Frugal Dinners

I am a meal planner.  Sundays, I like to clip my coupons, check the adds, and find cheap dinners to last us the week.


I recently started a schooling program that has me in class until at least 9 pm.  Thus, I've been planning meals for Mondays and Wednesdays that can last me through to each of the next days for Cutie Husband to eat when he's home from work, plus extra for me to take to school for dinner for me and Cutie Husband's sister, who is also in the program with me.


So far, a couple of my favorites are manicotti - per Kraft Foods recipe - and Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole.  These are two of my favorites because they are loaded with protein, so they really know how to stretch a buck!


The manicotti is almost nothing but cheese!  I always double my recipe and add all of the cheese that I have, even though it ends up being extra.  To send my money a little further on this recipe, I leave out the pesto.  I'm not addicted to pesto, and the meal has a great taste without it, so I don't even miss that ingredient.  I'd rather have the green in my wallet than on my food!  I use extra spaghetti sauce too.
Don't forget to cover this in foil before baking, it keeps the noodles and sauce from burning!

The Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole is great because, since there is cheese in it, you really only need two or three pieces of chicken to feed an army.  For this dish, I cube my chicken, and sautee it in olive oil, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Instead of dried minced garlic and onion, I just use garlic powder and onion powder.  I also double this recipe.

**If you have any easy casserole dishes like this that can be quickly doubled and last for at least two days, I'd LOVE to hear any suggestions!!  I would even try to post pictures of my rendition!**
I'll be scouting for more recipes like these, so check back to see my findings.  I'll tell you how my endeavors turn out!
Let me know if you try these recipes, I'd love to hear if you like them!
(I typically won't even give a second glance to a recipe if I am required to buy more than five or six ingredients, especially expensive ones, unless most of them are produce!)