Kid Friendly $10 Dinners
All meals can be modified to fit your budget & family preference.
Prices based on my local Walmart in Northern
Kentucky.
🥦🍳Recipes Below🍝🌮
🥦Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese - Brown & Drain ground beef and set aside. Cook both boxes of macaroni and cheese and prepare as directed. Add seasoned ground beef to macaroni and cheese stir together and serve with your choice of side vegetable.
🍳Breakfast for Dinner- Biscuits & Gravy/Scrambled Eggs & Sausage - On stovetop heat your canned gravy according to package directions. You don’t have to add anything to it but if you want to spruce it up a little you can season with salt & pepper to taste, add in a little milk to give it a creamy texture and even add some of the cooked sausage to it later after it’s cooked. Bake biscuits according to package direction. Cook your sausage on the stove top. If you have any extra cooked sausage chop into small pieces and stir into your gravy. Crack desired amount of eggs into a bowl, add a little milk & seasoning. Mix well and cook on low heat continuously stirring until you have scrambled eggs. Serve gravy over biscuits.
🍝Spaghetti & Meat sauce - Cook ground Italian sausage on stovetop until all pink color is gone from your meat. If you have any veggies to add now is the time (onion, mushrooms, spinach) Drain fat and add meat back to your pan & add entire jar of pasta sauce and simmer on low heat about 10 minutes. If you have any seasonings add them now to taste preference. Serve sauce over cooked pasta & with a side of garlic bread.
🌮 Fake Bake Enchiladas- line greased baking dish with frozen burritos. Top with enchilada sauce & shredded cheese. Cover dish with tinfoil. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove tinfoil last 5 minutes of baking. Cook your rice side dish on the stovetop according to box directions while your enchiladas are baking.
#inexpensivemeals #budgetfamilymeals #budgetdinner #inexpensivedinner
Cooking meals that are both kid-friendly and budget-conscious can be a rewarding challenge, but it’s definitely achievable with some planning and creativity. From my personal experience, focusing on versatile ingredients like ground beef, pasta, and eggs allows you to create a variety of meals that kids love without breaking the bank. For example, cheeseburger mac & cheese is a fantastic go-to dinner. I like to buy ground beef in bulk and freeze portions, so I always have it handy. Pairing it with boxed macaroni and cheese makes preparing the meal quick and easy. Adding a side of steamed broccoli not only adds nutrition but also keeps costs low, especially when you purchase fresh or frozen broccoli florets. Breakfast for dinner is another favorite in our household. Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and sausage offer a comforting meal that can be made quickly. To elevate canned gravy, I often add a splash of milk and some cooked sausage pieces for extra flavor and creaminess. Spaghetti with meat sauce is a versatile dish where adding in veggies like onions or spinach can boost nutrition without substantial additional cost. Using Italian sausage instead of traditional ground beef offers a flavorful twist that kids enjoy. Garlic bread on the side is an easy way to round out the meal and is affordable if store-bought frozen bread sticks are used. Lastly, the fake bake enchiladas, assembled using frozen burritos, enchilada sauce, cheese, and a rice side, are a total lifesaver for busy nights. Baking them with a foil cover keeps them moist, while removing the foil near the end crisps the cheese perfectly. Preparing the rice on the stovetop complements this simple, crowd-pleasing dish. Shopping at stores like Walmart and scouting deals on recurring ingredients helps keep the total cost low, typically under $10 per meal. I also recommend meal prepping and customizing these recipes according to family preferences, which makes mealtime stress-free and enjoyable. These budget-friendly and kid-approved dinner ideas have worked well for my family, and I hope they inspire you to create delicious meals that meet your budget and your kids' tastes.
I will try some of these