6 Kids + Small Food Budget = NO MEAL IDEAS :(?

Question

I have a house full of kids and im not a great cook. My 6 kids range from a 1 year old - 12 years old. I have a small food budget and my kids are getting tired of spagettie and Hamburger Helper. ANY help is greatly appriciated!

Additional Details

I live in a small town where the only stores are Lowe's and Dollar General. I try to buy meat in bulk because we only make the 45 mile drive to Wal-Mart two to three times a month. Thank you guys for all your help!! :)

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I am in a similar situation to you, in that we are on a very limited budget for food buying. I know you didn't ask this, but I tell everyone I can about shopping at the cheaper stores such as Price Rite or Save-a-Lot, depending on where you live in the country, that are cheaper than the "chain" supermarkets. You can look at www.priceritesupermarkets.com or www.save-a-lot.com to see if there are any near you. If there are not any of these near you, do some research, there may be other stores similar to this near you. If you don't have these stores, always buy generic or look for sales or stuff you can buy with coupons. Also, many of the bigger stores often have a rack for discontinued or damaged items at half price, and also "Yesterday Bake/Produce" at half prices, or meat with coupons on it that say something like "Reduced for quick sale" and take a good amount off. Just make sure you use these right away, or freeze it.

At Price Rite, I buy stuff like 1 pound of ground turkey meat, which is just like hamburger meat when cooked, but healthier, for $1.49, and use it for two meals, instead of using 1 pound for each meal, even when a recipe calls for one pound, although with 6 kids, I don't know if you can split it in half. Stuff like hamburger helper at stores like this are cheaper (they even have their own brand for like .89, for when you do buy hamburger helper). I buy buillion cubes and try to make a lot of soups where I can combine many of the frozen vegetables I buy for dinners in the week and mix it with 1/2 pound of the turkey meat, beef buillion cubes, water, potatoes or rice and veggies (put whatever kind you like in there.) Or, if I've made a whole chicken (which you can get at these stores pretty cheaply), and I have leftover chicken that I cut off after we're done (try to get all the chicken off), then I use that leftover chicken for soup the next night with chicken buillion cubes, water, chicken, rice or noodles and whatever veggies you like. You can use canned instead of the frozen veggies in both of these soups, and I'm sure it would still be good. Of course, you can add regular white bread (.69 at Price Rite), buttered, to the meal to dip in the soup and it helps fill everyone up. As for the frozen veggies I'm referring to, they sell 1 pound bags of frozen veggies for like .89 to $1.19, and I can get several meals out of each bag.

You can buy potatoes, cut them up, put either melted butter, or oil on them and sprinkle them with spices such as garlic salt, onion powder, pepper, (really whatever you like), and bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until tender. They can go with just about any "meat" meal to help fill everyone up.

I also make a dinner where I take pizza dough, spread it out on the pan, put on bologna, or salami, or both, (or any other type of pre-packaged lunch meat you have and/or like) with some cheese, roll it up, put butter and garlic salt on the top, and bake it in a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top, and not doughy inside anymore. Slice it up, and it feeds several people. The potatoes I described earlier go good with this meal.

Also, when I'm going to have certain types of dinners, like say tacos where I have to buy the soft fahita shells, cheddar cheese and salsa, I'll make similar meals that will make buying those items more cost efficient. For example, nachos (1/2 pound turkey meat, and salsa over nacho chips with cheese/olives/onions, etc. on top.) As for the tacos, you can add canned corn, tomatoes and beans (white, pinto, etc.) to the meat and it will bulk it up.

You can also make shephard's pie with 1/2 pound ground turkey meat, cooked, mixed with 1-2 cans of creamed corn. Put that in the bottom of a baking pan and spread mashed potatoes on top. I usually put american cheese on top, but you don't have to. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. Make gravy for people to put on top, if they want it. (By the way, gravy and taco mixes are .29 to .39 at these stores.)

Pasta dishes are also a cheap option, mixing 1/2 pound of cooked ground turkey meat with tomato sauce (cheaper than pasta sauce in the jar) mixed with whatever spices you like, then mixed with spaghetti, elbows, ziti, or whatever pasta you like/have. And of course, the pasta can be left plain to be served with butter and garlic or garlic salt. Serve some frozen veggies and buttered bread on the side, and there's a meal.

Cheap hot dogs with a can or two of baked beans makes a good meal, added with mac & cheese and/or those potatoes I mentioned earlier.

Price Rite sells the boxes of Banquet Fried Chicken for $4 (with about 6-8 pieces of chicken in each.) Serve it with potatoes, rice or pasta and a veggie, and there's another meal.

I also make what I call "little pizza's". I take the buttermilk bisquits that come in the blue can in the refridgerated section. I cook up 1/2 pound of turkey meat (but you can do it without the meat) and mix it with tomatoe sauce that I make myself. Put a little bit of the meat/sauce mixture, or the sauce, on each one with a little bit of velveeta, mozzarella, or american cheese on top. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 6-8 minutes (keep an eye on it so they don't burn.) Two cans of biscuits, which you can get pretty cheap, make 20 little pizza's, served with potatoes and a veggie. Yum!

One other idea of something to help you get more food is to go to food banks. You can start at your local Salvation Army, and while there ask if there's a list of the food banks in the area. You can go to a different food banks,just don't let them know you've gone to other ones. (Desperate times call for desperate measures.) Usually you'll get free bread/bakery items, and they also give out cheese and/or milk, canned fruits and veggies, cereals, sometimes soups, tuna, and rice and/or pasta and/or instant mashed potatoes. This all can help your food to go a bit further.

These are just some ideas of what I do, I hope this helps. Good luck!!

Answer 2

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SJ-SC-CA Incredible Chicken Salad

3 cups chicken breast (cooked and cubed)
1 cup pineapple (diced)
1/2 cup celery (diced)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
1/8 cup dried cranberries
2 Tablespoons sweet onion (minced)
2 Tablespoons apple juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well combined and chill. Serve with a lettuce garnish.

***You can use chicken salad as a sandwich filling.***
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Ten Minute Dinner

1 Pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
* 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted*
*1 can ( 10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup, undiluted*
1 can (15 ounces) mixed vegetables, drained
1 can (5 ounces) chow mein noodles

Brown beef and onion; add both soups, mixed vegetables and 3/4 can of chow mein noodles. Pour into casserole dish. Top with remaining chow mein noodles. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 10 minutes or until hot.

NOTE: *Golden Mushroom with Sliced Mushrooms Soup can be substituted for the Cream of Mushroom soup OR Chicken Rice soup can be substituted for the Cream of Chicken soup.*

*THIS 10 Minute casserole is GOOD! GOOD! GOOD!*
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Hot Dog Casserole

You take hot dogs and cut them up. Add in mixed vegetables, chopped onion, tator tots, and a cheese sauce. Pour into casserole dish and bake until done.

***If you do not want cheese sauce, you can add in a can of undiluted creamed soup of your choice.***
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Ramen Noodle Veggie Skillet Dish

Cook the Ramen Noodles. Add in your chopped vegetables and combine with the noodles. Cook until done. Do NOT use the flavor packet but season with Greek seasoning. YUMMY!!!

Optional: You can add in chopped pieces of meat also.
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Tuna Salad Sandwich

Combine tuna, chopped onion, chopped hard boiled egg, diced dill pickles, miracle whip, and some pickle juice together and put the tuna mixture on toasted bread. Eat and enjoy.

My parents use the same recipe and will add one slice of tomato, lettuce and sometimes one slice of onion on top of the tuna mixture.
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Blue Ribbon Potato Salad

5 cans of whole peeled potatoes, diced to desired size
1 quart jar of real mayonnaise
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup mustard, to taste
alot of celery seed, to taste
1 whole deli container of diced hardboiled eggs
1/4 cup sugar

Dice the potatoes to desired size. Mix in the mayonnaise, mustard and celery seed. Now add in the diced hardboiled eggs and mix well. Then add in the sugar to finish and mix again. Chill for at least 1/2 hour if possible. Serve.
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HillBilly Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (20 ounces) undrained crushed pineapple
(The pineapple can be sweetened or unsweetened)
1 cup light brown sugar (For Cake Topping)
1 cup chopped walnuts (For Cake Topping)

Mix ingredients together and pour into a greased (and floured) 9 x 13 baking pan. Top with the light brown sugar and the chopped walnuts. Bake at 350 F. for 40 minutes.

*THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PINEAPPLE CAKE!*
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Fruit Cocktail Salad

1 can of fruit cocktail, drained (Use juice for something else)
1 envelope of Dream Whip

Whip the envelope of Dream Whip. Add in the drained fruit cocktail. Combine together until mixed. Eat and enjoy.
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Chocolate Moose (Mousse) Pie

Mix chocolate pudding with Cool Whip and pour into graham cracker pie crust. Chill until needed. Eat and enjoy your Chocolate Moose (Mousse) Pie.
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Fruit-Glop Pie

1 pre-made 9-inch pie crust (no baking needed)
A big jar of cherry pie filling
1 (8 Ounce tub) Cool Whip
I container of Strawberry Yogurt
Fresh strawberries

Mix the cherries, cool whip, and yogurt together and put in pie crust and then dot with strawberries.
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Apple Juice Freeze Dessert

Put the apple juice in a cake pan and put it in the freezer. Let it get semi-hard and take it out of freezer and take a fork and completely break it up into slush and refreeze it until semi-hard again. Take it out of the freezer and take a fork and completely break it up into slush again and refreeze again. You will then have an apple juice freeze dessert.
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Answer 3

I recently got a great cookbook called "More with Less". It has been around for a while, but it discusses how much we waste when buying processed foods and how we can make wholesome food that is easier, cheaper and healthier. It might be worth checking out. The recipes are really simple and with a few ingredients, you can make a variety of meals. Best of luck!

http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/mo…

Answer 4

Make a big dish of lasagna. Even the youngest could enjoy that if the bites are cut up small enough. Also macaroni and cheese with hotdogs mixed with a little tomatoe sauce makes a meal stretch. Umm.. fish sticks, enchilada casserole, and other casserole dishes go far. Try adding fruits and veggies with their meals so they will fill up on those too instead of the main dish. Then maybe you'd have leftovers of the main dish to serve for lunch the next day.

Answer 5

buy a bulk package of chicken breast and cut them into strips
egg, bread and bake or fry them up for homemade chicken fingers - most kids love to dip esp in ketchup so have sauces
make your own potato wedges buy cutting potatoes seasoning them and baking them in oven

Answer 6

English muffin pizza's

Answer 7

Fun Food Tips

Freeze a whole banana and then serve with a spoon! It tastes like banana ice cream!

Serve frozen peas or other vegetables right out of the freezer as finger food, - they're sweet.

Puzzle sandwiches: Cut a sandwich into odd shapes that fit together like a puzzle.

Serve crepes with many different fillings.

Make and use sprinkles: Chop, grind, or mix together 1/3 cup granola, 1/3 cup nuts, and 1/3 cup wheat germ. Sprinkle on yogurt, fruit, ice cream, cottage cheese.

Serve shape pancakes: When frying pancakes, pour the batter into numbers, letters, or shapes. Let your child choose some shapes to have you prepare.

Try having breakfast foods for dinner, and leftovers from dinner for breakfast.

Mix plain sparkling water with fruit juice and add chunks of fruit for decoration.

Have a winter picnic on a blanket in the house!

Cut sandwiches, bologna, or cheese into shapes with cookie cutters.

Prepare soft shell tortillas with melted cheese, chopped vegetables, meat, or refried beans. Roll like a jellyroll or sprinkle flat like a pizza.

Dip less desired foods in appealing dips: cheese dip, bean dip, sweet mustard, ketchup, cream dips, salsa, yogurt, honey, etc.

Create international meals: plan a meal with a theme from another culture.

Make a variety of healthy shakes loaded with fruit, yogurt, and honey.

Bake a simple muffin or quick bread recipe with your child. Have a tea party, using the baked goods for the treat.

Make kabobs or "hors d'oeuvres" using pretzels for skewers, with meatballs, fruit chunks, cheese cubes, salami, etc.

Make cinnamon apples: Cut apples into slices and place a small amount of cinnamon sugar on the plate. Let your child dip the apples into the cinnamon.

Same food, more fun: Prepare foods that you can eat with your fingers and then serve in muffin tins, pie plates, or allow your child to occasionally use a fancy plate or serving dish.




Lunch Art

For kids ages 3-6.
Bet you never thought of white bread as a canvas to paint on, did you? Use white bread as your canvas and turn your sandwich into a work of art lunch!









Paper cups
Milk
McCormick® Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye
Or
McCormick® Assorted NEON! Food Colors & Egg Dye
New paintbrushes (they must be new if you want to eat the bread)
White bread
Toaster


1. Fill each paper cup with 2 tablespoons milk.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup.

3. Paint pictures and designs on the bread using the colored milk.

4. Toast lightly to help the paint dry, then make fun, zany sandwiches.

Ask an adult if you can use the toaster!

Paint with even more colors - McCormick® Assorted Neon! Food Colors and Egg Dye contains neon purple, neon pink, neon green, and neon blue.







KID - CAN - DO PIZZA

1 can biscuits
Pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Any kind shredded cheese

Open can for kids. Let them flatten the biscuits with the palms of their hands and place 1-2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Place a teaspoon of sauce in the centers of the dough. Top with 1 pepperoni per pizza and top with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.




Pizza Burgers
1 lb gr. beef ($1.49)
1 jar any kind pizza sauce (.89 cents)
1 pkg. mozzarella cheese ($1.89)
1 8 count hamburger buns (.69 cents)
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Separate buns in half and place on baking pan, heat for 5 minutes.
3) Brown gr. beef and drain, add pizza sauce.
4) Spoon gr. beef onto buns, and top with mozzarella cheese.
5) Bake for 10 minute or until cheese is melted.
Makes 16 pizza burgers.
This is a great last minute meal that the kids will love.









Tater-Tot Casserole



Ingredients

2 lbs. extra lean ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (2 pound) bag frozen tater tots
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions

Pat ground beef into bottom of greased 13x9x2-inch pan. Spread soup over meat and cover with grated cheese. Top with tater tots. Bake at 350 degrees, covered for 45 minutes and then uncovered for 15 minutes.

Serves 8-10



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Variation: I have a wonderful add-in for the Tater Tot Casserole recipe. My family loves it when I throw in fresh or frozen peas and fresh chopped carrots. It is a real one pot meal that never has leftovers in our house.







Quick and Easy Supper Ideas!

What to do on those nights when the cupboards are almost bare and payday is 2 days away?

Here are some quick and easy supper ideas that use ingredients you probably always have on hand.

1. An old stand-by at our house is simply to have breakfast for supper! Sometimes we have pancakes and sausage. I make the pancakes from baking mix which is something I always keep handy. You just add milk. Other times, it's scrambled eggs, toast and bacon.

2. My family enjoys "Little Pizzas" made from English muffins. Just split English muffins and arrange on a cookie sheet. Top with tomato sauce and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Then just add whatever toppings you have on hand. Sometimes we add pepperoni slices, sometimes browned ground beef or sausage. Sprinkle on chopped onions or whatever is your family's favorite. Top with shredded cheese and put in 375 degree oven till warmed through and cheese is melted.

English muffins are inexpensive and keep well in the freezer.

3. Every now and then we have "Baked Potato Night" at our house. I bake one large potato for each person and then round up a variety of toppings. Some things we like are chili, sour cream, broccoli, bacon bits, chopped onions, shredded cheese. Everyone can fix his own just the way he likes it and it's a meal in itself.

4. A very quick supper is grilled cheese sandwiches and vegetableor tomato soup. It's nutritious, inexpensive, and tasty. Need I say more?

5. Here's a recipe the children can help with. My children loved these when they were small and they enjoyed being able to help make them.

Oven Baked Hot Dogs

Lay 8 slices of bread on cookie sheet. Place a slice of cheese on top of each slice. Put 1 wiener diagonally on each slice. Pull corners of bread up over sides of wiener. Secure with toothpicks. Brush each "hot dog" with melted butter. Place in 400 degree oven till browned and cheese is melted.

6. Nachos are another super-fast supper idea. Place a pile of tortilla chips in a microwaveable shallow dish. Pour chili over top, add shredded cheese and microwave till warm. Top with sour cream, if desired.

7. Sloppy joes are another family pleaser. I try to keep buns on hand in the freezer. If you have no buns handy, sloppy joe sandwiches work,too! To go with the sloppy joes, cut potatoes into 4 wedges each. Place in baking dish with skins down. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until tender.

8. If you are ready for something different for supper or lunch, try this recipe for "Pepperoni Pie".

In bottom of 9-inch pie plate, combine an 8-oz. package of shredded mozarella cheese, and about 1/2 cup of diced pepperoni. In a medium bowl, beat 5 eggs and 3/4 cup milk until well-blended. Pour over mixture in pie plate. Bake for 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Add a salad and some bread and you have a delicious, light meal.

9. I always try to keep ground beef in the freezer in one-pound packages. Here is one of my staple recipes using ground beef.

Western Casserole

Brown a pound of ground beef. Drain off fat. Add 1 can of chili beans and 1 can of Spanish rice. Stir over medium heat until warm. Pour into microwaveable serving dish and top with shredded cheese. Heat in microwave until cheese is melted.

Easy, easy, and inexpensive, too.

10. Lastly, something we do at our house every couple of weeks is have "Leftover Night". Seems like almost every night, there is just a little bit of supper left over. Just enough for maybe one person. I put these servings in freezer containers and store till I have several different bits of main dishes. Then I get them all out and everyone has their choice of what they have for supper! I usually add salad and make hot rolls and everyone is happy!

Serve any of the above meals on your good dishes, set the table with real napkins, and a pretty centerpiece. Your meal will be *so* special and only you will know you "did it on a budget".




Pizza Macaroni Style

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1 8oz box macaroni

1/4 cup water
1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp. basil

1 lb. ground beef
1 1/4 tsp. oregano

1/2 cup onion
pepperoni

6 oz. mozzarella cheese

Cook meat and onion until brown. (I do this in the microwave in a covered dish for 5 minutes.) Drain. Add spices and simmer. Cook macaroni and drain. Combine meat and macaroni in 9 X 13 Pyrex dish. Add water and 1/2 of tomato sauce. Place cheese and pepperoni on mixture. Add rest of tomato sauce and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Answer 8

Burritos are cheap and easy to make. You can even serve them cold, if it's really hot where you are.
Flour tortillas - the little one can eat pieces
Canned refried beans or canned black beans
chopped tomato (unless you're worried about them)
shredded cheese
a little taco sauce or salsa

wrap and go. You can add in extras if you have them like diced chicken, sour cream, shredded lettuce, etc.

Answer 9

I had a large family too but thank god there all gone now. I used to buy turkey legs and eather boil them or cook them in a crockpot at any rae there cheap and I cooked them up and deboned them and use them in noodles with onion like I was making soup or just elminate a lot of the juice and make like a casserole. good luck April

Answer 10

Hi. With the exception of boxed mac and cheese, most prepared foods are a lot more expensive.

You do need to plan a bit, though. Look for sales on chicken strips (or chicken for that matter!) and buy in bulk. In fact, many people I know are getting used freezers for this very sort of thing. With a family that size, for example, you should never be buying ground beef in less than a 10 lb. package and then freezing in 2-lb amounts.

There's a lot you can do with chicken and rice.

Other cheap options:

Loaded baked potatoes.

Eggs (not so cheap anymore but most kids love omlettes). Just fry up some chopped potatoes to go with it.

Look for sales on stew meat and then make crock pot recipes. Crockpots aren't expensive at all, and it's easy to throw together a chicken or beef stew - just add carrots and some canned veggies.

Google "hot dog" casseroles - a ton will pop up. If that's too exotic for your kids, have hot dogs and baked beans once a week.

Also, I'm sure you know this, but buying in bulk or buying the largest quantity possible of condiments, mustard, ketchip, etc. is the way to go.

Answer 11

1 I cooked boxed mac and cheese and add cut up hot dogs or add drained tuna to it. 2 Cook walmart equivilent of spam cut up and stir in eggs for breakfast. 3 Peel and slice potatoes and place in sprayed casserole dish,cover with creamed corn,and top off with browned sausage, I hope these ideas help you may have to doulbe up on ingredients depending on how hungry you or your kids are .Good Luck

Answer 12

I don't really do recipes per se, and don't have 6 kids. But I have a ton of nieces and nephews who are always over here. I will give you a few ideas that you can change the basics to fit your family tastes.

The kids love this mock pizza you can make for about $7.

Sautee up whatever you like. I generally do whatever leftover zucchini, onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc. with a little salt and pepper. Then I add about 1 lb. of whatever ground meat is on sale. If it's sausage then I don't season the meat, if it's hamburger or turkey I do. Cook the meat and add a can of diced tomatoes. Let this simmer down until it's thick. Again check for seasoning. Take a loaf of Italian bread (you can even do day old, I do). Hollow out the middle and toast lightly in the oven. Fill with the meat mixture, top with some mozz cheese and top with the bread. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes and slice. Has everything right in it you don't even have to worry about a veggie.

Answer 13

Buy food close to its original condition. Stay away from mixes or boxes with seasonings added. Learn some cooking techniques and create from scratch - homemade Shake & Bake for chicken costs pennies. If you have a crock-pot, you can turn an inexpensive cut of beef like bottom round into something tender and tasty. Here are some links to get you started.

Source(s):

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/980921b…
http://www.stretcher.com/menu/topic-g.ht…
http://easy.betterrecipes.com/

Answer 14

Porcupine meatballs
1 lb ( you may need more but this will serve 4) ground beef
1 box of rice-a-roni beef rice and 1/2 seasoning in the box
1 egg

Mix all ingredients in a bowl together. Spoon meatballs and roll in palm of your hand. Put all meatballs in a skillet on medium. Brown them on 4 sides, add 2 cups of water and the rest of the seasoning.... Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Stirring occasionally. (be careful not to break up meatballs)
I make a gravey from the left over sauce. Mix 2 tbsp of flour with 1/2 cup water, add into water, bring to boil, and it should thicken.
You're done!! Really easy!!!

I always serve with Mashed potatoes and green beans.

Answer 15

I am in the same boat...(not six) but I am cooking on the cheap for my kids who are picky eaters. Here are some of my standbys...I don't really have exact recipes. It's more a throw it all together kind of thing.

Beef stroganoff
combine
browned hamburger
1 can cream of mushroom
sour cream
and serve over
egg noodles or rice

Get a cheaper big cut of pork and slow cook it.
Once you have cooked it shred-it.

With the shredded pork you can do a number of things:
Make a pork gravy and stir it in and serve over rice
Add BBQ sauce and have BBQ sandwiches
Add taco seasoning and have burritos/tacos
Add terriyaki sauce and serve over rice
Add lemon and garlic to the beginning cook process and serve over rice
Make cuban sandwiches

Get a big piece of cheaper beef for a pot roast...shred it
Put the roast in a slow cooker add a packet of Lipton onion soup mix on top and slow cook...serve with mashed potatoes
You can also do similar things to it like you would the pork..

Quesadilas are always a hit at my house...

The best ones are pan fried in a non-stick pan to get that crispy outside, melty inside.

Fillings that my family loves..

Chicken and cheese with a little taco seasoning sprinkled in..
Corn and black beans with red onions..
shredded pork, cheese and onions

Shepherd's Pie

Make mashed potatoes..
Brown hamburger with some onions
add a can of tomato soup..(condensed) to hamburger
1 can of french green beans
Layer hamburger, then beans, top with mashed potatoes.
If you are feeling fancy add some crispy fried onions and cheese..or just cheese..or just crispy fried onions..bake in the oven until the top is brown

Taco Soup
Brown hamburger
add a can of diced tomatoes with liquid
1 can of rinsed black beans
1 can of rinsed pinto beans
1 can of drained corn
1 can of tomato sauce
1/2 packet of taco seasoning
2 tablespoons of dry ranch dressing
2 cups of water...

Combine and let simmer until you need to eat it! Or put in a crock pot for 3-4 hours. Garnish with any fun taco toppings cheese, avocado, sour cream, onions, etc...

Chicken dishes

roll chicken in sour cream and then dip in crushed cheese crackers..pour melted butter over the top and bake at 350 for 45 minutes

or marinate chicken in 1 packet of dry ranch seasoning, 1 melted stick of butter or some olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon..

Boil a whole chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, shred the chicken (I clearly like shredding meat!) and make easy chicken soup with broth, onions, carrots and egg noodles and with the same base you can add dumplings with bisquick (recipe for dumpling on the side of the box)

Those are some of my stand-bys. The recipes are excellent! That not only your kids will like, but you could serve to guests as well...a nice change of pace to hotdogs and mac&cheese.

Answer 16

pancakes,biscuits and gravy,homemade soup and sandwhichs,hotdogs,mac and cheese with tuna,egg sandwhichs bake potatoes stuffed with brocoli,red beans and rice,popcorn,home made cookies,baked apples,frozen bananas,koolaid,tuna sandwhichs,egg salad sandwhiche mac and cheese ,beans and fried potatoes