We ate a lot of frugal meals in our early years of marriage, so I’m sharing 23 cheap recipes for dinner with you to celebrate my 23rd wedding anniversary!
Today, David and I have been married for 23 years. That guy seriously is my world and I’m one of the luckiest women to have him in my life. But, I’d be lying if I said it was all perfect, because it’s hasn’t been. Getting married young makes almost everything harder. Having babies young makes it even harder. Would I change it if i I could go back in time? NO WAY. But, yeah, it was hard.
In the early years of our marriage, we ate a lot of meals that are very different than the way we eat today. I remember meal planning and my goal was meals that would feed 4 of us for less than $2. And not $2 per person….$2 for the whole meal. We did that a lot. I know that many of our meals weren’t balanced or even very healthy for us, but we did the best we could do.
But you know what? We were happy and loved each other and our kids and that’s all that really mattered to us.
In honor of those early years of our marriage, I have put together a round-up of 23 cheap recipes for dinner — 1 for each year that we have been married. These recipes are things that I want to eat today, but I wish my young married self had thought of (or that someone would have shared with me).
Here are 23 Cheap Recipes for Dinner:
Ginger Chicken by A Girl Worth Saving
45-Cent Potato Soup by Kitchen Treaty
Slow Cooker Baked Beans by The Lemon Bowl
Amish Chicken by Growing Up Gabel
Crunchy Ramen Chicken Salad by Home Cooking Memories
Summer Vegetable Ragu by i heart eating
Taco Stuffed Crescent Rolls by Willow Bird Baking
Fried Tortellini by Oh Sweet Basil
Smoky Chipotle Chicken Tacos by The Messy Baker Blog
Fusilli with Caramelized Onions by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
Sauteed Beet Greens and Spring Onions by Farm Fresh Feasts
Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
Asian Corn Cabbage Soup by Healthy Slow Cooking
Honey Lime Chicken by Unsophisticook
Easy Tilapia by The Culinary Life
Buffalo Chicken Dip Quesadillas by Chocolate Moosey
Meatless Sloppy Joes by Home Cooking Memories
Summer Strawberry Crepes by Modern Christian Homemaker
Easy Korean Beef Rice Bowls by The Busy Baker
Sloppy Lentils by Blueberries and Blessings
Kid-Friendly Dirty Rice by Busy in Brooklyn
Quizza (quiche/pizza – grain free, egg free, dairy free) by Diet, Dessert and Dogs
Savory Summer Tart by Masala Herb
And as a bonus, how about dessert? This is one of the most fun ideas out there — and it’s super easy and frugal to do:
Simple Pinata Cups by Just Married with Coupons
I hope you enjoyed these cheap recipes — I’m sure you’ll agree that while they might not cost a lot to make, these are some great recipes. Be sure to visit these sites and let them know you found them from Home Cooking Memories!
Juan Carlo says
Awesome recipes! The fact that they are frugal, they are very appetizing as well. I tried the ginger chicken and my entire family loved it. Tomorrow, I’m going to try the slow cooker baked beans.
Miz Helen says
What a great collection of dinners, which one to make first, they all look so good. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great weekend!
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Jen Nikolaus says
What a great round-up of recipes!! Can’t wait to try some! Love your blog, now following on Facebook! Pinning now!
~Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy
brandie says
Thanks Jen! It’s very nice to meet you!
Laura @ The Rookie Cook says
Happy Anniversary! I too am married to a David 🙂
Love this round up of cheap meals – I can always use something that is easy on the budget! Thanks!
brandie says
Thanks so much, Laura!
Julia @ It's Always Ruetten says
What a great roundup! There are some recipes here that definitely caught my attention! Going over to look at them now!
Julia
It’s Always Ruetten
Chanie@BusyInBrooklyn says
Congrats on 23 years! Thanks for featuring my recipe for kid-friendly dirty rice!
Jacqui Writes says
This is great! thanks for sharing!
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
What a great idea for a roundup! Thanks so much for including my Honey Lime Chicken, Brandie.
Kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts says
Happy Anniversary, Brandie!
Thanks for using my beet greens supper!
Stephanie says
Thanks so much for including me!
Kate says
Congrats!! Twenty-three years is amazing! Thanks for including my summer vegetable ragu!
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
Congrats on 23 years! I ate pretty frugally in college and I wish I could cook our meals on that kinda budget these days too, lol. Thanks so much for including my recipe in your round up too!
Stacy says
What a great idea for a round up, Brandie! And congratulations on 23 years! I have pinned this on my Delicious Budget Recipes board.
Helene D'souza says
2 $ dinner for the whole family must have been so difficult! We had a similar life style when I was younger, it was for sure not easy for my parents at the time and I & my husband lived for a while with less then enough too, so I know how it must have been for you. Congratulation to your anniversary! I adore your round up and I wish my mum would have known dishes such as the ragu and the tempting meatless sloppy joe at the time. Thanks for including my savory summer tart, I am honored. =)
Dawn Lopez says
Yum yum yum! What a fantastic list of cheap recipes that are also really unique! Love it!
Really appreciate that you also added mine too, thanks bunches 😉