How are we going to beat inflation? As the price of groceries keep going up I’ve seen so many content creators doing budget friendly meals. I think this is amazing, however, I’m seeing a lot of creators using processed, boxed, and canned foods. Yes these items are cheap and will feed your family, but are they the best for us nutritionally? Most likely not. This is why I’ve started a new challenge where I take $20 and create 3 delicious veggie packed dinners that will feed my family of 5.
All the recipes will be in this post along with your shopping list and the prices. Please note prices at your store may be different and you may need to adjust to fit your needs. Many of these recipes are easily adaptable.
“Please note that affiliate links have been included in this post for your convenience. If you click through one of my links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.’
Shopping List!
These were the items I picked up from my Local Walmart. Please note that the produce is only an estimate and you will have to weigh your items out to stay under the $20.
Day 1 “Funky Pie”
At the begging of day 1 you will need to do a bit of prep work by starting to soak your chickpeas and black beans in warm water over night.
My kiddos named this dish after we devoured the entire pan. I will say this one will be added to the menu on a regular and can easily be made vegetarian. We were also extremely impressed with these “Kentucky biscuits” which I had to modify the original recipe to work with what we had. We will certainly be making these again!
Budget Friendly Funky Pie
Ingredients
- 1/2 small onion
- 1/2 small diced potato
- 2-3 carrots
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 cup cooked lentils
- 1/2 can chicken breast
Pantry Items Needed
- flour
- oil
- chicken bouillon
- salt
- pepper
- dry shelf stable cream of chicken mix from Ebook
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup water
Instructions
- Cut veggies and cook lentils Add veggies to a pot and brown. once softened add lentils and chickenonce lentils are cooked add leftover liquid into veggie pot and cook down. once veggies are fully cooked add lentils and chicken in. add 1/2 cup of shelf stable cream of chicken soup mix with 1 1/2 cups of water and simmer for 5-7 min. once mixture has thickened add to an 8×8 glass dish and bake at 350 for 20 min. Once done top with warm biscuits and serve.
Notes
Day 2 “Chicken Chickpea Curry with Naan”
We love homemade Naan and make it now almost weekly. This is such a simple yet filling recipe and you can hide the veggies if you have picky eaters.
Chicken Chickpea Curry with Naan
Ingredients
- 1/2 can chicken breast
- 3 large carrots
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 russet potato
- 2/3 package of small noodles
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup self rising flour
- 1/3 small onion
- 3 small tomatoes
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- avocado oil
Seasonings
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 dash ground ginger
- 2 cubes tomato chicken bouillon
- 2 tsp parsley
Instructions
- cut all the veggies and add potatoes, onions and carrots to a pot to brown.
- once softened add 2 cup water with 1 cube of tomato chicken bouillon to your veggies and stir.
- once the veggies are softened puree with an immersion blender
- Next add in chickpeas, 1/2 can of chicken, and 3/4 bag noodles. Add 2 cups water with a tomato chicken bouillon. let simmer for 12 min until pasta is tender
- The last 5 min add in the tomato and stir
Homemade Naan
- 1 cup sour cream mixed with 1 cup self rising flour, mix with hands. cut into 8 little balls and roll thin.
- brown on oiled cast iron panyou can add a brush of oil and a dash of parsley to the top
Day 3 “Easy Veggie Quesadillas”
My kids love quesadillas but in this recipe we packed them full of veggies, protein, and fiber. I did a bit of experimenting to make a vegan friendly cheese sauce using leftover chickpeas which turned out wonderfully.
Easy Veggie Quesadilla
Ingredients
- 10 count tortillas
- 1 cup lentils
- 2 cup cooked black beans
- 1 can refried beans
- 3 small tomatoes
- 1 head lettuce
- 1/3 small onion
- 1 cup cheese sauce (made with chickpeas, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice) optional
- 6 tbsp sour cream
- 2 cups brown rice
- 3 tomato chicken bouillon cubes
- avocado oil
Seasonings
- salt
- pepper
- 1/4 cup taco seasoning blend
- onion powder
- garlic powder
Instructions
- Add brown rice to Instant pot or rice cooker and cook until done
- Add 1 cup lentils to 2 cups of water and bring to a medium heat and cook until soft.
- warm your can of refried beans
- chop all your veggies into desired sizes
- once lentils are cooked mix together the lentils with the cooked black beans and add 1/4 cup taco seasoning.
- with an oiled skillet add one tortilla and begin to layer on ingredients. Add another tortilla to the top and flip when bottom is golden brown.
- top with desired veggies and toppings and serve with brown rice