Frugal Intuition

We’ve got family in town for a full week.  I will save my plots on how to get guests to leave before they overstay their welcome for another post.  Today I want to focus on how you feed a pack of people for a week without breaking your grocery budget.

The key is, of course, to find a way to stretch your most expensive grocery commodity: meat.  Below I’ve got a bit of a recipe round up for 7 days of dinner for guests–all you’ll need is a whole chicken, 1 pound of smoked sausage, and 3 pounds of ground beef:

Chicken Loaf : a poultry variation on your mom’s classic meatloaf, this simple casserole stretches chicken with rice, breadcrumbs, eggs and a can of the eve-present cream of mushroom soup.

Shepherd’s Pie : another casserole classic, you can stretch your ground beef with the addition lof lots of veggies (healthier that way too).

Stuffed Bell Peppers : another ground beef stretcher calling for rice and mushrooms

Black Beans and Rice : 1 package of keilbasa or smoked turkey sausage takes center stage here with rice, rotel, black beans, and a few other pantry staples.

Taco Soup : our current guests requested this one–it’s a family favorite.

Spicy Corn Chowder :  this one uses no meat at all, but is very very filling

Chicken Pot Pie : another crowd pleaser

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