Need Help - Clayton, OH

S.,
i hope i can help, because i sure can relate!! i don't have as many people to feed, but i bet the three of us eat as much as your six ;-)
here's my 2 cents.....
#1 if you have any other store other than kroger, please shop there. no offense to kroger, but they are expensive!! do you have a meijer near you? if so, they are almost as cheap as walmart, but they double coupons, which walmart does not.
also, do you have any kind of time at all? as a mom of 4 i'm sure you are totally spoken for schedule wise, but if you have the time, here's what i do:
-get the sunday paper, it's worth the money.
-go through the flyers for ALL stores & make notes. who has diapers on sale, who has milk on sale, etc.
-make lists for each store you need to go to.
-CUT COUPONS!!!!!!!!!!
-shop for only what you need & use coupons if possible. if not, buy store brands.

as for recipes, this may sound silly, but i have heard there are many good ones based on a family of like 20 people featured on TLC. their name is DUGGAR i think, and i'm sure if you googled TLC/duggar family you could find their recipes.

i would also say: try growing your own produce, making your own soups, baking your own bread, etc.

You can do alot of things (little changes) that will help. Instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts you can use coneless skinless thighs. They cost significantly less than the white meat. I cook them on my broiler pan so that the fat juices drip into the bottom pan. Drumsticks and roaster chickens are also much cheaper. Avoid the processed stuff. It seems cheaper and easier, but you can actually do better if you stick to the basics. I swear by www.recipezaar.com to get recipes. They have every kind of recipe and even a rating system. If you are looking for chicken recipes you can look up a search sort them by rating and find the good ones. Plus if a recipe sucks they will sure enough speak up.

Hello S.,

I just learned about a website where you can order a unit of food worth $60 for $30. Sounds great huh! I have 7 people living im my home right now, and feeding them all can be very expensive. Go to this website www.angelfoodministries.com .
Click on "Host Site" at the top, then click your state, than check to see what pick up place is closest to you.
Next, click "Menu" at top and check for this months food, it gives you a list of what you will get in the unit and the specials below that, that you can add to it.
You order them through the host site you chose and pick them up there. You can order as many units as you want! This is NOT that government food, it is really awesome! One unit will feed a family of 4 for a week. I usually buy more than one unit. You can't beat getting 60 dollars of food for 30 dollars.
Good Luck
T.

I ate a lot of casseroles growing up - we have a huge family). Try recipies.com for some ideas - some of our favorites- tator tot casserole - use tator tots, ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey), cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup (reduced fat). Brown the meat with onion, drain the fat. Stir in the two cans of soup. Place frozen tator tots in bottom of baking dish, cover with meat, soup mixture and bake at 375 until everything is cooked - top with a little cheddar cheese if desired.

Another casserole variation - shredded cooked chicken with stuffing - you can find the recipe on the back of the stove top box.

I feel for you. Where do you live? First, stock up at Aldi's ,Odd lots,Save a Lot, snack foods at Walmart.

My kids love soups, and they are nutritious, with noodles or potatoes. I made french onion soup the other day, onion, garlic, beef stock ($3 for a carton) and then some good bread.
Cheese can be pricey.
I freeze things like butter and hard salami, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, waffles...sliced bread. With the price of gas increasing, the price of everything will increase. I have friends that will stop and pick me up a gallon of milk or eggs if on sale, Foodtown in Tipp does 18cent/lb banana Thursdays, but to drive is idiotic just for that.

If you have a network of friends, shop for each other when there are sales and use your deep freezer to stock up on meats too, then stock up on your canned stuff at the cheapy places.
Soups, spaghetti...$6 pizza at Walmart...or refrigerated pizza dough, spaghetti sauce, and cheese.

Good luck.