POVERTY COOKING - share your recipes!

I love making roasts out of the cheaper cuts of meat, the ones I find the best are either bottom round or chuck roasts. Usually that stretches to a few meals, but also the broth can be used as a follow-up soup...if you prepare them correctly, they are just as tender as any steak.

Pro-tip, those cheap cuts of meat can eat like the better cuts of meat if you marinate in ginger ale.
Been doing this for years, saves a ton of money.

I do something similar, BUT......I use beer...lol. I'm sure gingerale would be good as well though!! When I'm making a chuck roast slow on the grill, I'll use pop (like cherry Coke) to add flavor and tenderize.

I've used pumpkin beers to marinate before, and it was pretty damn good. I'm not a big beer drinker, and trying to make a marinade of Jager.
The good side to ginger ale is that it doesn't add any flavor, it tenderizes the hell out of it.

What a really awesome trick. Thanks.

Yes & you can throw a veggie in the pasta water as it cooks like broccoli or peas for a few minutes.

Oh my...pumpkin beer, to cook with?! Blasphemy! I usually use cheap stuff, I'd be saving the pumpkin beer for myself but ginger ale is definitely cheaper! I like using the Coke whenever I want to add a barbeque-type flavor, that and some liquid smoke really will enhance the taste.

If I were to chop fresh potatoes, can they be frozen? I always try to have potatoes on hand, but they can go bad real quick.

I believe you can, as there's all sorts of frozen french fries, hashbrowns, etc. that you can buy but you may need to partially cook them first.

Only if blanched.

top ramen or rice it doesnt matter
cook well add 1 can of tuna and a scoop of peanut butter
add salt pepper and lemon juice to taste.

1lb favorite pasta
1 16 oz can of seasoned diced tomatoes
1 8oz can of tomato sauce.

$3-4. Feeds 2 people 3 or 4 meals.

*Make sure the tomatoes don't have corn syrup in them. I notice they sneak it in some brands.


EDIT TO ADD: We re-fry the leftovers in a little bit of olive oil or butter. YUM! We do not own a microwave.

ANOTHER EDIT TO ADD:

Lately I have just been boiling the noodles and not combining sauce with them. I season or sauce for each meal with what strikes ma at the time. That way you are not eating noodles and red sauce for 2 days.

:Ants on a log:

Possibly mighty have to blanch them before freezing. Look into it. When I have frozen veggies in the past some have to be boiled in hot water for a little bit before freezing.

When i make a ham i freeze the bone. later boil it and add greens or add oniin and lentils or beans. when cutting a whole chicken or when cutting chicken wings throw all the scrap in a bag and freeze it. when bag has enough chicken pieces make chicken stock with an onion carrot and celery salt &bay leaf. freeze stock. can make thousands of recipes.

You can dry potatos and make your own potato flakes. reconstitute later for mashed potatos.

yum

Creamed eggs on toast:

Boil some eggs (number depends on how many you are feeding)

Start a cream sauce in saucepan (butter, flour, salt, pepper)

Chop up the peeled boiled eggs and put them in the saucepan with the cream sauce.

Serve over toast.

It's pretty good and pretty cheap to make.

(Ex-husband said this is one of the best gifts I gave him - this recipe that I brought into the marriage. Heh.)

Always make banana bread with over ripe bananas. uf you only have ine banana mash it and freeze it until you gatger enough to make a liaf

This isnt food but related to cooking. i reuse aluminum foil. just wipe it clean and dry. fold and use again.

Joy of Cooking has always been my favorite banana quick bread recipe.

Substitute Zucchini!!! To die for.

^^This!

Nothing helps stretch a food budget like having seasonings and flavours. Garlic is a must - not only makes everything tasty, but has a lot of health benefits, so a double bonus there. It is easy to store, and if you prefer you can open the bulbs and store them in the fridge in oil or vinegar.
I also recommend a few spices if you like spicy food - another thing that has great pain relieving properties. And then the basics: oregano, thyme, italian, rosemary, basil. Stock up on flavour. As for stretching the rest of the food, stir fries work wll. One steak that would not feed two people, when sliced thin and fried with onions will easily feed two people. Buying meat when on sale is what saves us. Also, buying something like a large prok roast and cutting our own prok chops saves a few cents. It helps to own a big freezer. Rice an dpasta are both cheap and last forever if stored well. Not to mention they are filling. I can make a nice pasta sauce with nothing mroe than a can of tomatos, a few cloves of garlic and a handful of spices if i have to. One of our favotires here is just pasta with some garlic, butter, oregano and feta crumbled cheese. the feta is not very cheap, maybe $6 bucks, but that will be enough feta for three pots of pasta, and adds a great flavour. Nevr be afraid of the cheap meals. Grilled cheese sandwiches are cheap and fun. i will add bacon, or sprinkle some taco seasoning inside and dip in sour cream. Leftover steak or chicken shredded inside makes them extra yummy. Same goes for quesadillas. I wait for bricks of cheese to go on sale, and then buy tons. If you dont open it, it stays good in the fridge for a long time.
avoid things like boxed flavoured rice. waste of money. google how to get similar flavours using bulk rice and seasonings and spices.
after thanksgiving, when turkeys go on sale (here i can often get $8 turkeys a few times a year!) buy ten. seriously. And spend the whole day cooking one after the other. break them apart, and put them into freezer bags with a good dose of the juices. if you get all the air out, it will freeze great. and all year long you have access to turkey dinners and sandwiches. or even just something to throw in that quesadilla. Honestly, I cant say it enough. the key to making your money stretch is to have money. When something goes on a ridiculous sale, you want to have enough money to really really stock up. Nothing sucks more than seeing eight dollar turkeys and not having any money. Also, dont pass those sales by. Dont say to yourself "well, i think i will come back tomorrow for more"because the really good sales wont last.

ok, not much of that had anything to do with recipes, but it was all good advice i think!!

This is a good idea, but make sure you spend a bit more to get the thicker foil otherwise it doesn't hold up well enough to wipe down...I speak from experience, lol.

Son! It that you?!!

SPAGHETTI RATAOUILLE

Spaghetti (I recommend Barilla No.5)
Tomatoes
Red Onions
Fresh Garlic
Eggplant
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Salt (the rougher the grain the better the salt)
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Edam Cheese

Cut all the herbs, spices and vegetables in not too tiny pieces (amount/mix to personal preference), put them in lots of olive oil and heat it for about 15 minutes but don't cook or burn it. Start with the tomatoes, onions and garlic, then add the others by amount, the most comes first, the least comes last before the salt wich comes last.

Meanwhile cook the pasta for about 8 minutes (water must be boiling when you put the pasta in) and put some olive oil (three to five tablespoons) and salt into the water too. Then mix the pasta with the oil/herb/veggie chaos and top it with edam chesse.

If budget allows, serve with Shiraz or Ruby Cabernet.

lobster in crab sauce

That really does sound good, thanks for the idea!

With a side of filet, huh? Perfect poverty food lol

bologna on hand sammich

good tip for hard times, thank you