Eating a (Mostly) Balanced Diet on a Budget: Day Six--Macaroni and Cheese

Friday

For Breakfast, we had pancakes again.

For Lunch, same as usual.

I do admit that sometimes breakfast and lunch can get tedious, but only in this day and age do we somehow believe that everything has to have so much variety.  I try to make sure the kids get a couple days a week with eggs, and a few without eggs and to save on cereal, I try to make something else, like the pancakes or waffles.

Dinner:

Homemade macaroni and cheese:

Boil 1 cup of macaroni noodles until tender.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or any cheese to your liking, and I usually use a handful, so I don't really know how much)
1 can petite diced tomatoes

While they're boiling:
Melt butter in saucepan.  Add flour and salt and stir.  Then add milk and cook, while stirring, over medium heat until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and add half the cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted.

Strain the macaroni, combine with cheese sauce in a casserole dish.  Add can of tomatoes.  I like the tomatoes for flavor but my kids hate them.  Sometimes I use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce instead.

Top with remaining cheese.

Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes, until cheese melts and browns a little.

You might have to double this recipe if you have a large family.

I also served steamed broccoli and a fruit salad.

Cost of dinner:

$.50 broccoli
$1 fruit salad
$.50 for cup of macaroni
$.60 can petite diced tomatoes
$.50 other ingredients
$.50 cheese
$3.60 Total (or $5 ish dollars to double it)=$.45/person

Total cost of food for the day:

$2.17 breakfast
$8 lunch
$3.60 Dinner
$13.77 Total=$1.72/person