Hamburger Chow Mein is my choice for a delicious, inexpensive meal that is great for a big family. For family of 6-8, I use 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, 1 large onion chopped/sliced, 3 stalks celery chopped, 1 bell pepper sliced/chopped, 1-2 cups bean sprouts and 1 can water chestnuts (optional). Saute meat, onion, green pepper and celery in large frying pan till meat is no longer pink and veggies are semi-soft. Add bean sprouts and water chestnuts; season to taste (salt, pepper, soy sauce). Serve over plain rice, and you have a complete meal. My family loves it. Enjoy!

Here's a great link to 30 meals that you can make for only $3 per serving from the hy-vee company: http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp""">http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp"">http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp"">http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp">http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp"">http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp">http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp">http://www.hy-vee.com/30meals/30meals.asp and here's another link from allrecipes for 10 meals for $10: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx""">http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx"">http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx"">http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx">http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx"">http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx">http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx">http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Ten-Meals-on-10/Detail.aspx Just do a search online and you'll find tons of recipes that are cheap to make, also go to krafts web site and sign up for their free magazine that contains a lot of recipes, they send one out four times a year. There are also Budget Wise recipes listed on their web site: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx""">http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx"">http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx"">http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx">http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx"">http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx">http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx">http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx

Hope this helps!

Also, I forgot, check out some of my factoids: Cost Effective Recipes for under $10 with 5 ingredients: http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/""">http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/"">http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/"">http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/">http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/"">http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/">http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/">http://factoidz.com/cost-effective-recipes-for-under-10-with-5-ingredients/

and The healthiest Frugal Foods: http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/""">http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/"">http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/"">http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/">http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/"">http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/">http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/">http://factoidz.com/the-healthiest-frugal-foods/

Pasta and rice dishes. You can add just a few ingredients and they're tasty and filling. Pick whatever meat and veg is on sale, toss it in, stir it up with a tasty sauce, and there you go.

I need to shamelessly, or better yet, PROUDLY plug one of our own Factoiders. She has a whole website, newly contructed, but top notch...Still makes mine look stupid! For a girl who claims not to have great technical knowledge, with a little help from friends she is putting together a wonderful budget recipe blog that you MUST check out. It is a tribute to her awesome Dad, who on top of being a loving parent and a licensed pilot, was an excellent cook. Here at this blog, she lovingly passes on this knowledge and these recipes to all of us. This is real home cooking! You MUST visit this site:

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It belongs to:

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She is not stingy with posting recipes here on Factoidz.com. she also provides Factoids on many other topics fro particle accelerators to dog training. You will not be disappointed if you follow her and check out her blog!

The other night I made the following turkey burritos for 2 people: I used 1 pkg. ground turkey, 1 pkg. of burrito wrappers (contains about 10), 1 pkg. of Nueva Cocina Taco Fresco seasoning mix, 1 can of Rotel lime cilantro diced tomatoes, 1 can of fat free refried beans, 1 small carton of sour cream, 1 Badia brand jar of cumin, 1 Badia brand jar of cilantro, 1 pkg. of shredded cheddar jack. You will also need aluminum foil, plates, 1 pot, 1 saucepan, spoons for stirring each pot and pan, and serving food once ready.

Turn the oven on 200 degrees, wrap the burrito tortillas in foil, and warm them in the oven.

In a small pot, heat the refried beans on moderate heat (4-5), add a tablespoon of sour cream and cumin to taste. Stir as it bubbles, and turn down the heat once it is well mixed together.

Saute the turkey on the stove. Once it is browned, add canned tomatoes and spice and turn on low.

Take out the warmed tortillas from the oven. Set it on a plate. Fill with 2-3 spoonfuls of turkey mixture.Sprinkle with cheese, and roll the tortilla. Flip the cheese side down so the heat from the turkey melts it slightly. Repeat once. Next take 2-3 spoonfuls of refried beans to accompany the burrito; sprinkle with cilantro or extra sour cream.

Turn stove and oven off, and serve.

**Badia brand is Mexican, I think? Anyway, you get more spice for less cash. Big Lots, Dollar General and Dollar Tree also have brand-X dried spices.

Nueva Cocina is an American brand of Mexican home food products, they are less mystery powder and fillers, and more real dried garlic, onion, and peppers.

In addition to pastas and rice, couscous or grits are a good "support" to a simple medley of veggies (frozen or steamed), a diced meat of your choice, and a soup for "sauce"--beef, chicken or turkey broth, or a soup with this base is a good choice.