tropit

With groceries going up in price by the minute and gas at an all time high, it's time to post our favorite budget recipes. Please, make them healthy, if possible.

A couple of people on another thread mentioned dried beans. Beans are so good for you, full of protein, low in fat, filling and tasty. Dried beans are even more flavorful than canned beans, but they do take time and energy to cook them. I use both. Here's an easy recipe for Chickpeas with spinach. It has an spicy, Indian influence.


1/2 onion, chopped
1 T cooking oil
1 can of chickpeas
3-6 Cups of baby spinach
1 can of light coconut milk
1 t Better Than Bouillon (chicken, or vegetable flavor.)
spices to taste (s/a curry powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, salt, pepper)

Saute the onions in the oil until translucent. Toss in the chickpeas and spinach and cook down until the spinach is wilted. Add the coconut milk, bouillon and spices. This is good on it's own, or you can serve it over rice.

osewme

I make this delicious soup all the time. I make it in an 8 quart pot.
Fantastic Taco Soup
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion
3 cans pinto beans w/jalapenos
1 can whole kernal corn
1 can diced tomatoes with green chlies
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 can sliced black olives
1 package taco seasoning
1 envelope Ranch dressing
Cook beef & onion in large pot, stirring until crumbled. Drain off fat.
Stir in remaining ingredients & add water to top of pot. Bring to boil
and simmer 15 minutes.

I calculated that if you used all the ingredients shown on the recipe you could make this pot of soup for about $12 (Walmart prices). Now you can cut back on some ingredients & it really doesn't change the taste all that much. I've been known to make it without the tomato sauce, black olives & small can of green chilies. You could also reduce the ground beef to 1/2 lb to some money. I figure by cutting back on some ingredients you could make it for about $6 ... not bad for an 8 qt. pot of soup. I make this soup all the time....I freeze what we don't eat at once so I always have several quarts in the freeze at all times. The nice thing about this is all you have to do is cook the meat & onions. Once it boils & simmers for about 15 minutes it's ready to eat.

If you don't have a taco seasoning package just make your own with chili powder, onion & garlic powder (or salt), pepper, etc.
If you don't have a Ranch Dressing package but have some Ranch Dressing in your refrigerator, just put a few squirts of the ready made dressing in the soup.
If you cook your own pinto beans & have those on hand instead of cans of pinto beans just use them in the soup.

Onebyone

I was reading through a depression ear recipe book and found this:
I would use a blender


Evaporated Milk

Beat vigorously

1 cup dry milk
1 1/4 cup water
Makes the equivalent of an 11 oz can.

Onebyone

This was a staple in the food lines or sold for 5 cents a sandwich at local food services: One local pharmacy owner claimed he couldn't keep up with the demand for the sandwiches.

filling: 1 quart bread crumbs
1 small can of tuna
1 cup cod liver oil
Makes 50 sandwiches.


Maybe time to start incorporating extreme budget foods to our menus. Getting everyone at least used to seeing the foods.

Having seen the cost of cod liver oil now it won't be so budget friendly! My grandmother use to keep this oil in her pantry. She used it almost daily. It was cheap or she wouldn't have it.

sewingpup

your cod liver oil treat broke me up. I remember trying to get away from my mother when she wanted to give me some cod liver oil! I think I prefer spam to cod liver oil.

Onebyone

I was surprised at the tuna recipe. My grandmother told me some people were so hungry during the depression that they ate Gar Soup. Gar is a fish that is usually never kept if caught.

tropit

Osewme...I like your taco soup recipe!

Tacos can be inexpensive to make too. There are sooooo many versions. While I like meat, or fish tacos, there are some great veggie tacos out there too. I've used squash, mushrooms, beans, corn, even potatoes as a filling. You don't even need the cheese, if you make a yummy filling. With all of the stuff going off in the garden, you can make a very inexpensive and healthy meal. If you want to get cheap and fancy, you can even make your own tortillas for just pennies.

tallchick

I grew up in Hawaii, all things stir fry are divine and just a little meat mixed with veggies make for a filling meal. Then there is fried rice, it is a great way to use up little bits of this and that. I always save any left over rice and make it for my daughter the next day. Look for Japanese and Chinese recipes, they use a lot of veggies and you can substitute tofu for the protein or omit it all together.
I also like to shop at local Asian and Hispanic stores. I can find a variety of spices, and foods and they are usually much smaller and family owned businesses with family behind the register. They are also very happy to help you find something, and share how they use it etc., prices are usually the same if not a little cheaper than the grocery store.

Onebyone

My kids loved the burittos I made. A pot of pinto beans with cornbread and ham hock for supper one night and the leftover beans are mashed, seasoned with chili spices, piled in a buritto wrap with shredded cheese. Put in baking dish and cover with a can of no bean chiii and more cheese. Bake until bubbly. More leftover beans are made into refried beans for a side for another meal, and bean dip for snacks. A pot of black beans leftover can be delicious black bean burgers. Leftover cornbread is made into deliicious cornbread salad. I usually added what I had to the cornbread salad. The corn and mayo are key ingredients.


Cornbread Salad

1 11 oz can of white corn. Any left over corn will be fine
Chopped bell pepper
Chopped onion
cornbread crumbled
Tomato fresh or some diced can tomatos

You can add left over bacon crumbled or a chopped boiled egg if desired
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients with small amount of mayonnaise
You can add additional cans of shoepeg corn and increase the amounts of the other ingredients (or omit) as needed for a larger amount.

Onebyone

This cookbook has gotten me through the very worst of no money to spare times. It's revalant today as it was then. The money info has changed of course. All my kids have a copy of this cookbook. Simple and straightfoward.

The $1.98 Cookbook: How to Eat Like a Gourmet and Save $6,000-Or More-A Year. By Carl Japikse