feeding an army on a poor person budget.

Turkey is a cheap lean protein! Consider buying a larger one and roasting - you can serve many meals and freeze what you don't eat!

Chicken stry fry. .. I just bought an electronic skillet and I found that has inproved cooking time it just gets so hot...
Sweet Potato hash and eggs with toast. I pre cook the potatoes in the microwave just a little then shread them. I use coconut oil. Salt paper. Then I scramble eggs and serve it together. Make spaghetti sauce and serve it over spaghetti squash. Spinich is cheap and I use it a lot as salad. I have cooked for 12 people and oat meal is cheap! Eggs, chicken, rice, beans. Whole foods are way cheaper then anything out of a box... I make most all my own stock, cream soups, and I can make bread but I dont do that offten dinner rools can be made for about 110 calories a rool and will help keep you full. One tip I learned in a once a month cooking class was to limit options. ... you can buy staples such as breakfast you eat oat meal or eggs, lunch is left overs soup from the crock pot or a sandwich. Those are my tips.

Get your proteins in bulk (and freeze) and buy seasonal produce, and try to cook from scratch more than from a box or pre-packaged foods. That will slash your grocery bill easy. (Not saying you don't already do that, that's just what I do! )

Soups and chilis can go a LONG way. You could easily feed a family of 9 with one large chicken, half a package each of carrots and celery, an onion, some chicken stock/water, and a package of egg noodles, for example. You can make it all ahead (except for maybe noodles if you're using them) and then just re-heat at dinnertime.

Some cuts of beef and pork (pot roast, etc) are a bargain per pound (especially on sale), and they cook up beautifully with veggies in a crock pot. Just make the plates veggie-heavy and can be a very healthy meal.

Eggs are a really cheap protein, too. Try making a veggie heavy fritatta (might need 2 for 9 people).

Bulk rice and beans are yummy, and you can go nearly any direction with them flavor-wise and addition-wise (you could add a bit of some kind of sausage, veggies, spices, cheese, etc etc etc) and have a great meal.

This past week I bought an 8lbs pork roast. It last 3 days, granted there's only two of us, but still. Along with that I bought a 5lbs bag of red skin potatoes, which lasted the same amount of time. I'll also check what the weekly special is on meat and buy in bulk and freeze. Always be on the lookout for the weekly specials at your grocery store! Hope this helps. :flowerforyou:

generally we cook dinner for two families, as were living with my parents and its just easier to cook one meal than it is to fight over the kitchen so each family can cook separately. So unless one family has other plans I do the cooking. There's 9 of us total. 5 of those being kids, and one of the adults eats about as much as my toddler.
So.....that said I need some suggestions for CHEAP yet healthy meals I can throw together. Preferably fast, simple ones or crock pot meals (my fav!) as my DD has gymnastics 2 days a week, technology club once a week, my husband works late hours...so the simpler the better!

3 INGREDIENT CHICKEN SOFT TACOS
get out your biggest crock
put 6 large chicken breasts in (after you've sprayed the crock with Pam)
add 1 or 2 cans of Rotel (hot or mild) (I usually do this with 3 large breast, 1 can of Rotel and 1 pckg of TB Seasoning for our family of 3)
and 1-2 pckgs of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning.
Cook on low 8 hours (maybe a little longer depending on whether or not the breast were frozen and how hot your crock gets)
Remove chicken and shred, drain off any excess liquid and add shredded chicken back in to keep it moist...turn crock to warm and SERVE
on warm tortillas& all the fixuns (refried beans, sour cream, shredded fiesta blend cheese, hot sauce, etc...)
EASY AND SOOOOO GOOD
:drinker: :flowerforyou:

generally we cook dinner for two families, as were living with my parents and its just easier to cook one meal than it is to fight over the kitchen so each family can cook separately. So unless one family has other plans I do the cooking. There's 9 of us total. 5 of those being kids, and one of the adults eats about as much as my toddler.
So.....that said I need some suggestions for CHEAP yet healthy meals I can throw together. Preferably fast, simple ones or crock pot meals (my fav!) as my DD has gymnastics 2 days a week, technology club once a week, my husband works late hours...so the simpler the better!

3 INGREDIENT CHICKEN SOFT TACOS
get out your biggest crock
put 6 large chicken breasts in (after you've sprayed the crock with Pam)
add 1 or 2 cans of Rotel (hot or mild) (I usually do this with 3 large breast, 1 can of Rotel and 1 pckg of TB Seasoning for our family of 3)
and 1-2 pckgs of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning.
Cook on low 8 hours (maybe a little longer depending on whether or not the breast were frozen and how hot your crock gets)
Remove chicken and shred, drain off any excess liquid and add shredded chicken back in to keep it moist...turn crock to warm and SERVE
on warm tortillas& all the fixuns (refried beans, sour cream, shredded fiesta blend cheese, hot sauce, etc...)
EASY AND SOOOOO GOOD
:drinker: :flowerforyou:

8 Can Taco Soup (you can do this in a crock as well! I also add the leftover shredded chicken from my other recipe to make it more filling)
Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15.25 oz.) can sweet corn, drained
1 (12.5 oz.) can white chicken breast, drained
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large pot.
Heat until warm, stirring occasionally.
Serve with tortilla chips.

I like the cooking light website, BUT some of their recipes can get pricey. However they have a 103 money saving recipe slideshow. Here is the link…

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes-00400000056656/


I am cooking for 5, 2 small kids, my husband and I AND a 17 year old male exchange student who also happens to be an elite swimmer who needs to consume close to 10,000 calories a day! I am finding these recipes to be manageable, most everyone is enjoying them and many can be whipped up in under 45 minutes. We have baseball 5 days a week, and I find that if you plan everything out on Sunday it makes the week go MUCH smoother. Feel free to friend me and I can give you tips and tricks for eating healthy, cheap and FAST!

I know it is not an easy thing, it has been something I have been tweaking for the past few years but just started to get serious about my health.

Try Jack Monroe's blog, A Girl Called Jack, for great ideas about eating well with little money.

Eggs, Oats, Rice, Potatoes, Canned Tuna, beans, hotdogs, bulk/Costco meat for best prices per pound, generic bagged cereal, frozen/canned/fresh vegetables are all pretty good so buy whatever is on sale. Ham (fresh or canned) for ham with beans or cabbage and in ham hash. Jello is kind of a filler food, but if you add fresh fruit to it you can keep things interesting and get some fiber and nutrients out of it.

Basics are good. Oil, spices, and chicken with a starch and veggie can be tasteful for few ingredients if well prepared.

Also, crockpots and one-pot meals are your best friend in those situations.

Bump

Love this one around here. Basically ground beef, corn, pasta, and cheese: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/southwestern-corn-skillet/cf317974-fd09-494a-ae39-d53639e64888?src=SH

I don't have to feed anyone but myself but I have a very tight budget.

I buy bags of beans, lentils, chickpeas, rice, pasta etc - usually $1-something per bag
I buy whatever fruits & veggies are on sale
A block of tofu is $1.15 at my grocery store
I read the sale flyers and look for coupons

I spend about $40/month on groceries (this is just for myself)

Thanks....bump for later