5 dollar dinners

With the economy the way it is going, and has been, many folks are looking for cheaper dinner alternatives, especially if you have a lot of mouths to feed! SharpMoms has a few $5 dinners that you and your family will be sure to love. Try them out and let us know what you think!

Do you have a $5 dinner or your own? Leave a comment and share it with the SharpMoms community!

Mexican Rice Casserole

What you need:

1. 1 package ground beef (1-2 lbs.)
2. 1 package taco seasoning
3. 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
4. 2 cups rice
5. 1 bar cheese, shredded- blocked cheese tends to be cheaper than pre-shredded or pre-cubed!
6. 6 ears corn

Make it fast:

1. Cook 2 cups rice according to package.
2. Brown ground beef. Drain. Return to skillet, add 3/4 cup water, taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Stir thoroughly.
3. Add ground beef to rice. Put into 9×13 baking dish. Top with shredded cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until cheese melts.
5. Boil or grill ears of corn and serve on the side.

Pizza Wraps

What you need:

1. 6 Tortillas
2. 1/2 jar pizza sauce
3. Pepperoni
4. 1/2 Green Pepper, thinly sliced
5. 2 cups shredded mozerella cheese

Make it fast:

1. Preheat oven 350. Lay tortillas flat. Spread on pizza sauce. Layer 1-2 rows of pepperoni and sliced green peppers. Sprinkle with cheese, leaving room to roll.
2. Roll up tortillas and place snugly into 8×8 dish. Cook about 10 minutes so cheese melts.

Southwestern Mac N Cheese

What you need:

1. 8oz. package of elbow maccaroni
2. 1 cup salsa
3. 1 1/2 cups milk
4. 1 15 0z can cream-style corn
5. one can mexi-kernal corn with red and green peppers (Green Giant makes a corn variety similar to this)
6. 8 oz cheddar cheese, cubed

Make it fast:

1. Mix all ingredients except cheese in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat.
2. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until macaroni is tender.
3. Stir in cheese until melted.

Kid Friendly Crock Pot Pizza Casserole

What you need:

• 1 med. green pepper
• 3 15 oz jars of pizza sauce
• 1 box rontini pasta
• 1 med. onion
• 1 pack pepperoni
• 1 pack of sliced mushrooms
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 lb. ground beef

Make it fast:

1. Chop onion and green pepper. Place in crock pot.
2. Add mushrooms and pepperoni to crock pot.
3. Brown meat and drain. Add to crock pot.
4. Cook pasta according to package; drain; add to crock pot.
5. Add pizza sauce to crock pot. Add cheese (according to taste). Mix vegetables, sauce, and meat well.
6. Cook on high 2 hours.

Saturday Night Simple Stir Fry

What you need:

• 1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into thin slices
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup Asian Sesame Dressing
• 1/3 cup Barbecue Sauce
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Make it fast:

1. Heat a large nonstick pan with cooking spray on medium heat. Add pork and carrots; cook approx. 5 min.; stir occasionally.
2. Stir in dressing and barbecue sauce. Stir fry 5 min. on medium heat or until carrots are crisp.
3. Add snow peas; cook 2 min.
4. Top with peanuts.

Ham and Cheddar Cheese Macaroni

What you need:

• 1 pkg. (7-1/4 oz.) Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
• 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas
• 12 slices Fresh Shaved Honey Ham, chopped
• 1/2 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Make it fast:

1. Prepare the macaroni dinner according to the package and add peas to the boiling water for the last two min. Then drain.
2. Stir in the ham and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese. Cook on medium heat 1-2 min. or until heated through. Be sure to stir occasionally.
3. Top with the remaining cheddar cheese.