Cheap meals: family of 5

pizza pasta:

1 lb box penne pasta
1 can diced tomatoes
half bag of pepperoni
1 cup mozzrella
1/2 cup parm cheese
1/2 cup kraft roasted red pepper italian parm dressing
**cook noodles and mix

I tried this, its good and cheap.

cheddar mac n ham casserole

2 box mac n cheese, cooked
1 and half cup cooked peas
1 and half cup diced cooked ham steaks
**add cooked peas and cooked diced ham to prepared mac n cheese.. sprinkle with cheese if you like (put into casserole pan to make it look as if you slaved in the kitchen all day)

so cheap, so easy! mac n ham casserole is about $6 to make .. pizza pasta is about $10, but you may already have the cheeses, making this pretty cheap to make!

home made chili
dry beans (cook per directions) $1.00
hamburger meat ($3.00)
can of diced tomatoes ($1.00)
spices

soak beans over night or boil for two minutes then cover and take off burner for two hours. drain. cook beans for another two hours in water (follow directions on bag. Supposedly using salt in the cooking or soaking process slows it down so don't do that.

fry hamburger. if you're not wanting the chunks of ground beef like you get when you brown it, then cook it in water while smashing and stirring several times. add spices while doing this. then brown it when it's right for you. this makes the crumbly taco meat at restaurants. add onions and bell peppers if you like.

mix diced tomatoes, beans and hamburger with spices and cook until heated.

beans can be stored after being soaked. soaking takes out the toots. 1 bag of dried beans equals at least a few cans in quantity but is the same price as 1 can.

***

beans and rice. my kids hate it but it costs pennies and they'll eat it if i add salsa for Mexican rice. get creative, try sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki. see what they like. beans are a great protein and fiber source. contrary to popular belief, they are not fattening unless you eat like Boston baked beans with a bunch of brown sugar and molasses or something.