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!
Crock Pot Chicken, rice, fruit cocktail, green beans
3/4 lb chicken breast @1.34
3 servings minute rice @.54
1 can cream of chicken soup @ FREE
1 packet onion soup mix @ .63
1 can fruit cocktail @ .78
1 can green beans @ .25
Total Cost: $ 3.54
Ham Steaks, Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Peas, Pineapple and Toast
4 precooked ham steaks @ 1.88 (I found a less expensive kind!)
macaroni @ .33
cheese @ 1.00
butter and milk for mac @ .10
1/2 can sweet peas @.23
1/2 can pineapple @ .38
3 slices toast with cinnamon & sugar @ .18
Total Cost: $4.10
Taco Salad, sliced peaches, cheese dips and chips
1 lb. ground beef @ 2.07
taco seasoning @ free
2 roma tomatoes @ .46
tortilla chips @ .40
cheese and rotel for dip @ 1.31
1 can sliced peaches @ .78
lettuce @ .11
1 can corn @ .54
Total Cost $5.67
Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup
2 cans tomato soup @ .66
8 slices bread @ .48
4 thick slices of velveeta @ .78
8 thin slices of ham @ .67
Total Cost $2.59
Eeeny Meeny Miney Mo, pick a little casserole 
with green beans and corn
cost for my casserole for the swap 3.55, but we get to eat someone else’s tonight
This one is chicken spagetti
1 can green beans @ .25
leftover corn @ free
Total Cost = $3.80
Average Cost for these 5 meals = $3.94