The Cost of Dinner

The other day at Rainbow, I got this new Philadelphia Cooking Creme for 50 cents. On top of it was some recipes for how to use this new product. Well, I used it for dinner tonight! As I was cooking though, I started thinking about how much our lovely dinner cost us...
Salads = $1.00 (it was $1.99 for the bag, but there's still more than 1/2 a bag left)
Ranch dressing = Free
Garlic cheese bread = $0.11 (it came in a two-pack, that cost $0.22)

Then I made the Baked Penne recipe from the cooking creme...
1 pound ground turkey = $1.99 (I'm guessing... It might have been $1.50, but I know I wouldn't have paid more than $1.99 for it)
1 tub Philadelphia Cooking Creme = $0.50
1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce = Free (I always mix a jar of store-bought with a jar of my mom's, both of which I got for free, then just use 1/2 of the mixture)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese = $0.40 (only used 1/2 a bag that cost $0.79)
Penne Pasta = Free (it called for 3 cups, but I just used the box)

Brown the meat & vegetables (it called for 1/2 cup each chopped onions & green peppers, but there were already onions in mom's sauce, and we don't like green peppers). Stir in spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup cooking creme and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cook & stir 2-3 min until cheese is melted. Add pasta and stir. Put into 2-quart (I used a 3-quart, it fit better!) casserole and top with remaining cooking creme & cheese. Cover & bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover & cook another 5 minutes.

When we were kids, mom would always have us judge things on a "make-again" basis. This one, we agreed was a "make-again." And lucky for us, because there was still 2/3 of the dish left! I decided that I would throw it in the freezer (a nice freezer meal for a night where I don't want to cook!), for another dinner or two.

Grand total for dinner $4.00 for the two of us! Plus another meal or two in the freezer! (So really, the stuff we ate tonight was closer to $2.50!)

**What about you? How much did your dinner cost tonight?**