Good, low cost meals

[AllThatJazzZ]

Couldn't find my own recipe so I found this one that's almost identical.


Texas Caviar
8-12 servings

Ingredients

-   2 15 oz. cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
-   1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed (not in my recipe)
-   2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
-   1 cup red onion, minced
-   1 green bell pepper, small diced
-   1 red bell pepper, small diced
-   1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
-   5 garlic cloves, minced
-   1/4 cup minced cilantro
-   3 scallions, sliced thin
-   4 tablespoons olive oil
-   2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
-   2 teaspoons kosher salt
-   Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour, or up to 24 hours. Serve with tortilla chips, on top of burgers/sandwiches or crostini, or on the side of your favorite grilled meats and fish.

2. Enjoy!

[AllThatJazzZ]

AllThatJazzZ's World-Famous Texas Rice
6 servings

- ¼ c. butter
- 1 c. green onions, chopped
- 4 c. cooked rice
- 2 c. sour cream
- 1 c. large curd cottage cheese
- 1 t. salt (or to taste)
- Pepper
- ½ t. garlic powder
- 1-2 t. hot curry powder (or to taste)
- 2 4-oz. cans green chilies, drained and seeded*
- 2 c. sharp cheddar grated

1. Microwave butter 30 seconds on high. Add onions. Cook on high 1½ min.

2. In large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Put in greased 12 x 18 glass dish or 2 quart casserole dish.

3. Cook uncovered on high for 6 minutes until bubbly. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley and serve.

[Smokin Joe]

The body needs about 26 grams of fiber a day.

Okay.

I wonder how long you could survive on milk and cardboard?

[AllThatJazzZ]

Okay.

I wonder how long you could survive on milk and cardboard?

 

[Smokin Joe]

Ramen noodles are very high in salt unfortunately.... kids can get away with it for a while, not so much me. We had a rice and Chicken dinner tonight (with some homemade gravy).

We have our own Chickens for about 6 months now... 5 or 6 eggs a day so the wife does a lot of devil eggs for church functions. I have 2 (sometimes 3) eggs for breakfast about 5 times a week. Throw in a slice of ham or bacon on the skillet and you have a good breakfast. Grits or Oatmeal other times.

I got a son that works part time at a grocery store (for college money). He lets his mother know when there is a good deal on things and will often call her and ask if she wants a particular deal (and how many). If a great deal the wife will carry the extra to church to share with the other ladies (and they do vice-versa).

We have started saving grease from meats... straining it to keep it mostly clean in jars we keep by the stove. It makes the grease for cooking and keeping the iron pans oiled so they don't rust (keeps them conditioned).

I have always saved Bacon grease, but lately have taken to saving beef fat, too (when I don't drizzle it on Peaches' kibble).

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Ever put parm cheese on chili? holy crap is that good.

[unite for individuality]

I LOVE hamburger helper... But it makes me poop bricks. 

I always try to eat a balance between meat and vegetables
(usually canned vegetables).
Too little vegetable, I get corked.
Too much vegetable, I get a slow, hard to prevent ooze.

[roamer_1]

I always try to eat a balance between meat and vegetables
(usually canned vegetables).
Too little vegetable, I get corked.
Too much vegetable, I get a slow, hard to prevent ooze.

Oh me too - I need my greens.

Don't matter with Hamburger Helper.
Eat that stuff, and you're a bricklayer now. Dunno why.
And it don't matter which flavor.

Besides, HH ain't all that handy... So ya gotta make a roux and melt some cheese. Big deal... Throw some spices around... so what? I can dang near build the same thing in the same time, with but an extra pot, perhaps.

And mine, from scratch, will be way, way mo bedda  And with all them greens we're talking about built right in...

So it ain't really doing that much for you, and it certainly ain't saving money. I mean, it's alright (other than the bricks), but just REAL 10 minute macaroni makes it so different and so much better... Add a roux based cheese bechamel, even a cheap, crappy one, and KABOOM, baby! you are so far past what HH can do that it ain't even in the same league.

If you scratch build that same thing, it's probably cheaper, probably far more healthy (no bricks is a great start), and super-mo-bedda delicious.

That's another point for the OP... Food need not be merely OK to be affordable. HH builds on that lie.

Learn to scratch cook and your diet will be fantastic! You'll eat like a king, and stretch your dollar too!

[berdie]

Here is an oldie but goodie cheapie. I'll put the more modern day expensive ingredients in parathesis. If you want "fluffy" dumplings...this may not work for you.

Chicken and Dumplings

Boil a chicken until done and debone. Save the meat not used and freeze for later as well as the bones for stock. (Use canned chicken and add chicken bullion and chicken broth)

Cut up a few carrots and a small amount of onion/celery and add to boiling broth until soft. (use canned carrots...and peas if ya got them}

Roll out a basic pie dough recipe with a small amount of baking powder. (use el cheapo canned biscuits, rolled out thin,  which is what I use these days) and cut into squares.

Drop biscuits/pie dough into the boiling broth and cover for about 15 minutes. Add the chicken. I usually add some yellow food coloring to make it look "real".

Add cornstarch to thicken the broth (add about 1/2 can of cream of chicken soup.)

Salt and pepper to taste.


Either way...it's not too expensive.

[roamer_1]

Chicken and Dumplings

Oh man... I ain't had Chicken and dumplings since Hector was a pup.

But even *even* just fried chicken.
Everybody thinks chicken comes from a box. It's been SO long since I've been invited to dinner and there was fried chicken,  or chicken on the grill. It's just crazy.

I think I posted this elsewhere, But in the course of my Blue Haired Ol Ladies' Committee from my clan helping me out in my current malady, one of the things that appeared in volume was frozen chicken breasts. They were stuffed in every hole in my freezer. Butt tons of em.

Well there they sit, because I don't know my way around a peeled and frozen chicken breast- I don't know how to handle it. So there they sit for a year, and now they're gonna go bad pretty soon, so I gotta use em up... So what to do? 

Well being a redneck boy, I know what to do with any meat... I cut it into bite-size chunks, drug it through the eggwash, drug it through the flour, and threw it in the oil. Well basically, That's Southern fried chicken, without the skin.

OMG!!! It was SO very good! One chicken breast made a bowl full of bites.... I fried up greens and veggies, Threw a couple little taters in the nuke, worried it all together with some butter, and laid them bites across the top. And it was AWESOME.

What could you do with them bites with some onion, peppers, pineapple, and some Thai sweet and  sour sauce over rice? Or throw em through some Franks for a buffalo wing effect, lay em next to a baked potato with broccoli in a cheese sauce on the side?

Oh, man! You can make some stuff with that.

And if you really want it cheap, fry up the whole chicken...
And if you really really want it cheap, raise up the chicken in the first place.

And that brings me back to you... Chicken and dumplings.
We had that a whole lot. If old hens went to freezer camp, invariably that hen wound up in chicken and dumplings. Them old birds ain't good for eating without you put em on a boil for a while.

//rant

 

[Cyber Liberty]

Oh man... I ain't had Chicken and dumplings since Hector was a pup.

But even *even* just fried chicken.
Everybody thinks chicken comes from a box. It's been SO long since I've been invited to dinner and there was fried chicken,  or chicken on the grill. It's just crazy.

I think I posted this elsewhere, But in the course of my Blue Haired Ol Ladies' Committee from my clan helping me out in my current malady, one of the things that appeared in volume was frozen chicken breasts. They were stuffed in every hole in my freezer. Butt tons of em.

Well there they sit, because I don't know my way around a peeled and frozen chicken breast- I don't know how to handle it. So there they sit for a year, and now they're gonna go bad pretty soon, so I gotta use em up... So what to do? 

Well being a redneck boy, I know what to do with any meat... I cut it into bite-size chunks, drug it through the eggwash, drug it through the flour, and threw it in the oil. Well basically, That's Southern fried chicken, without the skin.

OMG!!! It was SO very good! One chicken breast made a bowl full of bites.... I fried up greens and veggies, Threw a couple little taters in the nuke, worried it all together with some butter, and laid them bites across the top. And it was AWESOME.

What could you do with them bites with some onion, peppers, pineapple, and some Thai sweet and  sour sauce over rice? Or throw em through some Franks for a buffalo wing effect, lay em next to a baked potato with broccoli in a cheese sauce on the side?

Oh, man! You can make some stuff with that.

And if you really want it cheap, fry up the whole chicken...
And if you really really want it cheap, raise up the chicken in the first place.

And that brings me back to you... Chicken and dumplings.
We had that a whole lot. If old hens went to freezer camp, invariably that hen wound up in chicken and dumplings. Them old birds ain't good for eating without you put em on a boil for a while.

//rant

 

C & D are in our regular rotation for dinner.  I like the kind that sink (no baking powder).

[berdie]

Well, @roamer_1 ...I do hear where you are coming from. In my very not long ago youth, I was a huge red meat eater. But since I've been cursed with high cholesterol and the prices have gone up it's chicken, chicken, fish, fish. I cluck when I walk and have grown gills.  Red meat is a treat.

There are so many ways to make chicken...chicken spaghetti, parmesan chicken, barbequed chicken, and my personal favorite (that I eat all summer) chicken salad. I could go on, but I won't bore you, lol. Well one more...if I'm having a cheat day I'll roll them in an egg/milk mixture and then roll them in a crushed up mixture of the canned onions, and bake.

I can live without fried chicken...it's messy. I can eat salmon and tilapia that is baked. But if I get fresh catfish or crappie...I'm frying it...if I croak..so be it.

[bigheadfred]

We do homemade chicken and noodles all the time. Over mashed potatoes.

[roamer_1]

C & D are in our regular rotation for dinner.  I like the kind that sink (no baking powder).

Last I had em we'd just bust up biscuit dough from a pop-can and throw it in there. That was alright - But not as good as when Mamma made em scratch.

I really think she has some kind of cocaine oil or something exuding from her fingertips... Everything she touches turns delicious. You ain't messin with Mamma's cookin. Ever.

Shoot, she's in her 80's now, and still can run rings around the rest of the ladies... Easter Sunday is coming up... You can bet money Mamma's going to have a busy weekend. And it will be glorious.

[libertybele]

I haven't had dumplings since I was little.

Homemade recipe anyone??

[bigheadfred]

The last time I had dumplings it was in homemade minestrone soup.

[roamer_1]

Well, @roamer_1 ...I do hear where you are coming from. In my very not long ago youth, I was a huge red meat eater. But since I've been cursed with high cholesterol and the prices have gone up it's chicken, chicken, fish, fish. I cluck when I walk and have grown gills.  Red meat is a treat.

Yeah, my current health restrictions are a thing now, but what really threw me was going kosher. That threw away well over half the meat I was used to. I was pretty hillbilly for a while there - You want to eat on the cheap, learn hunting and trapping. Come by for dinner at my place, you might find coon or beaver or marten or even coyote in the pot.

Add to that - fisherman... Another HUGE money saver... Learn to fish. Half of one of my freezers is usually packed with rainbow and cutthroat, Brookies and kokanee. Throw in some bass and perch and sunfish, and well, it's fair to say fish has always been in my wheelhouse too.

A lot of that went away when I went kosher. I don't know how to stay alive in the woods and keep kosher, limited to ungulates and upland birds... I would likely die. But now, dietary restrictions too - I can still have all the red meat I want... I just can't put any damn salt on it... Which means no pickles, no sauces, no nothin.

So what I am saying is I have a fairly extended palate when it comes to meat - I ain't all that picky, though I have a definite preference for red meat (beef, elk, moose, buffalo venison) and fish of any kind.

But the restrictions suck. Makes it rough trying to find and cook excellent food... ALL the redneck food groups are verboten. 

There are so many ways to make chicken...chicken spaghetti, parmesan chicken, barbequed chicken, and my personal favorite (that I eat all summer) chicken salad. I could go on, but I won't bore you, lol. Well one more...if I'm having a cheat day I'll roll them in an egg/milk mixture and then roll them in a crushed up mixture of the canned onions, and bake.

I can live without fried chicken...it's messy. I can eat salmon and tilapia that is baked. But if I get fresh catfish or crappie...I'm frying it...if I croak..so be it.

Thankfully, I have no cholesterol issues. They left me my cast iron and my deep fryer...

Salmon is right up my ally, my kokanee, honey and mustard, left up in the smoke turns to candy... You have one little bit, you'll keep coning back for more. Way better than jerky and easier on old teeth. 

[Bigun]

Dumplings

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
⅓ cup shortening
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt

(I sometimes add about 1/4 cup of sour cream)

Stir it up into a thick dough (add small amount of flour if necessary)  and drop tablespoon sized hunks into the broth of your choice and simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.

(Being a Texas guy, I can't resist throwing a tablespoon full of red pepper flakes in but that's strictly up to you.)

P.S. No buckshot green peas for me!

[libertybele]

Dumplings

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
⅓ cup shortening
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt

(I sometimes add about 1/4 cup of sour cream)

Stir it up into a thick dough (add small amount of flour if necessary)  and drop tablespoon sized hunks into the broth of your choice and simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.

(Being a Texas guy, I can't resist throwing a tablespoon full of red pepper flakes in but that's strictly up to you.)

P.S. No buckshot green peas for me!

Thank you @Bigun  I've got it written down -- adding sour cream sounds pretty tasty

[Cyber Liberty]

Dumplings

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
⅓ cup shortening
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt

(I sometimes add about 1/4 cup of sour cream)

Stir it up into a thick dough (add small amount of flour if necessary)  and drop tablespoon sized hunks into the broth of your choice and simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.

(Being a Texas guy, I can't resist throwing a tablespoon full of red pepper flakes in but that's strictly up to you.)

P.S. No buckshot green peas for me!

Those would be "floaters," I leave out the baking powder.  It's a North/South thing. 

[Gefn]

I found this alternative to dumplings, which actually be quite good -


https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/matzah-ball-casserole-is-my-passover-comfort-food/

[Bigun]

Those would be "floaters," I leave out the baking powder.  It's a North/South thing.

Depends on what I have on hand. This is basic camp cookery that works with all kinds of game (squirrel, rabbit, turkey...)

[Cyber Liberty]

Depends on what I have on hand. This is basic camp cookery that works with all kinds of game (squirrel, rabbit, turkey...)

True!  The base meat can be anything!

[unite for individuality]

Here is an oldie but goodie cheapie. I'll put the more modern day expensive ingredients in parathesis. If you want "fluffy" dumplings...this may not work for you.

My mom used to make chicken with fluffy dumplings.
She would put the chicken in a big pot, cover it with water,
and then pop open a tube of pre-made biscuits,
and float them on top of the water.
Put the lid on and simmer for one hour.
The "dumplings" always came out perfect,
regardless of the cooking time.

[unite for individuality]

In my very not long ago youth, I was a huge red meat eater. But since I've been cursed with high cholesterol and the prices have gone up it's chicken, chicken, fish, fish. I cluck when I walk and have grown gills.  Red meat is a treat.

Years ago, I used to eat hamburgers twice a day, at least 6 days a week.
It gave me body odor.  I smelled like a cattle feedlot.
Later, for economic reasons, I changed over to eating more chicken.
No more body odor.
I didn't realize what was causing the body odor until after I changed my diet.

These days, I try to keep a rotation going something like
beef, chicken, chicken, pork, chicken, pork, chicken.
Or maybe
pork, chicken, fish, pork, chicken, fish
with beef thrown in occasionally.

Some foods that can cause body odor (if eaten in large amounts) are -
Onion, garlic, green peppers, peanuts/peanut butter, beef, pork.