Only cooking can save us now. Cheapo recipes for troubled times.

I got to thinking about stock and things thanks to the Hi thread. I bunged my pea and ham soup recipe on there. But how are you scrimping and saving to get yourself through the last days of capitalism? New chutney/offal/stock/pastapulserice related answers here.

My pasta sauce from last night: 1/2 lb thin sliced side pork ($2.50), 1 lb cheapo button mushrooms also sliced ($2, marked down), 2 cloves garlic, handful of basil leaves ($.50, marked down), 1 can chopped tomato ($1), and some fresh chopped tomato I had in the fridge that needed something done to it (or maybe a second can of tomato or just get the bigger can). Heat up a dutch oven on the stove, splash in a good glug of olive oil, then fry the meat until nicely brown. Mince up the garlic and toss it in next, stir about for a minute or two. Dry the mushroom slices as much as possible, then toss into the pan and stir about. Let them cook down until brown and lovely and most of their moisture has been reduced. Next in go the tomatoes and their juice, let it all simmer away for 10-15 minutes while some pasta ($1 bowties) cooks. Add the basil before you drain the pasta, so it cooks just a bit but still stays bright green. Serves 4 heartily. $2/head is maybe not especially cheap though.

Overheard a couple at a party last night talking about how they have macaroni and cheese and peas for dinner every single night.

o_O

roxymuzak that is straight fucked!!

my boyfriend told me HE had macaroni and cheese with peas for dinner last night. had a co-worker that said when he and his wife were students in china, ramen every day

Do people mix the peas into the macaroni?

An ex-boyfriend of mine used to eat the same meal every night, notated here: A whole box of Kraft macaroni and cheese mixed with one can of tuna in water and about 10 pimento-stuffed green olives, then topped with grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. He was a weird guy.

i used to doctor boxed kraft mac with extra cheese and milk and then bake it with even more cheese. eventually, i realized that it was more cost-effective and about the same amount of work to make it from scratch. one of the grocery stores near my house often has cracker barrel or helluva good cheese bricks on sale 2-for-1, as well as big, 79 cent bags of elbow macaroni, which is basically god's way of saying "go forth and make mac and cheese."

first recipe I learned (at 21)/taught to me by grandma 'cause she knew I was poor and lazy and would eat a slice of pizza for dinner every day of the year when possible

make rice, add some free saffron given to you by your grandmother that you use in no other recipe but this one, make it yellow
open can of tuna, mix into warm, cooked rice
add big glob of parmesan cheese, mix til sticky.

yum!

Do people mix the peas into the macaroni?

That's fucked up when people do that. I was at a restaurant with my parents once, I ordered macaroni cheese and it arrived with peas in it. I almost sent it back.

I've been having a Ramen noodle renaissance: One normal packet of ramen incl seasoning packet (3 for $1 or so), boiled along with handful of fresh green beans (whatever at your local super), dressed with chopped scallion (ditto) and a drizzle of sesame oil ($2.50 or so for a 5.5 oz bottle). You could also very profitably scramble an egg into the boiling water while the noodles are cooking.

Tired of potatoes for all 6 of your weekly meals? Occasionally splurge on this tasty delight:

In a medium sized bucket, add One cup Oatmeal, one cup Chunky Peanut Butter. Stir. Pass around and enjoy. Serves 12.

Does that also double as a concrete substitute? Basically, cheapo recipes = everything I used to cook as a student. Noodles/rice/pasta (repeat)

No, you'd need water for all of those.

Easy, simply hold saucepan out of window during rainstorm...

Why don't you just ask your butler to ride his unicorn to the well?

tonight's going to be squash and tofu curry:

1 large chunk of calabeza squash ($1.80)
1 block tofu (1.29; could get for less but convenience is worth the extra .29)
1 can mae sri curry paste (.79)
1 can coconut milk (.99)
1 onion (~.40)
fish sauce (~.05; not sure if that's totally accurate, but we're talking about a tablespoon from a large bottle that cost under $4.00)
generous handful of chopped peanuts (~.50; from a 1.5lb tub of extra-large, whole, salted peanuts)
1 cup brown basmati rice (from a 10lb bag that cost $12.99)

i'm going to say ~ $6 for 4 servings. not bad.

(xpost) I think you're got me confused with LJ

My version of cheapo is more like, buy lots of cans of chickpeas and black beans and tomatoes, and dried lentils, and freeze various meats and meat broths in the fridge for later...so when "later" comes and I have to eat for a week on $10, I have almost everything already.

That kind of stocking up does require occasional periods of $$, though.

yeah. having the means/freezer/cupboard space to stock up on bulk staples and canned goods really puts you ahead in the game. i remember in nickel and dimed, ehrenreich gets emergency food from a food pantry at one point and wonders how you're supposed to deal with perishables if you have no working refrigerator.

Lunch today: chicken livers fried with onion, chilli and a little rosemary from the garden. Total cost: 45p.

cans of chopped tomatoes are great for padding out many meals, buy in bulk.

i just make curries out of canned veg for cheap, use the extra $$ to splurge on naan

you can also make passable naan out of pizza dough in your oven!

i wish i could make a lot of veg stew or chili or lentil soup and freeze but i have one of those freezers that is within the refrigerator and it sucks. i can make ice cubes but anything else will not freeze, not even ice cream :(

i have added my "julia child" omelette:

http://www.elishasessions.com/pumpkin/content/main-dishes/omelettes-la-julia-child

last weekend made a big bunch of cheapo leek-n-potato soup and froze most of it - this is very cost-effective

My new cheap-n-fast is sauteed minced clove of garlic and crushed red pepper in some olive oil, add a can of chunk light tuna in olive oil (yellowfin, not albacore) and a can of chopped tomatoes w/juice, simmer while pasta is boiling. If you have oregano or some green olives or capers or basil, throw some in as well. Serves 3 or 4 or 2 w/ leftovers. I've been buying the tuna in oil from Amazon (of all places, but free shipping and 15% off if you subscribe = some good deals) for < $2/can, also tomatoes and tomato paste ($1.20/can for organic).

tuna in oil! i have never bought that, i don't think. your pasta trick seems pretty can't miss, though. spicy stuff always makes you feel fuller, too! /bulimic

/not really

Tuna in oil used to be the main way you'd find it, but since the low-fat craze it's gotten scarce in the grocery. Trader Joe's used to carry a decent one, but I haven't been in one lately to see if they still do.

while not a low-fat adherent, i'm not a fan of chunky tuna in oil due to the slime factor. the real diff comes from using yellowfin, not albacore, i think.

(jars of proper italian tuna fillets in oil are great, but tend to be v. expensive.)

The reason why tuna in olive oil is so great (besides the fact that olive oil is more appetizing than 'spring water' or whatever), is that tuna canned in oil is essentially tuna confit--the tuna is immersed in olive oil and then heated until cooked.

Our standard pasta with tuna recipe is a sliced onion sauteed over higher heat than usual til a little more cooked than usual, then black pepper, a little crushed dried chilli, and (it's rare that we have these, but if we do, I'll toss 'em in) some capers and olives, for a minute. Then 2 drained cans of tomatoes. Tuna gets flaked in five minutes before you're ready to eat. Oh yeah, and start the water to boil at the same time you heat up yr oil for the sauce.

Game, god bless it, is pretty cheap (or it is round here, anyway) at the mo. So, diced venison goes in a big dish with butter, chopped onion, a little garlic, nutmeg, paprika, brown gently, pop in a couple of tablespoons of plain flour and stir further, add water to the alligator lurking in a swamp level and leave, covered, to putter away merrily to itself for three hours or so on the lowest heat you can manage. Towards the end, should you be lucky enough to have some thyme or rosemary knocking about in your garden, apply judiciously. If you don't, buy some. It keeps well and a little goes a long way. Naturally, if you're using the dried stuff put it in nearer the start.

At this juncture it's worth pointing out that if you have some odds and sods of red wine floating about, or (praise be) some of that pure stock jelly left from draining a chicken's roasting tin and chilling it then that will do nicely in place of some of the water. But just water is fine.

Make a very short pastry. Lard, please. it's cheaper. You'll be needing to use the flour what with the bag you opened to stir in with the venison. Beat one egg, half for the pastry and half for the glaze. Make pie lids.

Accompaniament: parsnip, carrot and beetroot sliced very very thin, no more than 3-4mm (a mandolin is handy here, knives for the more confident). Spread out on a baking tray, salt well, toss with olive oil and crisp up in the oven (keeping a reasonably sharp eye out, these can go from phenomenal to catastrophic in a few minutes). You've some herbs left you say? Hell, toss them with these!

Glop venison on plate, perch pie lid jauntily atop, serve a bowl of the crisps on the side. If you've some cabbage knocking about shred it, butter it and fry it.

Costs buttons.