Cheap and easy

[Alpha]

meal ideas.

Everyone needs them. You've got crap all in the fridge, and mo money till payday, in like 7 months or some shit.

What is something you like to whip up for cheap, quickly, with minimal ingredients?

I found a good recipe for 'Moroccan mince' once. I tried it on a whim, and now it's my A-game fall-back.

Moroccan Mince And Rice Recipe - Taste.com.au

All you really need (as in, the necessary ingredients are) mince, almonds and rice. The dried fruit is good too, but that's getting away from the cheap and easy thing because you probably don't have them all of the time. I've skipped them and it's still a passable meal. I usually serve it with some basic salad.

[che]

Definitely thought this was a thread about Mel when I read the title!

On the real though I'm definitely about to try that this week!

Also, waiting for Alisyn to write a book in this thread.

[Lacquer Head]

This thread sounded like me :/ it still does kinda...since I usually have to make foodstamps (yes, foodstamps) last awhile, I have gotten to be an expert on this subject. I usually always buy the cheapest off brand stuff and only buy it when it's on sale. I tend to buy premade chicken patties, tv dinners, cereal, hotdogs and Bologna. Stuff like that.

[Tallulah]

I have been living off bread and cheese, watered-down orange juice, and free meals at work, for the past fortnight, as I am no longer entitled to housing benefit, due to the government changing their rules. Anyway, I have found that keeping bread in the freezer and defrosting as needed has been an absolute lifesaver!

I would suggest stocking up on dry or canned food whilst you actually have money, credit, or food stamps, just as an emergency measure.

I'm not all that hot on cooking as I can rarely be bothered after work. Any other cheap meal ideas would be welcome, so impart knowledge!

[OceanEyes28]

Also, waiting for Alisyn to write a book in this thread.

In college, I'd make single servings of egg drop soup. I always had eggs and soy sauce around, and I usually had some leftover broth from a previous recipe in the fridge. Boil chicken or veggie broth with a few dashes of soy sauce (idk how salty you like it), maybe throw in some leeks or green onions if you wanna get fancy. Whisk an egg or two in a separate bowl. Once your broth is boiling, stir the water and drip that egg into the water with a fork. Do that til you have egg drop soup.

At least, that's how I remember doing it.... two years ago.

Beans and lentils are a good option for eating cheaply. Get some lentils and some tomato paste... maybe some carrots and onion (potato?) to chop up and add in with some broth and spices (curry spices are good with lentils, imo). I sort of wing it with bean-type things, so I don't have a recipe at the ready.

On that note, soup is a good cheap option that will leave you with a shitton of filling leftovers. My favorite is a vegetable/potato soup that I add quinoa pasta shells to. I'll find that recipe later, it's a winter favorite.

Oatmeal is a good cheap meal option. I'll either cook it the usual way and add some walnuts, dates, and almond milk... or I might put raw oats in a container with almond milk and chia seeds and let it sit over night in the fridge... and then in the morning add fruit. But all you really need for oatmeal is oats, water, and probably a way to sweeten it... or add cheese or something. Like grits.

I always have oats, eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, and almond (or coconut) milk around. I also always have some frozen berries on hand that I can blend into something if I have to. I have black rice and lentils in my pantry right now, along with some sardines and canned garbanzo beans. And walnuts and almost always dates. Stevia and agave for sweetening purposes. I'd say that's about what my staples look like. I can always make SOMETHING with those things. I try to keep yogurt around, and some kind of vegetable (whatever's seasonal).

Things that make a lot of food that you won't get tired of.

Fiber, healthy fats, protein... things that keep you fuller longer.

I'll stop for now haha.

[RamesesII]

I usually make a spaghetti and bolognese meal Australian style.

500g mince, some pasta (what ever floats your boat), a tin of crushed tomatoes some tomato paste or soup and whatever herbs you fancy.

Simple as that and not any two of them has ever been the same, if I have more time up my sleeve I usually reduce some red wine and add onion and garlic, and to increase the amount I add grated carrot and zucchini.

[Unknown Entity]

I can feed four people for £2.75 (£1 of it is optional (meat balls), and you'll need other long lasting things such as mixed herbs, hot sauce, paprika and mature cheese). I've made it for myself once, and it lasted three days. Less than £1 a DAY.

The tube pasta is 75p, but you can get it cheaper depending where you go (and I THINK it's a 750g bag... might be 500g). Then, £1 for the pasta sauce (I choose onion and garlic, but standard tomato works just as well - a standard sized jar - again, measurements escape me).

The extras like the hot sauce are £1, you can get pre-grated cheese for less than £1 (or a large block for £5... and you can use it on a variety of things), and the mixed herbs and paprika for less than £3. But these things you can store for a long time, so you won't need them every time.


I boil up the pasta. While I wait for it to boil, I work on the sauce. I just pour the jar into a saucepan, and slowly heat it while adding a tablespoon of herbs, and a teaspoon of hot sauce and paprika. I add a little pepper too, just because I like the taste. I let it heat and soften the herbs.

Once the pasta and the sauce is done, I drain the pasta and add the sauce to it, making sure to get it covered completely both in and outside of the pasta. If I'm adding meatballs, I pop them in the microwave for a minute before adding them too.

Now, you have two choices: eat it as it is, or bake it. Both ways turn out good. The first way, just makes it easier after thirty minutes of making it. Baking it adds a little more time, but melts the cheese into the pasta, making it more satisfying.

It can also be done with steamed vegetables. Carrots and broccoli are the best choice.

[Sean]

Pulled pork anyone?

I'm not even joking how easy it is to make. You can feed a family of 10 for less than $20. Water, chicken base, oaster (if you don't know what this is, it's basically a giant crock pot) pork butt, BBQ sauce, and buns.

Mix water and chicken base together, throw in oaster @ ~ 300 degrees, add pork butt, let it sit for 7 hours. Come back, pull it out, pull the pork, strain out the liquid (SAVE IT) try to get as much fat out as you can, dump in BBQ sauce with a little bit of the liquid you braised it in, mix it up, let it sit for another 30 minutes on low, ~ 180 degrees.

Then eat.

Cook down the liquid slowly over the next few hours on the stove, pour it in mason jars and cool it (straining it with a fine china cap (aka chinois), afterwards dump it in bags and freeze it, now you have on-demand chicken/pork stock. I just reuse the liquid in my next batch, dumping the bag in and adding hot water. Don't reuse the same liquid more than 3 times, though.

Granted it takes a long time to cook, but no one said fast. It's cheap and it's easy. Do the same with a brisket, except use beef base instead of chicken, if you want beef instead of pork.

[Rowan]

Packet of mi-goreng.

if im feeling like a disgusting pig.

[DragonHeart]

Frittatas are always good. Basically scrambled eggs + whatever leftovers you have in the fridge, cooked like an omelette on the stove and finished in the oven. Or if you're really lazy, just plain make an omelette out of it. /shrug.

[Lily]

I live off toast when there's nowt in