Thread: IDNO Ideas for a dinner that is cheap & feeds 11 people

My best friend and I are trying to put together dinner for her family which is about 11 people including me and my son. She cooks for them every night and most nights because it cost so much they end up buying $5 pizza's, or eat spagetti or sloppy joes and they are sick of that LOL

So does anyone have any cheap ideas that make lots of food for a big family??

Thanks

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH EVERYONE!!!

A pan of ziti or lasagna seem to go a long way when we have the army over - add salad & bread and you're done. Wife makes it ahead of time and just puts it in the oven while she makes the salad & drinks.

red beans and rice....chicken and dumplings...chicken and rice...chicken and dressing...

Originally Posted by DezaRay24

My best friend and I are trying to put together dinner for her family which is about 11 people including me and my son. She cooks for them every night and most nights because it cost so much they end up buying $5 pizza's, or eat spagetti or sloppy joes and they are sick of that LOL

So does anyone have any cheap ideas that make lots of food for a big family??

Thanks

chili...

a big pot of it can be cheap depending on how much you pay for the ingrediants..
i get them all when they are on sale...
i make a big pot out of 5 cans of beans (always half price but you can use generic!)
beef or turkey or chicken or tofu! or lil of everything lol..
canned tomatoes... i get these cheap too!

lasagna can be cheap too if the ingrediants are bought when onsale.. pasta last forever!!!!

stews are also very cheap.. use cheap cuts of meat....

eastern european peasant cooking is a cheap way to cook.... lol.. i should know!

1 lb. Hamburger
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 cups Coleslaw mix (cheaper to just chop up cabbage)
1 pkg. Frozen corn (10 oz.)
1 pkg. Frozen green beans (9 oz.)
4 cups V8 Spicy Hot
1 can Italian style stewed tomato's (14 oz.)
1 Tbl. Worchestershirt sauce
1 tsp. Basil, crushed
Salt 'n pepper to taste

Brown hamburger, onion & garlic, drain off fat. Pour into crockpot. Add
remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5
hours.

This is the basic recipe, made a crockpot full, but the best thing about it is that almost all the ingredients can be substituted. I use generic vegetable juice and a few dashes of Franks Red Hot Sauce instead of the spicy V8, last time I used store brand frozen mixed vegetables in place of the corn and green beans, and just chopped up a head of cabbage pretty fine. The tomatoes don't have to be Italian style, or can even be omitted if you like. I served it with cornbread muffins, but it's good with couscous, too. I have used ground pork and ground turkey to make this, and also stew beef. And you can make it on the stovetop.

These shouldn't be hard to find recipes for. I come from a family of 11 and they are things my mom made a lot.

Spanish rice

Chicken and rice.

One of my favorite things when it's cold and my boys loved.

You take the skin and fat off of chicken and boil it till it falls off the bone (add salt and pepper to taste with the chicken). 45-hour before you are ready to eat add cut up potatoes (bite size) and then about fifteen minutes before you're ready to eat add a bunch of egg noodles.

It's just a big pot of chicken, potatoes and noodles, but it's really good when it is cold or rainy.

Goulash

large box of macaroni
1-3 # hamburger
cut up onions, green peppers, garlic, tomatoes tomatoes can be canned), mushrooms - any or all of these cut up or chopped
some add canned corn
salt & pepper
large can of tomatoe sauce

Try to make it early in the day and after it sets for awhile, it blends the flavors.