10 frugal dinners (my kids might eat)

Pumpkin soup bubbling away.

I'm writing this post without knowing what I'm going to write. I just know I need to figure out 10 frugal dinners that my kids will maybe (hopefully) eat, so I can do a two-week rotation of easy weeknight dinners and keep everyone happy.

I'm working out the approximate cost of these dinners based on items I buy on special from the supermarket I shop at for our family of five. (Convoluted much.)

1. $3.50 Pasta, pasta sauce and cheese - Watties Pasta Sauce ($1.50), half packet of dried pasta ($1), cheese ($1)

2. $7.39 Quesadillas - Homemade refried beans ($1), salsa ($2.89), cheese ($2), half pack of Budget tortillas ($1.50)

3. $10 Honey soy chicken drumsticks, chips and raw vegetable crudites - Chicken drumsticks ($7), homemade potato chips ($1), raw vegetable crudites ($2)

4. $7.50 Pumpkin soup and homemade buns - Pumpkin ($2), Trade Aid coconut milk ($2.99), homemade chicken stock (free), spices (50c), bun ingredients ($2)

5. $14.28 Butter chicken on rice cooked in chicken stock - Basmati rice ($1), homemade chicken stock (free), Asian Home Gourmet Butter Chicken sachet ($1.99), Trade Aid coconut milk ($2.99), onion (30c), tinned chopped tomatoes (80c), zucchini or okra ($1), free range boneless chicken thighs ($7)

6. $11 Fish and chips and salad - Gurnurd fillets ($7), homemade potato chips ($1), fresh vegetables ($3)

7. $7.00 Chicken barley soup with toast and butter - 3 chicken drumsticks ($2.50), homemade chicken stock (free), barley (30c), carrots (75c), celery (75c), onion 50c, herbs (20c), bread ($1.50), butter (50c)

8. $8.50 Lamb chops, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables - Lamb ($5), mashed potatoes ($1.50), steamed vegetables ($2)

9. $15.39 Tacos - Mince ($5), Salsa ($2.89), Sour cream ($2.50), cheese ($1), salad vegetables ($2), lettuce (free from garden), spices ($1), Tacos ($3.5)

10. $10 Mince and zucchini rissoles with fresh fruit and vegetables - Mince ($5), vegetables for rissoles ($2), fresh fruit and vegetables ($3)

It was interesting doing this exercise and figuring out which are our most frugal meals and which are the most expensive. (Tacos, you sly dog.)

It will be so good when our garden is up and producing more, because that will cut down on the fresh fruit and vegetable side of things. It seems that meat and dairy are the main big money-suckers at dinner-time though.