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$5 Dinners | Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals

Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, Freezer Meals and Cooking Tutorials for the Busy Home Chef

Deck the Freezer in 2025!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Instant Oatmeal Mix

January 6, 2025 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

Eating Gluten Free Can be Expensive and It's Important to Look for Easy Hacks and Ways to Save As Much As Possible - Making Instant Oatmeal Mix Can Help Stretch Those Gluten Free Dollars! My youngest eats 100% gluten-free due to severe food allergies. I'm always on the hunt for ways to hack the costs of eating exclusively gluten-free and most recently, I've been tackling … [Read more...]

Sloppy Joe Mac n Cheese

September 20, 2021 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

Two kid favorites, cooked together in the same skillet - your family will love this Sloppy Joe Mac n Cheese!  We ADORE this recipe and we hope you will too!  It's sloppy joe, mixed with pasta, evaporated milk and cheddar cheese. And it's the PERFECT weeknight dinner for your hungry crew.  I've got some picts below to show you how to make it! … [Read more...]

Quarantine Cake – A Yummy Twist on Depression Cake

April 27, 2020 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 2 Comments

Depression Cake became popular when ingredients were scarce during the Great Depression. Quarantine Cake became popular because we have all these ingredients and need chocolate. :P  An egg-less and milk-less cake was first made popular during the Great Depression when cake, milk and even flour were very difficult to come by.  During this season of social … [Read more...]

ROUNDUP: 13 Best Baked Oatmeal Recipes

March 31, 2020 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

When Oatmeal and Cake Gets Together and Has a Baby...You End Up With the Best Baked Oatmeal!!! That's right - it's like an oatmeal cake. And you MUST TRY IT!!!  It's a hearty, filling, and delicious baked oatmeal that will fill up even the hungriest of bellies.  Here on $5 Dinners, we believe in making every meal of the day affordable and simple. And Baked … [Read more...]

Homemade Sloppy Joe Mix

September 9, 2019 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 25 Comments

You likely have the ingredients needed to make this homemade sloppy joe mix and sauce in your fridge and pantry!  We make A LOT of sloppy joe type meals around our house and over time, I've developed this delicious homemade mix of spices to use to make my own homemade sloppy joe sauce.  It's a mix of common pantry spices, that get stirred in with ground beef, … [Read more...]

How to Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot

March 27, 2019 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

Learn to Cook PERFECT Brown Rice in the Instant Pot Brown rice can be a bear to cook on the stovetop. It doesn't always cook evenly, it takes a full hour, and it sometimes leaves a "crusted" layer on the bottom of the pot. Well - you don't have to worry about any of those things anymore. Enter "Instant Pot Brown Rice." It cooks and fluffs perfectly - in a fraction of the … [Read more...]

Pesto Meatballs

April 18, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

What a delightful pop of Italian flavor in these meatballs! Just mix the pesto right into the meatball mix, along with some Parmesan cheese and other meatball-mixins. And you end up with a lovely combo of flavors to go with your pasta and marinara sauce. Spaghetti or spaghetti and meatballs is such a wonderful weeknight dinner - a regular staple in many homes. And adding … [Read more...]

Multi-Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Chili

March 15, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

So much delicious flavor. I'm just going to leave this one with you. But first. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact you can use the multi-cooker to brown ground beef and make the chili in the SAME POT. Seriously, it's the little things like that this just make life in the kitchen a smidge more manageable ;) Also, be sure to note how and when the shredded cheese and … [Read more...]

Instant Pot Hamburger Helper

January 5, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 3 Comments

Hamburger Helper in the Instant Pot!?!? You better believe it!  There are a couple of ways to accomplish this, so pay close attention... This is a meaty-spin on the Instant Pot Macaroni and was inspired by one of our MyFreezEasy members. With this macaroni made in the instant pot, you just add some ground beef and whatever spices you want to get in there … [Read more...]

Sloppy Joe Biscuits

November 13, 2017 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

sloppy joe biscuits

A simple twist on a family favorite! Sloppy Joes are a popular dinner at our house, and I know in many other homes too. They are fast to prepare, easy to cook and in general are well loved by kids and adults. Next time you make them, serve the sloppy-meat on flaky, butter biscuits instead of hamburger buns. Another reason that I love this meal is that it's freezer … [Read more...]

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