How to Feed Eight for Ten Bucks

The weather lately has been a little ridiculous.  The calendar sure says Fall, but Mother Nature is a tad confused.  It’s chilly in the morning, so I dress the kids in long sleeves and pants or sweats (well, Madeline, because Nick is clearly old enough to dress himself, but I lay down the protocol and sometimes it’s actually followed).  By the time I pick Madeline up at lunchtime, she doesn’t need her jacket and is hiking up her sleeves as high as they’ll go.  I seriously don’t care what season it is, JUST FREAKIN’ PICK ONE.

The chilly weather made me think of one of our favorite Fall dishes, and I know The Neighbor Wife is right there with me.  Roasted Sausages and Potatoes.  Or more recently, How to Feed Eight for Ten Bucks (and less than ten minutes of your time).  Sausages and potatoes come cheap, so this is a great meal to plan when you have a crowd, Fall weather or not.  Chop up the sausages into thirds,  wash and chop a bunch of potatoes, quarter some onions, add some garlic, balsamic vinegar and black pepper.  Throw in the oven for 45 minutes.  Once the oven timer dings, call your troops, dinner is done.

Besides how ridiculously easy this is to make, it’s completely forgivable.  Most root vegetables can be thrown in here and will yield delicious results.  Go vegetarian and take the meat out.  Having a crowd?  Add more sausages.  But seriously, it’s ten minutes of your time.  And technically, I had most of the ingredients on hand, I just needed to buy an extra package of sausages, so I managed to feed two adults and six kids for $2.30.  I don’t know of a better way to stretch a buck.  I won’t lie.  I was pretty proud of myself.

You can find the recipe right here.  But use that as a guideline – it’s the perfect recipe to mold to what your family likes.  This time I didn’t use peppers, added garlic and more onions (love roasted onions).  The first time we made this (complete with crappy picture) was back in February 2008, just a few weeks before my littlest was born, to celebrate The Neighbor Wife’s birthday.

Project 365
October 7, 2010, Photo #175

And speaking of my littlest … it’s a toss up as to whose life is rougher … Madeline’s or the cat’s. And yes, Beth, another pillow pet. Poor Nick.  He got this one a few weeks ago to replace the penguin that Madeline stole from him.  And now he has to fight to get this one from her clutches.  There’s already been Santa requests for more pillow pets.  Uncle!

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