Fun recipes needed here to help feed a family when the money runs out

[FarmerChick]

Gypsi you had me laughing case we ate a lower version of your Fluffed Dogs.

We just split a dog down the middle and put cheese on it and under the broiler. We loved those cheese dogs. So funny what you forget eating when younger. We asked Mom for those hotdogs alot. And something I don't make anymore.

 

[me&thegals]

I'd go for anything that starts with cheap ingredients (beans, rice, potatoes) and extends them. We do a lot of soup and stew. What would normally be enough meat and veggies for 2 meals can extend to 6 or more!

We jazz up beans and rice with homemade hot pepper jelly. Super duper cheap.

Hamburger gravy--DH makes this and the kids adore it! Stretches 1 lb of burger to at least 2 meals

 

[cheepo]

mac & what recipies.... with

tomatoe soup and a bit of grounds or
sliced franks.

mushroom soup and tuna...

peas and seasonings...


rice and what recipies....(cooked in the oven
porcupines...rice onion ground beef and tomatoe soup...
grounds and mushroom soup...

fried rice with rice and pepper...

cooked with leftover suprises...and a rue sauce...

 

[StupidBird]

Potato soup:
chop a large potato per person into small cubes. peel if you want pretty white soup.
finely chop an onion
Just cover these with water and bring to boil, simmer until tender. Careful of scorching.
Add milk slowly. Mash up with a hand held masher or blender stick. Add milk until it's the thickness you like.
Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.
If you have some green tops from onions, chop for garnish in the bowl, or use parsley.

Tomato Soup:
using canned tomatoes -
mince some onion, and garlic if you like. Saute it in a bit of fat until tender/clear/glassy. Dump in the tomatoes, whir with the blender stick. Whisk in a bit of sour cream or milk if you like. Season to taste.
(Second method) saute the onion in several tablespoons fat, stir in a tablespoon or so flour to make a slurry. Cook that a minute or two and slowly whisk or stir in the tomatoes. This makes it thicker. Or just add some cooked potatoes.

Leftovers Casserole:
Make a batch of white sauce (milk, butter, flour). Chop up compatible leftovers, a good place to hide more vegetables, spread in a casserole (well greased), cover with the sauce, bake until bubbly. Scatter some cheese or breadcrumbs over top and brown for about ten minutes.

 

[DianeS]

I make a thick black bean noodle stew.
Boil black beans to desired doneness, avoid excess water if you can. This recipe does NOT taste good if there is too much water in it.
Boil ramen noodles in a different pot, without seasoning. When ramen is done, drain noodles and add them (plus the seasoning packet) to the black beans.
I add cumin to this for some good spice, you could add other things.
When I have other items on hand, this is also good with some ham and sauteed onions, celery, and carrots. If you don't have those, its still a good and filling dinner to stretch until the next paycheck.

I've also made a different sort of potato pancake.
Grate old potatoes (the ones that are getting wrinkled and sprouting are actually best for this). Rinse them, get them as dry as possible.
Add eggs one at a time to gratings, and stir. Stop adding eggs when you lift a spoonful and the egg drips from the bottom.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Scoop spoonfuls onto a skillet, flatten them down, and cook just like they were pancakes.
Eating hot is best, these are also good for the freezer because they heat up in the microwave very well. I use up the ends of large bags of potatoes this way, and serve them when I need a fast side dish to fill us up.

 

[ORChick]

I have a "thing" about cookbooks, and love going through the cookbook section of any second hand bookstore I run a cross. I have found that older (like from the 1950's or earlier) cookbooks often have more frugal recipes than more modern ones. And foreign cookbooks are great resources, if you can get them, and read them . We have all heard that other cultures tend to stretch what they have more than we here in "rich" N. America do, and it is often true. And cookbooks written here, but having foreign recipes are not at all the same; often the recipes are "fancied up" when they get to our shores. I have a couple of older Irish and English cookbooks that are great at giving new (to me) frugal ideas, as well as several German language books. And my "go-to" book is my mother's 1953 edition of Joy of Cooking (from which I learned to cook long ago), and I also have a 1940's copy of Good Housekeeping cookbook, and a facsimile copy of the originally published in the 1880's Mrs. Beeton's, from England. Lots of good, cheap, basic, filling food.

 

[Marianne]

Here's another cheap meal, ramen frittata:

2 (3 oz.) pkgs. chicken flavored ramen noodles
6 eggs
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Preparation:
Place noodles in a saucepan filled with boiling water. Cook noodles until tender and drain. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 of the seasoning packets from the noodles. Discard remaining seasoning packet. Add cooked, drained noodles to egg mixture.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the egg/noodle mixture and cook over medium-low heat until firm, 5 to 7 minutes, drawing the cooked mixture to the center to allow uncooked portion to flow onto bottom of pan. Cut frittata into four wedges, and turn over to brown the other side for 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over the top, cover pan, and let stand 1-2 minutes to melt cheese. 4 servings

http://busycooks.about.com/od/pastaskilletrecipes/r/ramenfrittata.htm
If you have any leftover chicken or veggies, leave out a package of the ramen and proceed. DH likes it with salsa.

And remember that breakfast casserole with eggs, bread pieces and milk? Someone else is going to have to help me with this one, it's been years since I have made it. The first recipe I had didn't not have any meat. I vaguely remember that it was 6 eggs, 2 cups milk, bit of mustard, salt and pepper and what, about 10 slices of torn up bread? Mix it up early (or the night before for breakfast), then bake later. Anyone have the actual recipe?

 

[Joel_BC]

Being a mere guy, I have about eight things that I can cook pretty well (my wife is actually the good cook in the house). I can make this very nourishing soup, which can be made almost entirely from vegetables and herbs that grow very well in our northern climate in fact in our garden. My wife got this borscht recipe from a generous Russian-Canadian woman. The soup is scrumptious!

Ingredients youll need:

1 quart home-canned or store-bought canned tomatoes in juice (either diced or blended)
3 largish potatoes, peeled & diced
1 small head of green cabbage, knife-shaved or shredded
Approx 2 quarts water this may consist (up to 1/3) of soup stock on-hand
3 medium-large onions, diced medium-small
2 large stalks of celery, diced fine
1 large beet, diced fine
1 large carrot, diced
1 1/2 cup of whole milk (or 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream) no whole milk? you can use mixed-up powdered milk
Cooking oil
Butter
1-2 tablespoons of finely-chopped dill
Salt

Into a soup pot of at least 3-quart capacity, put the quart of diced tomatoes with their water, and add water (or water/soup-stock combination) to bring the liquid to within an inch-and-a-half of the pots rim. Add the diced potatoes, beet, and carrot and the shredded cabbage. (I like to shave the cabbage from the head using a serrated-edge knife, but you could use a grater or food processor for a fine shred.) Begin heating, and try to keep the heat level of the liquid just below the boiling point.

Meanwhile, take a large skillet, heat it on the stove, coat the bottom with cooking oil (and add butter if you like), and introduce the diced onions and celery. Stir and saute these thoroughly, then add them into the soup.

Add the milk (or milk & cream) and stir in.

Avoid boiling, and add water as needed when evaporation reduces the level. Simmer the soup for an hour. Then add the dried dill, stir in. Simmer for a minimum of thirty minutes more before serving. Note: longer simmering seems to mature the borscht.

Sample a spoonful of so of the broth and add salt (if needed) to taste. Serve when hungry!

 

[MorelCabin]

Here's a very quick, easy and cheap one that I grew up on, and fed my kids alot too.

ground beef, macaroni noodles or other pasta, and a can of diced tomatoes.

Fry up your ground beef, add your tomatoes, and cooked noodles, salt and pepper and enjoy.



Another one we like is ground beef fried, add a can of creamed corn, some peas and serve over mashed potatoes...mmmmyummm!

 

[Beekissed]

When the money runs out our diet tends to lean towards starchy foods like potatoes and rice. I've never once cooked a meal from a cookbook or recipe, so I guess I'll just put this info out there.....

...any veggie or meat thrown into a pan of rice or fried potatoes is a complete meal. Any jar of tomatoes combined with any beans and ground meat with any variation of spices or added veggies combined into a crock pot or stock pot is also a complete meal.

The thing to remember when shopping for food when there are many mouths to feed and little money to do it~throw the food pyramid out the window and just feed what is reasonably healthy, hot and filling until you can afford to choose a more varied and balanced food supply in the future.

No recipe needed.