How to Make 5 Dollar Tree Meals With Just $5

First I went to Dollar Tree to purchase my ingredients. I got a 7-ounce sausage chub, and a bag of stir fry, frozen mixed vegetables. I also bought a package of 12 tortillas and an adobo burrito bowl kit. The kit comes with cilantro lime rice, adobo seasoning, and a pouch of mild white queso.

I did not use any freebies in this challenge. That means I’m not adding ingredients that I have around the house. I’m not even going to use salt or pepper. The truth is there really wasn’t any need for it anyways because the ingredients in the burrito bowl kit are well-flavored. It comes with an adobo seasoning mix which is a little spicy. For those of you who are sensitive to spice, just keep that in mind.

I cooked the rice according to the instructions on the package. I added a little bit of water to the queso because it was very thick. I also separated and chopped the veggies a little differently for each meal to add a little variety. I even opened the green beans and separated the peas to use them for two different dishes.

1. Sausage and rice lasagna

I took 3 tablespoons of sausage and fried it up well. Then I added ⅓ cup of mixed vegetables and ⅓ cup of rice. I added in a teaspoon of the adobo seasoning and stirred it all together in the frying pan.

Then I started layering my tortillas. I cut two tortillas up into quarters. I put one piece of tortillas on the pan and put some of the stir-fried mix on top. I drizzled some queso sauce and added another piece of tortillas.

I continued to layer on tortillas, stir fry, and queso until I used up all of the ingredients for that meal. I let it brown in the frying pan and flipped it over to brown it on the other side. I drizzled a little extra sauce over the top for presentation and some extra flavor.

2. Adobo rice quesadillas

For this recipe, I took 2 tablespoons of sausage and fried that up. I added ⅓ cup of peppers and green beans. I added ½ cup of rice and a teaspoon of the adobo seasoning. Once everything was cooked through, I set that aside.

Then I put my tortilla in the frying pan. I spread the cooked mixture on the tortilla and drizzled some queso sauce over it. I place another tortilla on top.

Once the bottom tortilla started to brown I used a spatula to flip it to let it brown on the other side. When it was done I put it on a plate and used a pizza slicer to cut it into quarters to make it easier to pick up and eat.

3. Stir-fried tortilla noodles

For this meal, I am using tortillas as if they were noodles. In order to do that I took three tortillas and used my pizza cutter to slice them into strips. You can make them into any noodle shape you like.

I set those aside and started to fry up 3 tablespoons of sausage. I added ¼ cup of water, a teaspoon of adobo seasoning, and ½ a cup of vegetables. I put the tortilla noodles in too. Then I mixed everything up as it cooked. I used a fork when mixing to prevent the noodles from clumping together.

4. Sausage and rice stuffed enchiladas

I took 3 tablespoons of sausage and started cooking that. I added ½ a cup of water and a teaspoon of the adobo seasoning. I added ⅓ of a cup of vegetables. For this recipe, I used a mix of broccoli and green beans. I added in about 2 tablespoons of queso sauce. Lastly, I added ½ a cup of rice and let that all cook together, and then set it aside.

Then I took my tortilla and spooned about two or three tablespoons of the mixture into each tortilla. I rolled up each tortilla into an enchilada shape and put them into the skillet. I made 4 enchiladas and poured some queso sauce over the tops. I put a lid on the pan and once it was done I plated everything and sprinkled a bit of the seasoning over the top.

5. Stir-fried sausage and veggie rice

I browned about two tablespoons of sausage. I added a cup of rice and 1/3 of a cup of vegetables. For this meal, I used peas and carrots. I added two teaspoons of adobo seasoning and ⅓ of a cup of water. I mixed this all together.

I set that aside and I browned up the last of the tortillas. I cut them into small pieces and let them get nice and crispy. These were great to use as crackers to scoop up the mix. I love a bowl of good stir-fried rice because it helps you use up a lot of random ingredients. 

Dollar Tree meals

I was so pleasantly surprised by how delicious these meals came out. $5 went a long way. I really hope you try to recreate these easy meals for yourself. Leave me a comment and let me know how they came out.