Menu for next week, 5 meals each one under $10

Monday:

Spaghetti Carbonara:
1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 slices bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
3 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (can use dried)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb fresh asparagus cut and steamed

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.
Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.
Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. Add beaten eggs and cook, tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Quickly add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and toss again. Add salt and pepper to
taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty). Add cooked asparagus.
Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

Spag: 1.29
OG Eggs 2.49 per DZ so .20 each use 3 eggs for .60
bacon sale price $1.99 use 5 pieces save rest for another meal so 1/2 pack 1.00
Aspargus 2.19 per lb
shredded parmesan cheese 2.49 about 6 uses from container so .42
Total meal cost: $5.50 or $1.37 per person for 4 ppl.

Tuesday:
Beans and Sausage stoup:
1lb smoked sausage cut into slices
1 15oz can black beans
1 15oz can red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced dried onion(used because I had no fresh)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 bunch of fresh greens diced
1/2 bag dried macaroni
2 cups chicken broth.

Add a tablespoon of water to frying pan, add dried onions and sausage. Cook until sausage is slightly browned. Add to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients except pasta. Cook on high one hour, low until ready to add pasta. Add pasta cook on low for another ½ hour. Serve with warm bread.

Sauasge: 2.50
1 can organic red beans 1.29
1 can organic black beans 1.29
1 bag macaroni 1.29 use 1/2 so .65
1 can organic diced tomatoes 1.59
1 bag organic frozen spinach 2.19 use 1/2 bag so 1.09
TTL cost of meal: $8.41 for 6 servings or 1.40 per serving
This yields enough for dinner and a few bowls lunch too.

Wednesday:

Breakfast for dinner, always a big hit here!

Scrambled eggs
Remaining bacon
pancakes from a mix
cantaloupe

6 eggs at .20 each or 1.20
remaining bacon from package approx 1.00
pancakes from mix: mix cost 2.29 and we get about 8 uses per box so about .28
Light syrup: 1.50 we get about 8 uses from one bottle so .18
1 cantaloupe 1.68 we get 3 meal uses from one so .56
TTL cost for meal: 3.22 or .81 for 4 servings

Thursday:

Cheesy baked chicken and tomatoes:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs about 1 1/2-2 lbs
¼ cup flour
2 Tablespoon dried oregano or basil, divided
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
2 Tablespoons, olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 ounces, softened cream cheese
1/3 cup skim milk
1 Tablespoon, softened butter
½ cup, parmesan cheese


Combine flour, 1 Tablespoon of dried oregano, salt and paprika in a shallow dish. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour mixture and place in heated skillet. Brown both sides of chicken and transfer chicken to a 9x13x2glass baking dish.
In the same skillet, sauté the onions, add the un-drained tomatoes and 1 Tablespoon of dried oregano. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cream cheese, milk and butter. Spread the cream cheese mixture over each piece of chicken. Pour the tomato mixture over the cream cheese coated chicken and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 350° for at least 30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve with cooked basmati rice and peas.

1/2 bag boneless skinless frozen chicken breast 4.99 so 2.50 (I buy a few bags when they go on sale at this price)
1 can organic diced tomatoes 1.59
1 brick of cream cheese 1.59
bagged organic peas 1.99
rice bulk (pantry)
milk (pantry)
TTL cost of meal $7.67 for 4 servings so 1.91 per serving

Friday:
BBQ Pork steaks
Butter noodles with spinach

Season pork steaks on both sides with salt and pepper. Broil on high on each side until cooked, cover with BBQ sauce and cook for an additional minute.

Butter Noodles:
one package egg noodles
parmesan cheese
garlic powder
salt and pepper
butter
parsley (dried or fresh)
6-8 0z fresh or frozen spinach

Boil noodles ans spinach for 7-8 minutes or until done. Drain. Place 3 tablespoons butter into pan. It will melt but do not place on heated burner. Add to the butter, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablspoon parsley, and 1/2 tsp salt and pepper each.
Add noodles and 2 tablspoons parmesan cheese, mix well with spoon.

Pork steaks 2 large steaks are enough for 4 or 5 ppl about $5.00
1 bttl BBQ sauce 2.29, we get about 3 meals from one so .76
16 oz bag of egg noodles 2.29
1/2 bag of leftover frozen spinach 1.09
butter 1/2 stick, one whole stick costs about .53 each so, .26
TTL cost for meal: 9.40 or 2.35 per serving.

The cost for week night meals: About $35.00, if you are on a budget of $75.00 this leaves $40 for other food and household needs! WOW..that's incredible. Some ppl spend that much on one take out meal alone. Goes to show a little planning can go a long way. Have a fantastic week folks. Evie