I get asked frequently about seafood and how to use it to make a $5 Dinner. And to be quite honest, it’s tough.
The key is getting the seafood for a rock bottom price…or combining it with another protein to keep overall meal costs down (like doing a mix of chicken pieces and shrimp in a jambalaya type dish.) I often find that seafood deals are unadvertised or can be found hiding within the pages of the store circular. Always keep your eyes peeled.
(Pun intended.)
But when incorporating seafood into your inexpensive meal plan, it certainly helps to pair it with really inexpensive ingredients like brown rice (bought in bulk) and other simple vegetable or side dish.
(If you’re not sure how to cook rice, I recommend these tips!)
This dinner is a simple “starch, veggie, protein” kind of meal…with just enough flavor to keep everyone’s taste buds happy!
We enjoyed this with some “pre-cut” green beans in a steamer bag that were on manager’s special for $.89. Along with the brown rice and salmon, it was as close to $5 as we’re gonna get when using salmon. Other seafood like tilapia, shrimp, and cod can be found for around $3 per pound…making a $5 dinner totally doable.
Do you have a favorite inexpensive seafood recipe or meal idea? We’d love for you to share it!
Peppered Salmon over Brown Rice
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 5 minutes
Cooking Time – 45 minutes for rice, 20 minutes for salmon
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice ($.60) (See how to bake brown rice in the oven here.)
- 3/4 – 1 lb. salmon fillets ($4.99)
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp minced onion ($.05)
- 1 tsp minced garlic ($.05)
- Salt
- Veggie (green beans for us) ($.89)
Directions
- Cook the brown rice as directed. (Takes about 45 minutes, so give yourself enough time.)
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Place the salmon fillet skin side down in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle the black pepper, minced onion and garlic and a few pinchfuls of salt over the fillet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Prepare veggies.
- Serve Peppered Salmon with side of veggies and brown rice.
Cost $6.58
Disclosure
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