next »

[punchnpie]

Ramen (ok, you knew that) with 1/2 a bag of frozen mixed veggies of your choice. If you are a meat-eater, add some chopped chicken, beef, shrimp, whatever. I find the ramen from Thailand to be spicer than the cheap Chinese stuff, but you can't beat something like Top Ramen for price. Add the veggies and you have a pretty good meal and you can vary the taste by using different veggie mixes.

The other thing you could do is...dare I say it... go vegan, or at least go veg. It has done wonders for my food bills. 

[conjugate]

1 can generic non-cream concentrated soup (vegetable, chicken, beef; I don't like chicken & rice in this recipe for reasons that will become clear).

1 soup can full of generic quick rice.

1.5 soup cans full of water.

Stir, heat, add seasonings (those soups are bland; I like pepper, oregano, basil, thyme.  If you like, a small can of mushrooms or green beans too.

Since the soup and the rice each want ~1 soup can of water each, the result is thick and casserole-like; just cook long enough that the rice gets cooked (crunchy rice in this is not great).  Sprinkle cheese on top if you like.  The basic ingredients put the price at under $2.

Nutritional value is questionable; the quick rice has little, the generic soups not much more.  I don't know if the quick brown rice works as well, or if it has significantly more nutrients.  But it is filling, fast, and extremely cheap.  I learned this as a starving grad student.

[catmom]

Sorry, mixing cans of soup or whatever together is not COOKING. This is gross!!

[conjugate]

Sorry, mixing cans of soup or whatever together is not COOKING. This is gross!!

Notice the subject line; it didn't say, "cooking."  It said, "cheap meals."  What I posted was cheap, and it was a meal, so there you are.  And I didn't invite you to have any, so don't worry about it.  :-)

I suspect I speak for PunchnPie as well, and any others whose cheap meals you don't regard as cooking.  Who says you have to cook in order to eat cheaply?

[nana72]

I got this vegetarian chilli recipe from a colleague - I like it a lot. The eggplant and yam make all the difference:

3 cups beans, soaked overnight (I like using one cup white, one red, one black)
1 large onion
3 carrots, diced.
2 celery sticks, diced.
1 cup corn (canned or frozen)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium eggplant, chopped into small cubes.
1 large yam, chopped the same way
seasoning to taste (salt, pepper, chilli, paprika, curry, bouillon etc.)

saute onion in oil. when golden, add carrot and celery. sautee eggplant, yam, add corn, then beans, then tomatoes. Add enough water to almost cover, and let simmer, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

p.s.
This pot feeds us for five or six days.

[nana72]

One more - this one is a favorite with kids. My kids, at least.

1.5 cups red lentils
1 can coconut milk (regular or light)
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 tomato, diced
seasoning to taste

saute onion, add carrot, celery, tomato, lentils. Add coocnut milk and water (not too much if you want a dal, more if you want soup) and seasoning. Cook until tender.

[claragold]

I got this vegetarian chilli recipe from a colleague - I like it a lot. The eggplant and yam make all the difference:

Hi nana, sounds wonderful. Approximately how long do you leave it  cooking?

[nana72]

I got this vegetarian chilli recipe from a colleague - I like it a lot. The eggplant and yam make all the difference:

Hi nana, sounds wonderful. Approximately how long do you leave it  cooking?

Until the beans are done... probably 45min t0 1 hr, but depends on your stove, how much heat, etc.

[bibliothecula]

Oatmeal. I think I lived on oatmeal and pasta in college, with forays to a good deli and a terrific Chinese place.

[nessal1967]

Swedish Hamburgers


Patties:

2 lbs ground beef
2 cups cracker crumbs
1 ½ cups milk
Salt & pepper to taste

Sauce:

2 medium onions – preferably sweet (if in season)
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 cups water

Combine beef with cracker crumbs, milk & seasonings. Form beef mixture into patties and brown on both sides in skillet (inside will still be pink). Place beef patties in a large baking pan.  Slice onions and lay over beef patties.  Mix Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar & water and pour over beef patties.  Cover and bake 1 ½ hours at 300 degrees.  Serve on hamburger buns.  Makes 8 or more patties and makes GREAT leftovers. Enjoy! :)
 

[zuzu_]

Others have touched on this, but I want to put in another push for EGGS.

--Eggs & toast/bagel/muffin/pancakes/biscuits/waffles
--Egg Salad
--Omelets
--Quiche
--French Toast

[spectacle]

Regarding rice - super cheap, wonderful.  I was a big fan of the Uncle Ben's quick rice bags that you throw in the microwave because I struggle with making "real" rice - it always seems to turn out crunchy or soggy.

Then we got a rice cooker.  I think it cost $30; dry rice is unbelievably cheap and the rice cooker is genius.  Most also come with a little steam rack that you put on top of the rice and can steam veggies or poach meat on top. 

Rice cooker: fantastic investment.  So's a slow cooker for making soups and stews (cheap, freeze well). 

My SO hates ramen and mac and cheese, but I could live on the stuff for lunches, they pack well in a thermos... also PB&J - simple, cheap and delicious.  We only buy whatever fruit is reasonably priced; lots of carrots, celery, potatoes and onions for veg.

The Allrecipes website is good for some things - there's a whole section on budget cooking that I've found pretty useful over the past few months.  How to make a whole chicken last for a week, for example.  Be aware: some of their recipes are midwest-white-trash cuisine (aka, the food of my childhood; tuna noodle casserole, anyone?!).  It's stuff that I actually love, but my SO and most of my friends are horrified by it.

[stitch]

Side note for those who struggle cooking rice on the stove top. 

The keys are:

1 - a tight fitting lid.  Add a layer of foil if your pot doesn't have a good seal.

2 - don't remove the lid while it's cooking.  Cover it, set to simmer (lowest setting), and then leave it alone for the recommended time.  No stirring!  Just back away from the stove.

Once I learned these two facts my rice cooking ability improved immensely.  (I used to constantly take of the lid to stir as I worried about whether it was cooking ok, basically guaranteeing it would be terrible.)

[undisciplined]

Chime on the rice cooker. Add _The Ultimate Rice Cooker Bookbook_ and you are set. At this very minute I am eating leftover butternut squash risotto that I made in the rice cooker.

[conjugate]

My rice cooker gets used regularly.  I find that by adding other things to the rice besides water I get some interesting flavors.  So instead of 2¼ cups of water, I might add 2 cups of water, ¼ cup of orange juice, and ½ tsp of cinnamon.  I do have to work a little harder to clean the cooker afterwards, because the sugar in the orange juice will make it sticky, but it isn't too bad.