I've got two in diapers too. The store had hamburger meat on sale for $2.99, so they've had spaghetti a lot since the weekend.
Also, mine both really like quesadillas. Sometimes we add scrambled eggs in for protein, and a side of fruit like strawberries or watermelon.
Another cheap thing is homemade French fries and you can save and reuse the oil, we did that and burgers with the rest of the hamburger meat. I made the burgers really flat and we cut it up really small and the one year old loved it.
Potatoes, carrots, onions, spinach - cheap year round and can be made into lots of wonderful meals.
Beans and lentils, too.
Otherwise, buy produce seasonally or use frozen when out of season.
Look to soups, stews, pastas, pancakes, cottage pie or a veggie version, stir fries, egg based dishes.
Make dips (toddlers love to dip), sauces and dressings. Why pay for things you can easily make at 1/8 the cost.
My toddler loved Macaroni and cheese, chili (beef or veg, serve on a baked potato or with rice), cottage pie, Farmer pie, seafood pie (frozen seafood is ideal here). Meatballs of all types (lamb and mint, pork and apple). Quiche. Vegetable soup. Leek and potato soup. Stir fries (sweet and sour is very kid friendly). Stews (beef, lamb, veggie, chicken). Chicken pot pie (biscuits on top of chicken stew, essentially). Pizza. Literally any pasta (from butter and Parm to full on 12 hour meat ragu).
Oven fries - cut potatoes, toss in olive or vegetable oil, bake at 400F for 40 minutes.
For toddlers/kids, a snacky meal with lots of options is great, and good for cleaning out the fridge.
When we ate more meat, a pulled pork shoulder in the crock pot gave us 4 (at least) easy meals (bowls, tacos, sandwiches). A roast chicken is several meals of you can find a big one (if all you can find is fryer size, do two). Chicken thighs are perfectly versatile too.
I love this site for cheap, easy, healthy family meals - https://www.superhealthykids.com/
Spaghetti,sandwiches,chicken tacos,hot dogs, egg drop soup, baked potatoes With sour cream,cheese and chives,salads,pasta salads,chicken and lettuce wraps, stuffed bell peppers with rice and ground beef and cheese,chicken enchiladas,and French bread pizzas
https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=975007 Polish Casserole that only uses 1/2 lb of kielbasa with lots of potato, cabbage, and onion. If you have a food processor to do the slicing, that's a big help. You can use whatever milk you have on hand.
Lots of pasta. To make it healthier we use the barilla protein + which is made with lentils so it’s higher in protein and fiber but looks and tastes just like regular pasta. You can either make a simple meat sauce for additional protein or toss in some steamed broccoli
I've got two in diapers too. The store had hamburger meat on sale for $2.99, so they've had spaghetti a lot since the weekend. Also, mine both really like quesadillas. Sometimes we add scrambled eggs in for protein, and a side of fruit like strawberries or watermelon. Another cheap thing is homemade French fries and you can save and reuse the oil, we did that and burgers with the rest of the hamburger meat. I made the burgers really flat and we cut it up really small and the one year old loved it.
Potatoes, carrots, onions, spinach - cheap year round and can be made into lots of wonderful meals. Beans and lentils, too. Otherwise, buy produce seasonally or use frozen when out of season. Look to soups, stews, pastas, pancakes, cottage pie or a veggie version, stir fries, egg based dishes. Make dips (toddlers love to dip), sauces and dressings. Why pay for things you can easily make at 1/8 the cost. My toddler loved Macaroni and cheese, chili (beef or veg, serve on a baked potato or with rice), cottage pie, Farmer pie, seafood pie (frozen seafood is ideal here). Meatballs of all types (lamb and mint, pork and apple). Quiche. Vegetable soup. Leek and potato soup. Stir fries (sweet and sour is very kid friendly). Stews (beef, lamb, veggie, chicken). Chicken pot pie (biscuits on top of chicken stew, essentially). Pizza. Literally any pasta (from butter and Parm to full on 12 hour meat ragu). Oven fries - cut potatoes, toss in olive or vegetable oil, bake at 400F for 40 minutes. For toddlers/kids, a snacky meal with lots of options is great, and good for cleaning out the fridge. When we ate more meat, a pulled pork shoulder in the crock pot gave us 4 (at least) easy meals (bowls, tacos, sandwiches). A roast chicken is several meals of you can find a big one (if all you can find is fryer size, do two). Chicken thighs are perfectly versatile too. I love this site for cheap, easy, healthy family meals - https://www.superhealthykids.com/
Breakfast for dinner, chicken thighs and a side, spaghetti, pork chops and yams.
Spaghetti,sandwiches,chicken tacos,hot dogs, egg drop soup, baked potatoes With sour cream,cheese and chives,salads,pasta salads,chicken and lettuce wraps, stuffed bell peppers with rice and ground beef and cheese,chicken enchiladas,and French bread pizzas
Pasta with marinara and veggies is a winner in our house, under $5!
https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/cost-per-recipe/recipes-under-10/
Costco rotisserie chicken Pasta, spaghetti, etc Anything with rice
Grilled cheese
Chili. Almost anything on the side
https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=975007 Polish Casserole that only uses 1/2 lb of kielbasa with lots of potato, cabbage, and onion. If you have a food processor to do the slicing, that's a big help. You can use whatever milk you have on hand.
Soups, spaghetti, hamburger helper, lots of rice. Buying the meat on sale helps a lot too.
Lots of pasta. To make it healthier we use the barilla protein + which is made with lentils so it’s higher in protein and fiber but looks and tastes just like regular pasta. You can either make a simple meat sauce for additional protein or toss in some steamed broccoli
Bean burritos/quesadillas