How to make a dinner for 4-6 people for under $11

With money being tight and time being limited, a quick easy meal for 4-6 people for $11 sounds just right for your wallet and time.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 2-3 boxes of rice a roni($1.50 a box)
• 1 pack of beef, 1-2 pieces on the thinner side($2-$3)
• 1 pack of porck, 2-3 pieces good size($2-$3)
• 1 crown of broccoli ($1-$2)
• 1 pan with raised edge (enough to cook the rice a roni)
• 1 pot
• 2bowel
• 1 knife
• 1 wooden spoon
• Butter
• Spices(any kind you like to use for pork and beef)
• Plastic wrap

1. Wash the broccoli and place it in a bowel, wash the meat and set in on a clean plate, and choose what type of rice a roni you want to use. You can use ANY type, but after a few trails I found the broccoli and cheese or any of the chicken flavors work very well for this dish.
2. these are the types i use, usually thin and not that big you can use whatever type of steak/beef product you like. Take the broccoli and cut it up into smaller pieces in the bowel then put some butter in the bowel with it, take plastic and place it over top the bowel and start heating, I usually do it for 1-2 minutes at a time.
3. Take the pan and meat over to the stove top. Turn on the stove top to a medium heat, while you wait put the spices on the meat. Once your finished with the spices place the meat on the pan. Cook it until it’s done (the way you prefer: rare, medium, well done ect.) I cook one piece of the beef/steak and two pieces of pork the first time and then one piece of steak and one piece of pork the second time just because the size of pan I use and I find it easier to work with since most times the pieces of beef/steak are going to be longer and thinner then the pork.
4. Once the first set of meat is done cooking put on the last (as described in step 3), while you are cooking that you can start cutting up the done meat into bite size pieces them place them in a large bowel. Check the cooking meat so you don’t over cook it and once that is done cut it up in to bite size pieces as well.
5. some of the different flavors you can choose from to use in this dish Take the rice a roni and start cooking it in the pan used for the meat (I do this because the flavors of the meat get mixed into the rice as well). The box tells you to brown the rice with some butter. Take the wooden spoon and mix the butter around in the rice till it melts then stir it every min or so until the rice is browned to the color you prefer. While you are in between stirs take a pot and fill it with the correct amount of water. Because you are using 2-3 boxes of rice a roni you’ll have to do the math on each box to add up how much water you should have. You can slowly start heating the water on a low setting.
6. When you have the rice browned take the flavor packets and mix them in as well, you can add a touch more butter if you want or just leave it with the amount you already have with the rice. I add the packets before putting the rice in the water because it’s easier to get it evenly mixed in and cooked instead of having to keep stirring to break the season packets up in the water. Once you have it evenly mixed in with the rice take the pan over to the pot and scrap the rice into the pot with the wooden spoon.
7. Follow the boxes instructions for the rest of cooking the rice a roni, boil then simmer until it’s done. While you wait for it to finish cooking, take the done broccoli and cut up meat and mix them together in the large bowel.
8. When the rice a roni is done take it and mix it in the large bowel with the cut up meat and broccoli, let it sit for a few minute and serve it.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use any meat you like, but you really don’t need more then 3 pieces of each meat, and two works out better. I like just picking 2 different types of meat for this meal, but again it’s whatever you like, so pick one or as many as you like.
• You can make it into TV dinners by putting a serving into a bagging and freezing it, that way you can take it to work or pack it in the kids lunches.
• For the beef/steak if your going out and looking thru all the choices, I’d take a thinner sliced steak, that way it is easier to cut into bite size pieces once cooked and it cooks faster. I also choose boneless so you can get the most meat and not have to cut around a bone.
• When I cook the meat I like it done medium rare, and most the time with my oven settings it takes between 10-15 minutes to get all the meat cooked.
• eating raw meat can make you sick, so i suggest at least cooking the meat.
• wash all the plates that raw meat has touched, it again isnt safe and can make you sick.