Homemade pizza is a versatile, cheap and easy dinner to make at home.
There is no need to break the budget or deal with fussy meals at dinnertime. Use simple, clean flavors found in the most basic pantry ingredients to make cheap and easy dinners regularly. Planning meals can help minimize the number of visits to the grocery store, which also will minimize spending. There are several options to feed your family of four that require one hour or less to prepare and cost around $10.
Pizza
Do not be intimidated by the thought of making homemade pizza. Pizzas are easy to assemble and budget-friendly. A simple dough recipe contains only five ingredients--flour, salt, water, active dry yeast and olive oil--and you can make it quickly and store for later use. You can also buy a premade crust at the store. Use simple and inexpensive topping options, such as tomato paste, any vegetables on hand, pepperoni, chicken and mozzarella or any other cheese. Choose flavors to fit everyone's tastes. Some pizza ideas are the classic pepperoni and cheese or cheese and vegetables (peppers, spinach and so on). You can also pan-fry and chop chicken breast and for chicken and jalapeno cheese pizza; add a slice of avocado on top for some extra flavor. If you have young children, shave vegetables into the cheese with a cheese grater to make sure they get the proper serving without fighting about it. You can even make a mini-pizza for each family member so no one argues over toppings.
Taco Night
Turn your kitchen into a fiesta with a taco night. Purchase tortillas (hard, soft or both) for a few dollars, plus a few other ingredients: ground beef, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cheese and peppers (as spicy or as mild as you want). Cook the beef in a frying pan and season with salt, chile powder and cumin, or just buy a taco seasoning packet at the store. Chop up the tomatoes, onions and peppers and mix together to make a salsa. Serve buffet-style: let each family member make her own tacos with the tortillas, meat, cheese, salsa, lettuce and any other ingredients you like. If there is room in your budget, add sour cream, rice and beans to the buffet.
Chicken Caesar Salad
Chicken Caesar salad is a classic dish and can be prepared at home in less than half an hour for a few dollars. Pan-fry boneless chicken in butter or oil and season with salt and herbs. Clean and chop some romaine lettuce and toss with Caesar dressing, croutons and pepper. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a squirt of lemon juice. Top with the sliced, cooked chicken. You can spice it up with bit of jalapeno pepper.
Other Tips
For gluten-free folks, amaranth, arrowroot, potato or buckwheat are a few of the flour possibilities available for the pizza. Gluten-free flour does tend to be more costly than regular flour.
For dairy-free eaters, buy non-dairy or vegan cheeses.
The word "organic" can sometimes be misunderstood to mean "expensive." Many organic foods, however, are the same price if not less that non-organic counterparts. Compare prices to assure the best price and the best quality of food.
