Sweet Pennies from Heaven

7 Dinners Under $50 Including One Pan Pasta with Chicken

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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.

One Pan Pasta with Chicken

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.

Affordable Food Tips

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

One Pan Pasta with Chicken
First start by adding your pasta into your pan and then follow with everything else.
One Pan Pasta with Chicken
 Turn the stove on high until a boil. Then turn down to a low simmer. Continue to cook until noodles are tender.
One Pan Pasta with ChickenThen mix around and serve. Enjoy.
7 Dinners Under $50 Including One Pan Pasta with Chicken
Author: Jenni
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 of milk
  • 1 cup of water
  • (Salt and pepper to taste)
Instructions
  1. First start by adding the pasta into the pan and then follow with the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Turn the stove on high until the pan reaches a boil.
  3. Then turn down to a low simmer.
  4. Continue to simmer until noodles are tender.
  5. 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%.

Percent of Income Spent at Home

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!

Do you have tips and tricks to save money on groceries? We’d love to hear them!!

Comments

  2. 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.

    Reply

  22. 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

    Reply

  23. 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.

    Reply

  24. 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.

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  26. 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!

    Reply

  28. Meal planning is a lifesaver. I also plan a leftovers night every week(sometimes two of them) so we don’t waste those leftovers.

    Reply

  34. 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!

    Reply

  41. 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!

    Reply

  44. 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

    Reply

    • 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!!

      Reply

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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?!

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