I personally know some folks who spend all their money on fast food, and then online it seems pretty common folks not knowing how to cook causes massive financial problems.
My super duper cheap meal that takes no effort is “lazy rice veggie soup”: Can of peas and carrots cooked with a bouyon cube until cube is dissolved Add cooked rice to mix, and heat until rice is flavorful with absorbed broth
I do a cup of dried rice, and a can of peas and carrots which means the soup has 800ish calories and I think it’s pretty good as it’s either 2 small meals that you can have sides with, or one large one!
So what are your cheap meals you like to make? The less well known, the better!
Gruel! Three spoons of oatmeal in a bowl, pour about 500ml (~1 pint) of boiling water on it. You can put a bit more oatmeal in, but if you go too far you get porridge. You’re aiming for thin or miserly porridge.
For a mild seasoning, you can cry over the bowl, and let the salt from your tears enhance the subtle flavours. If you’re feeling rich, salt can be purchased from shops and used instead.
For optional nutrients beyond simple survival, you can then throw any leftover or past-best veg, precooked meat or edible garden plants in the bowl. For deliciousness, you can add a bit of butter, or even cheese.
Heat it in a pan on the hob, whilst stirring, for as long as you can be bothered waiting. Cooking for longer tends to make it taste better. Alternately, microwave it for a few minutes.
You’re ultimately going to end up with something like a thick soup (or a luxurious cheese sauce, depending on ingredients) that’s surprisingly filling, and significantly nicer tasting than you might expect from the description.
Gruel. It sounds shit, but it’s ace.
You managed to turn the ship around from that first paragraph, impressive. I thought I’d like it as much as hardtack.
The Victorians considered gruel to be health food. Mind you, they also thought granulated arsenic was a good substitute for sugar.
Some kind of broth or bouillon would be good in it too. Hot sauce. Garlic.
I add those kinds of things to porridge too sometimes. Savory instead of sweet porridge should not be ruled out.
Here’s an another idea for oats: basically make Mac and cheese except with oats instead of pasta. Whole oats if you can get them.
I like the way you think. I’m on board with all of these.
The price on rice goes down dramatically when you go bulk. A cup of rice out of my 25 lb bag costs a few cents.
Rice and beans, rice and eggs, dirty rice, add tomato and Sazon for Mexican rice, Japanese barbecue sauce and you have hibachi rice, Korean sauce and a little sprinkle of some form of protein and you’ve got bulgogi. I’m starting to feel like Forrest Gump talking about shrimp.
Nothing makes me feel more secure than looking over at my giant bag of rice leaning against the kitchen wall.
how do you keep it and how long does it last?
The most important part is it must remain dry. I leave it in the bag that it comes in, cutting only a smallish hole (an inch or so on diameter) which I keep clamped shut with a spring clamp.
In my main pantry I keep a 2qt container of the rice. When that container empties I go back and refill it again. I’ve had a bag last the better part of a year with no discernible loss and quality just by keeping it closed and climate controlled. In my bug out supplies I have a bunch of dry in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. 3 years later they still taste exactly the same.
A $20, 25 lb bag has a little more than 50 cups of dry rice in it. Rice expands by a factor of 3 when you cook it.
A cup of cooked rice has little more than 200 calories with nothing in it. If I’m using as a main course, I plan for 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups per person, by the time you add seasonings and a reasonable amount of oil it brings it’s not hard to get about a third of your daily calories out of a couple cups. You just have to be careful about nutrition because it doesn’t have much.
So you could do 75 meals or maybe 150 sides out of a $20 bag of course paying for all the accoutrements to make it tasty.
Also of note stick to white rice for this. Brown rice still has the bran on it and a little bit of fat and tends to go bad faster. Also stay away from par-boiled rice, It cooks faster but it doesn’t keep the same.
The other commenter gave a good rundown, but you don’t have to get that scientific about it. I just use a large coffee mug to eyeball how much rice I want, and use the “finger method” to measure the rice to water ratio in the pot. Cook on high until boiling, cover and turn to medium for fifteen minutes, turn off heat and wait five minutes before uncovering and fluffing with a fork.
For storage I put the large coffee mug back in the rice bag, give it a twist and seal with a chip clip, and it’s ready for the next time.
As to how long it lasts, that will depend on how much you eat and how big a bag you get. ;) But it will last you: a long time.
Bananas, potatoes, corn, oats, bread and rice are all pretty cheap. When I’m trying to not spend any money I’m fine with a bowl of oatmeal with some sliced bananas in it.
I’m more of a “cook over ripe banana into the oatmeal” person.
Gives it good flavor and a bit of sweetness.
I read this at first as an ingredient list,band I was so concerned for your health and stability. Lol.
Just mash it and cook until it looks as sad as you feel looking at it. Then cry while eating it right out of the pot on the kitchen counter.
“Carbs, carbs… carbs, more carbs and oh! I almost forgot carbs.”
Simple vegetarian chili:
1 cup dried pinto beans
1 cup dried navy beans
1 cup dried lentils
1 cup dried or canned corn
10 cups of water
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2-4 tbsp ground cumin (by bulk bags online for $7 instead of overpriced jars in store and grind yourself with a cheap Mr. Coffee)
10 tsp or to taste of vegetable better than bouillon
Black pepper, chili powder, paprika to tastePut in instant pot, pressure cook normal for 45 minutes, natural steam release, switch to slow cooker on low until meal time.
Makes multiple dinners for a family of 5. Serve on its own, over rice, or in burritos. Pairs well with sour cream, diced peppers, siracha, etc.
Obviously the more you can but in bulk the cheaper it gets per person.
Vegetarian black bean soup:
1 pound dried black beans rinsed
1 large onion peeled and diced
2 medium bell peppers seeded and diced
2 quarts vegetable broth
1/3 cup Franks Cayenne Hot Sauce
6 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt and pepperCombine in instant pot, pressure cook normal for 45 minutes, natural steam release. When done, use inversion blender until smooth.
Possible Toppings:
Chopped scallions
Cilantro
Jalapeno slices
Shredded cheese
Lime wedges
Sour cream or plain yogurt
FritosI think it’s called an immersion blender. Unless you want to turn those beans inside out.
Lol, you are right but I like the kind of weird the typo brings to the recipe. 😂
How could I forget lentils! Another good one is lentil burgers
Chilli is s great thing to learn to riff with. You almost can’t go wrong adding things to it. What you list here is a good starting point, but I’d almost certainly add onions and peppers to it.
Farro or cracked wheat can add a little meaty texture to a veg chili. The best veg chilli I ever had had sweet potato, something I’d never have thought of.
There’s a Filipino dish called Tortang Talong, it’s basically an eggplant omelette. Broil the eggplant, mash it flat, soak it in egg, and then fry it. People eat it with rice and ketchup but I personally like it with soy sauce. Sometimes I’ll add a little bit of ground beef or corned beef when I want meat.
Eggs and rice. You cook the rice, then throw it in a frying pan with a bunch of eggs. It’s like scrambled eggs with carbs.
isn’t that just fried rice?
Huh… maybe? I use closer to a 1:1 egg rice ratio. So it feels more like eggs.
It’s the same ingredients, but it wouldn’t taste or feel like regular fried rice. Different method.
I do this too! Such a good quick snack.
I swear by putting Tamari on it before eating.
That’s genius. I’ll give it a try
True . Baked potato, homemade fries or chips , mashed potatoes. So many ways to cook they and most of them don’t require much else .
Oh yeah adding a half can of Chilli makes it feel like a full and tasty meal!
I actually just cooked like 2 frozen hashbrowns with a can of Chilli yesterday and it was super tasty.
Ghetto pizzas. Make some toast put tomato sauce or ketchup on it then sprinkle with cheese. You can nuke it to melt the cheese or if you want to spend more effort pop it in the oven. Also if you have more than 2$ you can put toppings like veggies and pepperoni on it.
Edit I just remembered another poorman meal I used to eat all the time. Boil ramen and strain. Add tomato sauce and cheddar. It’s like really shitty spaghettios or regrettios if you will. Cheap filling and full of sodium
You can do this same recipe with the great big burrito tortillas, too.
You can make “Toast Hawaii” the same way: Slice of toast, put ham on it, a ring (or pieces) of pineapple on top, cover with a slice of cheese, pop it in the microwave for a minute or two until the cheese has melted. One of the rare “non traditional” meals my grandma used to love, and super easy to make.
Don’t be afraid to “dress up” box dinners like Mac n cheese or suddenly salad. A handful of beans, tomatoes, onions, carrots, or whatnot can stretch it and make it healthier.
Cooked and then refrigerated Quinoa, Bulgar, and Couscous make great salad bases for something different than lettuce.
Savory oatmeal is supposedly a thing, but I’ve never tried it.
A quarter pound of beef in Mac and cheese is ace and still super cheap.
Or can of tuna.
Personally, I like “White Trash Heaven”- it’s just mac and cheese with fried Spam slices.
The cousin of the also delicious Mac and cheese with hotdog slices.
Bro, it’s like hotdog slices 10x on steroids. Spam is so fucking underrated. It’s probably due to it being slightly slimy and gross coming out of the can, but damn if it doesn’t smell like bacon when it’s frying. Could also be that eating a lot of it will definitely give you a fucking heart attack lol.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I love some pan fried spam with eggs. Add some bread for a tasty sandwich.
Franks red hot sauce with Mac and cheese is amazing. If you want more protein, grab one of those already cooked chickens from the grocery store, rip it apart with your hands, and toss it in too.
Gotta be rice and beans for cheapest. Not sure what it comes to exactly but rice, some veg or other, and a protein (usually tofu) is my usual go-to when I’m cooking.
Obviously you can spice this a million deferent ways. Like tomato + cinnamon, or chili flakes and green beans, etc etc etc
E: oh I just read the part about about being uncommon. I’d say a rich tofu scramble with veggies. You can even do like half and half egg and tofu. Sometimes I’ll do that to like upgrade my morning egg
My kids love something we call “brown eggs” which started out as a keto “oatmeal” recipe in 2012 when they were toddlers.
3 eggs, beaten 1 T butter 1 T peanut butter 1 T almond butter if you are feeling fancy 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon White or brown sugar
Beat the eggs with the ground cinnamon. Scramble the eggs in half the butter until they are just runny, add the peanut butter and almond butter and stir well. Serve while still runny for more oatmeal like spoon pudding or give them another minute in the pan to get them firm and crispy for a more French toast like experience. Serve with more butter and a sprinkle of sugar or cinnamon. You can also add maple syrup.
We swear, this sounds insane when we describe it to other people, but my kids love it and demand we make it for guests
Chocolate oatmeal. Grab a box of rolled oats, a bag of sugar, and a thing of cocoa powder from Aldi. Put half a cup of oats, a couple of teaspoons of sugar, and about half a teaspoon of cocoa powder in a bowl. Add enough water or milk to cover the oats. Stir, and microwave a minute at a time, watching g the bowl to make sure it doesn’t boil over. When the oats are soft, enjoy!
Can be breakfast or dessert as needed!
Rice with sunny side up eggs and soy sauce. Pop those yolks, mix, mmmmm.
This was my parents’ idgaf meal, and as a kid I loved it both because I didn’t get it often, and because it had no veggies.
Add some furikake (Japanese rice topping) and a drizzle of sesame and chili oil! I do this every so often and it’s great.
Can you get chicken for 2 bucks? If you have eggs and rice already you can get some chicken and make up a cheat’s oyakodon. Braise the chicken in some water, soy sauce, and a little sugar and/or an oxo cube if you have one, and then when the chicken’s just cooked drizzle your eggs in and then slide onto rice. Also if you want to add veggies, slice up an onion and cook that in the sauce
(…I have no idea what food prices are like in the US 2 bucks would barely get you a can of beans where I live I think the only meal you could make under 2 dollars is “cup of straight cheap stock” or “one pizza bun”)
I like to eat carrot sticks, they are cheap and takes literally zero effort to cook.
Rice burgers. Cooked rice, some grated cheese, an egg, a grated carrot, add salt and some seasoning as see fit. Mix using a hand mixer with those spiraly dough mixing things. Form burgers. Fry in pan. Doesn’t taste like burgers at all but I like it.
