I am an IFOF Ambassador for our Affordable Food Tips For Your Family, From Our Family Series. This post has been sponsored as part of the affordability series.
Sometimes I just go through the grocery store blindly, throwing this and that in my cart all willy nilly. I am usually pretty thrifty, but I know that I don’t stretch my dollar out as far as I possibly can. I was challenged to take $50 and see how far I could stretch it for our menu plan this week, which includes this yummy one pan pasta with chicken!
Since me and little man are home most days by ourselves, we tend to pick around at breakfast and lunch. We don’t really break the bank there. It’s dinnertime that costs. Husband is home from work in time for dinner and he’s a meat and potatoes man, if you know what I mean. He don’t fool around.
So – I set out to make my $50 stretch out through 7 days worth of dinners. Below is my menu plan for the week plus a fun one pan pasta dish, but before I share it…I wanted to share some of the tips that I find most helpful on saving money on groceries. I was able to buy everything needed and still had some extra leftover to buy some fresh fruit and dessert.
Tips to Save on Groceries:
- Make a weekly meal plan.
- Plan your week’s menu plan out according to the meats and produce that are on sale that week at your local grocery store.
- Buy meat in the larger/bulk packs and then divide for individual meals.
- Try to make meals that you can have twice. Nothing wrong with leftovers! Freeze them if you’re not planning on eating in the next couple of days.
- Watch for manager’s specials on meats, dairy and produce.
- Of course, use coupons when you can!
This week’s meal plan at our house.
Luckily, lots of these meals can be stretched out to have twice. We don’t mind leftovers!!
- Friday – One pan pasta with chicken (recipe included below!)
- Saturday – Sloppy Joes with baked potato and salad
- Sunday – Crockpot pork chops with corn on the cob and green beans
- Monday – Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans
- Tuesday – Chicken and dumplings with cornbread muffins
- Wednesday – Grilled chicken sandwiches, baked potato and corn on the cob
- Thursday – Grilled onion bombs, salad and mashed potatoes
Now, the one pan pasta with chicken recipe………
One Pan Pasta with Chicken Ingredients:
1/2 box of angel hair pasta
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of pre-cooked chicken
1 tablespoon of parsley
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
1 cup milk
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Then mix around and serve. Enjoy.
- ½ box of angel hair pasta
- 1½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of pre-cooked chicken
- 1 tablespoon of parsley
- 2 tablespoons of garlic powder
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 cup of water
- (Salt and pepper to taste)
- First start by adding the pasta into the pan and then follow with the rest of the ingredients.
- Turn the stove on high until the pan reaches a boil.
- Then turn down to a low simmer.
- Continue to simmer until noodles are tender.
- Stir, and serve.
Check out this graph below. This shows the percent of income spent on food consumed at home! Looks like the US comes in at 6.6%.
Now, even though the US has one of the most affordable food supplies in the world, that’s not to say that it is an easy job to stretch those dollars. That’s why it is key to menu plan and budget. Keeping an eye on what is on sale in your stores, what’s in season, buying in bulk when you can. Those are the things that will make a difference!
the chick behind this blog! I'm your ordinary, everyday wife and mom to an incredible pair of stinky guys! I am a self diagnosed coffee addict with a ginormous sweet tooth, preferably baked goods!! My hope is to help you, teach you, and entertain you on your way to a more thrifty and frugal lifestyle! Along the way, you'll find awesome recipes, great tips, and tons of randomness! We have loads of fun, so ya'll come back now, ya hear?!
I love one pot meals! They’re so easy and tasty!
Wow that is great i love anything that makes the washing up less and easy to cook.will give this a try sometime so i am bookmarking this recipe.Thank you.
OMG this looks so delish and simple! I love your pictures by the way! Yum! I pinned it too!
I really like that you did everything in one pan. That’s awesome. I love to cook but I hate cleaning up afterwards. I’ve got to try this.
I love one pot dinners. It’s not so much the making as it is the cleaning up. Only one pot!
I buy almost everything in bulk at BJ’s. With growing boys in the house, I think I save a fortune by shopping in bulk!
What??? This seems amazing!!!!
I love one pan meals! Makes my life so much easier
The One Pan Pasta with Chicken recipe looks so yummy. I will have to try it soon.
I need more one-pot dishes in my recipe box. This is great! Thanks for sharing!!
Great savings tips. I love the dish, Nice dinner.
I make something really similar. I just love this kind of meal!
I keep meaning to try to make a one pan pasta dish. Adding to my shopping list.
Wow! Who would have thought that this deliciously looking dish is so affordable! I’m glad I stumbled upon your post! 🙂
I love when you can cook everything in one pot! Thanks for the tip!
Oh wow! This looks great and easy! One pot meal? I need to try this’
wow, YUM! It all looks so incredibly delicious!
I love this! One pot dinners are my favorite!
Thanks for the tips on how to save on groceries. I need to be more consistent. I love that you plan out your meals. You can stretch money a long way when it’s intentional.
I usually shop at my local commissary which is generally cheaper than shopping at COSTCO or Sams Club. Those are some great tips btw and I’ll have to give your recipe a try.
I really like the pic you have of all your ingredients int the pan. Love this is a one pot meal. I tend to save money on groceries by buying in bulk when I can.
I get it. Under $50 for all seven. I first read the title and thought that $50 was too much for one meal. This is awesome that you can get a whole week’s worth of dinners for that price
This One Pan Pasta with Chicken looks like something I could do and my family would make. I am amazed you were able to get 7 meals done for $50 and include dessert! Amazing.
That is one heck of a challenge! We have a total of six living under our roof (plus a dog and a turtle). I think our average grocery bill is around $150 for the week. I need to challenge myself lol.
Ohh, geeze! I can imagine. The $50 was stretched out for 3 ppl in our house. So, with 6 people it would be super difficult to try to do. I’d say it’s doable though. You’d have to really think outside the box!
This is a great 1 pot meal! Less dishes for me!
I flipping love this! I’m a big fan of One Dish Meals with 4 kids, and these are ingredients my whole family loves. Thank you!
Great meal plan and this looks delicious. I love anything that is one pot.
Meal planning is a lifesaver. I also plan a leftovers night every week(sometimes two of them) so we don’t waste those leftovers.
I am terrible at creating meal plans. Thank you for sharing yours and the recipe. The one pan pasta chicken looks really good.
This looks delicious! I love one pot pasta meals.
Love it! More flavor and less dishes! I am always up for a quick meal followed by a quick clean up!
Those are some great recipes. I also price match my groceries to even save more. It’s fun to save money for sure!!
This sounds absolutely delicious. I’m going to talk about doing this with my husband, I think he’ll love it.
This is seriously the easiest dinner to make. In our house we call these dump dinners – where you just dump it all in one pan and cook and in no time, yummy homecooked meal!
Pasta is a great way to make a meal taste good on a budget and it is also quite versatile.
One pan meals make so much sense for the busy parent. I love your pictures and I cannot wiat to try it.
This looks yummy! I love everything about one pot meals!
I am all about 1 pan meals! As a busy small business owner, these are the type of meals that I go to. Plus, it’s so much healthy (and cheaper!) thn dining out!
I keep seeing recipes for these one pot wonders. I can’t wait to try it out- it looks magical!
This looks like a great dinner idea. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
This sounds yummy! And what a great menu for $50!
Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!
This pasta recipe looks fantastic. I could pretty much live off of pasta, so I’m all over it.
I pinned it, too. YUM!
I love meals like this! Pinning, and hoping to make this next week.
Thanks for sharing at the Say G’day Saturday linky party. How brilliant it’s all made in one pan-I’ve just pinned your post!
Hope you can join us again this weekend.
Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
Love this recipe but I need the whole box of pasta do I need to add more water? Thanks
Hi Marla! If you need to use the whole box of pasta — I’d probably just double the entire recipe. Hope your family enjoys it! Thank you for dropping by!!