Dining on a Dime

Over the weekend, Andrew and I hosted our first family lunch as a married couple! We fed my mom, stepdad, sister, grandma, grandpa, adopted brother, and each other in our small home. It was so much fun! After everyone left, Andrew and I were talking about how much (well, really how little) it cost to feed everyone.

Let me break it down for you:

Noodles: $2.00

Spaghetti Sauce $2.50

Bread: $1.50

Jell-O Cake: $5.00

With the use of seasoning and parmesan cheese, we calculated that we were able to feed eight people for less than $20. In all, everyone was able to eat for roughly $2 per plate. If we would have gone out to eat, it would have been stretching it for only TWO people to eat for less than $20- depending on the restaurant. All in all, we were very proud of this... and I'm thankful that Mom helped foot the bill!

One way that I cut down on cost is, I made my own garlic bread. Let me show you how easy it is!

Place plain bread on a baking sheet. I just happened to have white bread, but I prefer wheat. Anything is fine... you can even use hamburger buns or hotdog buns. They are equally tasty!

Butter the tops of the bread. I use olive oil butter, but any will do.

I use Spice Islands Garlic and Herb Bread Dipping Spice as my topping, but I'm sure any garlic spice would work nicely. I thoroughly cover the slices, but feel free to use as little as you want.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes... or until brown and crisp.

Serve with spaghetti or something equally as tasty! Yum!

Dessert:

Dessert is equally as easy to make. My mom made this cake, but it's simple and very good.

You will need:

1 box white cake mix

1 package strawberry jell-o

1 container of cool whip

Bake cake as directed. Mix Jell-o as directed, but do not cool. When cake is finished, poke holes in top with a fork. Pour Jell-O over the cake. Refrigerate until chilled throughout. When cooled, top with cool whip. Serve cold.

I like to add fresh berries to the top of the cake occasionally. Blueberries and strawberries are very tasty!

Since our house is a bit small, the boys ate at the outdoor table in the living room...

... and the girls gathered around the kitchen table.

It wasn't IDEAL, but it worked!! We had such a nice time, and we really enjoyed hosting our first family lunch!