Dinner for Two: Under $10 (for both!)

At the grocery store last night, we bought a package of ground beef (just under 1 lb. ~$1.50.), and I happened to have refrigerated pizza dough. I wanted to try something I don't usually make, so I decided on a calzone of sorts. Here's what I used:

Pizza dough
1/4 sweet onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 clove of garlic (from a jar of minced)
S&P
Frozen spinach
Dried basil and oregano
Shredded cheese
Olive oil

And here's how it all came together:
I cooked the beef with the onion. After I drained off the grease, I added half a can of diced tomatoes and 1 clove of garlic (reserve the rest of the can and its juice). I had defrosted about a cup of frozen spinach, which I added to the mixture. Then I dropped in about a 1/4 teaspoon of each of the dried herbs and S&P.

I prepared the dough by greasing a cookie sheet and cutting it in half. I spread it out and piled some of the beef mixture down the center of each half, then topped with cheese. After I close it all up, I brushed a bit of olive oil on the top.

Bake according to the dough's instructions.

Marinara sauce:
For dipping, I mixed up a homemade marinara. I simply mashed up the rest of the can's tomatoes and its juice, adding a dash or two of basil and oregano, a bit of garlic, and S&P. I cooked it in the same pan I used for the beef to add some flavor. Let it simmer while the calzones cook.


They turned out great, and it's a recipe you can easily adjust to your likes. Just switch out the meat and vegetables (or skip the meat entirely)! For our meal, the cost was closer to $5 due to deals I had gotten on the dough ($.30!) and the cheese. Depending on what you put in yours, you could make your expenses even less!