What are some good cheap breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinner for the kids over summer break?
Posted by admin on Dec 13, 2008 in Cooking Recipes |
jjkk asked:
What are some good cheap breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinner for the kids over summer break?
What are some good cheap breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinner for the kids over summer break? I have 4 kids and it is getting hard to keep up with them this summer on what they want to eat that we can afford. Any suggestions will be great!
I would like to spend 3$ on breakfast, 2 on snacks, 5$ on lunch and 7$ on dinner
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What are some good cheap breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinner for the kids over summer break?
What are some good cheap breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinner for the kids over summer break? I have 4 kids and it is getting hard to keep up with them this summer on what they want to eat that we can afford. Any suggestions will be great!
I would like to spend 3$ on breakfast, 2 on snacks, 5$ on lunch and 7$ on dinner
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are your kids picky eaters? e.g. will they eat healthy snacks with tomatoes or fresh veggies?
give us a ball park on what you would like to spend for a meal like lunch -
fruit/ celery/ carrots/ yogurts/ jacket potato/ beans on wholemeal toast with olive spread/ homemade soup/ salads, cheese/ apples/ crakers/ museli/ porridge. A balanced dinner.
Well it is hard to have 4 kids and balance their meals (that they lik) and balance the Healthiness as well.
My suggestion would be buy a bag of apples (or another type of fruit that can be cut into pieces and stored easily in a baggy or small container) As a snack I’d recomend sliced fruit or rice crispy bars. They aren’t terribly bad for you. Trial Mix is another idea for snack.
As for a real meal. Well go to your nearby Kroger (food store) and maybe get some popcorn, popcorn chicken, stuff that is fast and easy to eat.
If all else fails have your kids write down their favorite food and snack. Tell them their is going to be a budget. Take them with you to the store and have them shop with you. (i don’t know your kids age but if they are older this could help with wanting pricy food) They will see that a budget is important and restricting. What they get that day you should make sure they eat all of it. If they run out before they get their next budget then they might realize that sometimes more (as in name brand and stuff) is less .
If your kids are too young still to understand this still have them tell you their faveorite food and try to come to a compermize.
I hope I helped. Good luck and have a great summer!!
P.S If all else fails buy a name brand thing keep the box and then put the knock off stuff in it. They’ll never know. (saw that on a tv show once)
Make some taco boats or Sausage Boats for them.
I buy a package of Wonton Wraps (60 to a package)
You can make taco boats by browning two pounds of hamburger meat with 1 large sweet chopped onion. Drain and add 2 pkgs. of Ranch Dressing Mix (dry). If they like corn add a small can of drained corn also. Mix well.
Now for the wraps. Put them individually in muffin tins and pre-bake them to form a little bowl. Transfer them to a large cookie sheet as you pre-bake. I make about 48-50 with two pounds of meat. You may get 60 made if you add corn niblets also.
When you have pre-baked them spoon in your meat mixture and top with your favorite grated cheese. Place them back in the oven to melt the cheese.
Toppings can range from shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa and chopped tomatoes.
For breakfast use breakfast sausage, chopped sweet onion and scrambled eggs (you can scramble the eggs in with the meat after it has browned. Top again with your favorite cheese and place back in the oven to melt it.
Use your imagination. Wonton Wraps are usually in the produce section hanging where the tofu is.
The kids can just pop them in their mouth and top them as they want. They store well in the refrigerator and re-heat well also in the microwave.
I always liked cinnamon toast. Spread the bread with butter and sprinkle on some cinnamon and sugar and toast under the broiler until it bubbles. You can also use honey and cinnamon if you want to be healthier.
Make them a spaghetti salad. Cook your spaghetti and drain it. Add chopped cucumber, green and red bell peppers, chopped tomato and a chopped sweet onion. Add 1 bottle of Italian dressing and 1 bottle of McCormick Salad Supreme. Makes a large bowl and stores well in the refrigerator also. It like eating a cold spaghetti.
This bean salad is good in fiber and protein. Get some of your favorite canned beans, light red kidney beans, pinto beans, a can of mixed beans, etc. Add one bottle of French Dressing and chopped sweet onion if they will eat it. When you are ready to serve it to them with crackers add a bag of Frito Corn Chips to it and stir well. The Frito’s add a crunch to this and a flavor that everyone loves!
Don’t teach them to eat what they want, teach them to eat what is put in front of them or you will hate cooking and preparing meals and it will become a task instead of a pleasure.
Hot dogs are cheap. Make them some pigs in a blanket wrapped in crescent rolls. Bake them until the rolls are browned.
Pasta w/ jar sauce is cheap and quick feeds many.
A cheap healthy snack is slice bananas and freeze. my kids love them. they can put honey or choc. syrup on them or just plain.
I also take juice pouches and freeze, when ready cut off top and you have a cheap healthy frozen treat.
Not sure of the ages of your kids but for breakfast I buy the cheap canned biscuits and divide them up an let the kids make biscuit people and shapes (like play dough) they can sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Throw in the oven.
This also keeps them busy for a while. My youngest will not eat biscuits but loves these.
I also am dreading the summer months, its hard to be original and interesting.
Have a Great summer!
I can relate, I only have one left at home now but it was tough when all 4 were home.
Cereal and toast is the obvious choice for breakfast, stick with whole grains like Cheerios instead of the $$$$ on the sugar junk. If your kids like eggs, those are cheap and go a long way. Poached eggs on toast or scrambled eggs with salsa or diced ham.
Lunch: Grilled cheese and tomato soup or chicken noodles soup. Soup is so filling and cheap. Keep an eye on your weekly store flyer’s and stock up on whatever lunch meat is on sale–it freezes well. Cheese quisadiallas are easy and cheap.
Snacks: Prepare Jello or Instant pudding (make your own, don’t buy the premade), cheese and crackers, crackers and peanut butter–even jelly on saltines. Fresh veggies and dip.
Dinner: Again, keep an eye on what is on sale and stock up and freeze the extra. Tacos, burgers, ground beef in a beef broth over rice or mashed taters. Chicken is versatile, I love buying the bags of frozen boneless/skinless chicken breast, I dice them up and cook in some olive oil and garlic and toss with pasta–adding in any veggies you love. Stir fry is always a hit.
My kids also loved baked potatoes and one son would eat them as a snack.
You are saying what they want. That is what is making you crazy. You give them what YOU can affrd for them and let them knoe thats the BEST you can do. Im 49 and when I was a child, I remember my parents struggled and now I am much more grateful for what I have. You go shopping by yourself if you can so you can concentrate on what you need to buy.
Well I think they would probably like these lunch things to eat like grilled cheese sandwiches with some soup like tomato soup, some pizza rolls, maybe some chips like Doritos,
Ry-men noodles. Breakfast things some chocolate chip pancakes, some cold cereal with milk like cinnamon squares,
or oatmeal, bagels with cream cheese.
Breakfast - toast smorgasboard (make a variety of different toasts and them cut them into different shapes with cookie cutters), toast w/honeybutter, peanut butter, preserves or jelly, honey, cinnamon sugar, Nutella, etc. Bread is cheap and you probably have a lot of the other stuff on hand.
Lunch - Quesadilla slices: put 1 ten inch flour tortilla in a skillett and cover with your favorite shredded cheese and any other topping you wish (shredded chicken, tuna, veggies, etc), cover with another ten inch flour tortilla and cook on med heat until cheese is mostly melted; flip and warm other side. When done, cut into wedges as you would a pizza.
Dinner - Pigs in a blanket (wrap crescent rolls around hotdogs or little smokies and bake)
Snacks - trail mix (mix their fav dry cereal with nuts and raisins, add mm’s and/or chocolate chips if you are so inclined)
seriously super easy is for kids is a turkey wrap.
its healthy and good.
or aquesadilla delicious too.
little pizza with bagel bread tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and put it in ur oven for a little. super easy.
***Breakfast***
Pancakes
Scrambled Eggs
Toast
Oatmeal
Cereal
***Lunch***
Soups
Sandwiches
Fruit
—Sandwich Ideals—
Runza
Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato Sandwich
Chicken Salad Sandwich
Turkey Salad Sandwich
Ham Salad Sandwich
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Grilled Cheese And Jelly Sandwich (Any flavor of Jelly)
Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich (Any flavor of Jelly)
Grilled Peanut Butter And Banana Sandwich
Butter And Sugar Sandwich
Flutter-Nutter Sandwich
Grilled Flutter-Nutter Sandwich
Cream Cheese And Jelly Sandwich (Any flavor of Jelly)
Cream Cheese-Chopped Nuts Spread Sandwich
Amish Peanutbutter Spread Sandwich
—Amish Peanutbutter Spread—
1 Cup Peanutbutter (Smooth or Crunchy)
1 Cup Marshmallow Creme
1 Cup White Corn Syrup
Mix all ingredients together and use as a spread on bread slices. Store the remaining spread in a container.
—Tuna Salad Sandwich—
Combine tuna, chopped onion, chopped hard boiled egg, diced dill pickles, miracle whip, and some pickle juice together and put the tuna mixture on toasted bread. Eat and enjoy.
My parents use the same recipe and will add one slice of tomato, lettuce and sometimes one slice of onion on top of the tuna mixture.
— SJ-SC-CA Incredible Chicken Salad —
3 cups chicken breast (cooked and cubed)
1 cup pineapple (diced)
1/2 cup celery (diced)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
1/8 cup dried cranberries
2 Tablespoons sweet onion (minced)
2 Tablespoons apple juice
Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well combined and chill. Serve with a lettuce garnish. — (The chicken salad can be used as a sandwich filling.)
***Snacks***
Fruit
GORP (GORP is a trail mix. There are lots of variation on the GORP recipe.)
***Dinner***
Pizza
Pizza Casserole
Tator Tot Casserole
—Hot Dog Casserole—
You take hot dogs and cut them up. Add in mixed vegetables, chopped onion, tator tots, and a cheese sauce. Pour into casserole dish and bake until done.
***If you do not want cheese sauce, you can add in a can of undiluted creamed soup of your choice.***
Cereal for breakfast, bakery snack (box 12 only $4..25) macaroni and cheese for lunch , and ham cheese sandwich for dinner with milk.
Swiss Steak
1 round or cube steak, (approximately 1½lbs), see note
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14-1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into strips
1 medium bell pepper, cut into strips
Cut steak into serving-size pieces. Season, to taste, with garlic powder and salt and pepper. Dust meat with flour. In heavy skillet, brown both sides of meat in vegetable oil. Transfer to Dutch oven. Combine garlic, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and 1 tomato-can measure of water. Pour over steak and simmer over low heat until meat is tender, about 1½ hours adding water, if necessary to keep meat partially covered. Season, to taste, with additional salt and pepper.
Hint: Cook this in a slow-cooker on low for a most fabulous dinner. Low heat on a slow cooker is about 200 degrees F and high heat on a slow cooker is about 300 ºF.
Note: to ensure tenderness, it is necessary to have the butcher run the round steak through a cuber
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Chili Sauced Pork Chops
1/4 cup apricot jam or preserves
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 tablespoon sweet-hot mustard or brown mustard
1 tablespoon water
4 boneless pork top loin chops, 1 inch thick (about 1-1/2 pounds total)
Directions
1. For glaze, cut up any large pieces in apricot jam or preserves. In a small saucepan combine jam or preserves, chili sauce, mustard, and water. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until heated through and well blended. Remove from heat.
2. Trim excess fat from pork chops. Place chops on unheated rack of broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 8 minutes.
3. Turn pork chops; brush generously with glaze. Broil 8 to 12 minutes more or until juices run clear. Spoon any remaining glaze over meat before serving.
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Creamy Ziti with Sausage
8 ounces dried pasta such as ziti, tagliati, rigatoni, or mostaccioli
12 ounces fresh Italian sausage links, sliced
1 2-1/2 cup portion Basic Italian Sauce, thawed or 1, 27- to 30-ounce jar meatless spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup whipping cream, half-and-half, or light cream
Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; keep warm. Meanwhile, in a 2-quart saucepan cook sliced sausage over medium heat until cooked through, turning frequently. Drain well.
2. Add thawed Basic Italian sauce to saucepan with sausage; bring to boiling. Stir in cream; heat through. Toss with hot pasta; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired
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Baked Macaroni Cheese
1 lb. macaroni, boiled al dente, according to pkg. directions
2 cups white sauce** (recipe below)
2 c ups yellow cheddar
2 cups Muenster cheese
Add cheese to white sauce and stir. (Save a bit of cheese for the topping.) Stir sauce into macaroni and place in a buttered casserole dish. Place in 350° oven until slightly brown and bubbly on top — 25-30 minutes.
**White Sauce:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
Heat the milk and cream together almost to a boil. Melt butter in saucepan, then add all the flour stirring constantly. Let cook for 4-5 minutes, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and add warm milk and cream while whisking — if sauce is too thick, add a touch more milk.
—————
Miami Macaroni and Wisconsin Cheese
Ingredients:
2 cups pancetta in 1/4 dice
3/4 loaf of 12 x 2 baguette (dry)
8 ounces unsalted butter
1 1/2 pound rotelli (corkscrew) pasta
1 1/2 quart (6 cups) heavy cream
2 1/2 cups milk
8 ounces (2 cups) Wisconsin Parmesan cheese, finely grated and divided
12 ounces (3 cups) Wisconsin Fontina cheese, cut in 1/4 cubes and chilled
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Spread the pancetta on a baking pan and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until just crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
Crush and crumble the baguette into semi-fine bread crumbs, using a food processor if you wish. You will have about 2 cups.
In a large sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add crumbs and toss to coat, toasting and stirring frequently until golden brown. Set aside.
Boil the rotelli in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Heat a large sauce pan. Add heavy cream and milk. Bring to boil. Simmer until reduced by one-third. Slowly whisk in 1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese and the reserved pancetta. Continue to simmer and reduce to a thick and creamy consistency.
Add the cream mixture to the pasta along with the Fontina cheese. Toss quickly and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Butter twelve 5- to 6-ounce individual casserole dishes (or one 12 x 18 casserole). Fill the dishes with the rotelli. Divide breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese over the tops. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (longer if in large pan), or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.
————–
THE BEST MAC CHEESE
16 ounces macaroni (uncooked)
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
14 ounces Velveeta cheese, cut into chunks
salt and pepper
8 slices Velveeta cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook macaroni according to directions and drain.
Melt margarine in a large saucepan.
Add flour and whisk together.
Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble and thickens.
Stir constantly.
Add chunks of Velveeta and allow to melt.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour macaroni into a 13×9 oblong baking dish.
Pour sauce over macaroni.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then put extra slices of cheese on top.
Bake for another 5 minutes until cheese melts.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve
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POUND CAKE
Combine:
2 sticks butter
1 2/3 cup sugar
Beat in:
5 eggs (1 at a time)
Add:
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon rum extract
Mix thoroughly and bake 1 hour at 325 degrees