Erin had a great idea to have a potluck dinner party that was recession themed. The challenge was to spend only $15 and to make a dish that would feed a family of 4 adults for at least 2 meals. I planned my meal and bought groceries but then last minute, on the day of the party, for a variety of reasons, Erin had to cancel. I made the recipe anyway and I thought I’d share it here in case anyone wants to make a super yummy, super cheap dinner!
I made Country Potatoes au Gratin and I have posted this recipe before, but I will repost it with the price of ingredients. A whole 13 x 9-inch pan (8 servings) of these potatoes only costs $8.06 to make, which is only about a buck per serving. Dallas and I ate these potatoes for several days, so it was a really low-cost meal for us every day that we had it.
Country Potatoes au Gratin
| 2 teaspoons butter | $0.10 |
| 1 medium onion (about 5 1/2 ounces), thinly sliced | $0.68 |
| 3 garlic cloves, minced | $0.30 |
| 4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk | $0.74 |
| 1 teaspoon salt | - - |
| 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper | - - |
| 3 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2/3 cup) | $0.20 |
| 6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese (1 1/2 cups), divided | $1.90 |
| 6 ounces diced ham (about 1 1/4 cups) | $2.05 |
| 3 pounds peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices | $2.09 |
| Cooking spray | - - |
| Total | $8.06 |
Preheat oven to 350°.
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Combine milk, salt, pepper, and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan. Bring to a simmer; cook until slightly thick (about 2 minutes), stirring frequently. Add 4 ounces cheese and ham, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in potatoes.
Place the potato mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle potato mixture with remaining 2 ounces of cheese. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until lightly browned and potatoes are tender. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
its like you have your own dollar menu
if everyone chips in a buck i’ll make this again!
I like that the add running under that is “2 Rules of a Flat Stomach.”
Oh internet, you slay me.
that ad runs on my site a lot.. i think bc i post about food a lot!
Um, potatoes is a meal?
it has ham in it too
These look really yummy!!
I might hold 8 servings, but you easily eat 3 servings.
True, but even if you eat 3 servings, that’s a $3 dinner!
It wouldn’t last 10 minutes with me.
first off, show me where you get 10 cent butter. i didn’t even read much past that.
you’re making it extremely misleading by posting the price in that wonky retarded way.
I priced out the ingredients by seeing how much they were in the store then dividing that price by how much was needed in the recipe..so yes, 10 cents of butter is accurate. You might not be able to buy 10 cents of butter in the store, but that’s how much you use in this recipe.
second, servings only exist on boxes. especially cheesy potatoes, you think that’s a serving? nice life.
Serving size is up to you. This makes a whole 13×9 inch pan of potatoes. I don’t think dividing the whole pan 8 ways is a ridiculously small serving. Let’s say you ate two servings, or three. That’s still a $2 or $3 meal.