Meals Under 40 Minutes Under $40
There’s no reason not to cook at home anymore. Subscription services and little things you can get at the grocery store make it so easy.
This morning I was at the grocery store two minutes from our house. I'm grabbing a few staples that we ran out of. As I was walking around, I noticed some balloons over the potato section advertising a new product. Curious, I walked over to look at it. They were advertising baby potatoes in a plastic container. It came with a seasoning packet, and it said they only took 5 minutes in the microwave. I thought to myself, there is no excuse not to cook at home anymore; they have made everything as easy as possible.
I know lots of people who want to cook at home because they understand it’s the better choice, but many families struggle to do so. For my family, there are only a few nights when cooking is a chore because we arrive home late, or we just had a busy day and don’t feel like it.
I have tried using subscription boxes like Hello Fresh, and it helps, but it’s also pricey, especially for larger families. And when I am at the store, I always see these convenient fresh options in the veggie section that you could use like a subscription box, that are so much cheaper, plus you don’t have to worry about what to do with all the packaging that comes with a snail mail subscription.
So, the little packet of potatoes gave me an idea, coming up with quick semi-homemade meals under 40 minutes for under 40 dollars. Here are the rules I gave myself for coming up with these meals.
First, fresh food is key. The meals have to come from the produce, meat, dairy, and bread sections. Nothing super processed.
Second, these meals needed to work for busy nights. I have to make them during nights with school functions or sports.
Lastly, it needs to feed a family of four. My home is a family of three, but my husband likes to take leftovers to work the next day.
With that in mind, I bought two of the potato packets. I wanted to try to make my first fresh meal the next day after my son’s sports practice. I also wanted to buy the premade chicken cordon bleu, but couldn’t find it that day. The chicken is a fresh packaged dinner that is ready to cook that I have seen in most grocery stores. Alternatively, I grabbed a packet of drumsticks knowing I had supplies for a marinade at home. It’s a quick recipe that I put down below.
To add more veggies I grabbed bag of shredded iceberg lettuce and cut bell peppers. This is a start for a salad that I will add onions, carrots and whatever else I can find in my fridge.
Here is how the price broke down:
2 baby potato packs - $7 (Time to cook 10 minutes total, if you do both packs.)
2 packs of chicken cordon bleu - $12.99 (Time to cook 35 minutes.)
Alternative: Marinated Drumsticks - $9.75 (Time to cook 35 minutes on grill)
Iceberg lettuce - $1.98 (Time it took to make the salad: 10 minutes.)
Precut bell peppers - $1.98
Total: 23.95
Is this the best meal you could ever make? No, definitely not, but I personally believe it’s better than eating McDonald’s in your minivan like I see so many parents do. Plus, you know of every ingredient going into your food and it taste better than a fast food meal.
I understand that we all have our busy days, for some of us, it’s every day. Hopefully, this little series can help you make quicker, better choices for dinner. If you make this meal let me know what you think!
Marinade Recipe for Drumsticks
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 large lime, juiced
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon oregano, dried or fresh
1 teaspoon parsley, dried or fresh
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 drumsticks
Instructions:
Combine every thing in a bowl except drumsticks.
Put drumsticks in a gallon freezer bag and marinate overnight or for at least two hours.
Cook on grill for 25-35 minutes until the internal temperature is 165F. Or cook in oven on a baking sheet lined with foil at 425F for 40 minutes flipping half way through.