Pot Pie Generic Recipe

Because of this post on our $400 a month grocery challenge,  people have started to ask me about finances in general as a larger than average family. We've just started this particular challenge, but I've been assessing our finances, evaluating cost vs. benefits and writing about Frugal Living for years. Here are the articles that I've actually posted in this blog.

For a general overview of my frugal philosophy, read this.

If you think you're already as frugal enough, see if you've tried these ideas from Ms. Cheap.

If you think there is no such thing as too frugal, you better read this one.

If making freezer meals sounds like a nice idea, but you aren't sure how to do it in a practical way, try this idea.

One of my best ideas is a Price List. If you don't know what I mean, read this article. This list is 2 years old and it's time for me to post an updated one, I suppose, but this will give you an idea of what it looks like and how it works.

If you want to know what we are eating tonight...

It's Chicken Pot Pie again (and ham pot pie too. This is one of our common meal ideas. Here is a breakdown of how I calculate the cost of this meal:
This is a meal that can be made in a variety of ways, which is probably why I like it so much.
It requires a meat, some veggies, a gravy of sorts and some dough.
My amounts are based on making two casseroles (8x8 each) and baking them at the same time. This usually feeds us one dinner and one lunch the next day.

Meat: 2 lbs. ($2-3) per lb - in this case, I used one lb of chicken and a lb of leftover ham I had in the freezer from Easter.

Veggies: 32 oz bag of frozen or about 4 cans of various kinds. I paid $1.89 for 32oz of frozen. It is cheaper to buy these as separates rather than buying a "veggie mix" but we use enough volume that I can do it this way.

Gravy: straight flour and water works okay, but I like to use cream of mushroom soup to add flavor. $1 per can.

Dough: Pie crust, or refrigerator biscuits, etc. I used Kroger biscuits that I got for 49cents each (1.5 cans per casserole.)

Directions: cook meat, then mix together in large bowl everything except the dough
Pour mix into casserole dish - I put half into each pan. In tonight's case, I actually poured in the mix, then added the meats since I was making two different kinds.
Top with dough
Bake 350 for 30 minutes

COST: $9.50 (for two meals)
If you use this dish as a way to use up leftovers, it gets even cheaper