My ex husband, his wife, and their two boys, plus our daughter, add that to my other two babies, my husband and I, and you have 9 people in this home.

his wife is sick, and we're gonna help them. I have anxieties about not having enough food anyway...we ALWAYS have to have extra. There was a time in my life I had no food, none, and now i have to have a surplus, or I freak out. like now.

i need suggestions friends. his wife is sick, can't have ANYTHING acidy or fatty at all. I'll probably have to fix her meals seperately.

I've fed 4 and 5 on a budget before, but never this many. Any ideas?

Did I mention I'm freaking out? lol

 

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beans and cornbread
chicken in a variety of ways from casseroles to stews to soups
spaghetti
beef stew and soup


lots of pasta, rice and beans

salad but don't get the bagged stuff

oatmeal in the morning, cooked, not instant (more expensive)

fresh veggies on sale. (i know we just had a sale on zucchini, really low price per pound, would have mad a month of meals for me for a bag full. eat plain or use it to bulk up other dishes. that kind of thing, look at the store ads.

 

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hamburger

chicken


rice

pasta


get your produce from a farmers market or something like that


we have a Wonder Bread outlet here and can get breakfast items, bread, cereals, spices, crackers and all kinds of things there alot cheaper that at a grocery store...if you have one, it's nice


casseroles, soups, stews, hamburger helper

 

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Yup what Foxy and PK said.


Deffinitely go with more beans and cheaper cuts of meat.


You might try some type of soup or something for the sick wife.


Grits are another breakfast item that people forget about.

OMG, Phay! You're a saint! I'll keep you all in my prayers.

Definitely shop the farmer's markets if you can. Buy extra and can veggies for the coming winter if you are planning on having them with you long term. Start a garden of your own if that's possible. Seeds are lots cheaper than buying produce and your guests can weed and water to help earn their keep. Eliminate meats from your meals when you can and go the pasta/rice/beans route. Make lots of veggie soup using soup bones you can get cheaply from the butcher. Check out local farms to see if you can buy eggs, chicken or milk from them - we have a large Amish community here where you can buy produce or meat very cheaply if you make a personal visit to their farms so check to see if you have any similar ethnic communities nearby. Check out the local co-ops if you have them. You can get fresh food cheaply from them in many cases but you may need to buy in bulk. Raise your own chickens if you're up to it and you can get both chickens and eggs for the labor and feed costs.

Good luck to you all.

Silver

 

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Beans and rice (I like Butter Peas the best).

Hamburger with onion gravy over rice. Just brown the hamburger, cook the onions with it, season to taste, then make a gravy in the same pan and serve over rice.

Spaghetti, but make your own sauce. It's a lot cheaper than the jarred stuff.

Greens and cornbread. Brown some bacon, sweat some onions and garlic, then add any green you like to the pan and cook until the desired tenderness. You can make cornbread with a little jar of mexican corn for something different.

Swiss Steak and rice.

Chipped beef and gravy over toast.

Breakfast for dinner. There are a lot of breakfast casseroles that could work for dinner and serve a big crowd.

Stews and soups go a long way. Serve with bread and butter.

Best of luck to you. You must be a saint to take in your ex and his family.

 

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i completely know what you mean -- but i have learned that there are lot of simple, healthy foods that are cheap and can get you through rough times

simple cheap meals


#1 beans and cornbread

#2 beans and tortillas

#3 spaghetti and homemade sauce (store bought is too expensive for what you get)

#4 chicken leg quarters (less than a dollar a pound) and baked potatoes (cook the legs a bit longer to get the extra fat out)

#5 ghoulash --- ground beef, veggies, tomato sauce, salt and pepper

#6 eggs and potatoes for breakfast (eggs have good protein and they are filling)


i starting raising chickens for eggs last year, out of 2 laying hens i haven't had to buy eggs since they started laying. i originally had 3 hens and with that many i was able to sell my extra eggs for $2 a dozen. One of the chicks i raised turned out to be a rooster, but then i turned him into gumbo once he started crowing.

I have a link to a wealth of information if you are interested. let me know and I will pm you, or you can ask me directly and i will supply all the information that I can.

right now i have 6 more baby chicks that i am fixing to integrate with my other 2, i am sure at least one of the baby's will be a rooster. but with that many hens i should be able to sell 3 dozen eggs a week. $6 a week is not much, but coupled with the fact that i won't have to buy any more eggs i am saving $40 a month, minus feed is $30 a month profit.

Once they stop laying i will use them to make chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken and sausage gumbo, or something like that, or i could even sell them at $10 each ... but i would rather eat it myself. would save $5 and make a meal out of it.

 

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For some odd reason this had me laughing. But I have wondered about raising chickens... I'll have to look at that. Could I have some of those links?

my daughter actually helped me clean and gut the chicken, even though she named him (speckles)

she said the gumbo was delicious and asked what the "special ingredient" was .. i said "speckles" ... she said "dad ... that's not funny"


backyard chickens, mostly a site/community for people who don't live on a farm and want to raise chickens
http://www.backyardchickens.com/

here is there forum
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/index.php


the modern homestead poultry section (great information)
http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Poultry.html


my pet chicken (can order small amounts baby chicks)
http://www.mypetchicken.com/


one of my chickens eating with the dogs



my little girl with Buttercup

 

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Cool Thank you for the Information! I'll look at it tonight.