Total for Today $3.97

That is for 3 home cooked meals for 3 hungry people. And we had some leftovers!

Hotdogs in Mac and Cheese--$1.25

Hotdogs in mac and cheese is a favorite of ours. It makes a great quick lunch or supper, and it's cheap! And did I mention how easy it is?

First of all, boil some water for your macaroni. While that's warming, slice up some hotdogs. I quarter my hotdogs and then slice them, so we get little pie shaped pieces. That's just our personal preference. While the macaroni is cooking, saute the hotdogs. Fix the macaroni according to the package directions (or your personal preference), add the hotdogs and then you're done!

Price breakdown: I used half a pack of $.79 hotdogs, so that's $.40. I got a great deal on mac and cheese at $.10 per box. I used a little powdered milk and then some water, so we'll call that $.05. I added a little extra shredded cheese, about $.25 worth. I served this with a salad, another $.25 with italian dressing, I'm going to say $.10 worth. I also served green beans. These were given to us from my husband's grandparents' garden, so they are free. But I did add a little butter when I cooked them, about $.10 worth.

Hotdogs $.40

Mac & Cheese $.10

Milk $.05

Cheese $.25

Lettuce $.25

Dressing $.10

Butter $.10

Total $1.25 for 4 servings (that's $.31 per serving)

Chicken Noodle Soup, version 1--$1.07

Again, an apology for forgetting the picture.

Okay, I make chicken noodle soup different ways depending upon what I have on hand and what mood I'm in :).

Today was a super simple and cheap recipe. There weren't a lot of add-ins because we didn't have them. And it was pretty close to meatless. But it tasted a lot better than anything that you'll find in a can.

Ingredients: Chicken stock, a packet of chicken gravy mix, noodles. Heat the chicken stock to boiling, add packet of chicken gravy mix and stir with a whisk. Add noodles, cook until al dente.

I made the chicken stock from scratch. Truthfully, it's a by-product from stewing chickens for casseroles, etc. There is really no cost to this. The packet of gravy mix was on sale for $.33. And the noodles were purchased at Dollar General for $.33 per pack. I used 2 packs today, so that's $.66. I think it would have been better with only one pack of noodles. We also used about half of a sleeve of crackers. I buy a box of crackers at Aldi for $.89, which makes them $.15 per sleeve...so we'll call that $.08 for crackers. We drank water with our meal, so no additional cost there. And we had at least one serving left over, so I'm going to figure that in.

Chicken stock Free by-product

Gravy Mix $.33

Noodles $.66

Crackers $.08

Total $1.07 for 4 servings (that's $.27 per serving)

Waffles--$1.65

First off, an apology. I didn't take pictures of breakfast or lunch today. Sorry about that.

We had waffles for breakfast this morning. There is a great site out there called Hillbilly Housewife where I have found some great recipes. One is for homemade baking mix (also known as Bisquick). The recipe is super easy and it's much cheaper than buying the box stuff. Here's how we make it:

5 cups of self-rising flour

1 cup of shortening

Throw everything into a big bowl and mix it up with your hands. You're finished when you can squeeze it together and it clumps. Also, it looks like Bisquick :).

Now, for my two cents worth. It's worth it to buy self-rising flour for this. I was all about just using all purpose flour and adding what I needed, but to be honest, I've found that my biscuits rise better when I use self-rising flour...so that's what I buy. But only for this...everything else is all purpose.

Okay, so for our waffles. We used 2 cups of baking mix, 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp. of vanilla and enough buttermilk to make a pretty thick batter. Sorry not to be more exact, but I was just in the mood to pour and stir this morning.

Here's the price breakdown. Figuring that a batch of baking mix costs $1.30 to make, and I used 1/3 for the waffles, then that is $.43 for the baking mix. Assuming that I used 1 cup of buttermilk, that's another $.30. The vanilla is $.05 per teaspoon. And an egg costs about $.07. We did top our waffles with butter and syrup. 4 tablespoons of butter is $.25 and 1/4 of a bottle of syrup is $.25. My husband and daughter each had a glass of milk, so that's another $.30.

Baking mix $.43

Buttermilk $.30

Vanilla $.05

Egg $.07

Butter $.25

Syrup $.25

Milk $.30

Total $1.65 to feed a family of 3 (that's $.55 per serving!)

Layered Enchilada Bake--$2.25

This is my Layered Enchilada Bake

Okay, this is just one of those recipes that fell together for me. I've done it with chicken and with ground turkey with equally good results. It's cheap and delicious. Tonight's version is with ground turkey and chili sauce. I'll share the chicken one next week when I make it.

1/3 lb. ground turkey

1/2 packet of taco seasoning

1 can chili sauce (I used Texas Pete because that's what I had)

4-5 corn tortillas

1/2 bag Mexican shredded cheese

Okay, first of all, I browned a pound of ground turkey. I scooped out 2/3 of a pound, that will go in the Baked Rotini for lunch tomorrow. I added 1/2 a packed of taco seasoning, some water and the can of chili sauce. Once that had thickened up a bit, I put a scoop in the bottom of a round casserole dish. I topped that with some cheese and a corn tortilla. Repeat until you run out of chili sauce. Top with cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Easy peasy. I served this with chopped iceburg lettuce and sour cream.

Okay, now for the whys. Why did I use chili sauce? 1) Had it on hand, 2) It helped to stretch my meat, and 3) I didn't have enchilada sauce. Why corn tortillas? Because they were significantly cheaper than flour tortillas at Aldi. I'm sure flour tortillas would work just as well. Why bagged shredded cheese? It was on sale. I prefer to shred my own. But I got this on a great deal (buy 2 get 3 free).

Now for the cost breakdown.

I got the ground turkey at Aldi for $1.20/lb. So, 1/3 of a pound would be $.40. The chili sauce I got on sale with a coupon for I think $.33. A packet of taco seasoning at Aldi costs $.33. I used half of one, we'll call that $.17. The tortillas were 36 to a pack for $1.69. That makes each tortilla around $.05. I used 5 tonight, so that $.25. The shredded cheese was on sale buy 2 get 3 free, working out to be about $1.20 per bag. I used half a bag, so that's $.60. The iceburg lettuce was on sale for $.97 per head. We used about a quarter, so that's $.25. The sour cream is $.99 for 16 ounces at Aldi. We used a quarter of that, so $.25.

Ground Turkey $.40

Chili Sauce $.33

Taco Seasoning $.17

Corn Tortillas $.25

Shredded Cheese $.60

Iceburg Lettuce $.25

Sour Cream $.25

Total $2.25 for a complete meal for a family of 3 (that's $.75 per serving)

We ate brunch today, so by the time we had supper, we were hungry. We don't have any leftovers. But this easily could feed 4 people. Ideally, I would like to serve another vegetable, which would add approximately $.75 to the total. But our options are green beans and peas at the moment, neither of which do I feel really goes with Mexican food. And we are strapped, so there was no running out for something different.

This is a very tasty dish, and we had plenty to eat. Hope you enjoy it! If you decide to try this recipe, or have any other suggestions for cheap ways to make this better, or better ways to make this cheaper, please leave a comment. I am always looking for new and better ways of doing things!

Menu Plan 11/16/09-11/24/09

Here's my menu plan until my husband's next pay day. I am a stay at home wife and homeschooling mom, so we are usually here. I plan out all my meals, or at least that's my ongoing goal. My menu will change around. I've already switched tomorrow's lunch and tonight's supper. But that's okay. As long as I'm sticking to my list, the specific days are not very important. The main reason that I even attempt to plan specific days, is because I look at our schedule and see what's going on with our life. I don't want to do a super easy meal on a night when I have time to do something more complicated and then not have something easy on a busy night. Also, my husband works in retail, so he does not have a set schedule. I look at when he is working and what shift, and that helps to determine what we might have that day. So, without further ado...our menu.

Monday-Brunch: Ham and Cheese Omelets

Supper: Layered Enchilada Bake. Salad

Tuesday-Breakfast: Waffles

Lunch: Chicken Noodle Soup

Supper: Hotdogs in Mac & Cheese, Salad, Green Beans

Wednesday-Breakfast: Biscuits and Gravy

Lunch: Baked Rotini, Salad, Garlic Bread

Supper: Chili at Church

Thursday-Breakfast: French Toast

Lunch: Chicken and Dumplings, Peas and Carrots

Supper: Leftovers

Friday-Breakfast: Breakfast Calzones

Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Supper: Ham and Cheese Quiche, Salad

Saturday-Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: Leftovers

Supper: Bacon Wrapped Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Salad

Sunday-Breakfast: PB and J Waffles

Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Supper: Beans, Rice and Cornbread

Monday-Breakfast: Eggs and Toast

Lunch: Beef Noodle Soup

Supper: Chicken and Pasta in Cream Sauce

Tuesday-Breakfast: Pancakes

Lunch: Leftovers

Supper: Chicken Enchilada Bake, Salad

Welcome to my blog!

I am writing this blog to try and keep myself on track with my menu planning. Give me some accountability. And also, an opportunity to share with my readers some frugal recipes. We live on a very limited budget, and over the years, I have come up with some very tasty ways to feed my family for very little money. We're not big fans of leftovers, so I've learned the art of "planned overs"...that is, making food with multiple meals in mind. So please come back often and see what I'm making for dinner tonight!