Feed A Family Of 4 For $45 Per Week! Cheap Easy Meals Menu Plans (2024)

Feeding your family doesn’t have to be expensive. You can feed a family of 4 for $45 per week! In this post, we share details about how to do it with cheap easy meals!

Cheap Easy Meals – Feed A Family Of 4 For $45 Per Week!

Feeding your family doesn’t have to be expensive. You can cut your grocery bill! The trick is to buy foods on sale and use what you have! You would be amazed at how many people write us wanting to save on their grocery bill, but then throw away 50% of the food they have and don’t even use it! If you want to save on your grocery bill you HAVE to use the food you have!

We have made ameal plan with items you can get at any grocery store. We used sale prices that can be found in most stores in the United States. Hopefully this will give a general idea to get you started. The recipes are below.

Meal Plan for 4 for $45

Breakfast

Oatmeal -.$.25
Muffins -$.40
Cereal -$1.19
Total for Breakfasts-$1.84

Lunches

Mac and cheese -$.50
Peanut butter and jelly-$1.00
Ham sandwiches -$1.50
Leftovers- $0.00

Total for Lunches-$3.00

Snacks

Apples -$2.00
Muffins -$.40
Oatmeal cookies-$.60

Total for snacks-$3.00

Dinners

Slow Cooked Roast Beef Dinner

Roast 6 lbs. – $17.94
Potatoes -$.25
Carrots -$.50
Applesauce-$.50

Total for meal-$19.19

Beef and Noodles Dinner

Beef and Noodles -$1.00
Roasted veggies-$1.00
Canned peaches -$.89

Total for meal – $2.89

LasagnaDinner

Lasagna -$6.67 (leave out cottage cheese or ricotta and just mozzarella to save.)
French Bread -$1.00
Salad -$1.00

Total for meal- $8.67

Stew Dinner

Stew – $.10
Potatoes -S.25
Carrots $.25
Muffins -.40

Total for meal- $1.00

Baked Potato Dinner

Baked Potatoes (Assuming cheese and Sour) $1.00
Total for meal -$1.00

Pan Fried Lemon Chicken

Easy Pan Fried Lemon Chicken Recipe -$3.75
https://www.livingonadime.com/10-easy-pasta-recipes-family/
Cole slaw $1.00

Total for meal- $4.75

Total for all food- $45.24

This slow cooked roast recipe is so delicious and easy that it is one of the most popular recipes in our Dining On A Dime Cookbook!It is versatile and one slow cooked roast can be used to make several different meals to keep pleasing your family day after day!

Delicious Slow Cooked Roast Recipe

1 beef roast, 3-5 lbs.
1 onion, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup (omit for GF and sprinkle with seasoned salt)

Place roast in pan. Pour cream of mushroom soup and onion on top. Cover tightly. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Then turn down to 225 degrees and cook for 15 or more hours; 10 hours for roasts smaller than 3 pounds.

*This recipe is an excellent way to prepare inexpensive roasts. This slow cooked roast recipe makes them so tender they fall off the bone and are almost impossible to lift out of the pan. It is an excellent way to make a delicious meal for Sunday after church or for guests, because it can cook for 2 or 3 hours longer than required without overcooking. Since it is so tender that no meat is left on the bone, you get more for your money. Serves 4.

*Use a meat thermometer to make sure internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.

For lots more quick and easy home cooked recipes,check out ourDining On A Dime Cookbook.

This easy beef and noodles recipe makes a tasty main dish that makes an easy 5 dollar meal and that your family will love!

Easy Beef And Noodles Recipe

1 lb.leftover roast
1/4 cup flour
1 cup water
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 lb. egg noodles, cooked

Mix water and flour in a jar and shake well. Pour into saucepan and boil until it starts to thicken. Add roast. Cook until roast is heated though. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper. Serve over cooked noodles or on toast. Serves 6.

This easy beef and noodles recipe is from our cookbook on page 179.

This stew recipe is a tasty, tummy warming recipe for cool winter days and you can easily use leftovers in places of some of the ingredients. This is a very low cost recipe and is very tasty as written, but you can feel free to modify it to your liking. If you prefer, you can add or take away veggies and if you don’t mind the extra cost, you can add more meat.

Quick And Easy Beef Stew Recipe – Crockpot Beef Stew

1/2 lb. round steak, cubed
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt, (or to taste)
1 tsp. onion salt, (or to taste) or 1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
6 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. cornstarch or flour
2 Tbsp. water

Brown the meat in a large saucepan. Add all of the other ingredients except the vegetables, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Simmer for 1-2 hours until the meat is tender. Add the vegetables and cook for 15-20 minutes, until tender.

Mix the cornstarch into 2 Tbsp. water. Add to the boiling stew and simmer for 15 minutes until thickened. Makes 2 quarts.

This homemade stew recipe is great withcornbreadorNinety-Minute Rolls(p.75).

Easy Baked Potatoes

Virtually everyone loves baked potatoes.With a wide variety of possible toppings, baked potatoes can be a meal all by themselves. Prepare your toppings the night or morning before and you can have a quick and easy dinner.

Have you ever wondered how to bake potatoes? Check out these easy ways to bake potatoes:

• When slowly cooked,baked potatoes have a much better flavor than when cooked quickly in the microwave.
• Here’s a tip from one of our readers on perfect baked potatoes:Bake your potatoes in a crockpot. Scrub, pierce with a fork, rub some butter on the potatoes and cook on low all day. You will have perfectly baked potatoes when it’s time for dinner.
• If you like the taste of oven baked potatoesbut forgot to put them in the oven in time, nuke them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Then finish them in the oven. The centers will be cooked and they won’t take nearly as long to bake in the oven.
• To prevent a dry hard skin,rub your potato in butter or margarine, sprinkle with salt and wrap in foil.
• It is usually best to prick a potato with a forkwhen cooking it in the microwave because at times potatoes have been known to explode. Big Mess.

How to Bake Potatoes

Potatoes
bacon grease or oil
salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash potatoes thoroughly. Pierce with fork 3 or 4 times. Rub with bacon grease (tastes best) or oil. Sprinkle with salt. Wrap in foil or put in pan with foil on top. Bake in oven for 45 minutes-1 hour. Serve.

Baked Potato Toppings:

Tomatoes, chopped
Broccoli, chopped
Peppers, chopped
Cheese, grated
Bacon, crumbled
Ham, cubed
Chili
Onion
Olives
Mushrooms
Ranch dressing
Sour cream
Yogurt

Taco themed baked potato:everything you would put on a taco including hamburger with taco seasoning

Pizza themed baked potato:pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, sausage

Easy Pan Fried Lemon Chicken Recipe

This easy pan fried lemon chicken recipe is a quick and easy chicken dinner recipe!It serves 2, but you can easily double it and still have dinner for under 5 dollars! You can find this recipe in ourDining On A Dime Cookbookon page 204.

2 bell peppers, chopped
1 whole chicken breast, boneless and skinless
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
2 cups pasta, cooked

In a skillet, sauté bell peppers over medium heat in a small amount of oil. Cut chicken into strips. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Coat chicken with flour mixture. Remove peppers. Heat oil in the skillet, still on medium heat. Add chicken and cook 6-8 minutes, until brown. Add peppers and warm. Put pasta on a serving dish. Place chicken and peppers on pasta. Add chicken broth and lemon juice to skillet. Stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes. Scrape brown bits on the bottom of the pan and cook until reduced. Stir in parsley. Pour over chicken. Serves 2.