Feeding a big family for less....

With the economy all in a mess.... the price of gas going up, up and up..... and rising cost of just about everything in general I thought I would share some of how I try to feed our big family for less. Well, last night I got out my ingredients and my calculator and fed all 6 of us.... along with my mom..... for about $8.

Here is my list of ingredients and their cost:

1 roll of sausage (found on sale) 99cents
1 pkg of dirty rice mix 99cents
1 can cream of celery soup 49cents
1 can cream of mushroom soup 49cents
1 sleeve saltine crackers 25cents
1 cup grated cheddar cheese 50cents (I get the block cheese and grate what I need)

3 cans of green beans 49cents each = $1.47

1 sleeve of graham crackers 50cents
1 pkg cream cheese (on sale) 99cents
4 oz of cool whip (found on sale) 50cents

tea bags to make a gallon of sweet tea 8cents
sugar for all of meal about 40cents

margarine
sour cream
vanilla

Total..............$7.65

I did not add in the price for the margarine,sour cream, or vanilla because I just keep those things all the time and the amounts were so small..... but you get the picture.....

I made a sausage and rice casserole ...... fry up the sausage cook up the rice mix... add the cooked & drained sausage to the rice mix. Then add the 2 cans of cream soups and mix well... put in a casserole dish and bake for about 20 minutes... take out and top with shredded cheddar cheese and crushed saltine crackers (I do mix the crushed crackers with a bit of margarine) and put back in the oven until cheese is melted and the cracker topping is golden.

Cook green beans for a side dish.

For drinks I made a gallon of sweet tea.

Dessert: No Bake Cheesecake

Crush graham crackers and mix with margarine for a crust.. push into a pie plate....

Mix cream cheese (room temp) and cool whip until smooth. Add about 1/2 cup of sugar, a tablespoonful of sour cream and a dash of vanilla flavoring and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into crust and chill before serving.


A very filling and satisfying meal!

Stretch those dollars!!!!