Weekly Meal Plan- Cheap Meals for the Winter

Need cheap meals as a follow up to an expensive holiday period? Looking to cut your food budget to help pay more on a heating bill? A weekly meal plan can help cut your grocery cost. Frugal dinner meals are more easily made when you make a weekly meal plan before going to the grocery store. The easiest meal plan is based on the meals you prefer the most. However, if you are looking to reduce cost further by making low cost meals as a result of your weekly meal plan, these suggestions may be useful. Planning frugal dinner meals is best done with the weekly grocery ad in hand. A weekly meal plan reaches its most frugal point when it combines what you already have on hand with what is on sale at the store for the week you are planning. If you cannot do that, the following suggestions offer cheap meals for winter weekly. You may use one of them to supplement your own weekly meal plan based on what you have on hand, or you may use all five ideas. When trying to stay focused on a weekly meal plan, you need to be flexible and ready to adjust each time to develop a meal plan based on your on hand stock.

Recipe #1 Cheap Meals for the Winter Weekly Meal Plan: Cheeseburger Soup

1/2-1 pound of ground beef (use what you can afford)

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

3-4 cups chicken or beef broth

2-3 potatoes, peeled and diced

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef. Add the onion and cook until soft. Drain the fat. Add the carrots, and cook about 5-10 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes, and seasonings. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes or so. Next, make a white sauce using 2 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup flour and 1 1/2 cups milk. Melt the butter, slowly add the flour, stirring constantly and cook 2 minutes over medium low heat. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring constantly. Turn the heat up and simmer a few minutes until thick. Stir this into the soup. Add 8 ounces of cheese cubes and stir until melted. For adding this to your weekly meal plan, consider serving in bread bowls, over rice, or with a sandwich.

Recipe #2 Cheap Meals for the Winter Weekly Meal Plan: Crockpot Mac and Cheese

You can make this dish for your weekly meal plan ahead of time and freeze it. If this size is to large for your family, freeze in two bags and have it twice in the month. This weekly meal plan dish makes more frugal dinner meals if you watch for cheese to go on sale and stock up.

8 oz box macaroni, cooked and drained

2 tablespoons oil

13 oz can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cup milk

3 cups shredded cheese

1/4 cup melted butter.

Mix items together and pout in a plastic bag. When time to serve, thaw and put in crockpot for 3-4 hour on low. Add ham chunks or canned chicken to make it a meal or add tuna and boiled eggs to make a tuna casserole for frugal dinner meals.

Recipe #3 Cheap Meals for the Winter Weekly Meal Plan: Cream Enchiladas

1 can evaporated milk

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cans green chilies

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup butter

1 lb. ground beef, browned

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

10 - 12 flour tortillas

Heat soup, evaporated milk, green chilies, in a saucepan. Melt butter in a 9x13" pan. Tear tortillas in pieces and put a layer over the butter. Pour soup mixture over layer of tortillas, then add meat and onion followed by cheese. Repeat layers until all is used. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 45 minutes. For more frugal dinner meals use left over meats, or swap to chicken if that is what is on sale.

Recipe #4 Cheap Meals for the Winter Weekly Meal Plan: Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is a favorite winter comfort food for many. This adaptable recipe can be added to the weekly meal plan any time of year but is a good warming meal for cold nights.

1/3 Cup Chopped Onion

1/3 Cup Flour

1/3 Cup Margarine

1 bag peas/carrots blend or large can mixed veggies drained

1 3/4 Cup Chicken Broth

2/3 Cup Milk

1 cup cooked chicken chopped

Pie crust

Saute onions in butter. Add flour, mix till it forms a paste, add

broth and milk. Stir constantly until creamy and thick. Stir in vegetables and chicken and pour into a Add veggies & chicken. Dump into a pie crust, bake 40-50 minutes at 350º.

Recipe #5 Cheap Meals for the Winter Weekly Meal Plan: Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

1/2 cup Chopped onion

2 Garlic cloves; minced

1/4 cup Butter or margarine

1/2 cup Flour

2 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

4 cup Chicken broth

10 oz Frozen green peas

4 cup Cubed cooked chicken

For the Dumplings

2 cup Buttermilk biscuit mix

2/3 cup Milk

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour, sugar, salt, pepper and broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute; reduce heat. Add peas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken. Pour into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. For dumplings, put biscuit mix in a bowl. Stir in milk with a fork until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover and bake 10 minutes more or until the dumplings are done. Serves 6 to 8 people.

Your weekly meal plan will vary from week to week and month to month. With time you will find the frugal dinner meals your family likes most and can make your meal plans from those.