Add the broth and corn starch to the skillet and cook until it’s thickened. It usually takes about 4 minutes. I like to start the tub of mashed potatoes at this time because it usually takes about 5 minutes to cook and that’s about how long we have until we are ready to serve.

Once the broth has thickened up, we are going to turn off the heat and add the onions. Top with the cheese and let it melt! When the potatoes are done, we are going to serve the chicken and onions on top of the potatoes and garnish with the parsley. Talk about a satisfying and delicious comfort meal!

Queso Pasta

Queso Pasta is a flavorful simple dinner that helps me stay on budget because it’s one of my meatless recipes. Weeks my budget allows, I actually do add in some shredded or some grilled chicken breast. A pound of browned ground beef would also be delicious in this recipe! I like that the recipe is easy to alter if I want to. For the regular recipe here’s what you will need:

This recipe is also a one pot meal! Grab a large pot to cook your pasta in and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. After the pasta is done cooking and drained, we add the loaf of Velveeta. You can really use any Velveeta flavor you like, but my personal favorite for this recipe is the queso blanco. I add the cheese first so it can start to melt as I mix it in.

Once the cheese seems to be pretty melted, I add the Rotel. We use mild currently because of our youngest. She doesn’t like any spiciness. But before she was around, the family preferred original. I add the can of cream of mushroom and the dash of garlic powder at the same time. I don’t really measure the dash, but I do a few shakes of my spice jar. Stir the mixture well until everything is well incorporated.

If you chose to add chicken or ground beef, this is also where you would do that. Then, it’s ready to serve! For such a simple recipe, you will be shocked at how much flavor there is.

Chicken Casserole

This recipe is usually done on a weekend at our house. Our family has two working parents, so it has more steps than I usually feel like doing on a weeknight after work. This casserole has a nice biscuit topping to really pull it together. Here’s what you will need:

To begin, preheat the oven to 350°F. Next you’re going to melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a small dish in the microwave. Pour the butter into your 13x9 inch casserole dish (I have a glass one). Add the chicken and frozen veggies. One way I like to meal prep is by cooking the chicken in advance whenever I have time. I cook the chicken breast in a slow cooker and shred it up in my mixer. This gives me some super tender and well shredded chicken breast and makes it easier the day I do make the casserole.

Next, grab a medium or large mixing bowl and combine the cream of chicken soup with the chicken broth, garlic powder, 1 tsp of the onion powder, and some salt and pepper. Once it is well combined, pour this over the chicken and veggies.

In another mixing bowl we’re going to create the crust. Use the cheddar bay biscuit mix (but not the butter mixture, be sure to set this aside for later) and add milk and cheese. Mix together until you have a nice dough. Next you’re going to put this dough on top of the casserole to create a flavorful upper crust. Put the casserole in the oven for 50-60 minutes.

While the casserole bakes, we are going to make some green beans. I usually start them when there is about 25 minutes left on the casserole to give them time to soak in the flavors of the broth and seasonings. Drain your can of green beans and put them in a pot with the beef broth and 1 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. Season with the remaining 1 tsp of onion powder, salt and pepper. Simmer until the casserole is done.

When the dough on the casserole is fully cooked through, prepare the seasoned butter mixture from the biscuit mix per package instructions and brush it on top of the casserole. Let the casserole sit 10 minutes before serving.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Slow cooker meals are one of my favorite types of meals to cook. Being a school bus driver, I have time mid-day to get everything into the crock pot and then when I come home, I get to walk in to delicious aroma and dinner ready to go. I started loving my slow cooker back when I worked full time 1st shift, though, because the melas were usually perfect if cooked on low all day. I love recipes that are dump and go like this one.

Start by prepping your onion. I like a nice small dice for soups. Next drain and rinse the beans and drain the corn. I usually dump all 3 cans into a colander and rinse them all together and then add them to the crock pot.  Add all ingredients to the crock pot. Add your lid and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Honestly, if you will be gone all day, it’s going to be just fine. If you do have extra broth, you might want to add some, but you don’t necessarily have to. It’s all about your preference, but the longer it cooks, depending on your exact slow cooker, some of the broth might cook off the longer it cooks.

When you’re ready to eat, pull out the chicken to shred it. It will be super tender, so you can absolutely shred it with forks, but I like to toss it into my mixer because it’s fast and easy. After shredding, add it back into the soup and you’re ready to serve! If your budget allows for extras this week, I like to have sour cream, cheese, and tortilla strips to add as a topping.

Mustard Rosemary Pork Chops

I love pork chops because they’re a tasty cheap protein. At our house, we tend to do a lot of ground beef and chicken breast, so it is definitely a welcome change from our usual. When we have extra cash, we tend to buy big tenderloins at Sam’s Club and cut them into a pork roast and several meals worth of pork chops. This helps save money in the long run, but we don’t always have the cash flow up front to do it.

If I’m being honest, the kids don’t always feel adventurous when it comes to different flavor profiles. So since I want them to eat regardless, I keep the sauce on the side for them, but for my husband and I we put it right on top.

Even though the flavors of this recipe are a little more sophisticated, the recipe is pretty straightforward. Start by seasoning the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides. Drizzle some olive oil in a large skillet and let it heat over medium-high heat for a few seconds before adding the pork chops. Cook them for about 2 minutes per side for a nice brown crust.

If you’re comfortable that your kids will eat them with the sauce, go ahead and continue to make the sauce in the same skillet. If you’re like me, I grab a second skillet and add the broth. Once it starts to boil, add the mustard, capers, and rosemary. Reduce the heat on one or both pans- depending on how you’re cooking- and simmer until sauce thickens, and pork is cooked through. I always check with a meat thermometer. You’re ready to serve!

If your budget allows, my favorite side with this dish is green beans. I usually add some of the sauce to mine as I eat them!

Aloha BBQ Burgers

Our final recipe this week is one of my favorite burgers. I love pineapple on a burger! If this flavor profile is more adventurous than your kids will eat, it’s easy to adjust and just make them a regular burger while still getting a more flavorful bite for yourself. We usually eat our burgers with French fries or tater tots.

We have a nice grill pan that covers 2 of the burners on our stove, so we use that to get the nice grill lines on our burgers. If you don’t have a grill pan, you can always use a large pan or skillet instead. Preheat the grill pan over medium-high heat. While you allow the pan to preheat, combine the ground beef with ¼ cup barbecue sauce and seasoning and shape into six patties. I like to roll them into balls and then flatten them back out.

Grill the patties (covered) for about 5-6 minutes per side. Feel free to adjust if you like your burgers cooked to medium, we tend to cook them well here. When they’ve reached your preferred doneness, top with slices of cheese to allow it to melt. Set burger patties aside and grill the pineapple and onion for about 2 minutes per side, again adjust this time depending on how much char you like on your toppings.

We like to toast the buns, so after the toppings are done, split the buns in half and put them on the grill pan with the insides to the pan. Mix together mayonnaise and about ¾ cups barbecue sauce in a small bowl and now you’re ready to assemble the burgers!

To assemble your burgers, start with the lower bun, add a burger patty with cheese, put the pineapple and then onions on top and spread some of the sauce onto the top bun before adding it to the burger. I hope you like this one as much as I do!

Shopping List

Here’s everything you need to buy to make the recipes above. The only thing not included is salt and pepper. Before you head to the store, be sure to check your pantry, fridge, and freezer for ingredients that you already have. That will help you save even more money and stay on budget! The prices are real prices from my local Walmart, but they may vary based on where you live. I hope that even though they may vary, these meals are still super frugal for you!

• 3 lb ground beef $3.97 each

• 4 lbs of chicken $9.74 for a 3 lb bag (If you follow me, I have 1.5 lbs left from last week, so that’s all I need, you may need 2 bags which is included in total if you need all)

• 3 lbs pork chops $10.28

• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese $2.22

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella $2.22

• 8 oz sliced Monterey Jack $2.22

• 1 cup milk $2.66 per gallon (I buy whole milk because of my one year old, but please feel free to use whatever milk you normally buy)

• 1 lb butter $3.98

• 1 red onions $0.94

• 1 yellow onion $0.86

• 2 sweet onions $1.10 each

• Parsley $0.98

• Garlic head $0.72

• 12 oz bag sweet peas $0.98

• 12 oz bag peas and carrots $0.98

• 12 oz bag corn $0.98

• Hamburger buns $1.46

• Montreal steak seasoning $2.33

• Dried rosemary $2.42

• Onion powder $1.12

• Garlic powder $1.12

• Taco seasoning $0.57

• Olive oil $5.78

• Cheddar bay biscuit mix $2.64

• Corn starch $1.82

• Mayonnaise $2.12

• 16 oz loaf Velveeta Queso Blanco

• Pineapple slices $1.28

• Barbecue sauce $2.28

• 14.5 oz can chicken broth $0.72

• 2-32 oz carton chicken broth $1.37

• 2-14.5oz cans beef broth $1.44 each

• 14.5 oz can green beans $0.64

• 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup $0.68

• 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup $0.68

• 2-10 oz cans Rotel $1.36 each

• 28 oz can diced tomatoes $1.48

• 15 oz can corn $0.64

• 15 oz can black beans $0.82

• 15.5 oz can pinto beans $0.82

• 16 oz box rotini $0.98

• 7.25 oz box mac and cheese $1.12

• Capers $1.72

• Whole grain mustard $3.98

• 32 oz tub mashed potatoes $4.98

If you need to buy EVERYTHING for this week, at my local store, your total would be $118.71. Since I already have some of the ingredients on hand, my total is even lower!

I already have 1 lb chicken breast, corn starch, butter, yellow onion, red onion, garlic, taco seasoning, Montreal steak seasoning, dried rosemary, onion powder, garlic powder, olive oil, and Kraft macaroni and cheese. So my grand total is: $87.31!

This will enable me to buy a few sides to go with each meal to get some added nutrition for the week. I haven’t decided for sure yet, but we will likely get an avocado ranch salad mix to go with the Queso Pasta, some sort of frozen veggies to go with the Chicken Casserole, I might get some of the toppings for the Taco Soup, and green beans for the Mustard Rosemary Pork Chops. I’ll have to check out the sales to make my final decisions!

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook Group to follow along all week as I cook these dinners for my family!