green | (no subject)

Pasta and tomato sauce is filling and relatively inexpensive, especially if you make the sauce from cans of diced tomatoes or tomato puree. You can also serve it with garlic and oil or butter instead of tomato sauce.

Also, rice.

Edited 2012-12-18 20:29 (UTC)

I've got tons of rice, yay! Thanks, bb.

Fried rice! Onion, garlic, leftover rice, soy sauce, scrambled egg. Optional chopped veggies or frozen peas if you're getting fancy.

A bag of 15-bean soup will stretch a long ways -- usually all you need to add is an onion and a can of diced tomatoes.

My kids love ramen with silken tofu. When I was a kid, I liked ramen with egg added at the end to make egg-drop soup, but I can't get my kids into that.

If your boys are old enough to like hot sauce, you can add it to any of these -- I don't know what it is, but for me, adding more flavor like that just makes it seem more like a "real dinner".

Thank you!

I'm a big fan of soup and tuna melts, which are cheap and filling in the winter (though i guess you don't have it that cold where you are.) I don't know if they sell cheap rotesserie chickens down there, but I get a lot of mileage out of a chicken, which here runs about 7 bucks cooked (you can then scrape for chicken salad sandwiches or soup if you're talented). Baked potatoes in the UK style (by which I mean with fillings) are fun for kids: you can put them in the microwave to cook and then give kids shredded cheese, tuna and mayo, or sour cream, or sth to put in them. Pasta like someone else said and you can also throw, like, canned peas or beans over pasta with butter and maybe a little parm and that's a big meal and tasty and like four dollars.

Excellent suggestions! \o/

Tuna pasta salad. One can of tuna and about 1/4 cup of mayo can cover a pretty big bag of pasta. Season it up a little with your favorite seasonings and you've got a pretty good-sized meal.

If the kids will eat chili, that's another one that goes a long way. My personal quick-and-dirty recipe is: 1 lb ground beef, browned and drained; 2 cans diced tomatoes (including liquid), 1 can kidney beans & 1 can black beans (both drained and rinsed), 1 can chili beans (including liquid). Add some garlic (powdered, fresh, or pre-crushed and preserved in oil), maybe an onion, and a little chili powder, and let it simmer for a couple of hours. It's even cheaper if you use dried beans; just make sure they're thoroughly rehydrated and softened before you mix it together, because otherwise they'll toughen up. (I am absolute crap at dried beans, so I go with canned, even though it's more expensive.)

Split pea soup: I use a small pre-packaged ham steak diced into small chunks, water and chicken bouillon cubes, carrots and onions (and potatoes, if you want) to taste, and 2-3 bags of split peas. Simmer for a couple of hours. I use an immersion blender at this point, but you don't have to.

Faux goulash (aka what was in the cupboards): pasta, leftover spaghetti sauce, can of corn (drained), diced bell pepper and onion and mushrooms, leftover ground beef. Sprinkled with cheese.

Pseudo fried rice: a good way to use up leftover steamed rice. Just fry it in a pan with a little olive oil and (low sodium for me) soy sauce. You can toss in small amounts of leftover meats (rotochicken bits, like

cesperanza was talking about, for instance) or whatever else sounds good. I'm fond of onions and mushrooms, personally.

Speaking of rice, I've got a recipe around here for "breakfast rice" that's really tasty. I'll see if I can find it and post it later.

Thank you sooooooo much. This is very helpful. <3

I was going to suggest chilli, as well. And if the meat is expensive, we usually just have it with kidney beans and no meat. We use this recipe quite a lot, and also this one. This one also looks good. I find that the great thing about chili is that if you make a lot of it, you can keep the rest in the fridge/freezer and serve it up again a couple of days later.

I am also a big fan of CheapSoup (which is what we call it in our house), where you basically buy a load of the veg off the selected seconds/quick sale (I don't know what the US term is, but the bit in the supermarket produce section where they put all the stuff with bruises and sell at a markdown) and make soup out of it. I usually chop half an onion, fairly small, gently fry it off in a little bit of oil, add the veg (carrots, swede, turnip, parsnip, celery, potatoes) dry and let them fry off for a little bit, and then add some stock (by which I mean water and a stockcube) and let it all simmer until the veg is nice and soft. If I'm using other veg (there is always aubergine (umm, that's eggplant in the US, right?) and courgette (which is zucchini?) then I add those a bit later because otherwise they go a bit too mushy. Salt and pepper to taste, and any other herbs, and just keep it simmering until ready. You can also cook a half-cup of rice in it, which bulks it up and turns it into a hearty, warming meal.

I am also a big fan of pasta bakes with potato in, for extra filling and warmth. This recipe is a Nigella one, and thus full of expensive ingredients. Every time I make it, I use regular supermarket pasta (their own brand, but it also works with their value brand), and whatever cheese was on sale - it does help to have some of it be a softish one, but it's not actually compulsory, a clove of garlic (or the pre-pureed stuff if it's cheap enough) instead of the garlic oil, and dried herbs instead of the sage.
(Now I've made myself hungry!)

CheapSoup sounds delicious. :D Thank you so much for this.

CheapSoup is basically the best thing ever! And it's really adaptable to whatever veg is cheap, or whatever canned beans (or dried, if you have the patience for them) are on sale. It works well with the little pasta as well, because you can just cook the pasta in it as you warm it up.

Bean soup is always a simple, cheap stand-by. Besides being filling and delicious, it's also pretty much infinitely customizable. Like Speranza suggested with the potatoes, you can make the soup fun for kids by giving them stuff like shredded cheese or sour cream to add in.

Edit: I see two other people mentioned varieties of bean soup while I was writing my comment. Proof that it's awesome. ;)

Edited 2012-12-18 21:48 (UTC)

\beans/

thank you!

Spaghetti (the best thing about pasta dishes where kids are concerned is that you can throw veggies in and if you cut them up small enough, they don't even notice: nutritious and tasty (cook chopped onions, celery, mushrooms and...zucchini? in oil/garlic until tender. Remove. Cook a pound of ground beef - even lean can cook in its own fat - with a little garlic and oregano. if they like that - go veggie if they won't notice - and make an easy sauce from a couple cans of diced tomatoes, one small can of tomato paste and one of tomato sauce. Add to already cooked spaghetti noodles or any kind of pasta really (salt the water a bit).

Easy vegetable soup: cook 1/2 an onion and a celery stalk until tender. Add five cups of water with about four chicken bouillon cubes, five cups of veggies (whatever you have around, even thawed-from-frozen). then add small can tomato sauce, a dash or two of pepper and paprika and 1/3 cup of rice. Or...to make it more kid friendly, use pasta letters instead of the rice and they can spell their names. (simmer for 1.5 hours or so)

Thank you so much! ♥

Ditto any sort of pasta.

If you're interested I have a couple of tuna based spaghetti sauces that are very fast & easy, and much much tastier that they sound...

Tuna based spaghetti sauce? Okay, I'm feeling adventurous. Lay it on me. :D

This one is a stand-by for us, and one I serve to company, particularly if I'm not sure when they're actually going to show up:

PASTA WITH TUNA AND CAPER SAUCE
(from The Chefs of Cucina Amore)

plenty of water to cook spaghetti

1 lb spaghetti
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T olive oil
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 t fresh parsley (I have used a bit of dried oregano occasionally)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 T capers
2 cans tuna

Bring water to a boil and add spaghetti (and salt if desired). Cook till about 3/4 done, flexible but still with the stick-in-your-teeth thing going on.

While the water is coming to a boil, heat oil in a large, deep skillet on low. Add garlic and saute till just beginning to color. Add pepper flakes, parsley, tomatoes, and capers; simmer over med-high for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in drained and crumbled tuna. Reduce heat to low just to keep warm.

When the pasta is quite al dente, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, and drain thoroughly. Add pasta to skillet. Pour in 1/4 cup of reserved water and cook over very high heat, stirring constantly, until pasta is done. Add more reserved cooking water as necessary. Serve.

(This is also good as leftovers...)

That's so neat! I've never even thought of adding tuna to spaghetti sauce. I don't know if I'll try this one while the boys are here, but definitely when it's just the three of us.

Tuna spaghetti take two:

(I realize mushrooms can be an issue, but it is still tasty without the dried ones, if you don't have them or they are too strong for the boys, and the last time we had this I used a 79 cent reduced-for-quick-sale mixed bag that worked really well...)

SPAGHETTI WITH TUNA, MUSHROOMS, AND BACON
Spaghetti alla Carrettiera
from The Cook's Encyclopedia of Pasta

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
3/4 c warm water
2 T olive oil
1 garlic clove
3 oz bacon, cut into 1/4 inch strips
3 c fresh mushrooms
1 lb spaghetti
1 can tuna

Soak the porcini in the warm water for 15 - 20 minutes. Reserve soaking water.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the garlic clove, and cook gently for about 1 minutes, crushing it with a wooden spoon to release the flavor. If desired, remove and discard. Add bacon and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add both mushrooms to pan and cook, stirring, for 1 - 2 minutes, then add 6 T reserved soaking water with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile cook pasta, adding remaining mushroom water.

Add drained tuna to mushroom sauce; fold in gently., Taste for seasoning.

Drain cooked pasta and toss well with sauce. Serve.

Wow, that sounds really tasty!

Jook for breakfast. You make a batch of rice in a big pot, using chicken broth. Keep cooking until it's really cooked but still soupy - the usual "makes two cups" recipe will end up making 4-6, depending on how soupy you like it, and therefore how much broth you add. Then after you serve it up in the bowl you add things like bits of shredded meat, or boiled egg. I like mine with butter, too. I don't know if that's too odd a thing for a breakfast food for your guys, but it's a comfort food favorite for me. :)

Oh, I'd forgotten about jook! You can make it the crock pot with a turkey wing, too...Yummy! (Though that's more of a supperish thing.)

I've never heard of this before! It sounds really good, though.

Breakfast-for-dinner? Pancakes, or waffles, or french toast, or egg sandwiches on an english muffin. :-)

ooh, good idea. I have frozen pancakes, even.

♥

Don't forget grits, if y'all eat them! Super filling and easy to jazz up and super cheap.

Yes, we have grits! \o/

I really like Budget Bytes. She breaks down the price per meal and service. She has complete meal ideas at here and one dish meals here.

Edited 2012-12-19 00:18 (UTC)

One dish meals are the best! Thank you for the links.

Ramen noodles are incredibly versatile and inexpensive. I've tried several of the recipes from here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/ramen-hacks-30-easy-ways-to-upgrade-your-instant-noodles-japanese-what-to-do-with-ramen.html. My 12 year old niece loves the Aloha, Ramen! The whole family likes the Cheesy Chili Ramen.

I've also had a lot of luck searching pinterest for recipes: http://pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=inexpensive+recipes.

Thank you for the suggestions!

I'm a big fan of "hippy scrambles" where you throw anything available (leftovers, frozen veg, whatever you have) in the pan with some eggs (or tofu) and plunk it down on any kind of grain (rice, couscous, pasta, bulgar, anything!) and rock and roll.

Lentils, cooked in some broth, with onion and carrot, until everything's tender, served with just a nice piece of bread, can be really warm and filling and good.

Canned pumpkin may be on sale right now, and it can make yummy pasta sauces.

Also, if you have access to a store that has bulk grains, that's a good way to get lentils, oatmeal, couscous, quinoa, barley, farro, bulgar, at much better prices and useful quantities than buying them pre-packaged.

Edited 2012-12-19 00:56 (UTC)

Thank you! :D I wish I could buy in bulk, but we don't have that here. :(

No recipes, just ideas.

I'm fond of beans with hominy. Both dirt cheap. For a bit of extra flavour, throw in a cut up slice or two of ham. Beans in general are great and you can make chili after the first meal by tossing in a bit of ground pork and chili powder. Most kids love chili and it tastes better each time its re-heated. They can make chili dogs or chili and cheese dogs, too, for leftovers or chili nachos. Stuffed baked potatoes are cheap and good filled w/cheese or veggies or chili or cream of mushroom soup. You can have breakfast potatoes by stuffing them with cheese and scrambled egg & bits of bacon. So long as the potato is baked and you skip the butter, the calories aren't a big deal.

That breakfast potato idea is good! Thank you. :)

An alternative to hotdogs in mac & cheese that my mom did as a kid was adding cottage cheese.

Ooh, that sounds nice and cheesy! :D Thanks for the tip.

This is one of my eternal recipes. You can change stuff out however you like.

1. Rice

2. Cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

3. Canned tuna or canned chicken or canned anything meat. I've even made it with diced Spam. If none of those appeal, a can of corn, or a bag of frozen peas, or something. The only hard and fast rule is that there has to be a third ingredient.

You can either cook the rice then add the undiluted soup, which gives you a sloppier consistency, or mix the soup with the raw rice and shove it in the oven in a cassarole. Just be sure you add about as much water as the rice will need to bulk up.

When it's done, add your third ingredient. Depending on how much rice and soup you use, you can make pounds of this. The tuna or whatever is basically a garnish, but alternatively, you can add enough to make it a major source of protein.

Keeps in the fridge for 4-5 days. Bland and creamy, which should appeal.

I make this all the time, actually! ♥ Thank you.

Pasta thing I have made several times to delicious results and the awe of others:

1. Boil pasta to just slightly al dente texture. I like fettucine or penne. I think spaghetti's too thin but anything else should do the job.

2. In a reasonably large frying pan, fry chopped garlic and onions in olive oil until the onions sweat. I like to put sausage in this so that or other meaty things can be added and cooked at this time.

3. Put the drained pasta in the pan with the other stuff. Add a can of diced tomatoes mostly drained of its juice. Let it all heat up and add a handful or two of blanched spinach (you take the fresh spinach and pour boiling water over it and presto--blanched. then squeeze out the massive amounts of water before adding it to the other food). Stir that in. Drizzle it all with some more olive oil if you want. Season to taste. Add parmesan. Stuff self with deliciousness. Modify ingredients at your whim.

OM NOM NOM!

I frequently keep baby spinach bunches on hand to blanch and add to all kinds of things. Iron and assorted vitamins!

I love spinach. :9

I can think of several inexpensive dishes that I grew up with. Easiest may be hamburg gravy which is just what the label says. Ground beef browned with onion, add flour & water to make a gravy as thick or thin as you like. Mom made it fairly thin, but a friend grew up with a variation they called hamburg soup, mom's wasn't that thin. *g* There's also porcupine balls, which is basically meatballs with a lot of rice in them and cooked in whatever sauce you like - generally mom made them with whole tomatoes that she mashed down. Cheap meatloaf variation: layer hamburg, rice, hamburg, pour tomato soup on top, cook. Another one: macaroni, tomato and hamburg: brown hamburg and onion, add large can of tomatoes and simmer. Add to cooked and rinsed macaroni. (These are very basic, you can add whatever spices you usually use for this sort of thing.) I'm not calling these wonderfully healthy foods, but they are cheap and filling.

I've heard/seen porcupine balls but I've never made them before. Now I have reason to! Thank you.

I saw someone recommend a cheap chili recipe that looked great, but also you can buy dry beans for a LOT cheaper than canned and then just soak them over night the night before you need them :D I lived off beans for a long time! fried rice can also be really cheap, because a couple cups of rice goes a long way and you can use one or two eggs to add some protein. also adding veggies! you can dice them super small to make them go further. like one full carrot should be plenty for one thing of fried rice, stuff like that.

I saw someone recommended jook (also called congee) and i can second that one. super duper good, very filling. also, if you can afford a little chicken stock or chicken or ground beef, you don't need that much of it to flavour the jook. :D also, best part: you can freeze your leftovers for a long time and just defrost when you're ready to eat :D

lol if you do end up soaking beans just don't forget about them because then they get moldy and it is seriously the saddest thing ever

HEEEE. I'll keep that in mind! (I always soak my beans overnight in the fridge)

Thank you!

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I heavily modified this from something I used to eat at Olive Garden

Re: I heavily modified this from something I used to eat at Olive Garden

Re: I heavily modified this from something I used to eat at Olive Garden

Re: I heavily modified this from something I used to eat at Olive Garden

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