After one hell of a month (emergency plane tickets, vehicle troubles outside our expertise, etc.), my husband and I had to feed ourselves and kids on VERY little money. I grew up in a poor family, but my mom was an extraordinary cook and made the most with hardly anything. I pulled some tricks from her book, went to Dollar Tree, and fed my family of four for a week on about thirty bucks. Here are some of the best ideas I cobbled together. I hope if any of you are in the same situation, you can use this too! Everything came from Dollar Tree. Their frozen section has some real finds.
Spaghetti and meatballs ($3):
1 package spaghetti noodles
1 bag frozen italian meatballs
1 jar pasta sauce
(They also sell garlic bread, 6 slices for $1 in the frozen aisle if you want it)
Pretty self explanatory. Heat the sauce and meatballs on the stove for 15-20 minutes. Boil the noodles, drain. Mix the noodles and sauce/meatballs together and serve.
Spinach Gnocchi ($3)
1 package gnocchi
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 small can spinach
Boil the gnocchi for 3 minutes. Drain, set aside. Heat up the alfredo sauce and spinach together in a pot. Add in the gnocchi and serve.
Jambalaya Skillet ($4)
1 bag frozen bell peppers and onions
1 package smoked sausage
1 bag egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Slice the sausages into rounds. Brown them in margarine or a tbsp of oil in a skillet. Mix in frozen veggies. Pour in can of condensed soup plus half a can of water. Reduce heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, boil noodles to package directions. Drain. Serve the veggie/sausage mixture over the cooked noodles.
I hope this helps someone else! While they weren't exactly the healthiest meals out there, everyone went to bed with a full belly and that's the most important thing.
November 13, 2019 at 06:40PM
