What is some ways to cook for a large family?

I grew up in a family of eight and i had to learn to cook for all of them, have left overs and keep it very cheap. We were on an assistance program because my parents are disabled (Well i don't think they are but they are idiots and scammers) anyways, it's hard... And i noticed that there's only one way to shop and cook for a family like that. First, the cheapest foods: Staples - Spaghetti, Macaroni, rice. Meats - All in bulk (it's the cheapest all the time) Hamburger, Hot dogs, Chicken. Vegetables - always buy in the frozen section in bags, because it's always the cheapest way to go. I like to make meals with a lot of flavour, so i go out and get my spices in bulk all the time. I have always experimented. Try mixing mashed potatoes with Cream of mushroom soup, mixed vegetables, and hamburger, something that i mixed up one day and everyone can't get enough, It's cheap, fast, easy and everyone loves it. all kids of spaghetti, and it doesn't have to always be made with regular spaghetti sause, it can be used with any kid of soup, and then your own sauses and gravies, makes an awesome cheap meal. (experiment, they'll love it. Also, try BBQ sause in your normal spaghetti, it's sooo good) meat loaf, though it has to be made with the proper spices to make it yummi always spice your chicken differently so that they may not get a variety of the meat, but always the taste. Family/value packs are also good, they do it in almost everything and you can get some really good cheap round steaks and chops that way that can be incorperated into almost anything. Buy roasts as well. You can get tonnes of roasts, and cut them into your own steaks and stewing meat, it's a lot cheaper, and kind of fun. make your own burgers, soups, gravies with flour and spices, and anything pretty much that's made before it goes on the shelves, A lot of people buy them pre done so it's easier, but i rather the cheaper way. Also, to lessen your worry about cost by a lot, it's always a good idea to invest in a full or half pork and the butchering fees, you can decide on all the cuts that you want and like and get it at half the cost you would buying everything to equal that weight in a store. Hope this helps, Take care Peace and love be with you Blessed Be.

I had an extended family of 8 living in my house growing up - mom, dad, me, 2 sibs, 2 grandparents and a maiden aunt. We're an Italian and Turkish family so food was everything. There was always a huge pot of stew atop of a larger pan with holes in the lid filled with water on the back part of the gas stove on very low heat.( It kept the soup warm without scorching.) All day someone would add something to it: spices, a few potatoes, cooked lentils or rice, meat and/or drippings from a roast, chopped carrots, celery, dry noodles, turnips, etc. and just enough water to keep it moist (we like stew you'd eat with a fork - long before Campbells "invented" it). Anybody could come in, grab a bowl and help themselves at anytime for a snack- lunch, brunch, even breakfast. Every Sunday it was allowed to run out and the pot was scoured and the next week's stew began. No one went hungry, no one asked what was there to eat. You knew where to go and so did your friends as you grew. The "stewpot" at our house became well known for the poor, near-ghetto economically depressed area we lived in. Many a starving friend brought seasonal flowers or chocolate candy or peppermints for my Oma and Aunty (their weaknesses) in thanks for the meals. The only rule was except for Sunday, you didnt let it get ewmpty below midway and no filling it with just water - peel a few potatoes, grab a handful of noodles or chop some veggies for it before you left that kitchen. Of course back then someone was always home watching it, stirring and adding spices or stuff to it so it was never left unattended. Now today, rarely is anyone home all day, so what I do is fix a big electric crockpot full of homemade chicken or vegetable stew on low and leave it for anyone to eat during the day for my husband, his mother, our housekeeper and our friends and grandchildren. All know the rules, we keep cans of veggies and baked beans and packs of pasta on low shelves for the smaller ones and they know to put something in before they leave and to clean up! But before bed I cool off the crock and put it in the refrigerator, taking it out the next day to add more "stuff" and stock inside. Not as great as when my Oma and Aunty put their special touches in while I was in school, but still soooo goood. We cut down on expensive snacks, too!

I'm a little surprised that chicken is a cheap meat for you, the only chicken I can ever see at cheap prices is so obviously poor sad little battery hens that have had a miserable life that they have no flavour and wouldnt go very far in a meal let alone anything else. We find beef the cheapest meat, because we can buy locally raised brisket for about £1 per lb, and that goes a very long way in terms of flavour. Anyway, I digress, have you thought about serving soup for starters, that is cheap to make, especially if you use vegetables and lentils as staple ingredients, fils them up a bit and gives them needed roughage and extra veggies, then whatever you serve next can be in more average portions. Soup is also a great way to use those chicken carcasses after you have had all the meat off them, plus any odds and ends that wont feed teh whole family can go into the soup pot.

try cooking gravy an biscuits an fried taters an also beans- cornbrean,i love that.an what beans are leftover make beans cakes with them they make great snacks also same as taters cakes make with mash leftover mash potatoes.an salmons patties are cheap to make good with anything an also can make sandwiches with them.these are just a few meals i use to make

Corned beef hash is always delicious, economical, and you can spice it up however you like, according to the tastes of the folks you're cooking for. Shepherd's pie and cottage pie are also good, and all of these are a meal in their own right (you can serve them on their own, or with bread & butter/a bit of pickled red cabbage). Roast chicken with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, veggies & good thick gravy is good & filling (and healthy if you roast the potatoes & parsnips in veggie/sunflower oil rather than lard), and you can always do a chicken soup with the chicken carcass the next day (with dumplings & veggies is good for flavour & bulking it out!). Hope these ideas are of some help, and happy cooking!

Try making a Chicken Macaroni Soup... cook macaroni pasta as directed, saute garlic and onion on butter and add shredded chicken meat then add chicken stock and 1 cup of milk then add the cooked macaroni pasta then season to taste.. you can add thinly sliced carrots and thinly slice cabbage to make it more healthy... well, my kids love this recipe...good luck

I have a husband and three teenage sons. My twins' best friend also eats here virtually 7 night a week. And the twins' girlfriends eat here more often than not. So a usual night here is between 4 (RARE) and 8. I cook one main meal and salad or vegetables and bread depending on what I've made. Pasta (vary the sauces: spaghetti and meatballs, penne arrabiata (spicy salami and tomato), curly pasta and napoletana sauce (tomato and garlic). Occasionally I'll get a foccaccia or garlic bread especially if it's Napoletana sauce which is a lighter meal. I might cook chicken drumsticks in a Napoltetana sauce and serve that with the pasta too. I'll make plain rice if we have curry or casserole, fried rice (made in a non-stick frypan by the absorption method) if we have chicken kebabs, stir fry chicken or beef, etc. Lebanese bread for these meals - cheaper than Naan, etc. In winters I make vegetable soup (and add in orange lentils so no one realizes they're there because some of my eaters are fusspots :) ) I also make up a big pot of beef or chicken consommé and i make that into a thick chicken noodle soup - they like it think and it fills them up. The chicken or beef is eaten on the side. Chicken is the cheapest meat here in Australia - so I use that a lot - whether pieces, Maryland, drumsticks or fillets - they go a long way. I try to cook steak once a week too because my eldest had severe anemia three years ago following a big operation. So steak and salad or steak and veggies (roast potatoes are on here at least twice a week! Mashed potatoes, corn, pease, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage). T-Bones occasionally but not oiften as they're expensive! Roast beef now and then - and sometimes roast pork, though Irarely eat it as I can't stand the smell. Pork spare ribs too but I don't eat them either because of the smell. Minced meat is no longer cheap - I like using the premium mince which is lower in fat. I make burgers (with salad and burger buns for those who want a hamburger), chilli con carne (with rice), meatloaf (with veggies) I don't make lamb very often (again the smell puts me off) but i will eat BBQ'd lamb - probably because I can't smell it. I LOVE Greek and Middle Eastern lamb!!! Once in a while I'll buy a container of lamb on the spit from the local kebab place and let everyone makde their own kebabs. YUM.

Go to www.allrecipes.com and you can find something..they have all kinds of recipes!

maybe you can make chicken menudo sometimes also.... saute garlic & onion then add cubed chicken meat ; sliced pork liver ; cubed vegetables ( carrots , potatoes , chayote , green or red bell pepper ) ; snow peas ; tomato chunks & corn kernel. Bring to boil with little water & dash with pepper & salt to taste. serve with garlic bread or rice! ingredients are not of expensive ones then you can make a bowl of it & got a healthy / nutritious meal already.

I cook for a family of seven every day and it's almost like cooking for a small army at times. Since that's the case there are alot of little things that we do to save money on food. The biggest thing we do is that we have a large garden and we preserve alot of it every year. That right there gives us the healthy fruits and vegetable we need all year round and we don't spend as much on that. And then of course we do couponing (doubles and triples), shop the sales and go to a discount grocery store once a month. We are on a very tight budget and this is the only way we can make every go farther. Our main fare is hamburger as well, since it is so cheap. But in shopping the sales, we also have a large variety of other meats, poultry and fish. And everything is almost done casserole style or in a big pot (crockpot normally). One way we keep it interesting is by rotating our diet. That way it doesn't get boring. Not sure if this helps you at all but this is how our family gets by. Stretching the budget is the biggest thing.

Yeah, boys can eat. Well besides from having a big pot/ You mention you didn't want to break your bank account. Have you considered going to a food pantry or applying for foodstamps to help offset some of the cost of food? You can go to Bj's, COSTCO, SAMS Club to get the big bulk items and save money.

well i started cooking at the age of 9 I like to make meals with a lot of flavour, so i go out and get my spices in bulk all the time. I have always experimented. Try mixing mashed potatoes with Cream of mushroom soup, mixed vegetables, and hamburger, something that i mixed up one day and everyone can't get enough, It's cheap, fast, easy and everyone loves it. all kids of spaghetti, and it doesn't have to always be made with regular spaghetti sause, it can be used with any kid of soup, and then your own sauses and gravies, makes an awesome cheap meal. (experiment, they'll love it. Also, try BBQ sause in your normal spaghetti, it's sooo good) meat loaf, though it has to be made with the proper spices to make it yummi always spice your chicken differently so that they may not get a variety of the meat, but always the taste. Family/value packs are also good, they do it in almost everything and you can get some really good cheap round steaks and chops that way that can be incorperated into almost anything. Buy roasts as well. You can get tonnes of roasts, and cut them into your own steaks and stewing meat, it's a lot cheaper, and kind of fun. make your own burgers, soups, gravies with flour and spices, and anything pretty much that's made before it goes on the shelves, A lot of people buy them pre done so it's easier, but i rather the cheaper way. and so i love cooking also.....!!!!

also another thing too, is get some library books on cooking from scratch. you would never believe things like homemade biscuits is pretty cheap when making homemade. you figure on average a bag of flour is under $1, then you have yeast, eggs, butter etc. you can purchase these t hings for under $% altoghether, and y ou can make biscuits at least a dozen times. now compare that to how much you spend on pillsbury can biscuits a month. phew. there is another way to save some.

For me, family of 5 here 3 young children. This is a fantastic subject because my boys sometimes are picky (mostly just one of them.) They are getting better though, and I'm now not cooking 5 different meals which was getting ridiculous. Very true, salads, pasta dishes, rice. I have also found a crockpot to use is fantastic. Not only does it make enough food, but it cooks the food for you during the day and ready for dinner which is great not to have to worry about making dinner when you have 3 children acting up around dinner hour like right now. Crockpot meals such as soups, bbq chicken (and just cook the rice/veggies on the side.) A lasagne is another great large family meal, use a throw-away tray, no mess. Pizza can be made various ways on pita bread even, and english muffins. Now that I'm getting hungry, it's off to make dinner. Great topic!

like others have mentioned, speghetti and chilli are good budget choices, someone mentioned corned beef hash, put some onions and green peppers in it while frying it and serve it with toast and eggs, its awesome, even add white gravy if you like it. Sheperds Pie is a good choice, buy lots of potatoes, they are cheap and you can do lots with them, cut them up and fry them with some onions, you can even add squash and zuchinni and have fried squash as a side dish and the potatoes zuchinni and onion add to the flavor and save money its great. Cut up potatoes put them in a casserole dish with some butter and dry ranch cover with aluminum foil and bake until tender, try same recipe just leave out the ranch and use a little taco seasoning and add cheese and sour cream when serving. Potatoes make a great side dish for every meal and you can do so many different things with them.

Being from South Louisiana, I find a big pot of gumbo, jambalaya or stew does the trick. They are all easy to make and quick. Red or white beans and rice are equally as good and very inexpensive.

try buying those store brand product they don't cost as much as the name product thats what i do now since we are spending over $400.00 a month alone just for the food.

You need to start cooking in BIG pots! Try some things that will go a long way like soups, gumbos, beans and rice, stews. Hope that helps!

We are 9 members.Make thick soups and give them before meals.These can reduce hunger and easy to make.We Indians make Dal and parathas,can fill the stomach easily.Avoid making time consuming dishes.Always Prefer chepest things to cook.Pasta also cheap and best.Always cut the vegetables at night for the next day.Ask family members help at cooking at weekends sothat they know about how much time it takes to prepare a dish and also how much work it includes.

hi lady malissa, iam from india. i don,t have much knowledge on your cooking style,but we are large famliy with more than dozen members including children to grand parents.. my mom and my 2 aunts are responsible for cooking and maintaing the house.. here i can suggest u some idea.. make ur members feel to eat good ie heavy in break fast and lunch it will take much time to digest. so they won,t think of munching any thing... this won,t affect the health since they may involve in physical works during day time... and have a little food at supper to have best digestive.....