Fall Break and Frugal Meals

Today was another fun day off at the Bell household. Rayton (8), Emeline(6), and Meredith(17mo) have enjoyed the great outdoors, mamma's home cooking, snuggling and playing together. I am not looking forward to going back to school next week. Even though I am at the same school my children are at, it is days like these that make me realize how much time I am missing out on with them. I do love my job! I love being a teacher! However, being a mom is my #1 priority, and there are days I feel like I am letting them down.
Enough of that.. On to tonight's meal.
We had Ham and Broccoli Skillet to a total cost of $5.77 to feed all five of us!

The ingredients are...
3 cups cooked brown rice ($1.72)
1 package frozen broccoli (on sale for $.80)
1 package 16oz chopped ham (on sale for $2.30)
1/2 a chopped onion ($.20)
2 tbs butter ($.10)
1 cup shredded cheese (on sale for $1.23)

How to..
Cook 3 cups rice according to package directions
melt 1 tbs butter in large skillet
saute onions
add chopped ham
add frozen broccoli
cover and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes
uncover, stir in rice
remove from heat and add cheese

The kids ate this one up, too. Even though, Emeline is not a big fan of broccoli. When I told her that it has loads of vitamins that will make are a super strong cheerleader, she was persuaded. Meredith enjoyed trying to feed herself this dish as well. It was quite a mess to clean her up. But, she seemed to enjoy it!

First Post, EVER!

So... I've started a blog. Never really thought I would be the "blogging" type. But, if I can put all my kids' pics, videos, favorite sites and recipes in one place, I may actually feel slightly organized..lol.

The first thing I'm going to post is what I hope to be one of those things that is going to help me "get organized". I am on a quest to make meals that my family will actually eat. Meals that I can actually prepare in a reasonable amount of time. Meals that are somewhat healthy. And, most importantly meals that won't cost more than $10 to make. Groceries are getting OUTRAGEOUS. And, I figure there has to be a better way to save at the checkout other than HOURS and HOURS and HOURS of coupon clipping, sale hunting, and grocery store hopping. So, this blog is going to help me on that quest. 

Tonight was the first of (what I hope to be) many meals that my family of five enjoyed. We had miniature meatloaf, steamed veggies, and mashed potatoes. The cost was only $5.19! Here's the break down.

Ground turkey (20oz) $2.30 (0n sale at Kroger)
eggs (I already had)
oats (I already had)
1 can Manwich sauce divided $1.00 (on sale at Kroger)
1 bag frozen mixed veggies $1.33 (Kroger)
5 potatoes $.56
1/2 cup of milk (I already had)
butter for flavor (I already had)

The process:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
Place meat, one egg, half the can of Manwich sauce, and 1/2 cup of oats in a mixing bowl. Mix with your hands until all ingredients are blended thoroughly. Scoop out small sections of the mixture and form into mini-loafs. Place mini-loafs on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pull the loafs out of the oven and top each one with the left over sauce. Place back in the over for 10 to 15 more minutes. 

Steam the veggies,  and season to taste. 
Boil, drain, and mash the potatoes. Then, season to taste. 

This meal was a hit with the hubs and all three kiddos. I will be doing this one again.