3 Families, 1 Dinner, >$13

You read right... I made dinner for three families: Mine, Next door and a Mother&Son. A total of 12 mouths.

I made Spaghetti with Homemade Sausage & Parmesan Spaghetti sauce and Texas toast.

Real Food Real People dot com

Here's my total:

Barilla Pasta- 4 boxes- 99 cents each = $3.96
Tomato Paste- 1 can- 35 cents
Tomato Sauce- 75 cents (big can)
Tomato Diced- 75 cents
Parmesan, Herbs, Spices- FREE (already had it)
Texas Toast- 1.5 boxes- $1.97 each = $2.96
HF Beef Smoked Sausage Links- 1.5 pkgs.- $2.50 each = $3.75

$3.96 + .35 + .75 + .75 + $2.96 + $3.75 = $12.52 Total

Why did I do it? Well, it was back on Sunday night the 7th, before I-Dude's birthday, so the spaghetti is a traditional dinner to wish him a long life ahead. For our next door neighbor, it is to help their daughter who comes to YW, get some of her Personal Progress checked off and because my friend Annette has started working again. For my friend Heather and her son, it was because her MS turned for the worst and she needed some dinner help while the steroids did their thing to help her legs.

See? Service and Frugality can be totally complimentary. (I actually already had the pasta from last month, February, so technically they're already FREE, according to my budget.) No need to go to the store for the whole meal if you just stock up on few necessities...

Til next post!

(Still can't upload pictures)

Friends Serve One Another

I was so glad that my migraine ebbed in the afternoon, by the time my friend Heather called to ask if I can help her plan her meals for the week since school is coming up real soon.

We had a great time planning, writing out and creating recipes on the fly. And we got to harvest some fresh basil from the pot I started for her, even some sage leaves. Sweet! The kids loved being our taste testers for chicken pasta soup and fried rice. Sweeter!

Since I needed to go run errands anyway, Heather offered to take me to the store and took us home after.

I love our friendship; we have so much in common and yet our differences strengthen the bond even more. Her sassy-ness is so refreshing along with her generosity and kindness...

Have a great weekend y'all!