Some of us have our way of cooking cheap and delicious meals depending on our culture and area but it can get pretty dull eating the same food over and over again when money is tight. I would like for you guys to share your own recipes of what you eat when you have little to work with. It will be interesting to have different ideas from people and cultures from around the world. One of the cheap meals made around here is cooked salsa with pork rinds mixed in one pan. You can make your own salsa and simply add the pork rinds to the heated salsa in a pan for one minute. Fast, easy and cheap. How about you?
I make quick fixes a lot. Being in a country where 80% of a person's attention is on food on daily basis, we have generally elaborative meals. I happen to prefer raw food items too and one such quick fix that I love is cheese sandwich. Just put cheese and salad (if you wish) between two bread pieces and slice the sandwich in a diagonal and you are all set to eat with a glass of milk.
There is no problem for a cheap recipes for we are cooking foods in which we bought the ingredients or the things we use to cook them are very cheap. We usually have veggies, fishes for our meals and the recipes for these foods are, of course, cost least. We never ever cook food which the ingredients are not easy to find. They are usually bought from the mall and only the rich could afford to buy them.
When I have little to work with I usually make different egg recipes, for example adding sausage to the egg etc. Sometimes I have shredded chicken in my fridge that will help me make different dishes such as orange rice with chicken, chicken nachos, and chicken quesadillas all easy and delicious and best of all cheap.
Have any of you tried mixing chopped potato and egg then cooking them together? It adds a very nice flavor. Even if you're tired of eating egg and don't like the taste of potatoes alone, mixing and cooking them properly causes it to have a taste of its own. If that isn't enough, make tacos out of it and maybe add salsa.
Variety of sandwiches, baked veggies, baked fish, grilled chicken, chickpea salad, instant noodles are some of the foods which are tasty and pocket friendly as well. Depending up on the taste buds, there could be many more which may enhance variety during meal time. And, use of spices and condiments often make a simple dish tastier.
It really depends on where you shop too. If you have good sources nearby for cheap food, it makes a huge difference. I tend to make the rounds. I go to the local grocery and farmer's markets (when applicable), which are within five minutes form the house. I get to the city twice each week, so I usually hit Walmart and the Dollar Tree on one of those days. I try to get to Aldi at least once per month, if I can (it's nearly an hour away, but sometimes I go in that direction for other things). I know which stuff is cheapest at which stores, so I get the most for my money. When you start out with ingredients that cost less, all the meals cost less. You can do a lot with flour tortillas. You can put almost anything in them and they are cheap and filling. Dollar Tree has a pack of 12 for a buck.
For me, quick meals usually involve tuna. I have two of these. One is just tuna with pasta and tomato sauce, kids love it! Other I mix the tuna with boiled potatoes and eggs, some olive oil and it's yummy. Canned tuna is fairly cheap here, a little over 1€ a can, so with 5€ we prepare a meal for four people.
Living on A Dime is a great resource to use when looking for cheap meals. I would say most of them are not the healthiest, but they can sure save money. I just recently got a video from them that discusses feeding a family of 5 on 7 dollars a week at the grocery store. I think this was something her mother did in the 60's. However, the video is worth watching as there are some pretty good tips in it.
Wow! Yeah, I'd have to guess that those numbers might be a bit outdated, ha ha. I'm sure there are still some helpful tips in there though. Plus, she couldn't do any shopping online. I think I remember seeing a thread on here once where people tried to go as low as they could for the week, and then shared what they made/paid. It was pretty interesting. I think knowing how to shop well is one of the biggest ways to keep food costs down. There are lots of coupons, sales ads, and shopping tips available. I think some of the biggest ones are 1) check the sales, 2) make a list and stick to it, 3) avoid the snack aisle and frozen meal section. Shopping for quality ingredients to cook from scratch and making those food dollars stretch is a good thing as is finding ways to use any leftovers. I guess the biggest one is don't overbuy, which ties into "don't shop when you're hungry."
One thing that's simple and cheap especially when you buy at a farmer's market it's freshest too aside of being cheaper than supermarkets is string beans and Spam. I buy Spam on sale too for 1.99 locally on Oahu. I always buy on sale for it's really a money saver. I like the sting beans a little softer, so I par boil it while I'm frying up my cut spam in bite size pieces. We like our Spam just a bit golden. By then the beans that is cleaned & already cut up in bite size is almost tender. I drain my beans and add it to my frying spam. Spam & green beans is great with rice or salad of your choice. When you go shopping check your favorite vegetables for in-store specials too or sale items. Sale on foods saves money and sales include produce and Spam too. Enjoy this simple and easy to make with sale items anytime.
It's nearing lunch time and since I'm alone in the house, my lunch is the simple beefsteak with no beef. Surprised? I will make french fries from 1 potato. Fry one sliced white onion in vegetable oil for a minute or two then add a teaspoon of soy sauce and fry for a few seconds before pouring it on the french fries. It's best to be eaten with buttered toast. That's my lunch today. Cheap and easy to prepare.
To cook fast, easy and cheap I decided to buy multikitchen likeLog In one . I don't have much time for cooking because of my work and study. So my fav cheap meals are sticky rice with vegetables and soy sauce, black beans with rice or oatmeal with banana. These recipes not only cheap but also healthy and delicious. Recommend!
Another good option for making cheap meals may be "investing" in a pressure cooker or slow cooker (or one that can do both). This way, you can prepare much cheaper cuts of meat and still make them tender and tasty. The newer designs are quite nice, making these tools very useful. I was gifted one that does both, but if I were going to buy one, I'd shop around for a good deal and read reviews. The one I was given was purchased at Aldi, and it works great. They have some decent items besides food for sale at various times. If you have a Crock Pot that can work too. Slow cooking can be a great way to work with less expensive cuts of meat. It's also a good way to use up leftovers and odds and ends, like making soups and stews in slow cooker.
I generally keep Soy nuggets handy especially when alone. My recipe is simple, I boil them for a minute and then fry them in a tsf of butter or oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. A complete tasty and healthy meal in quick time.
One of the cheap and quick cooking meals in my country is smoked fish (round scad or milk fish). Smoked fish is quite cheap and not as salty as dried fish. I buy them from a trusted cornerstore vendor who's quite popular with churchgoers. I love to eat it with sliced tomatoes. A three-piece pack of smoked round scad costs half a dollar. Another cheap meal that doesn't even require cooking is salted egg. You have to eat this one with sliced tomatoes like smoked fish. A warning though, you will be tempted to eat more rice when you try these meals.
Banana oatmeal cookies! It only have 2 ingredients, Over riped banana and instant oatmeal. Mash the Bananas and mix it with oats until it looks like paste. Shape them into small flat circles on a parchment paper and bake it for 15 minutes.
I am always on the hunt for quick and easy cheap meals because I get disgusted at my food bill each month. I spend hundreds of dollars on food and I always look for ways to cut down. Beans and pastas are the best base ingredients for making delicious meals that do not cost a fortune. I really enjoy making dishes with these ingredients because you can make a big meal for cheap and be sure to have left overs for the next couple of days. It beats having to cook full meals each night of the week.
I live in Malaysia and our staple food here is rice. Although food is really cheap here, I sometimes pinch pennies so I could travel. My go-to budget recipe is fried rice. Its simple, cheap and it doesn't need too much ingredients. A cup of rice, some oil, garlic, an egg and whatever vegetables are in stock. I normally use carrots and peas. It barely costs 3 ringgit (USD 0.70) and its very filling! Fish is cheap here too. A whole seabass is just 7 ringgit and I could get about four portions of meals. Bake some potatoes in butter and garlic and I have myself a nice dinner. Another thing I like doing is buy chicken and make broth to keep. I use it to make chicken noodle soup when I'm lazy.
I love trying out quick simple meals! And there are some great ones available on here that I will definitely give a try. For instance frying an onion in vegetable oil with fries. Now that would be interesting. I have a couple of favourite food channels on Youtube where I pick up great tips on how on to make quick cheap meals. I have a sensitive stomach so I have to be careful on what I eat.
