Need cheap recipes for large family

kaata

Stay away from boxed and canned!!

Healthier old not any extra time!!

We're a family of eight!!!!

sweetyedie

Thanks for asking this. Family of 9 here and many times we need inexpensive cuisine. .

Skinny pasta is buttered pasta with garlic chopped chicken and cherry tomatoes. Also can top with Romano cheese.

Justacoffeenut

Bump

Railr0aderTony

Whole chickens, split it down the backbone and lay it out flat on a cookie sheet and bake, will feed all 6 for like $5. I have to say it and others will not agree but plain old Idaho Potatoes. 10# bag, you can do a million things with a potato and they are healthy. Sweet potatoes. Buy a whole pork loin and cut it up into sections and put in freezer bags. make each bag enough for one meal. Head lettuce instead of bags, much cheaper. big old tub of oats, goes a long way for breakfast. depending on what time of year it is, buy a turkey, they are not just for thanksgiving and you can make one stretch forever. Good luck.

ashleyplus3

bump - I need these ideas too! :-)

MissyPoo2013

Bump!

recentcoin

Get 1 large whole chicken, 1 qt of apple juice and an onion. Rinse off the chicken. Peel & quarter the onion. Put the onion inside the chicken. Put chicken & juice in crock pot. Add water to cover chicken. Season to taste. Turn on. Leave for work. Done when you come home. Serve with wild rice & blanched broccoli.

To make broccoli - cut up head of fresh broccoli. Bring lightly salted water to boil. Add broccoli and turn off heat. After about 5 minutes, remove from water. Toss with 1 pat of butter or margarine and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Salt & pepper to taste.

Recycle left overs into chicken taco casserole. Pull chicken off bones, Add taco seasoning to taste. Layer into casserole pan with canned black beans, corn, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, etc. Top with some tortillas and low fat cheese. Bake until cheese is melted.

annebaum41912

Chicken breasts, salsa, taco seasoning. Put it in a crockpot and let go all day. Make as much as you want. I have a family of four. I use 2 jars of store brand salsa (2 for $3), one or two packs of taco seasoning, depending on your tastes. Can add black beans as well. The ratio of all of the above really just depends on what your personal preference is.

i make this meal! except i add a can of cream of mushroom (or whatever cream of you wish) to it. absolutely delish and doesn't add much more cost, especially if you get generic. do not "make" the soup by adding water. just dump the big glop into the crock pot lol

edited to add: it goes without saying to buy the 99% fat free cream of xxxxx

teresamwhite

Breakfast for dinner...Pancakes (we do half white and half wheat flour), eggs and fruit are pretty inexpensive. Crepes are good, too, with whatever leftovers you have as fillings.

Soups...minestrone and other veggie soups are great for stretching the grocery dollar (and you can add whatever meat you want...we've done it with one chicken breast diced pretty small for 3 people...ground sausage (fried and drained very well so the soup isn't greasy), ground turkey...what have you).

Loaded potato night...great big potatoes and then set out smaller dishes of toppings. Get creative! I've set out sliced hot dogs as a topping once, and now its my sons fave!

Grilled/baked pizza...again, make up the dough, and use whatever you have on hand as toppings.

Hmm...reading this through, we do a lot of BYO type of meals. I think when you present the toppings in pretty bowls or plates, and then let everyone make it the way they like it, the meals seems more festive and there is less for me to do!

chloed330

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/cheap-and-healthy

sharonfoustmills

not so authentic Puerto Rican beans

jar sofrito or a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
mixed beans
water
any of these spices that you have already: cumin, parika, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, cilantro, salt, pepper
you can add some chopped bell peppers and/ or onions if you want

cook in crock pot

you can eat it with rice, or you can put some kind of meat in it if you want (it resembles chili if you put lean ground beef in it but I use vege meat crumbles instead and one bag of those will do and its only $3), it's delicious without any meat though and it is really filling food

mjboswell

Bump

Morgaath

Try this: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/healthy-recipe-finder#
Under Conveniences check "Budget Friendly", and maybe "Good For Crowds", and then pick the rest as you choose.

tekwriter

One of my cheapest is taking a number 10 can of tomato sauce, adding spices, garlic, basil,orgeano, red pepper, some grated caorrot - essentially whatever you like and lots of it. I let this simmer in the crockpot all day and then serve over spaghetti. It is just as good as the cheap canned stuff but more plentiful and cheaper.

TheDoctorDana

I posted one for my Pals on my profile yesterday. Here it is:

I lb hamburger meat browned
1 bag of frozen (Birdseye) peppers and onions or use fresh
3 can of stewed tomatoes
3 can of dark red kidney beans

Brown meat, Cook peppers and onions till soft. Add tomatoes and beans. Let simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

Each 8 oz serving has only 184 calories!

Great served over rice or with tortilla chips. I add a few beef bouillon cubes, Tony Cashere's, balsamic vinegar and siriacha to mine

melinda200208

I make chicken/bean/rice wraps. Really cheap. I make a bunch of them and freeze them.

Chicken breasts
White or Brown Rice
Black beans (any kind you prefer)
Pinto beans
Velveeta Queso Shredded Cheese
Tortilla Wraps
Garlic
Taco or Fajita seasoning

Fry the chicken up. Add a few cloves of fresh garlic minced. Shred up the chicken. Cook the rice. Mix together the chicken, beans, and rice. Put a spoonful of that mixture on a tortilla and add a little shredded cheese. My husband likes to add salsa as well. Very cheap! We also make breakfast burritos and freeze them as well. I think when i figured it out, it was about 50cents a burrito. Maybe even a tad cheaper.

philodoxdreams

Bump.

We have a family of 7 - red beans and rice and baked/stuffed potatoes are a staple in our house, especially when we're cooking on a budget.

ware_sarah

Bump! Same as a lot of you, family of 7 on a budget, Good post to get new ideas!

kathyvstephan

bump

Trilby16

Wow! Everyone but me lives someplace where chicken breasts are cheap, I guess! I'd like to go there.

Trilby16

Here's a fun, easy, cheap way to make oatmeal, even for family members who don't like oatmeal.

Get a canester of store brand rolled oats and cook them according to directions. Cook up about 6-8 servings. Add a little white or brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, and pour into a loaf pan. Refrigerate. The next morning, cut into 1" slices and fry in a small amount of butter till both sides have some tasty browning on them. Serve with syrup if needed. Very good and filling. Kids will eat it.

megsi474

Chicken breasts, salsa, taco seasoning. Put it in a crockpot and let go all day. Make as much as you want. I have a family of four. I use 2 jars of store brand salsa (2 for $3), one or two packs of taco seasoning, depending on your tastes. Can add black beans as well. The ratio of all of the above really just depends on what your personal preference is. Sometimes I take (99 cents) flour tortillas, use a pizza cutter and cut in triangles, spray with a little pam, sprinkle with some of the taco seasoning and pop in oven to crisp up to go with it. Hope this helps!

I was going to post something similar. I do this over rice or potatoes (white or sweet depending on your preference).

sanndandi

bump

Sizethree4Ever

Wow! Everyone but me lives someplace where chicken breasts are cheap, I guess! I'd like to go there.

I thought about the same thing. I live in Canada, and meat, especially boneless chicken breasts here are expensive.
I bought 1 tray that has 4 pcs of chicken breast $ 24.99. Even fresh veggies and fruits prices are crazy expensive.
I spend $ 200 week easy on our grocery a week for myself and two teenagers, not including junk food.

Linda916

I always start with the local grocery store ads. I make a plan ahead of time. I figure out our weekly meals based on what is on sale that week. I make my list and head out. I go to the meat section of the sale ad first and see what is on sale, is the least expensive per pound, yet a healthy choice. I then look at the fresh veggies that are on ad and go from there. In my area this week, cucumbers are 50cents, zucchini is 59cents, and cauliflower is 99cents, and the DEAL: chicken leg quarters are 75cents a pound. You can do a million things with chicken and there are so many websites where you can throw in the ingredients of your pantry and fridge and they will figure out a meal plan for you!

5 pounds of chicken to bbq or bake or whatever $3.75
3 cucumbers (for a cucumber salad) $1.50
2 pounds zucchini $1.18
1 head cauliflower $0.99

Bam! Family Dinner for $7.42


(the chicken leg quarters are a bit fatty and require me to trim them a bit and I pull the skin off but at the price they are a great deal!)

Just an example... best of luck! You can do it!

HealthyFocused715

Another to try might be www.budgetbytes.com

JosieFury

I grew up ridiculously broke and if you don't have a crock pot already, get one. (Sometimes even Goodwill will have a decent sized used one for oh, $5.)

If you're nice enough to meat department people, bakery etc they'll tell you when they put the markdowns out during the day. I've managed to get meat (including full "pot roast" kits with the meat and veg all wrapped up) for half and sometimes less than half of the original price. And don't be afraid to scrounge the day-old bakery rack, since you have six people and it's probably going to be eaten while it's still fresh anyway. There's nice bread choices over there sometimes - I go through those Flat-Out wraps like it's nobody's business and I've found them on the discount rack.

Idunno if they've reopened any of the bread outlets since Hostess is back, but check there. I used to get the Oroweat sandwich thins and the 100 calorie English muffins there for gawsh....maybe a third of what they cost at the grocery.

Pasta. Yeah, it's not glam, but when I went to Wal-Mart yesterday the Newman's Own sauces are right around 2 bucks and they're GOOD. And you really can throw just about anything on pasta.

Literally typing as I think of things here, I apologise for rambling! You probably already know this but take the extra two seconds to get the grocery store's discount coupon card thing if you haven't already done so and CHECK YOUR CIRCULARS.

(Note: I am not really a horse. That is just a troll deterrent.)

Msnevergiveup70

Chicken is not always cheap however around here turkey is on .98 a pound. I got a good size turkey for under $10. why do we wait for Christmas when turkey has so many versatile meals.

JosieFury

Chicken is not always cheap however around here turkey is on .98 a pound. I got a good size turkey for under $10. why do we wait for Christmas when turkey has so many versatile meals.

THANK you! My gram cooked turkey almost year round because it was so much cheaper than chicken - Idunno how but it never ended up dry either... It's one of those things you don't even think of until someone mentions it.

SACasto

Bump