Feed a Family of 4 for $4–Homemade Bread & Split Pea Soup

I have been inspired by at Erin at $5 Dinners to try to evaluate my own recipes and see what they cost. So, while I will continue to post recipes that I (and my family) enjoy, I thought I would also specifically designate those recipes that can feed 4 for $4 or under. This is the first one I will post.

The recipes for this meal were on my menu plan for the week of 5/11. They turned out to provide a rustic, hearty, very inexpensive dish.

I have not made homemade bread for several years because I always end up making dense, heavy bread, but I decided to try again with this no knead version. I got annoyed when the bread stuck to my kitchen towel even though I had floured it heavily, and I couldn’t get all the flour off of the loaf before I put it in the oven, so in my mind I had labeled this yet one more bread failure.

But when we tried it, it was very good, as was the soup.

Here is the price break down for our meal that will feed four for $3.56. (There was plenty of bread left over for another meal. We actually ate it on the side with two other meals)

Parker’s Split Pea Soup = 2.46
½ cup onions = .20
1 garlic clove = .05
1/16 c. olive oil = .30
¼ tsp oregano = .10
2 carrots = .20
1 red potato = .30
½ lb split peas = .33 (we prefer the yellow over the green)
1 can chicken stock = .98
3 cups water = 0

No Knead Bread = 1.10
4 cups flour = .60
¼ tsp yeast = .25
¼ tsp salt = .05
Olive oil = .20
Water = 0