What can I cook that is really really cheap but good?!
What can I cook that is really really cheap but good?
I am on an extremely tight budget right now. I've been making pasta with marinara sauce, mac and cheese, and peanut butter jelly sandwiches but I'm getting sick of these and need some new recipes. Any cheap cooking ideas?
I have a lot of spices...
Answers:
Chicken Pie (Lazy Man Version)
Buy 1 kg at the Supermarket Deli bar Shredded Chicken
Slice a large onion into rings or crescents and soften in oil in a fry pan.
Sift over some plain white flour and stir over med/low heat for a couple of minutes and stir in some milk until you have a fairly thick sauce.
Add shredded chicken and combine. Turn off heat and let the sauce cool and the chicken warm.
In the mean time line a greased pie dish with a sheet of puff pastry.
Individual oval pie dishes could be used if you have 4 or more.
Once the chicken mix has cooled 2/3 rds fill the pie dishes.
Cover with another piece of pastry trim edges and brush with milk. Spear the top with the tip of a knife to create steam vent.
Place in a preheated oven 160C for 30-40 minutes until the tops are browned nicely.
Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
A teaspoon of curry powder added with the flour would be great.
chile over hominey murhroom soup over rice
Egg and Cheese Omlet - Egg Salad Sandwich - Tuna Helper - Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Soup - Rice with Cream of Mushroom Soup (If you can afford to throw some chicken in there, all the better!) - Frozen Pizza Rolls - Buy a pack of chili seasoning, add ground beef, onion, tomatoes...and one pot will last a week. (You can freeze it for later) - French Toast - Pancakes
grill some chicken or chops
Spaghetti!! O dang...guess I should read the description. Go buy some frozen fish (tilapia would be my suggestion...it freezes very well) and defrost it by running some luke warm water over it while it's still in the package. The make sauces with your spices. Lemon juice, butter, worcheschire (sp?) sauce, a bit of soy sauce, and some onion or garlic powder makes a wonderful sauce. Just combine all of those spices in a skillet and let it heat up a bit. Then add the fish and let it cook all the way. You could even make a pouch out of tin foil and add some frozen vegetables, the fish, and the sauce and let it finish off in a 350 degree oven. Yay frozen things!
mix different spices with ramen noodles 100 different great ways to do it,grilled cheese,eggs are cheap and good
What about Chilly con Carne, that's pretty cheap and tastes nice. Just have it with a nice crispy bread roll.
To find heaps of recipes just type Chilly con Carne in Google.
You also can bake some pan cakes, fill them with cheese and have it with tomatoe sauce or bolognaise sauce.
If you can make pizza dough you can make a bacon and onion pizza, tastes really nice in Germany they call it Speckkuchen.
By the way when buying your groceries, go to Aldi, good quality and really cheap.
Hope I could help you a little.
Soup is always a good choice because you don't have to buy the best cuts of meat for it. And it always makes enough for more than 1 meal, so either you can plan to eat it again in a few days or freeze it for later on down the road.
Miso soup with rice and add an egg
1 loaf french bread
1 onion
1 Lg. tomato
sliced cheese
Italian seasoning-pepper,oregeno, garlic,basil, onion salt
slice bread,tomato,onion
stack on bread the tomato,onion, then cheese, sprinkle with Italian seasoning and broil till the cheese starts to brown or bubble(depending on type)
If you have Italian dressing or vinegar and oil dribble a little on it before you eat.
Another cool trick-scramble eggs until they are almost dried out. Make ramen soup(pork is best) but drain 2/3 of the water off just before you add flavor packet. Mix in the eggs and diced onion or (cooked) frozen veggies, canned mushrooms, whatever. Add soy sauce and chow down.
Rice is super cheap. Make some white rice and allow it to cool. Place some butter in a skillet and scramble up an egg. Remove egg, and wipe skillet with paper towel. Add a couple pats of butter or oil to skillet and add rice. Fry rice for a couple minutes. Add soy sauce (just use spare packets from chinese restraunt) Add can of mixed veggies, and finally add egg back to skillet. Heat up, salt and pepper and enjoy.
Scalloped potatoes
You'll need a casserole dish or baking pan about 4-6 inches high.
Ingredients:
5-6 potatoes, sliced about a 1/4" thin
5-6 onions, sliced about a 1/4" thin
Flour
Butter or margerine (in one teaspoon dabs)
Milk
Salt & pepper
Put one layer of potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Put one layer of onions. Sprinkle flour (enough to cover onions), salt & pepper over top. Put dabs of butter on top (5 or 6)
Do another layer or two (or three) the same way.
When you reach the top of the pan, the top layer should be the flour, salt, pepper & butter mixture.
Add milk until it is about an inch below the top layer.
Cover and put in 375 degree oven. Bake 45 minutes covered. Check to see if potatoes are tender. If so, uncover and bake 15 more minutes until browned on top. (If they are not yet tender, leave covered 10 or 15 more minutes and check again.)
Add sliced ham or hotdogs if you like to each layer for a meat flavor.
Some people add cheese.
You can also add other spices if you like like garlic or oregano.
I hear ya being on a tight budget. I like to do a lot of things with pasta since it's cheap
1 lb pasta
1 chicken breast...yes, one.- cut into thin strips
1 16 oz package of frozen oriental veggie mix
1 package of mccormick chipotle seasoning
garlic, salt, pepper to taste
in a skillet saute the chicken in olive oil with garlic- season taste.
Add in seasoning packet and 1 cup of water
simmer until reduced/ thickened slightly
Boil water and cook pasta...in last few minutes of cooking add the veggies and cook them together ( hey, I hate washing more dishes)
When drained ...combine ingredients and toss well.
It's spicy...filling, and really tastes good.
I do it with beef as well. Switch the seasoning to herb/ wine, or something else and change the veggies combos and you won't get bored too easily being poor :)
scramble hamburger meat... add a package of taco seasoning... mix together... add a can of jalapeno ranch style beans... simmer till thoroughly heated..... eat it over chips .... or w/ flour tortillas
We call it: ALMOST CHILI
Pasta is the way to go, but you can make many sauces inexpensively....try making pesto..bunch of fresh basil...maybe about $2.50............extra virgin olive oil....most supermarkets have one on sale every week....say $7.50....a head of fresh garlic...........maybe$.70....... traditional pesto has pine nuts...but you don't have to.they can be pricey.........tear basil leaves...add to processor.smash say 2 cloves garlic.in the bowl with the basil....salt and pepper .....pulse.say 10 times..........then let it rip as you drizzle in the oil.....you want the consistency of a rather thin paste........this will make alot .you can freeze the remainder in ice cube trays...covered...will keep for quite a while...........you can add to anything..........with remaining garlic and oil.............crostini.grill Italian bread slices.when hot take a whole clove of garlic and rub on slices.drizzle with oil..............pasta with oil and garlic
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