Budget Recipes, Meal Plans, and Cooking Lessons - $5 Dinners (2024)

"MOM, when do I get my driver's license?" If the blog could talk... 16 short years ago I started this little blog thing here and named it $5 Dinners. I needed to lower our grocery budget and I needed to feed my people. So I started sharing all the recipes and things I was learning along the way. Here we are, 16 years later...in a similar economic climate as back … [Read more...]

Freezer Friendly Dinners, Lunchbox Ideas, School Snacks, Make-Ahead Smoothies and On-the-Go Breakfasts! It's that time of year again. The craving for routines returns. The school supply shopping, shoe shopping and new clothes shopping takes over. You spend more money than you want to, even with braving the crowds on tax-free weekend. And you STILL HAVE TO FEED … [Read more...]

Are you starting to panic about summer activities at home?Worried that your kids will be staring at your face or at a screen for the next three months? In an effort to stop the "I'm booooooooored!" grumbling before it starts, I've been researching all things summer activities and wanted to share a few options and ideas that I have on my list with you!Summer … [Read more...]

Introducing Erin Chase's latest cookbook about feeding teenagers on a budget, plus the companion mini-cookbook that will teach your teens how to cook scrumptious recipes with "Shorts" videos!The idea for this cookbook came to me about 15 years ago...in a booth at a lunch in NYC with my cookbook editor. And the time to share it with you is now... So, yes...this is … [Read more...]

Things I'm Crushing On (And Using All the Time) This MonthHoliday 2023 FAVES … [Read more...]

I think Ravioli Bakes might be my new favorite dinner. I don't know why...they just seem so easy. Well, they are easy. The ravioli doesn't take any pre-cooking. You just add it into the dish, pour the sauce (in this case a beefy-spaghetti sauce) over the top, then pile on as much cheese as your waistline can handle. ;) Then, bake. And you end up with this. Now, there … [Read more...]

How to prepare SIX meals in LESS THAN 30 MINUTES with this 5-Ingredient Meal Plan! I don't know about you, but it makes my heart happy when a recipe only needs a handful of ingredients. And when they are "normal" ingredients, too! You know what I'm talking about. Ingredients you often have in your kitchen, and are commonly found at a typical grocery store. So I made a … [Read more...]

If I started keeping track, I imagine I eat an avocado or guacamole at least 5 times a week. Sometimes I get guacamole at my fave tex-mex restaurant, sometimes I make my own, sometimes I get it on top of a Chipotle salad, sometimes I just scoop it right out of the skin with a little lemon juice and salt. I'm always looking to mix things up and keep the guacamole "fresh" and … [Read more...]

Holiday To-Do List Already Starting to Stress You Out?!What if you could prep SIX 5-Ingredient freezer meals in 30 minutes...before the holiday chaos begins?!?I'm Erin Chase and I'm here to show you how... Join me the week of NOVEMBER 1stfor a few days oftips and tricks that will help you breeze through this meal prep!Each day throughout the Deck … [Read more...]

Get the Recipes Erin Cooked on Food Network's Big Bad Budget Battle WELCOME to my Big Bad Budget Battle Besties! I'm so glad you're here and I can't wait to connect with you and further help you on your journey to spending less money on groceries and cooking well on a budget. I am beyond tickled by the concept of the show, the opportunity to compete on the show, and … [Read more...]

Save TIME, MONEY, and MORE with these amazing 20 Meals for $150 Plans! ELATED. ECSTATIC. STOKED. That describes how I'm feeling this week, as I re-share this amazing grocery saving and sanity saving resource with you! Many moons ago, I decided to make some updates to the "20 meals for $150" plans. I started creating them in 2013, and it was just time for a … [Read more...]

If you love getting ahead with dinner prep, and you love cookbooks, these Make-Ahead Freezer Meal Cookbooks are the books for YOU! The Freezer Meal StereotypeOften times when people think of freezer meals, they think of mushy casseroles. Or slow-cooker-only recipes. Or bland, tasteless, freezer burned meals. It is also the assumption that these bland, mushy … [Read more...]

Check out the Best Grocery Savings Mobile Apps! These are also Erin's favorites. (She might be a bit biased about the first one!)MyFreezEasyWith MyFreezEasy, it really is as easy as 1-2-3. Get organized, choose your recipes, use the shopping list provided, and then follow the instructions to get your make ahead freezer meals into your freezer! You'll save on groceries … [Read more...]

Oh my heavens - divine, divine, divine. This Pumpkin Pie French Toast recipe is a MUST TRY in the fall and winter months! I so wish I'd doubled this recipe for Pumpkin Pie French Toast while I was first making it. Tripled, or quadrupled even! These are so scrumptious...perfect for the fall season. It's really simple...you just add some pumpkin puree and spices to … [Read more...]

Before you say it, yes...brownies were dessert of the month in April...just a few short weeks ago. But Caramel Cashew Brownies and these Mocha Brownies are different. Very, very different. I know. I know. This is really an indication that I have a brownie problem. Please. Send help. Brownies anonymous, anyone?! So I served these to a group of ladies last week...and … [Read more...]

Slow Cooker Peachy BBQ Baked Beans: A Sweet and Savory Comfort DishDried beans are by far the cheapest way to prepare beans for meals or side dishes, and when I cook them...I need it to be easy and hands off. My favorite way to cook dried beans is in the slow cooker. I've got this great BBQ "Baked" Beans recipe for you, cooked in the slow cooker...with a peachy … [Read more...]

These Slow Cooker Black Bean Fajita Bowls are a simple, yet flavorful meal that brings all the vibrant taste of fajitas into one delicious dinner bowl.The dish begins with a slow-cooked medley of black beans, bell peppers, onions, and a blend of fajita spices, including smoky cumin, chili powder, and paprika. The slow cooking process allows the beans to become tender … [Read more...]

Save Money with this Rice and Beans based Yellow Curry Recipe - It's Packed with Both Flavor and Nutrition! And Won't Break the Bank!This vibrant Rice & Beans Yellow Curry is a delicious and comforting fusion dish that combines the warmth of traditional yellow curry with the hearty flavors of rice and beans. Essentially, I took our favorite Chicken Yellow Curry recipe … [Read more...]

Budget-Friendly Delights: These are the Best Rice and Beans Recipes to Save You Money on Groceries!Yes, you can still make a $5 Dinner. Like a dinner for four people that costs less than $5 for the entire meal. It takes a little creativity and some sale/discount shopping, but it can be done. And the easiest types of meals are rice and beans meals. The recipes in this list … [Read more...]

Quick and Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes: The Perfect Side Dish, Ready in Minutes!We make a lot of air fryer baby potatoes around here. This morning, I was thinking about these "Crash Potatoes" that you cook on the grill and thought - these would be so good in the air fryer. Maybe even better. And these Twice Air-Fried Potatoes were born. And I was right...the … [Read more...]

From Breakfast to Desserts to "Baked" Things, Let Your Slow Cooker Take Care of These Recipes and Meals for You... … [Read more...]

The Popular Hashbrown Beef Bake Recipe with a Taco & Spicy Twist – this dinner perfect for the meat and potato lovers in your life!A taco-y twist on our most popular Hashbrown Beef Bake. For this dinner, I swapped the paprika for the taco seasoning in the original recipe. Also, I highly recommend using "Cream of Poblano soup" in place of the cream of mushroom, … [Read more...]

Instant Pot Holiday Magic: 10 Easy Recipes for a Stress-Free Family Meal I adore the concept of an Instant Pot Holiday! Instant Pot recipes allow for a hands-off type of cooking, where the appliance does all the work. It doesn't heat up the kitchen, and you can get to work on other things while it cooks!Instant Pot Holiday Benefits: hands-off … [Read more...]

Baked Chicken Ready in Under 30 Minutes?! Here's how...Baking chicken breasts in the oven can take upwards of an hour and sometimes my afternoons don't have the kind of wiggle room for getting dinner in the oven and waiting for it to bake...and for the hungry gremlins that NEED TO EAT RIGHT NOW. I love sheet pan dinners with cut up chicken bites because they bake up so … [Read more...]