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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!

Instant Pot Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Recipe

October 1, 2019 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

Your favorite flavors of fall blended with steel cut oats, cooked to perfection in this Instant Pot Oatmeal recipe! Around our house, we made a.l.o.t. of oatmeal in the Instant Pot. It's our preferred "breakfast" cooked in the Instant Pot, except it's not usually eaten for breakfast. It's usually the "2nd dinner" option for the boys. You see, I can start the Instant Pot … [Read more...]

30+ Soft or Crunchy Lunchbox Ideas for Your Sensory or Anxious Child

July 20, 2019 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 1 Comment

  If you have an anxious child or a "sensory kid" and are struggling with lunchbox ideas, you have landed in the right place.  My name is Erin Chase and I am a mom of four boys. Two of them are "sensory kids" and one is an anxious kid. They are different and similar in so many ones, but one of them landed himself in feeding therapy as a young toddler. I learned so … [Read more...]

Watermelon-Mint Popsicles

June 1, 2019 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

Homemade popsicles just got a little easier to make! No freezing, no mixing, no blending, no waiting. Well, maybe a little waiting...but not much! There isn't anything more refreshing in the summer than popsicles, especially homemade ones with fresh fruit. This busy mom is short on time and these watermelon-mint pops are a great way to enjoy homemade popsicles in a … [Read more...]

Pico Guacamole

October 5, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 1 Comment

I think I can say with 99% confidence that I have some kind of avocado every day. Sometimes it's on a salad, sometimes I just add some lemon juice and scoop it right out of the skin, and sometimes I inhale an entire bowl of guacamole! (For real.) I don't know what it is about avocados, but we get along really well! ;) Recently, I made up a simple homemade guacamole … [Read more...]

Make Ahead Smoothie Packs

July 28, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 1 Comment

One. Step. Ahead. That's my mantra when it comes my family's "hunger management." When feeding 4 boys and a husband on a daily basis, you have to be prepared - with fast, simple, delicious and nutritious "grab and go" options for all meals of the day. (If you haven't heard, I'm a freezer meals queen too - so much so that we built this to make freezer meals as easy as … [Read more...]

31 Days of 5-Ingredient Meals

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

REPOST: This is a repost onto the blog of the super popular 31 Days of 5-Ingredient Meals series. I've been giddy excited to share these recipes in this month's series with you because..... I'm busy. I need quick and simple meals. I need easy to make meals. I need meals without a ton of crazy ingredients. I need new ideas. I'm stuck in a dinner … [Read more...]

Triple Berry Smoothie Bowl

May 7, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 1 Comment

Why are smoothie bowls such a thing?! Why am I still posting them? I keep making them...because the boys keep asking for them. And because they are different. And because they are so healthful. And because there is no added sugar. And because they make a sweet treat, delicious breakfast, and filling after school snack. Also, try our Very Berry Parfait Smoothie Bowl and … [Read more...]

Chocolate Almond Smoothie Bowls

April 23, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 1 Comment

Chocolate for breakfast....sure, why not?! This protein packed smoothie bowl is a fantastic way to start the day! Loaded with coconut, almonds (protein) with just the right about of cocoa and sweetener, and your day is off to a great start! This also makes a fantastic "need something to hold me until dinner" afternoon snack, or even dessert. You can add/subtract the … [Read more...]

Mango Tropical Smoothie Bowl

March 26, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

Seriously, my friend. Smoothie bowls are the new "fan favorite" around here! I mentioned how we are making more of these and why, and yes...we are making more and more of these. Tips for Enjoying Smoothie Bowls Use really ripe bananas to increase the natural sweetness. Bonus points: break ripe bananas into smaller chunks and freeze them.  Use mostly, if not … [Read more...]

Very Berry Parfait Smoothie Bowl

March 12, 2018 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Leave a Comment

very berry parfait smoothie bowl

We love smoothies around here and recently, we've switched to eating more smoothie bowls...and here's why. We have 2 boys who take "powder supplements" for various reasons, including Charlie who recently gave himself "kissing bone bruises" in his left knee. He hasn't been able to walk for 2 weeks now and we're looking at months of recovery. I did some research on natural … [Read more...]

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