Those with Big Families

I don't know if you've ever heard of Saving Dinner or not, but it is an inexpensive website. Basically, they offer menu subscriptions of different varieties. Someone mentioned Pampered Chef's Power Cooking? I have been a Pampered Chef consultant, and am familiar with these recipes, but I prefer the Saving Dinner MEGA-MAILER. For about $10, you get 20 recipes that you can prepare en masse, and freeze. A lot of them are simple, from scratch marinades, and they are yummy! I have four children, and my hubby to feed, and I know their tastes, so I just steer clear of the few that are expensive, or not our tastes, and we do all right. Saving Dinner does have sample menus you can view for free, and the library has the Saving Dinner book. I hope this helps!

I think that any kid will eat this recipe, I don't really know about the nutrition factor, but it has all of the food groups if you serve veggies and fruit on the side!

1 lb to1 1/2 lbs of hamburger, seasoned (salt and pepper maybe season salt)
1 bag frozen tater tots
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
grated chedder cheese

Season the burger however you like it. Spread it evenly in the bottom of a 9x12 pan. Cover it with a single layer of the frozen tater tots. Mix the soup with about 3/4 of a can of milk and pour it over the top of the tater tots and the burger. Cover with grated cheese and tinfoil. Put it in a preheated 425 degree oven and cook for 20 minutes. At that time remove the foil and let the cheese get melted and bubbly, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. It should cook for about 30 minutes total. My kids are 6 and 3 and they love to pour ketchup on it and we call it cheeseburger casserol! It's cheap and easy and I don't think it is that bad for you. I just make sure and have some fresh fruit and maybe a salad on the side!!

My kids also like when I make them mac and cheese with hot dogs or mac and cheese with hamburger mixed in it. I like to use penne pasta or macaroni elbows and I use velveeta and milk to make my cheese sauce. I buy the velveeta mac and cheese and mix it with burger when we are camping and they love it too! Also Tuna casserole is usually a winner with kids and a good way to sneek veggies in that they don't eat regularly, like peas!

I love to cook and I make a really easy chicken noodle soup with 1 whole chicken and celery and carrots and onions, a little baby leaf and italian seasonings and a little extra chicken boullion, then there are some frozen egg noodles in the freezer section of your grocery store and they are just like homemade. All you have to do it boil the chicken with the veggies and bay leafs for an hour or so and then pull the chicken out why the veggies still bubble, and after it cools, pick all the chicken off the bone and dscard skin and bones. Add the chicken back and a little boullion to taste bring it back to a hard boil and add your frozen noddles and cook til done....very yummy! You should check out foodnetwork.com and look up recipes for kids, or just google good recipes for kids and see what else you come up with! Good Luck!!

My kids really like quesadillas. You can change them every time. We usually do refried beans and cheese. They dip them in salsa or sour cream. You can also add sauteed onion, carrot, garlic, mushrooms etc..

We really like salmon sandwiches. Canned salmon mixed with mayo and onion powder on toasted bread and leaf lettuce. Yum! and so good for them.

Chicken fingers: Cut chicken into pieces, dip in egg then bread crumbs with salt and pepper. Grease pan bake 350 till done.

Soup is a good idea if your kids like it. I have a couple great recipes if you want them. Let me know.

Try to stay away from canned food, like soups in a can. Even though they are easy. They have MSG which is a neurotoxin.

Hope this gave you some ideas.
T. :o)

Home made Mac and Cheese
1# of pasta
1 or 2 cans of cream of Chicken soup
American cheese half a block cubed
one chopped fried onion
(add meat if desire; cubed chicken or ground beef with onion)
To add variety use tomatoe soup instead
Added a salad or canned fruit or jello is always fun and a cheap dessert.

Chili
1# of ground beef Fried up
can of tomatoes diced with green chilis'
onion chopped and fried
Kidney beans
Package of chili powder mix

Kielbasa and Saurkraut
One large can of saurkraut
Place 2# ring Kielbasa on the saurkraut and bake
Make mashed potaotes and serve.
These are a few without my cookbook.
C. B

Chuck Wagon beans are easy fast and delish! Maybe a side of Cornbread. Down home southern cookin' and inexplensive too!

1 lb. dry pinto beans

1/4 lb. bacon or salt pork

1 medium onion chopped

2 t. salt

Wash the beans by putting them in a bowl with warm water. Stir them around and drain the water. Do this several times until the water is clear. Cover with water and soak overnight.

Put the beans in a pot and cover with water. Add the onions and the salt pork. Cover the pot and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally and add water if necessary.

When the beans are tender, add the salt. Continue to cook until the liquid is creamy.

**In my family we also add garlic and pepper to taste**

Easy, healthy and moderately inexpensive from the freezer section: cooked squash with honey. Let them thaw out in your fridge the night before or even on the counter that morning (with something to catch liquid), warm in a pot and serve with honey. My husband and 3 year old both will eat it and it's easy on the belly. The squash we buy here is about $1 a package and 1 package per person... well it's not as cheap as Spaghetti I don't think but the nutrition factor is great. My husband has been through several surgeries and I find that sometimes I just don't really cook when things are tough. We eat, but we don't make a big deal of it. I buy seasonal fruit like bananas, oranges, pears, and we grab it and keep going. Or I make sandwiches - peanut butter and honey or peanut butter and jelly. Cooked spinach with cheddar cheese is another idea. I do these as separate meals and just serve a lot, rather than having a lot of variety in one meal. We often have french fries with ketchup for breakfast or Yukon gold potatoes just cooked in the microwave (they have a buttery flavor so we just eat them straight). Taboule is another great dish, just buy the box, add the lemon juice and tomatoes, be sure not to boil the taboule with your water. I usually make a double batch for our family, you may need 4x that amount.

Unfortunately I have found that really good nutrition costs something, esp. since corn is subsidized and there is corn syrup in almost everything these days. Well before I go off on some political agenda, there are my suggestions. Good luck!

Buy a couple of bags of frozen diced potatoes, a frozen vegetable like corn or broccoli, and a couple cans of cream of chicken soup, sour cream is optional.
Pour a bag of frozen potatoes in a 9x13 pan and then put a can of cream of chicken and some sour cream (or just two cans of soup) on top of the potatoes, then top it off with a frozen vegetable. Cover with foil and bake at 450 for about 45-60 min. You can sprinkle cheese on top just before serving if you want.

Do you know anyone who does pampered chef? They have some awesome power cooking recipes that you prepare in advance and freeze so all you have to do is thaw and cook them. You can make them all in a couple hours on the weekend and have all your dinners waiting for the week. Let me know if you can't find them and I will see if I can get them to you.