Holiday To-Do List Already Starting to Stress You Out?! What if you could prep SIX 5-Ingredient freezer meals in 30 minutes...before the holiday chaos begins?!? I'm Erin Chase and I'm here to show you how... Join me the week of NOVEMBER 1st for a few days of tips and tricks that will help you breeze through this meal prep! Each day throughout the Deck … [Read more...]
What’s Trending on Instagram
Are you following me over on Instagram? I have a fun community over there where I share a lot of Reels demonstrating cooking hacks and cooking tips. Which insta are you following? I thought it would be fun to share what photos, reels, and videos are trending on our Instagram profiles once a month! These are your current favorites. Are you following all of our accounts? … [Read more...]
You Can Drive!! Happy 16th Birthday to $5 Dinners!
"MOM, when do I get my driver's license?" If the blog could talk... 16 short years ago I started this little blog thing here and named it $5 Dinners. I needed to lower our grocery budget and I needed to feed my people. So I started sharing all the recipes and things I was learning along the way. Here we are, 16 years later...in a similar economic climate as back … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Back to School Recipes List
Freezer Friendly Dinners, Lunchbox Ideas, School Snacks, Make-Ahead Smoothies and On-the-Go Breakfasts! It's that time of year again. The craving for routines returns. The school supply shopping, shoe shopping and new clothes shopping takes over. You spend more money than you want to, even with braving the crowds on tax-free weekend. And you STILL HAVE TO FEED … [Read more...]
“What am I going to do with my kids all summer?!” – 10 Solutions and a Printable Summer Activities at Home List
Are you starting to panic about summer activities at home? Worried that your kids will be staring at your face or at a screen for the next three months? In an effort to stop the "I'm booooooooored!" grumbling before it starts, I've been researching all things summer activities and wanted to share a few options and ideas that I have on my list with you! Summer … [Read more...]
NEW COOKBOOKS: Feeding Teenage Boys on a Budget + Teen Cuisine
Introducing Erin Chase's latest cookbook about feeding teenagers on a budget, plus the companion mini-cookbook that will teach your teens how to cook scrumptious recipes with "Shorts" videos! The idea for this cookbook came to me about 15 years ago...in a booth at a lunch in NYC with my cookbook editor. And the time to share it with you is now... So, yes...this is … [Read more...]
Erin’s “What I Like Right Now” List
Things I'm Crushing On (And Using All the Time) This Month Holiday 2023 FAVES … [Read more...]
VIRAL: Beef Ravioli Bake
I think Ravioli Bakes might be my new favorite dinner. I don't know why...they just seem so easy. Well, they are easy. The ravioli doesn't take any pre-cooking. You just add it into the dish, pour the sauce (in this case a beefy-spaghetti sauce) over the top, then pile on as much cheese as your waistline can handle. ;) Then, bake. And you end up with this. Now, there … [Read more...]
CHALLENGE: 5-Ingredient Freezer Meal Plan
How to prepare SIX meals in LESS THAN 30 MINUTES with this 5-Ingredient Meal Plan! I don't know about you, but it makes my heart happy when a recipe only needs a handful of ingredients. And when they are "normal" ingredients, too! You know what I'm talking about. Ingredients you often have in your kitchen, and are commonly found at a typical grocery store. So I made a … [Read more...]
Guacamole with Street Corn
If I started keeping track, I imagine I eat an avocado or guacamole at least 5 times a week. Sometimes I get guacamole at my fave tex-mex restaurant, sometimes I make my own, sometimes I get it on top of a Chipotle salad, sometimes I just scoop it right out of the skin with a little lemon juice and salt. I'm always looking to mix things up and keep the guacamole "fresh" and … [Read more...]
Erin’s Recipes from Big Bad Budget Battle
Get the Recipes Erin Cooked on Food Network's Big Bad Budget Battle WELCOME to my Big Bad Budget Battle Besties! I'm so glad you're here and I can't wait to connect with you and further help you on your journey to spending less money on groceries and cooking well on a budget. I am beyond tickled by the concept of the show, the opportunity to compete on the show, and … [Read more...]
RE-DESIGNED for YOU: The “20 Meals for $150” Plans
Save TIME, MONEY, and MORE with these amazing 20 Meals for $150 Plans! ELATED. ECSTATIC. STOKED. That describes how I'm feeling this week, as I re-share this amazing grocery saving and sanity saving resource with you! Many moons ago, I decided to make some updates to the "20 meals for $150" plans. I started creating them in 2013, and it was just time for a … [Read more...]
The Best Ever Make-Ahead Freezer Meals Cookbooks!
If you love getting ahead with dinner prep, and you love cookbooks, these Make-Ahead Freezer Meal Cookbooks are the books for YOU! The Freezer Meal Stereotype Often times when people think of freezer meals, they think of mushy casseroles. Or slow-cooker-only recipes. Or bland, tasteless, freezer burned meals. It is also the assumption that these bland, mushy … [Read more...]
Best Grocery Savings Mobile Apps
Check out the Best Grocery Savings Mobile Apps! These are also Erin's favorites. (She might be a bit biased about the first one!) MyFreezEasy With MyFreezEasy, it really is as easy as 1-2-3. Get organized, choose your recipes, use the shopping list provided, and then follow the instructions to get your make ahead freezer meals into your freezer! You'll save on groceries … [Read more...]
Pumpkin Pie French Toast
Oh my heavens - divine, divine, divine. This Pumpkin Pie French Toast recipe is a MUST TRY in the fall and winter months! I so wish I'd doubled this recipe for Pumpkin Pie French Toast while I was first making it. Tripled, or quadrupled even! These are so scrumptious...perfect for the fall season. It's really simple...you just add some pumpkin puree and spices to … [Read more...]
Mocha Brownies
Before you say it, yes...brownies were dessert of the month in April...just a few short weeks ago. But Caramel Cashew Brownies and these Mocha Brownies are different. Very, very different. I know. I know. This is really an indication that I have a brownie problem. Please. Send help. Brownies anonymous, anyone?! So I served these to a group of ladies last week...and … [Read more...]
Sausage Pancake Muffins
These Sausage Pancake Muffins are Quite Literally The Most PERFECT BALANCE of Sweet and Savory Mix your favorite pancake mix with water and maple syrup-y sweetness, with some savory browned sausage and red bell peppers. Add a large pinchful of cheese to the batter, then combine and add to the muffin tins. Bake and enjoy! Sausage Pancake Muffins The best … [Read more...]
PRIME BIG DEAL DAYS – Your HQ For Best Deals and Savings!
Get the Best Deals on Bestsellers and Food in October's Prime Big Deal Days on Amazon On October 8 & 9, Amazon is throwing another BIG DEAL DAYS! I'm watching prices closely for items we need and consumer regularly, as well as checking to get the best prices. I do have a handful of holiday related items and gifts on my wish list, so I'll be checking prices for those … [Read more...]
Fall Charcuterie Board with Maple Mustard Dip
Toss together this easy and affordable Fall Charcuterie Board for your gatherings this Autumn season. Grab some charcuterie board staples like cold cuts, cheese slices and crackers, and then fill in around those with whatever yummy Fall items you can find at your store - both sweet and savory. I grabbed a number of cute seasonal items from Trader Joes and this … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Save Money When You Buy & Brown Ground Beef in Bulk
I Browned 8 lbs. of Ground Beef and Made These 6 Meals - Learn How to Brown Large Batches of Ground Beef & Freeze to Use Later VIDEO: Save Money When You Buy & Brown Ground Beef in Bulk Perfectly Seasoned Ground Beef Recipe Use these 2 common spices to make perfectly seasoned browned ground beef recipes that works perfectly for most recipes that call … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Make Any Flavor Overnight Oats with This Formula
Use this Formula to Make Any Overnight Oats with Freeze Dried Fruit, Spices and More With this formula, you can mix and match liquids, mix-ins, and spices to make the perfect batch of Overnight Oats. VIDEO: Make Any Flavor Overnight Oats with this Formula Overnight Oats Formula Make any flavor of overnight oats with this formula 2 cups rolled … [Read more...]
Apple Spice Dump Cake
This 3-Ingredient Apple Spice Dump Cake will be your go-to dessert this fall! All you need is 3-ingredients and you have an entire pan of dump cake ready to wow your family and friends. Most dump cakes call for white or yellow cake mix, but for this one you will use the spice cake mix. The spices mixed into the flour blend are PERFECT COMPLEMENT to the apple … [Read more...]
VIDEO: How to Cook a “Pie Pumpkin” to Make Pumpkin Puree
Learn How to Cook a "Pie Pumpkin" in the Slow Cooker and Instant Pot to Get Pumpkin Puree for Your Holiday Baking! I spotted a great deal on the cute little "pie pumpkins" that are grown to make the Pumpkin Puree that is used in holiday cooking and baking. I grabbed 4 of the pumpkins so that I could cook 2 in the Instant Pot and 2 in the Slow Cooker. While they … [Read more...]
Make One, Freeze One Ravioli Bakes
When it comes to dinner every penny counts! Find great ingredients to make a $5 Dinner like these Ravioli Bakes at Dollar General. I am always on the hunt for the most affordable, best quality ingredients to make dinner every night. And I love the challenge of mixing and matching ingredients and prices to get the most bang for my food budget buck. As I continue my own … [Read more...]