Thursday, October 27, 2011

3 dinners for under $10 total

Okay, so I didn't add up the amounts, but I think I made all three of these dinners for under $10 total. My family does not eat leftovers, so I do not save leftovers. They just go moldy, so I would rather throw them away when they smell good, than when they smell horrible. (I know, not very frugal of me---but that's the way it is.) But, if I can make it into something else, then it works. I haven't done the following plan before, but it worked out quite nicely.

10-12 medium potatoes
Toppings for baked potatoes
1 tube jimmy dean hot sausage
1 yellow onion
1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
9 eggs
S & P
Beef boullion cubes
Biscuits or biscuit ingredients

The first night we had baked potatoes. Mine were red potatoes, but it doesn't matter. Make extra for the following meals... (I think I made 10-12 medium sized potatoes for my family of 5 eaters).

Then a night or two later we had Rancho's Juevos. (My Dad always said it meant "Ranch Eggs" in spanish, but who knows?) Here is how to do it...

After the baked potatoes cool (you can just leave them in the foil and put them in the fridge) or let them cool on the counter for a few hours. Remove the foil and cube. Put them in the fridge in a ziploc until ready to use. In a large non-stick skillet put the potatoes in and brown edges and heat through. Salt and Pepper. In a separate pan cook 1 chopped yellow onion and 1 tube of jimmy dean hot sausage (by the ham and hot dogs at the grocery store). Add cooked sausage to potatoes. In a separate bowl beat some eggs. (I did 9, but it just depends on how many potatoes you have and how much egg you like). Add eggs to potatoes and cook through. Add half a bottle of any brand/flavor BBQ sauce and serve. You can also top with cheese if desired.

For the third meal I made a beef broth with water and beef boullion cubes. I did 5 bouillion cubes to half a big pan of water. (The normal recipe is 1 cube to 1 C. water...and I estimated that it was about 5 cups of water). Then I added the left over Rancho's Juevos to make a sausage and potato soup. The egg looked a little weird, but it didn't taste bad at all. In fact the soup was really really good. (I figured there is egg in egg drop soup). I also made biscuits to go with the soup. I am still looking for the perfect biscuit recipe so I will not post the recipe I used. (Anyone have any suggestions.)

And there you have it...3 cheap, easy, fast, yummy meals!