Simple recipes I use.

[ladyVet]

I thought I would start this thread and list some of the simple, from scratch (or mostly so) recipes I feed my family with. We are three grown men and me, and dinner is our big meal. We eat leftovers, Ramen noodles, or eggs as a second meal, at least for those of us not working. My oldest son will eat fast food for lunch.

We are not fancy eaters, just basic things that are pretty cheap, filling and as nutritious as I can make them on a limited budge. I scour the net, books and other sources (sometimes find things from watching TV) to find good, simple, easy things that don't take a lot of odd ingredients. I've made a menu chart, and have about 40 different recipes, so we can eat something different every night, though we have a few that we've come to want more often.

I have a good selection of spices, and will make up my own mixes (chili, Italian, poultry seasoning). I look for places to get good spices cheap. Some I get from Aldi, some from Wal Mart, every once in a while I'll get something from Big Lots or the dollar store.

Here's a list of the things we eat most often:

chili mac
cheesy mac
nachos
chili
beef stir fry
beef stew
chicken stir fry
roast chicken (whole, or breasts using the seasoning)
chicken pot pie
Mexican casserole
burritos
hamburger steak (sometimes do Faux Mignon)
sloppy Joes
hamburgers
spaghetti
shepherd's pie (which actually uses beef, rather than lamb)
soup
pintos and cornbread
squash casserole (I add ground beef for a complete dinner with some rice)
General Tso chicken
Frito pie
chicken lo mein
pizza
pizza casserole

Some of these I came up with on my own, some I adapted from other recipes. I try to keep our dinners around $5 for the four of us, though it's inching up to more like $7 for some things. A meat, veggies and a starch of some sort. I like things that are not too time-consuming to cook, or that doesn't have a ton of steps, or ingredients I might not use again for a long time (though I try to freeze/refrigerate things when possible).

Ask any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

[packman]

1. You forgot the ramen noodles

It boggles the mind what you can do with them from a simple, quick soup to some spectacular egg-scramble dishes. I even use them uncooked and broken up as an add to cole slaw .

[Skittles]

11. in my leaner days I ate a fair share of ramen noodles

to this day I still like them

[ladyVet]

12. We sometimes have Ramen for lunch.

On it's own, it's not filling enough for dinner for us (none of my boys is willing to have only that, but if it comes down to it, we do what we gotta do, ya know?).

I like to add some frozen soup veg (peas, corn) or broccoli, a little ginger, garlic powder and some soy sauce. If I have any, I'll add some beef broth as part of the water.

I've made it using angel hair pasta, beef broth and seasonings, and it turns out pretty good. I've made chicken lo mein basically the same way.

[NV Whino]

2. I'm not sure this fits your theme, but I've been itching to share it

Cranberries are cheap this time of year so I got some, but didn't want the usual boring cranberry sauce. I had one small pepper left from my garden. It was a bit spicier than I had hoped it would be, but it works well in a mix of stuff. So, I thought why not add it to the cooked cranberries.

Still a tad on the spicey side, but it's a great taste. Makes your little taste buds sit up and take notice. I think I will cook some more cranberries add it to the mix and mitigate the spice a bit.

One of those simple things you can do to make a dish your own.

[ladyVet]

13. Hm. Never thought about spicing it up like that.

That might be one to try.

[NV Whino]

25. The pepper I used was called Garden Sunshine

It's a mild pepper. I think fresh jalapeño would work well, too.

[historylovr]

3. You're making me hungry.

I like a good hamburger steak with gravy and onions.

We do a lot of those too. I make biscuits when we have chicken soup, which might be made with chicken stock from leftover chicken carcasses. Sometimes I make a faux cassoulet, with either navy or great northern beans and whatever leftover meat we have on hand.

[ladyVet]

14. Sometimes I'll fry up some bell pepper strips with it, too. Yum.

We've made chicken stock, it's always better than what comes from the store. Good in soup, in the chicken pot pie...

That cassoulet sounds good. I think I'll try that sometime soon. I almost always have some navy or great northern beans around.

[haikugal]

4. Hi ladyVet...

I'll join in with one of our favorites. It's basically one pot and has become comfort food in our house. It can be served alone, as a side or the next morning as fried rice by adding a couple of scrambled eggs and additional diced onion.

I haven't named it really so we call it sausage and rice.

I think any meat would work but we like it with sausage...I know, I know.

1 medium/large onion diced
1 can black beans or 2 cups cooked beans
½ pkg (tube) hot ground sausage
1 ½ cup long grain rice
1 can fire roasted chopped tomato's
Enough water with juice from beans and tomato's to make 3 cups liquid.
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Cumin/chili powder
Smoked paprika

Use a heavy bottomed pot and sauté the onion, then sausage until cooked. Add the can of tomato's with juice, the black beans with juice, spices to taste, rice and enough water to make at least 3 cups liquid.

Bring up to a boil, lower to simmer, put the pot lid on and cook for about 20 minutes or until your rice is cooked through.

For breakfast fried rice take rice cooled in fridge overnight, heat up big cast iron skillet with oil of choice, scramble 2 eggs, dice half an onion. Heat oil, sauté onion then add sausage rice, cook together stirring as it cooks, add egg and mix together with rice, add Tabasco to taste..cook until dry and put a little celery seed in at last minute, (otherwise they get bitter), salt and pepper. Enjoy.

2 of us get a couple of meals out of this and it's pretty low cost but I can't tell you how much it costs...I hope that's ok.

[ladyVet]

15. That looks good, haikugal. Probably not with a spicy sausage for us,

but I bet it would still be tasty.

[haikugal]

19. Use the not spicy sausage...would be just fine!

[Snarkoleptic]

5. Red beans and rice is an extremely hearty budget stretcher.

With/without the meat it's equally delicious and can be cheaply made in quantities to last a few days.

[ladyVet]

16. Oh, yeah. That's a good one we haven't had in a while.

Black eye peas and rice is also good. I used to put a chunk of fat back in a big pot of beans, but now I usually just do a couple of pieces of bacon, or even a handful of bacon bits (Aldi has real bacon bits pretty cheap). Fix up a pan of cornbread and it's good to go!

[femmedem]

6. Here is a delicious, cheap and easy lentil soup recipe.

I'm going to make it again later today.

http://cookieandkate.com/2015/vegan-lentil-soup-recipe/

Edited to add: I usually eat it as soup on day 1, serve it over rice on day 2, then use the rice and leftover soup as the basis for a casserole on day 3.

[ladyVet]

17. Oh, haven't done lentils in a while! Need to pick some up next trip to the store. nt

[kath]

7. you can get a LOT of meals out of a ham.

Spent about $13 on a butt-(oops, is that sexist? ) portion half ham a couple weeks ago.
Hubby baked it with some potatoes and onions and made gravy, had some butternut squash and corn for side dishes.
We ate that for at least 2 dinners, probably 3. (Just the two of us at home now) Also had 3 or 4 ham sandwiches (I had a ham and cheese panini - yum) total those first few days, plus a breakfast of some fried ham, potatoes and oatmeal. Dinner one night was sandwiches with some soup from a mix.
Toward the end of that week I made a batch of scalloped potatoes with ham. Had that for dinner 2 nights, (with salad or some vegetable on the side) plus hubby had some for lunch a couple of times.
Then, with the ham bone, which still had a fair amount of meat on it, I made Ham and Cabbage (pretty much like Corned Beef and Cabbage) - boil the ham bone in water with some onions and a bay leaf for 2-3 hours to make a nice broth, cut the meat off the bone and trim off fat, then add potatoes and carrots (green beans are good too). Cook until the veggies are nearly tender, then add a head of cabbage cut into wedges toward the end, since it cooks quickly. Serve with some bread to soak up the yummy broth. That gave us 3 more dinners.

A lot of delicious meals from one $13 ham!

[ladyVet]

18. I need to look for a good price on a ham.

I've never cooked one, because we usually couldn't afford to buy one, and I always missed any sales. Still, since it's so versatile, I'm going to keep my eyes open. Thanks for the good ideas, kath.

[SheilaT]

27. Yes. A ham is the most amazing budget stretcher there is.

It can seem expensive up front, but you get am amazing amount of meals out of one, especially if you keep going back to make things like scalloped potatoes with ham (one of my absolute favorites) and finish up the ham bone as soup. I make it a bean with ham soup, and add onion and carrot. You could go with beans and potatoes as mentioned.

For those who find the up-front cost of the ham daunting, see if you can set aside maybe two dollars a week from the food budget until you have enough to buy the ham. I do that.

[left-of-center2012]

8. Love most of those

Is 'cheesy mac' just macaroni and cheese?
What's "Mexican casserole"?

chili mac = I dump a can of chili in cooked macaroni

[ladyVet]

20. Yes, it's elbow macaroni noodles as a base.

Like one of those Hamburger Helper meals (as is the chili mac). I brown some ground beef (with onion and bell pepper), usually about 3/4 of a pound, which stretches the meat. Boil up some noodles, drain and add to the meat. I use Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and some garlic powder, some diced tomatoes and a little tomato sauce. Let it cook for a while to blend the flavors in.

I set out some cheese (usually Mozzarella, or cheddar) for the boys to add as they like (because doing it in the pan makes a mess to clean, mostly). We like to add a little sour cream if using cheddar.

Mexican casserole is pretty easy, especially if you have a cast iron pan. Brown ground beef with onion and bell pepper (we use a lot of those two things), drain. Season meat with salt, pepper, chili powder (I make my own). Stir well.

Drain a can of corn, add to meat; add diced tomatoes, some tomato sauce. You don't want it too liquid. Spread out in pan (or casserole dish if you aren't using a cast iron pan), put a layer of cheddar (or Mex mix, whatever you like), top with cornbread mix (boxed or make up from cornmeal).

Cook in oven until cornbread is done. Can be served with rice, but we find this is plenty for us. We top with extra cheese and sour cream.

Your chili mac is basically the same as mine, except I make up a chili, boil some noodles, drain and mix it in. Top with cheese and sour cream. Again, another meal that can use a little less meat, and is hearty enough we don't need another dish.

[left-of-center2012]

29. Mexican casserole

I need to try that, leaving out the corn which plays havoc with me.
Thanks

[2naSalit]

9. Here's a "basic" dish

that you can make countless varieties with few alterations...

I just worked this out for myself this summer.

This fits in a 5qt. dutch oven type pot.

4-6 med. sized potatoes (a mix of types is good but any type works for this recipe).
1 lg onion cut into wide slivers
1-2 lbs fresh string beans (I use the packaged french style from Costco)
6-8 sausages (Andouille, Brats... whatever you like) cut into 3/4 inch slices or larger.
1 Bay leaf, 1tsp cracked pepper, 2TB of choice of oil, 1 oz of white wine (optional).

Parboil potatoes with the Bay leaf in the water, drain, remove Bay leaf and set aside. Rinse dutch oven, return to heat and saute the onions in the oil, when halfway "cooked" add the greenbeans and the sausages and cracked pepper. Saute for five to ten minutes so the onions begin to brown. At this point add the wine followed by the potatoes a minute or two later, cover and simmer over med. heat for up to fifteen minutes so that meats are cooked and potatoes are soft and falling apart. Serve with salad or whatever seems like it would complement or just have it alone. I make it for myself and it makes great leftover material for lunches.

[ladyVet]

21. Oh, that sounds good!

I haven't had much success getting the boys to like sausages like those. Maybe this would work.

[2naSalit]

23. Indeed

this is a dish guys seem to like. I cook for my neighbor sometimes when he's around and he likes this one. I gleaned many good recipes for spartan lifestyles from my dearest best friend who grew up in east-central Europe in the 40s. I speak of her as my mentor regarding food and naturally made remedies and sundries. These are the most important lessons I learned from my friend and they have served me well over the years...

Just remember, cabbage is your friend as are most of the not-so-sexy vegetables, use meat sparsely.

Once one learns to make sauce and use of herbs, anything can be made or made up.

Also, the simpler the better is true for any food and its value.

As for getting boys to like sausages, you can introduce new types through this dish. If they like it initially, they will possibly find it safe while trying out something new that happens to be surrounded by something they already like.

[LiberalEsto]

10. VERY inexpensive spices can be found at Indian and other ethnic groceries

Check them out

[ladyVet]

22. I need to look around for what kinds of markets we have like this.

I think our Asian market closed up, but they may have just moved.

I like having a variety of spices around, basic things, and ones I can make up into blends. I need to see what I need to buy for my poultry seasoning, since I'll be needing that for my turkey and dressing in the next few weeks.

I didn't always use spices, or cook from scratch. I taught myself how to cook over the years (learned to make gravy from a book). My mother wouldn't show me how to do anything, which made it hard when I got married.

I enjoy making good cheap and easy recipes that fill my boys up without a lot of preservatives, food coloring or additives like HFCS or MSG. We eat too many starches, but I'm working on that.

[ColesCountyDem]

24. A delicious and inexpensive beef stew variation.

This is a family favorite. Serve it with cornbread and you have a delicious, filling meal for about $1 per person.

Red Stew

2 lbs. stew beef
1/2 lb. salt pork, diced
1 small head cabbage
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
3 or 4 carrots, sliced
4 medium potatoes, chunked
1/2 bag frozen corn
1/2 bag frozen peas
3 cloves
salt, pepper and garlic, to taste

Dice and brown salt pork in large skillet or Dutch oven. Remove browned pork and set aside. Salt and pepper beef, dredge in flour, remove excess flour. Brown beef in pork drippings. Drain and return pork to skillet. Combine meat with remaining ingredients, except cabbage. Add water to cover, turn heat to slow simmer and cover with lid. Cook 90 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning. Cut cabbage into 6-8 wedges, place on top of stew, cover and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Serve with cornbread or corn muffins.

Note: Remember that there are 3 cloves in the stew.

[procon]

26. Adding more dried beans and legumes would be a cheap source

of protein. There are so many varieties and they can be used is every kind of recipe from savory to sweet, and you could really expand your menu choices. I learned frugal cooking from my grandma, a penny pinching farmer of German descent, and she let nothing go to waste in her kitchen. I still cook like her, making rich, meaty broths for hearty bean soups with inexpensive cuts of smoked meats that costs $1 or $2, plus lots free veggie scraps that I've saved in the freezer. I've priced out my bean recipes at less than 20 cents per cup, much cheaper and more nutritious than the empty calories of ramen.

[SheilaT]

28. Generally speaking, cooking from scratch can be remarkably inexpensive.

Today at the grocery store I spent under $20 and got enough food for the next four days, and there will be some of it frozen for eating later on.

Tonight I made Grecian chicken, chicken tenderloin strips (and they were less than half of the full chicken breasts per pound) marinated for a few hours with oregano, juice of one lemon, a couple of cloves of garlic chopped, and olive oil. They were grilled on my countertop grill. I also bought a red pepper, a large sweet onion, a handful or so of snow peas, and a green zucchini. They were cut up and became a stir fry. I only fried enough for the one meal, and will fry up in individual portions throughout the week. I also fixed a box of Rice A Roni rice pilaf, which will give me at least five servings. Delicious meal. I also bought a couple of pork sirloin chops, and they are currently marinating in Teriyaki sauce and will be grilled tomorrow. The two chops will provide four meals for me. I try to keep my meals down to under $5 each, and I often come it at $3 or less.