Feeding a family of six a cheap, hardy meal can be a difficult thing to do today. However, there are some delicious ideas for meals that your family will enjoy, ranging in price from $6 to $12. You can put a new twist on some traditional favorites and have a family dinner that won't break the bank.
Feed a Family of Six for $10 and Under
A great, cheap pasta meal is a spaghetti bake. Boil up a pound of spaghetti, drain and put in a large oblong casserole dish. Add two cans of stewed tomatoes with the juice, and eight broken-up slices of packaged American cheese. Mix until well combined and top with a thin layer of bread crumbs. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and serve. This will make six hardy servings. Serve with any bread you have in the house. This is is a great warmer-upper and the whole meal can be made for under $6.
Chicken spaghetti is another excellent choice. For this meal you need one boneless chicken breast or about one pound. In a large pot, boil water and drop the chicken in. Let boil for 15 minutes and then add a one-pound box of spaghetti. Cook until the spaghetti is done. Then drain and place in a large oblong casserole dish. Take the chicken out and cut into coin-size pieces. Mix the spaghetti in with the chicken and pour two cans of tomato soup into the casserole dish along with one cup of water and one cup of milk. Mix all ingredients until combined. Put a thin layer of bread crumbs on top and dot with small dabs of butter. Put in a preheated 350 oven and cook for 35 minutes. Cool and serve. This makes approximately six hardy servings. The whole meal costs under $8 to make.
Feed a Family of Six for Under $12
Meatloaf shepherds' pie is a delicious and economical dish. In a medium square or oblong casserole dish mix two pounds of ground beef, 1/8 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, one egg and one tablespoon of yellow mustard. Mix well as you would for a meat loaf. When thoroughly combined, flatten along the bottom of the dish so it covers the bottom completely. Put in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare six to eight servings of instant mashed potatoes as directed on the box. When the meat is done, remove from oven and spread one can of creamed corn over the cooked meat. Spread the mashed potatoes over this. Put back in the oven (now set at 325 degrees) and bake for 20 minutes. Cool and serve. This makes enough for six hardy servings and costs under $10.
You can also try chicken-noodle stew. Make the complete two-envelope box of chicken-noodle soup mix. Bring to a boil, and drop in one pound of boneless chicken breast cut up in coin-size pieces and one pound of carrots cut in small slices. Continue on a low boil for 15 minutes. Drop in one package of egg noodles. Bring back to a low boil and cook at this heat until noodles are done. Pour in one can of cream of chicken soup. Fill the now-empty soup can with milk and pour that in. Mix well. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve. This makes enough for eight to 10 hardy servings and costs under $12 to make. You can warm up any bread you have in the house or serve it with toast.
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