Make This Incredible Pulled Pork for Pennies

Here in the Tarheel State, there isn’t much of anything we like to eat better than pulled pork BBQ. In fact, we North Carolinians are so crazy about our barbeque, we’ve been known to engage in passionate and somewhat heated debates about sauce, preparation methods, and which restaurant has the best pulled pork. However, even when we don’t see eye-to-eye, something we can all agree on is that there’s nothing quite like a big ‘ole plate of pork BBQ!

So how do you satisfy your cravings for pulled pork at home without getting takeout? Make it in your slow cooker! This delicious and amazingly easy pulled pork recipe is the creation of my friend and co-worker Anita. She came up with this recipe a couple of months ago and brought it to work for some of us to try. I have to say it was love at first bite, and I knew she had a real winner. When I got the recipe from her, I realized that she had created a recipe that was not only delicious; it’s easy and economical too. The onion soup gives this pork a little something extra that takes the flavor over-the-top, so if you’re a pulled pork lover, you have got to try this, and don't forget the coleslaw (thanks Anita)!

Click on the orange boxes for a printable version of the recipes

Anita’s Incredible Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (makes 7-8 cups. Serves: 8 for BBQ plates @ about $1.00 per serving, or 12 for sandwiches @ about 90 cents per serving (includes bun)

Easy Coleslaw (serves 8 @ about 50 cents per serving)

Make an Easter feast for your family that costs less than $2 per person

On a tight budget and wondering how you can afford a big family meal this Easter? Relax! Even if your budget is tighter than ever, you can still prepare an incredible Easter feast for your family without sacrificing the flavors you love. The secret? A $2 Dinners menu that’s super-easy and chock-full of thrifty recipes for all your Easter favorites. In fact, this $2 Dinners menu is so budget-friendly, it will only cost you about $1.68 per person! With this great menu, you’ll have enough money left over to make a $2 Dinners Chocolate Mudpie Cake for dessert and still come in under $2 per person!

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Ham with apples (serves 8 @ about $1.01 per serving)


Roasted Green Beans (serves 8 @ about 25 cents per serving)


Mashed Potatoes (serves 8 @ about 25 cents per serving)



Herb Bread (serves 16 @ about 17 cents per serving)

Takeout “fake-outs” are tasty and easy on your wallet

Don’t you just love Chinese takeout? Egg Rolls, Chicken Fried Rice, Won Ton Soup, Sesame Chicken…so many delicious choices! Calling the local Chinese place for takeout is always a treat worth looking forward to, but sometimes there may not be room in your budget when a craving comes over you. So what can you do when you’ve got takeout on your mind and it’s not in your budget? Try making your own!

Preparing your favorite Chinese takeout at home is not only fun and easy, it’s economical too. With our $2 Dinners version of some classic takeout favorites, you can feed your family for a fraction of what it costs to order from your local takeout place. These “takeout fake-outs” have the flavor your family loves from your favorite restaurant, at a price that’s easy on your wallet. Try these great recipes and have fun “faking out” your family with your own homemade takeout this weekend!

Click on the orange boxes for a printable version of the recipes

Easy Egg Rolls (makes 10 egg rolls @ about 90 cents each)


Chicken Fried Rice (serves 4 @ about $1.01 per serving)

These kid-pleasing meals won’t break the bank

If you have kids or grandkids, you know that their tastes in food are pretty predictable and not always budget-friendly. So-called “fast food” such as burgers, fries, pizza, tacos etc., is the order of the day for most kids, and that usually means a trip to the nearest drive-through where the costs can add up fast! Even if you purchase from the dollar-menu, a family of four will most likely spend a minimum of $12 for burgers, fries and drinks each time they visit the drive-through. While we all want to make our kids happy, for families on a budget trips to the drive-through can be too hard on the wallet to be an option.

So how can you satisfy your kids’ taste for fast-food without blowing your budget? Why not try some kid-pleasing, budget-friendly casseroles? These thrifty casseroles have all the flavors of some of your kids’ fast-food favorites without the drive-through price tag!

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Cheeseburger-n-Tots Casserole (makes 12 servings @ about 90 cents per serving)



Chili Cheese “Corn Dog” Casserole (makes 6 servings @ about $1.27 per serving)

Feed your family twice with just one rotisserie chicken

A tender, juicy rotisserie chicken from the supermarket is one of my favorite $2 Dinners shortcuts, and I love to find new ways to use this economical and incredibly versatile deli treasure. While the “slice-and-serve” aspect is one of the nicest benefits of a rotisserie chicken, the real beauty of this deli convenience food is that it’s a quick and budget-friendly source for cooked chicken to use in recipes. It takes a few minutes to get all the meat off the bones, and yes, it’s kind of messy, but the results are worth it because you get an average of 2 ½ to 3 cups of meat when you’re done. While that might not sound like a big deal, here at $2 Dinners we know that 2 ½ to 3 cups of meat is enough for not one, but two dinners, and the best part is that you didn’t have to cook the chicken yourself! So what can you do with all that lovely chicken? The possibilities are endless, but the following quick and oh-so-easy recipes will get you started.

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30-Minute Easy Chicken Pie (serves 4 @ about $1.08 per serving)



Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas (serves 6 @ about $1.42 per serving)

Dried beans: budget-friendly and delicious (part 3)

Today is the last installment of our 3-part series on a favorite ingredient here at $2 Dinners: budget-friendly dried beans. As with the previous two articles, my hope is to inspire you to add these nutritious little bargains to the menu at your house by showing you how easy they are to cook, and then by giving you a recipe that shows you how you can use them in a flavorful and budget-friendly way.


This week’s first recipe shows you a simple and flavorful way to cook dried Great Northern beans, and then in the second recipe, we’ll use them to make Italian Sausage with Beans and Tomato, an Italian-inspired dish that your family will ask for again and again. This hearty, one-pot meal takes almost prep time because the beans were cooked in advance, and the 30-minute simmer time leaves you free to pack lunches, help with homework, or sit and relax while dinner practically cooks itself!

Click on the orange boxes for a printable version of the recipes

Easy Great Northern Beans (makes 6 servings @ about 48 cents per serving)



Italian Sausage with Beans and Tomato (serves 4 to 6 @ about $1.47 per serving)

Dried beans are budget-friendly and delicious, too (part 2)

Today we continue our 3-part series on a favorite ingredient here at $2 Dinners: budget-friendly dried beans. One of the best food bargains around, beans not only pack a healthy punch, they’re also easy to prepare. This week’s first recipe shows you a simple and flavorful way to cook dried kidney beans, and then in the second recipe, we’ll use those perfectly-prepared beans to make Red Beans and Rice, a comfort food favorite from New Orleans. This hearty, savory, and filling recipe is perfect for a frosty January day!

Click on the orange boxes for printable versions of the recipes

Easy Red Beans (makes 6 servings @ about 79 cents per serving)



Red Beans and Rice (makes 6 servings @ about $1.89 per serving)