Cheap Meal Ideas for 4-5 People Plz

Spaghetti is usually a safe and inexpensive meal. Also Chili...I will send you my favorite recipe :)
Soups and casseroles go a long way and the leftovers make good lunches...I'll send you a couple of those as well. Maybe they will prepare dinner one nite since they will be staying for so long? Good luck!

spaghetti is very simple and easy to fix for a crowd - i like to use pizza sauce and ground beef for the sauce. chicken enchiladas or tacos, baked chicken and baked potatoes (you can have a variety of toppings for the potatoes)...hope that gives you some ideas! salad and breadsticks are good sides for the spaghetti!

chicken and dumplings use jiffy mix for the dumplings :) have fun use chickenbreast so you dont have to bone it.

burritoes hamburger cannedbeans and rice and onion and sour cream on the side

sloppy joes and baked beans

roast

goulosh

like the other mom said stuffed baked potatoes use leftover burritoe meat or just fry hamburger or a can of chili cheese sour cream onion picante sauce or use left over chicken i have even made it with left over sloppy joe mix it turned out good.

tuna and mac and cheese

western omlets or ham and cheese omlets.

chili dogs and chili fries

Baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, and a veggie
Spaghetti
then with the sauce make Lasagna for another night
Casseroles are great for a crowd and an inexpensive way to make a big meal
Tacos with Mexican sides
Stir Fry - you can toss anything in with rice and a packet of seasoning mix - we really like it with Spam and pineapple.
Have a burger and hot dogs on the grill night with BBQ beans and potato salad - serve it picnic style on the living room floor

Whatever you do - have fun and enjoy your company

These might serve you twice:

Syrian Chicken
1 stick butter
1 onion chopped
2 - 28 oz cans of tomato sauce
2-3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
salt & pepper to taste
Prepared Rice (brown or white)

In dutch oven sized pot, boil chicken in water until cooked (about 20 minutes from frozen)

In meantime, saute onion and the stick of margarine in small saucepan until onion becomes translucent.

Once chicken is cooked, drain water. Shred/tear chicken into bite size pieces. Add back to pot with the 2 cans of tomato sauce. Add onion and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for 1 hour.

Serve it over the rice.

We just call this 'Bean Soup'

1 can of Mexican corn
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of chicken (the kind in the can like tuna fish)
1 can of fat free refried beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes

Dump in a pot and heat through.

Tonight I made the cheapest and fastest meal ever. One package of tostadas (approximately. $2.60 for 24 tostado shells, one large can of black beans (1.50) on carton reduced fat sour cream (.89) one head of lettuce ( 99cents) a 16 ounce bag of shredded cheese of your choice. A few cloves of garlic, a generic brand of canned tomatoes with green chilies, some fresh of dried cilantro. (optional), jalapeños (optional).

Drain tomatoes and place in a blender with a couple cloves of garlic and some cilantro and jalapeños if desired. Blend and pour into serving bowl. Chill if desired.

Without rinsing the blender, drain beans and place in blender with a clove of garlic. Blend and stir or pulse until spreadable.

Get out your largest cookie sheet
Spread the bean paste on tostados and sprinkle generously with cheese
Bake until cheese and beans are bubbling

Slice lettuce in very thin strips and pile on each plate. Top with bean tostados. Spoon your homemade salsa over beans and cheese, followed by a large dollop of sour cream. For a little extra a few slices of avocado make this a high fiber, high protein, fiesta. It can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.

One large can of beans makes about15 tostados.

Updated

Tonight I made the cheapest and fastest meal ever. One package of tostadas (approximately. $2.60 for 24 tostado shells, one large can of black beans (1.50) on carton reduced fat sour cream (.89) one head of lettuce ( 99cents) a 16 ounce bag of shredded cheese of your choice. A few cloves of garlic, a generic brand of canned tomatoes with green chilies, some fresh of dried cilantro. (optional), jalapeños (optional).

Drain tomatoes and place in a blender with a couple cloves of garlic and some cilantro and jalapeños if desired. Blend and pour into serving bowl. Chill if desired.

Without rinsing the blender, drain beans and place in blender with a clove of garlic. Blend and stir or pulse until spreadable.

Get out your largest cookie sheet
Spread the bean paste on tostados and sprinkle generously with cheese
Bake until cheese and beans are bubbling

Slice lettuce in very thin strips and pile on each plate. Top with bean tostados. Spoon your homemade salsa over beans and cheese, followed by a large dollop of sour cream. For a little extra a few slices of avocado make this a high fiber, high protein, fiesta. It can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.

One large can of beans makes about15 tostados.

Oh my 8-l0 days is way too long for house guests - like Ben Franklin said "Houseguests are like fish - they begin to stink after a couple of days".
That said, I have a dish for you. My husbands favorite casserole is Chicken Divan and it's super easy - just line the bottom of a 9 x 13casserole dish with broccoli,(don't even have to cook it first )- then cooked cut up chicken on top of that, then mix one can of cream of chicken soup with l/2 cup of mayo and a sprinkle of curry and a tsp. of lemon juice - spread on top and bake 30 minutes @ 350. Served on rice this is a complete meal and everyone loves it. If you don't like broccoli, any veggie you prefer will do. Best of luck and hope your week with your company turns out fine. M.

Cheap and big is my speciality:) Nothing too fancy but warm and comfort... 9 meals with leftovers for lunches. I shop at Aldi (cheaper nonbrand staples and frozen foods) and Food Depot (cheaper dairy, meat and produce) to save on my food bill.

cook a whole chicken:
chicken and rice with veggies $4
chicken with alfredo and egg noodles with frozen broccoli $7

spaghetti & frozen meatballs with sauce and make your own garlic/cheese toast $6

red beans & rice with sausage and cornbread $5

spanish rice (rice with ground meat, rotel and sauce) with salad $7

chicken pot pie: diced chicken, breast or thigh, rice, cream of chicken soup, can peas, can carrots, 4 pie shells $9

breakfast is always a winner -- pancakes with eggs and sausage $5

soup (get big powdered soup kit) and salad with panini sandwiches $9

chili with fixings and salad $9

hambergers, pulled pork/beef/chicken, speghetti, stir fry, baked chicken, roast.

chili mac - make 3 boxes of mac and cheese as directed, stir in 3 cans of chili...heat and serve with a cooked veggie, bicuits or a salad. all ages LOVE this!!!

also google "cheap meals for 5 people", lots of ideas come up. good luck!!!

I love $5 dinners, these are easily doubled for feeding 5 people (I also only cook for 2 adults and 2 kids who don't eat much).

This is what I call my "pantry meal" Skillet sorta lasagna

Boil 5 cups H2O in a skillet. Add 5 tsp chicken bouillon granules (or cubes) add 1/2 bag cavapellu noodles (curly tube these just suck up so much flavor from the chicken stock that why I love them)
Stir the noodles occasionally. They should be done in about 11 minutes and most of he H2O should be gone. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can diced tomatoes & thawed frozen spinach (I only use about 1/4 of a 12oz bag but add much as you like) once every thing is hot. Turn off heat add a little scoop of sour cream & a sprinkle of Parma stir and done. Add some mozzarella cheese to the top to serve. This stuff is awesome. My most picky eaters love it. I always use reduced fat soup & reduced fat sour cream (fat free sour cream leaves a spoiled sour after taste but reduced doesn't).

Veg ramen stir fry

Get a couple bags frozen stir fry veg & I use 3 ramen packs w/lots of leftovers for 4 people

Stir fry veg in a little oil
Boil noodles 3 minutes
After veg crisp tender add 2 cups H2O 2 packets of seasoning (save rest for later use or add to noodles for more intense flavor)
Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup soy sauce taste it as you go
Mix 3 TBS cornstarch w/ 1/4 cup H2O until smooth add to veg cook until thick. Serve noodles with veg mix on top.

Grilled cheese in the oven with tomato soup is also a good choice

Good luck

I receive emails with recipes every week from this web site. My family has really loved almost every dish I've made.

http://www.youvegotsupper.com/

Good luck,
L.

Red beans and rice with cornbread are a favorite at my house.

Cut up a couple of chicken breasts into bite size pieces and throw in the crockpot with asssorted chopped vegetables and let it stew. Make a pot of rice or pasta to spoon it over.

spagetti with meat sauce or meat balls, garlic bread or just good fresh italian bread plain and a nice salad. (field greens with some walnuts and dried cranberries is easy with a raspberry vinegrette or ranch dressing choice. You can also add fetta cheese) I always make a lasagna but you can't go wrong with pasta and it is cheap. If you want you can also steam some broccoli. I always ask if anyone has food allergies if I don't know them well. good luck!