I originally intended on making these Mexican Stuffed Shells from Tricia’s March Menu.  Just not feeling that “unstuffed” or “Mexican” vibe this afternoon.

Ended up making Italian Stuffed Shells.  And a whole lotta ‘em.

And a dairy-free version, too.

Recipe below is the doubled version.  Will make at least 2 9×13 pans.  And costs just over $10! Got another meal stashed into the freezer!

And I need to include this.  I only ate 4 of these.  Because that’s all that my teeny-tiny stomach would allow.  I totally would have had 8. Or 10. Maybe even 12!  They were THAT good.

Ingredients
2 boxes of jumbo pasta shells ($4) I used about 2/3 of the shells, so you could get by just cooking 1 1/2 boxes.
2 26 oz. cans spaghetti sauce ($2) Currently on sale for $1/can.
1 box frozen spinach ($.50) These guys are regularly on sale for $1 and use $1/2 coupon.
1.5 lb. ground beef ($2.09) On sale recently for $1.39/lb!
1 medium onion ($.30)
2 tsp garlic powder ($.10)
1 tsp each salt and pepper
2 eggs ($.20)
2 cups shredded cheese ($1.25) Omit if dairy free

Tonight’s Veggie: 2 Broccoli heads ($.50) On sale for $.99 a bunch this week!

Directions
1. In large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

2. Spread 1/2 – 1 cup spaghetti sauce into base of each baking dish.

3. Cook frozen spinach as directed on package.  Drain excess liquid after cooking.

4. In large skillet, brown the ground beef with chopped onion. Drain, rinse and return to skillet.  Add the rest of the spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Stir in the spinach.

Here is where I divided the meat into 2 parts.  One part dairy-free.  The other part with cheese.

5. To each meat, stir in 1 egg.

6. To meat sauce with dairy, stir in 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

7. Spoon meat into pasta shells and place into baking dishes.  (If making dairy free and ones with dairy, use separate baking dishes!)

8. Sprinkle cheese over the ones that contain cheese in the meat sauce.

9. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

10. Prepare veggie as side dish. Tonight for us, it was steamed broccoli!  Steam broccoli in stovetop steamer, or in microwaveable dish with water and covered in plastic wrap for 4-5 minutes.

11. Serve Italian Stuffed Shells with Steamed Broccoli.  Freeze the rest for later!

Cost $10.44 plus veggies

**This easily made 2 dinners plus 2 lunch leftovers for us!

I doubled this meal and then froze it in 2 parts: Few dinner portions without cheese.  Another few portions with cheese.

After seeing the pasta box on the counter, my oldest asked, “Are we having macaroni for dinner?”

I replied, “Yeah, but this is Taco Macaroni.”

To which he responded, “Yum. Tac-aroni!”

Clever, huh?

Not sure how to pronounce this…Listen below.

Little stinker…trying to tell you we were having spinach!

I made this Taco Mac recipe from Stolen Moments Cooking “as is”…meaning no modifications, other than no cheese for the boys!  Great meal Kate!!!

*Note: Recipe below is for a single meal.  I doubled the below recipe to have enough to freeze.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni Use rice pasta for a gluten-free meal!
1 1/2 c. beef stock or broth
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 c. frozen corn
1 c. shredded cheese

2 cups frozen greens beans

Directions
1. Brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Stir in seasonings.
2. Add noodles, stock, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender, about 15 – 20 minutes.
3. Stir in corn until heated through. Top with cheese and serve.
4. Cook green beans as indicated by package instructions.
5. Serve Tac-aroni with Green Beans.

Jeannine emailed this great gluten free Black Eyed Pea Casserole recipe to me a few weeks ago and I knew we had to try it! It’s not dairy free, but the cheese could certainly be omitted, or just added to individual servings!  And although we are not eating entirely gluten free at the moment, I do try to keep the gluten to a minimum! 

It’s so easy to get in a rut or feel like “there’s nothing to cook” when dealing with food allergies and tolerances. I enjoy trying new GF and dairy free versions of recipes like this one!

And Jeannine suggests adding a dollop of sour cream to each serving!

Ingredients
1 cup dried black-eyed peas, cooked and drained ($.50)
1 lb ground beef ($1.39)
1/2 yellow medium onion ($.15)
1/2 green pepper, diced ($.25) I diced quite a few and froze them when they were on sale for $.50!
1 cup white rice ($.20)
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic ($.67)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded ($.60) Omit if dairy free!
1 tsp garlic powder ($.05)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 heads broccoli ($.79)
Leftover cornbread from last night

Directions
1. Soak the black eyed peas in bowl of HOT water for at least 2 hours, or ideally, overnight.  Drain soaking water, rinse and add to large saucepan with 6-8 cups of water.  (The peas should be covered by at least 2 inches.)  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1-1.5 hours.  In a time crunch? Substitute with 2 15 oz. cans of black eyed peas. When beans are soft, drain cooking liquid and place black eyed peas into 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. In small saucepan, cook 1 cup of rice in 2 1/2 cups of water.  Bring water to boil, add rice and return to boil.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Fluff with fork and then add 1 1/2 cup to the glass baking dish with the black eyed peas.  (I saved the leftover cup for tomorrow’s breakfast: Rice Pudding!)
3. In medium saucepan, brown ground beef with chopped onion.  Drain, rinse and add to 9×13-inch baking dish with the black eyed peas and rice. Add un drained canned tomatoes, shredded cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir together.
4. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese melts and sauce bubbles. Season each serving with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Steam broccoli in stovetop steamer or in microwavable bowl covered with plastic wrap for 4-5 minutes.
6. Serve Black Eyed Pea Casserole with Steamed Broccoli and leftover Cornbread.

Cost $4.60

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Kristie sent me this super easy and “throw together” recipe for Bachelor Stew.

• 1 lb ground beef (Kroger had it for 1.97/lb where I live)
• 1 can of Vegetable Soup
• 1 can of Ranch Style Beans ($.79)
• 1 box of Corn Bread ($.44)

1. Cook the meat in a large pot then drain. Dump in the soup and beans, mix together, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. When I make the cornbread I throw in a bit of sugar when mixing to add a bit of sweetness.

Since the cans of vegetable soups that I checked out all had potatoes (which my oldest is allergic to!), I decided to forgo using the can and just add some frozen veggies in with some canned tomatoes to give the same flavor.  And I used some frozen pinto beans from a big batch instead, added a dash of salsa and we’ll call them Ranch Style Beans!

Here is my “mommy-fied” Bachelor Stew.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef ($1.39) On sale this week!
1/2 small yellow onion ($.15)
1 tsp garlic powder ($.05)
Salt and pepper
1 celery stalk, chopped, about 1 cup ($.10)
1 cup frozen peas and carrots ($.33)
1 1/2 cup pinto beans ($.15)
8 green beans (the last from the garden) Substitute with 1 cup frozen green beans
1 can stewed tomatoes ($.66)
1 can tomato paste ($.19) Used coupon!
1 cup salsa ($.50)

Cornbread:
1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal ($.50)
1/2 cup flour ($.10)
1 Tbsp baking powder ($.05)
2 Tbsp sugar ($.05)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp canola oil ($.10)
2 eggs ($.20)
1 cup milk ($.10) Use rice milk to stay dairy-free!

Make a gluten free version of the cornbread for GF meal.

Butter ($.20)
Honey ($.30)

Directions
1. In large saucepan, brown ground beef with chopped onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Drain and rinse. Return to saucepan.
2. Add the remaining soup ingredients to the ground beef plus 2 cups of water. Stir together and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
3. While simmering, make the cornbread. Preheat oven to 400 and grease an 8×8-inch baking dish.
4. In mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, powder and salt. Whisk in the oil, eggs and milk until batter forms. Pour into greased baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 16-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Serve hot with butter and honey.
5. Serve Bachelor Stew with Cornbread.

Cost $5.12 with LOTS of leftovers!

I’ve waited as long as I can.

I just had to go and pull the carrots!!!

Here’s what I pulled from 3 squares in the garden.  There were some itty-bittys (that I ended up munching on), and some larger ones that I threw into the slow cooker with tonight’s dinner.  (Final garden update coming this weekend)

Sweet, crisp and simply delicious!

Tonight’s dinner is a simple beef roast with carrots from the garden, celery and some spices.  I plan to strain and save the juices for beef stock.

I bought a 2.4 lb. top round roast when it was on sale for $1.99/lb (reg. $3.99/lb) a few weeks ago.  I let it thaw in the fridge and then added it to the slow cooker after breakfast.  Easy as that! 

And since we can’t/won’t eat 2.4 lbs of beef in one meal, I plan to use half for this meal and the other half soon!

Ingredients
1 2.4 lb. beef roast ($4.77/2=$2.38)
Carrots from the garden (free) Substitute 2-3 carrots sticks
2 celery stalks ($.20)
Garlic salt
Pepper
Handful green beans (free from the garden)
2 potatoes (for the Hubs and I) ($.30)
1 large sweet potato (for the boys…oldest is allergic to potatoes!) ($.45)
Butter/margarine for potatoes ($.20)
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Place 1/2 cup of water in the base of the slow cooker. (I like to do this to dilute out the juices for saving them as beef stock.) Place beef roast into the slow cooker. Add carrots and chopped celery around the beef. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Set slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours.
2. Wash and snap off ends of green beans. Steam in stovetop steamer or saucepan with 1/2 cup of water for 4-5 minutes.
3. Bake (or microwave) potatoes and sweet potatoes. Vent with fork or cut slits with knife. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until soft. Cooking time will depend on thickness of potatoes. To microwave, vent in same way and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until soft all the way through.
4. Serve sliced Beef Roast with Garden Carrots, Green Beans and Baked Potatoes.

Cost $3.54

Starting next week, I’ll start to highlight the $5 Dinners that you all have been making in your kitchens! You all have come up with some stellar meals, and I can’t wait to share them!!!

Ingredients
About 1 lb. ground chuck ($1.67) On sale this week for $1.67/lb!!!
1/2 yellow onion, chopped ($.15)
6 cups of water
1 cup pasta noodles ($.15) Still using up my $.50 boxes of pasta!
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.59)
2 carrot sticks, peeled and diced ($.20)
1 celery stalk, diced ($.10)
1 green pepper, seeded and diced (from the garden)
1 red pepper, seeded and diced (from a friend’s garden!) Thanks!!!
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ($.75) I omitted this part to keep the soup dairy free, but think it would be a great addition!
2 tsp Italian seasonings ($.10)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large butternut squash ($1.11) On sale for $.49/lb the other week!
1 mini French loaf ($.20) This is the last of my manager’s special loaf breads!
Butter and jam ($.20)

Directions
1. Cook butternut squash.
2. In a large saucepan, brown the ground chuck with the chopped onion. Drain and return to saucepan.
3. To the ground chuck, add water, diced tomatoes, diced carrots, diced celery, diced peppers, and the Italian seasonings. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, and then add the pasta. Cook for another 10-15 minutes and reduce heat to low until its time to serve. (Don’t let the soup “sit” too long on the stove, as the pasta will overcook and get mushy!)
4. Slice and warm bread and serve with butter and jam.
5. Serve Beefy Mac Soup with Butternut Squash and slices of French bread.

Cost $4.46 without the cheese, $5.21 with the cheese! 

Want healthy and inexpensive meal ideas, the hottest coupons and other money saving tips delivered to your inbox??? Sign up for the FREE $5 Dinners Email Newsletter!

__________________________________________________

Have a Frugal and Healthy Recipe to share?

Post the recipe on your blog and then add the link below. Other guidelines can be found here. To make it easy for other readers to find your recipe, please leave the link that leads directly to your recipe post. Any links that lead to your homepage will be deleted. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to leave your recipe in the comments section!

This was the perfect meal to come home to after an afternoon adventure/walk to the park!  It was just cold enough outside to be chilly, but not so cold that we didn’t enjoy ourselves!  Arriving home to this soup was lovely! 

Warmed our tummies right up!

Here is the “doubled” version of the recipe!  The total cost is not under $5…but since it is two meals worth…we divide by 2 and the overall cost is well below $5 per meal.  The other half is going into the freezer!

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil ($.20)
1.7 lb. stew beef ($4.77) 2 packages both purchased on Manager’s Special
10 cups water
4 large carrots, peeled and diced ($.40)
4 stalks celery, diced ($.20)
1 onion, chopped ($.30)
2 cups frozen Italian style green beans ($.50) On sale for $1/4 cups last week!1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.59)
2 tsp rice or white vinegar ($.05)
1 5 oz. bottle A1 steak sauce ($.29) Used $2 coupon to buy the bottle!
2 cups brown rice ($.80)

Served with garlic toast ($.50) Used “reduced for quick sale” mini French loaves I had in the freezer.  Plus butter/margarine/dairy-free margarine and garlic powder/salt. Omit bread or serve alternative if GF.

Directions
1. In large pot, heat the oil. Add the stew meat and sear/brown on all sides to seal in the juices. Once the meat has browned, add 10 cups of water.

2. Add diced carrots, diced celery, chopped onion, diced tomatoes and brown rice. Add vinegar and bottle of A1 steak sauce. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer over medium heat for 50-60 minutes, or until rice is tender.

3. Slice French loaf bread and butter and sprinkle with garlic powder and salt (or garlic salt.)  Place on baking sheet in oven at 350 and “toast” for 4-5 minutes.
4. Serve A1 Beef Stew with Garlic Bread.

Cost $7.51 for the double batch of stew…$4.28 for our meal tonight.

This uses the sauce in  this recipe from All Recipes that I originally found here at Once a Month Mom. 

Basically, I just made the sauce and poured it over a beef roast, instead of chicken, in the slow cooker.  Time to prep: 2 minutes. 

Served with some baked sweet potatoes. Time to prep: 2 minutes.

And some steamed green beans from the garden (they keep coming and coming and coming…) Time to prep: 5 minutes.

Seriously, a very hands off meal to prepare!  Just needs time in the slow cooker and in the oven!

(Oh, and the other half of the beef roast went into the freezer!)

Ingredients
2.2 lb. beef roast ($5.15 divided by 2 = $2.60)
1 cup BBQ sauce (free) This was the last of my free BBQ sauce! Bought with $1 coupon when on sale for $1.
1/2 cup Italian dressing ($.10) Bought the bottle for $.49 this week!
2 Tbsp brown sugar ($.02)
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce ($.05)
3 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 lbs.) ($1.32) Bought for $.88/lb…these will be MUCH cheaper in the coming months.
1-2 tsp cinnamon ($.05)
Butter or margarine, if you prefer! We don’t.
Green Beans (from the garden)

Directions
1. Place beef roast in the slow cooker.
2. In small bowl, whisk together BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce. Pour over the beef roast. Set slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours.
3. Cut slits into sweet potatoes. Place in glass baking dish with 1/4 inch of water and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft and cooked through. Cooking time can vary depending on thickness of the sweet potatoes. Serve with some sprinkles of cinnamon and butter/margarine if you prefer.
4. Wash and cut stems from green beans. Steam in stovetop steamer, or in microwavable dish with water, covered in plastic.
5. Serve Zesty BBQ Beef Roast with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans.

Cost $4.14

Today is Thursday.  That means I’m doubling up the dinner recipe and putting half in the freezer!  I plan to do this every Thursday until baby boy #3 arrives.  I chose Thursday because its my “lightest” day and I can spend some extra time in the kitchen.

This recipe from Carrie at Carrie’s Cooking called for a ground beef, green peppers and onions mix…so I decided that I’d kill 2 birds with 1 stone and brown up some extra ground beef mix and freeze it for an easy spaghettti sauce or a skillet dinner post-baby…or even pre-baby!!!  And what’s even more perfect…green peppers were on sale (their lowest price around here!) for $.50 each this week! 

So tonight I was able to get an extra meal, plus 6 portions of ready-made ground beef mix into the freezer!

The recipe below is the “single” dinner recipe for 4.  I noted the freezer directions below as well.

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef ($1.39)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped ($.15)
1 green bell pepper, diced ($.50)
1 cup frozen corn, thawed ($.33) On sale for $1/16 oz bag this week!
1 15 oz can tomato sauce ($.59)
2 teaspoons chili powder ($.05)
1 teaspoon garlic powder ($.05)
1 teaspoon ground cumin ($.05)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup dried black beans ($.10) Bought on sale with coupon and store promotion!
8 burrito size flour tortillas ($.69) Bought on sale with coupon and store promotion!
2 cups of  shredded Mexican cheese blend (Omit if dairy free!) ($.85) Bought on sale with Kroger store coupon!
1 tablespoon butter or dairy free margarine, melted ($.10)
Shredded lettuce ($.20)
1 tomato, diced (From the garden)

**Note: CVS brand spices are on sale this week!

**Variation: Substitute tomato sauce and spices for a 10 oz. can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies…new coupon available here!

Directions
1. Soak beans overnight or for at least 2 hours in HOT water.  Drain, rinse and then add to saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium.  Cook for 1.5 - 2 hours, or until beans are soft.  Drain juices. Substitute 1 15 oz. can of black beans if prefer.
2. Brown the ground beef with green pepper, onion and corn.  Drain.
3. Stir in the tomato sauce and chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, allowing flavors time to mingle.  Add cooked black beans.

4. Lay the tortillas flat and spread the meat and bean mixture onto each of the tortillas. Top with shredded cheese.
5. Roll up the tortillas, and place them seam-side down onto a baking sheet.  Brush the tortillas with melted butter.
6. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes, or until tortillas turn golden brown.
7. Serve Beef and Bean Chimichangas with Lettuce and Tomato Salad.

For the Freezer: After rolling up the tortillas place in freezer safe container and place in freezer. When ready to cook defrost in refrigerator overnight, then brush with melted butter and bake as directed above.

Cost $5.05

Stuffed What???

I came across these funky little vegetables called “Q Balls”. They are a small round zucchini-like vegetable. And it seemed only fitting to scoop out the seeds and stuff them! I combined the leftover beef and zucchini mixture with some bread, seasonings, cheese (for the adults) and stuffed. And then baked!

Ingredients
4 “Q Balls” or small zucchini ($2) From the farmer’s market $.50 each…more details on that adventure next week!
Leftover Beef and Zucchini mixture ($1.25)
2 heels from the bread loaf ($.05)
1 green tomato (from the garden) I thought this would give it a nice tangy taste!
1 tsp Italian seasoning ($.05)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese ($.15)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese ($.20) On sale with Kroger mailer coupon!
2 large heads broccoli ($.74) On sale this week
Leftover pasta from Tuesday ($.50)

Directions
1. Cut off tops of “Q Balls” and scoop out the insides.

2. Combine ground beef/zucchini mixture with bread cubes, diced green tomato, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese (omit if dairy free!).  Stuff into “Q balls”.  Over stuff, as it will shrink some when baking.

3. Place in glass baking dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Add mozzarella cheese to the tops and bake another 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
4. Steam broccoli in stovetop steamer, or in microwavable bowl covered with plastic for 4-5 minutes.
5. Serve Stuffed “Q Balls” with Steamed Broccoli and Pasta.

Cost $4.94