5 Delicious Budget Meals To Feed Your Family This Week

Vodka ravioli

1. Cook the raviolis according to the package directions.

2. For the vodka sauce, melt down a couple tablespoons of butter and throw in about a tablespoon of olive oil.

3. Sauté in some garlic and then add in ¼ cup of vodka. It will get really bubbly once you add that in. Let it cook out for at least 30 seconds, then add ¼ cup of tomato paste and stir it around until it gets smooth to deepen the flavor of that tomato paste.

4. Add in just a pinch of some crushed red pepper flakes, ¾ cup heavy cream and some onion powder (or cook actual onion with the butter and olive oil in step 1). Stir everything together. Let it heat through for a few minutes, then season with some salt and pepper.

5. Add in the ravioli and top with some Parmesan cheese.

6. Serve with some garlic bread and a side salad.

Mexican beef and rice soup

1. Toss two pounds of ground beef in a Dutch oven and get it broken apart. Cook it down on a medium-high heat and drain the grease, if necessary.

2. Season with onion powder and minced garlic and cook for a couple more minutes. Add in three tablespoons of taco seasoning and stir it in, then add in four cans of beef broth and a can of diced tomatoes.

3. Add in two cups of frozen corn, a can of black beans drained and rinsed, one cup of tomato sauce, and the juice of one small lime. Then add in two teaspoons of salt and one cup of uncooked long grain white rice. Stir it to get all the rice submerged in liquid, turn up the heat a bit and get it to a low boil, then cover, turn the heat down a bit, and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes.

4. Check that the rice is tender, cut off the heat and add some fresh cilantro. Top your bowls with sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar cheese and some extra cilantro.

Cornbread to go with the soup

1. Mix a box of Jiffy cornbread mix, a can of cream-style corn and a cup of light sour cream.

2. Add in ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup vegetable oil and two eggs. Mix with a spoon.

3. Spray a 8x8 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and pour out the cornbread batter. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes.

White Castle casserole

1. Pour two envelopes of onion soup mix into two pounds of ground beef. Cook over a medium-high heat until fully cooked through.

2. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray, and lay out a tube of crescent rolls in the bottom. Pinch everything together and press it out until it is an even sheet with no holes.

3. Drain your meat well and pour it on top. Spread it out into an even layer with a spoon.

4. Cover the meat in slices of cheese.

5. With another tube of crescent rolls, create a second layer of dough and press it together.

6. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, then cut into little squares.

Gumbo

1. Marinate two boneless, skinless chicken breasts in some mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and some Frank's hot sauce. Season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Cajun seasoning. Toss it around with your hands to get it all coated, then cover the bowl with some wrap and set it in the fridge for the whole day.

2. For homemade roux, mix half a cup of vegetable oil and a half a cup of all-purpose flour and stir continuously over a medium heat for 20-30 minutes until it gets a chocolate color. Then add in one chopped up green bell pepper, one stalk of celery and lots of onion powder. Cook for five minutes, add in a big spoonful of minced garlic, cook for a couple more minutes.

3. Add in six cups of chicken stock, stir well, making sure to get all of the flavorful bits off of the bottom, and add a good amount of Cajun seasoning, black pepper and garlic powder. Let this simmer while you get the chicken going.

4. Cook the chicken on a hot skillet with oil over a medium high heat k for a couple of minutes on each side. You want a brown crust to form, but the middle is going to still be raw.

5. Cut the chicken into large pieces and dunk it into the boiling broth. Let it cook for 30 minutes.

6. Thinly slice a smoked sausage and drop it in, along with lots of dried parsley and six boiled eggs. Cook for a final 10 minutes.

7. Serve over white rice with some potato salad.

Garlic brown sugar pork chops

1. Season one side of your bone-in pork chops with garlic salt and black pepper. To a large skillet, add four tablespoons of vegetable oil and lay out three pork chops at a time so you do not overcrowd the pan. Season the pork side down. Season the other side the same way. Sear both sides for about three minutes per side, then remove them to a separate plate.

2. In the same skillet, melt a stick of butter, chop up some fresh garlic, add three tablespoons of brown sugar, and let that cook together. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and let that simmer for a few minutes until it gets kind of foamy.

3. Add in your pork chops, making sure they are coated on both sides in that glaze.

4. Pop the skillet in the 400 F oven for 8 minutes.

5. Serve with mashed potatoes and use the glaze as sauce.

Budget family meals

Give these budget friendly family meals a go and let me know in the comments if your family loved them as much as mine! What are your go-to affordable recipes to feed the entire family? Leave a comment!

Next, check out these 4 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes That My Family Is Loving.