The following is a guest post by Green Panda’s husband, Blue Panda:

When going to a potluck dinner with friends or to a watch a big game, we naturally like to bring something tasty. Of course, we don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on it. Fortunately, one of our favorite appetizers is pretty easy on the wallet.

The dip is simply known as sausage dip, and while it may not look like much, it always has everyone coming back for more… if there’s any left.

Ingredients:

• 1-pound roll of sausage (I like to use Italian sausage)
• 8-ounce pack of cream cheese
• 1 small can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with chilies)

Preparation: Brown the sausage and drain it, then throw everything together and heat until the cream cheese melts. It’s ready.

The spiciness is controlled by the sausage and the type of chilies with the tomatoes. I’ve found that Italian sausage and mild chilies strikes right balance, at least for us. (I’ve also heard of a variant that uses beef, but I haven’t tried it.)

Usually, we make a double portion and throw everything in a slow cooker to melt the cream cheese. The slow cooker makes it easy to carry and keep it warm whereever we’re taking it.

How does it stack up, price-wise?

• Cream cheese: $1-2
• Tomatoes with chilies: about $1.30
• Roll of sausage: $2-$4
• Chips: about $3.50

We usually go to Wal-Mart and the double portion ends up being about $9-$10, plus a bag of chips. That can serve up to 15 people as an appetizer.

Do you know of any recipes that give a good bang for the buck?

• January 2009: Progress Update Photo Credit: jurvetson This post was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Dollar Frugal.   A new year has started and it's already feeling pretty good. It's not that things have been going smoothly (for example, my brother's car broke own on his way to see us and......
• Free Taco at Taco Bell Tuesday! This post is dedicated to my husband who adores Taco Bell. Taco Bell is giving away a free taco October 28, 2008. Spread the love! Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco. Pick it up between 2pm-6pm. All eligible consumers: Everyone in line at a participating Taco Bell restaurant before 6:00 p.m.......

• Gluten-Free Eating Out: A List of Opportunities and Menus   Click HERE to learn how to tell if that "Gluten-Free" Menu is TRULY GLUTEN-FREE!!!   One might Go to http://www.glutenfreerestaurants.org/ in order to see a list of restaurants who have been "certified" as having Gluten-Free menus.    Additionally, this list was sent in by Janelle who compiled it for her......
• Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe Add Cream Cheese frosting to this Banana Bread and it is just delicious. Easy to create, and it doesn’t take up a lot of time. Ingredients 1. ½ cup butter 2. 1 cup sugar 3. 2 eggs beaten 4. 4 bananas finely crushed 5. 1 ½ cups flour 6.......