Super cheap dinners with no leftover ingredients?

[Anonymous]

I’m shopping tomorrow for ingredients for the four dinners before we leave on vacation. Trying to keep it super cheap because we will be spending the week eating well. Also trying not to have anything left behind since we will be gone for a week.

I’ve got hot dogs on the grill with macaroni and cheese, and cheese quesadillas with beans and rice.

But I know DCUM can do better! Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

Just pick up some Uncrustables? It's not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Or just order take out. Consider that part of vacation.

[Anonymous]

Boiled eggs on a salad. Use up whatever cheese, nuts, and dried fruit you have in the cabinets. Eat the rest of the eggs for breakfast before you go.

[Anonymous]

When we go on vacation, I get the house cleaned the day before and eat dinner out that night. Breakfast is served on the porch. It just feels better to me to come home to a clean, crumb-free house.

[Anonymous]

Pasta with a nice pesto from someplace like wegmans or fresh market. The low cost of the pasta offsets the pesto . If you have time you can add some sautéed grape tomatoes and mushrooms and a dash of cream .

Another easy meal is frozen fish from trader Joe’s (my kids like the Panko tilapia ), with salad or a steamed vegetable and baked potatoes (you can start the potatoes in the microwave to reduce baking time )

[Anonymous]

Eggs and/or French toast to use up any eggs and bread.

[Anonymous]

The right amount of sandwich meat and bread and cheese for your family. Toppings are lettuce, tomato, things you can use in a salad another night(s). Round out with chips, snacks, fruit.

Salad and order pizza. Not too much pizza (or enough for lunches).

Pasta and sauce. If you're meat people a bag of frozen meatballs or sausages. You could get a frozen lasagna if your family is the right size for that. If you're garlic bread people, but the right sized loaf. Salad or frozen veggies.

Burgers.

Frozen asian dishes. Or frozen Mexican dishes (make guac or buy it, add salsa).

[Anonymous]

Sesame noodles using veggies from the fridge
Stir fry
Chili (if you can stand eating something hot this week), tostadas (top w leftover chili), or nachos
Pasta of some sort
Homemade black bean dip with chips
Homemade hummus with pita and veggies

[Anonymous]

I survey the fridge and pantry and google ingredient combinations to come up with dishes that will use up everything in the house.

Alternatively, we do a protein, salad and bread. Salad uses up all fresh veggies and fruit pretty quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pasta with a nice pesto from someplace like wegmans or fresh market. The low cost of the pasta offsets the pesto . If you have time you can add some sautéed grape tomatoes and mushrooms and a dash of cream .

Another easy meal is frozen fish from trader Joe’s (my kids like the Panko tilapia ), with salad or a steamed vegetable and baked potatoes (you can start the potatoes in the microwave to reduce baking time )

It’s not fresh but Costco has really good pesto.

[Anonymous]

Trader Joes works well for this.

frozen orange chicken, and I throw a bag of broccoli on the baking sheet to roast while the chicken bakes and I toss all in the orange sauce, plus a frozen microwaveable packet of rice

spaghetti (make as much as you know your family will eat), plus any one of their yummy sauces and frozen turkey meatballs warmed in the sauce (you can freeze and sauce/meatball leftovers and have it with spaghetti the night you get back from vacation!)

tacos made with the precooked pulled pork, can of black beans, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, and a bag of salad on the side

breakfast for dinner- use up your eggs, toast waffles, and serve with any fruit you want to finish up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or just order take out. Consider that part of vacation.

Disagreeeee. One of the things I struggle with on vacation is how often you have to eat out by necessity. It gets so tiresome and I get sick of restaurant food 2-3x a day. No way I’d tack on an extra 4 days of take out before heading out for a week+ of restaurant meals.

Op I’d do scrambled eggs + pancakes one night with whatever fruit is still lying around. Grilled cheese sandwiches with baked beans is another easy dinner. Black beans and rice bowls with whatever toppings you have in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

Frittata or omelette with leftover veggies, deli meat, sliced boiled potato, cheese
Slice of bread, deli meat, salami or better prosciutto, lettuce leave, sliced tomato, and a fried egg on top