My goal is to provide dinner for my
family for an average of $5 except on special
occasions. We don’t have to eat beans and rice to
accomplish this goal! We typically only cook a main dish 4 or 5 times a week. Each
main dish cooked will serve 4-6, and the
leftovers will be for easy dinners on the weekend, or to freeze
for another week. This cuts down on cleaning,
cooking, and meal planning- saving us lots of time!
Last week we tried the cowboy skillet, with chicken instead of beef. I think it really needed the beef. Little Turkey liked it though. This week we aren’t trying anything new because I just plain forgot about it 
I’ll pick something from all of your suggestions for next week.
Season Salt Baked Chicken, twice baked potatoes, broccoli and cheese
1 lb chicken @ 1.78
2 large potatoes @ .50
1/2 cup sour cream @ .29
1/2 cup milk @ .07
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese @ 1.49
bacon bits @ .25
3 slices velveeta @ .45
1 cup broccoli @ .64
2 tbsp butter @ .03
minced onion
Total Cost: $5.49
Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic Shrimp, broccoli and pineapple
recipe from Allrecipes.com
pasta @ .50
1& 1/2 cups milk @ .21
1/2 cup cream @ .50
1 lb broccoli @ .88
lots of seasonings ~~ .25
shrimp @ 3.50
1 can pineapple @ .83
Total: $6.67
Taco Salad, fruit cocktail, cheese dip and chips
1 lb. ground beef @ 2.07
taco seasoning @ free
tomatoes @ .46
tortilla chips @ .25
cheese and rotel for dip @ 1.31
1 can fruit cocktail @ .78
lettuce @ .11
1 can corn @ .54
Total Cost $5.55
Ham, Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Peas, Pineapple and Toast
1 lb. ham @ 1.47
macaroni @ .33
cheese @ 1.00
butter and milk for mac @ .10
1 can sweet peas @ .45
1 can pineapple @ .83
3 slices toast with cinnamon & sugar @ .12
Total Cost: $4.30
Chicken Helper, Butter Tastin’ Biscuits, leftover pineapple, green beans and sweet peas
chicken helper @ .66
2 cups milk @ .28
3 tbs margarine @ .18
1 can butter biscuits @ .88
leftover fruits and veggies @ free
Total Cost: $2.00
Average cost of the meal’s we’re cooking this week: $4.80.