Cheap dinner ideas

Our monthly grocery bill seems to be where we go over budget the most. We like to eat healthier, but healthy food is expensive. Most of the time we manage to buy healthier foods, but run out of both food and money before the month is over. The following is a list of cheap dinner ideas that are not completely bad for you. I will be adding more ideas as I find them. Please feel free to leave your own ideas under the comments column too! 

1. Spaghetti: we do this really simple. Whole wheat spaghetti noodles, 1 jar of pasta sauce, and 1LB of ground beef)
 2. Meatloaf: ground beef, 2 eggs, ketchup, seasoned bread crumbs- served with corn and mashed potatoes
3. Tomato soup and grilled cheese
4. Fried rice- brown rice, left over chicken or beef, frozen mixed veggies, low sodium soy sauce, vegetable oil)
5. Homemade chicken noodle soup: chicken broth, carrots, chicken, egg noodles, and potatoes- we serve it with garlic toast (a slice of whole wheat bread, butter, garlic salt, bake in the oven)
6. Chicken Pot Pie: Chicken breast pieces, cream of chicken soup, frozen mixed veggies, reduced fat crescent roll dough for the top)
7. Alfredo: whole wheat noodles, Ragu light Alfredo sauce, 1 bag of frozen broccoli (sometimes we will throw in leftover chicken)
8. Turkey Club Panini: whole wheat bread, turkey lunch meat, Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo- served with oven fries
9. Chili: ground beef, chili beans, chili seasoning, diced tomatoes and green chiles, and tomato juice- I make a huge pot as we will eat it for a couple nights in the form of chili cheese nachos, chili dogs, and chili mac
10. Broccoli Macaroni: one box of macaroni and cheese and 1 bag of frozen broccoli
11. Personal pizzas: pizza sauce, pepperoni, shredded cheese, bagels or English muffins
12. Homemade Veggie Soup: tomato juice, beef tips, frozen mixed veggies
13. Tacos- taco shells, ground beef, shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa and/or sour cream
14. Baked Ziti- whole wheat noodles, spaghetti sauce, ground beef, shredded cheese
15. Stuffed Peppers- bell pepper, 1 can tomato sauce, taco seasoning, rice, shredded cheese- Thomas actually does not like peppers too much so I chop them up, saute them in a little olive oil, and mix all the ingredients into a casserole
16. Breakfast pizzas- whole wheat tortilla, scrambled eggs, diced ham or bacon, shredded cheese
17. Pepperoni rolls- crescent roll dough, pepperoni, shredded cheese, pizza sauce for dipping
18. BLT's: whole wheat bread, turkey bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo- serve with oven fries
19. Waffles, pancakes, or French Toast
20. Sloppy Joe's: ground beef, sloppy Joe sauce, hamburger buns or bagel thins- serve with oven fries
21. Green beans: Fresh green beans (when they're on sale) boiled with ham cubes and red potatoes- served with warm corn bread
22. Crescent dogs: hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough 
23. Chicken Caesar salad: Hidden valley Caesar salad kit and leftover chicken
24. Spinach and Feta rolls: Crescent rolls, spinach, feta cheese (sometimes I'll add leftover chicken)
25. Taco salad: lettuce, beef or chicken, sour cream, salsa, baked tortilla chips 
26. Mexican pizzas: flat breads, refried beans, sour cream, corn, salsa (sometimes leftover beef or chicken)
27. Lemon pepper baked chicken: chicken breasts and lemon pepper seasoning- served with steamed veggies
28. Ramen stir fry: leftover chicken or beef, Ramen noodles, soy sauce, frozen sugar snap peas
29. Pizza grilled cheese: bread, sliced cheese, pepperoni (sometimes I will add mushrooms or green pepper), pizza sauce for dipping
30. Breakfast casserole: scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, potatoes, sausage crumbles
31. Polish sausage: bake it (sometimes with BBQ sauce)- serve with macaroni and cheese and corn
32. Hot legs: chicken legs baked with hot sauce- served with ranch dressing, mashed potatoes, and corn
33. BBQ chicken sandwiches: chicken breasts cooked all day in the crock pot with a little bit of salsa and BBQ sauce, shredded and served on bagel thins- served with baked potato chips