What are your favorite homemade "broke" meals

**lisathewaitress**

I am very thankful for the fact that I have never had to wonder where my next meal would come from. Even in college, when I lost my job in my last quarter, I could still sneak into the cafeteria and eat sugared cereals to my hearts content.

But there are times when things are tight, there are families for whom things are tight all the time. And sometimes, things might not be tight, but we are hearing all of the doom and gloom, and you might want to tighten things just to see if we can do it.

A reader actually requested this as a topic for me to write about a few months ago (thanks, T!), and I thought I would throw it out there.

So, what do you eat when you're feeling the pinch?
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**lisathewaitress** · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 10:00 pm Post subject:

I think one of the best sources for cheap meals is the bulk section of your local grocery or health-food store. Asian markets are also a good source.

You can even find good bulk deals at Whole Foods! Rice can be as low as 75 cents a pound, and dried beans are about the same.

Personally, I love a pot of beans with some rice. A fried egg and some Tabasco on top never hurt anyone, and a few nice pork bones - feet or hocks - make for an intensely flavored, super cheap meal. Ham hocks can be had for around $2, and feet are event less expensive.

If you are feeling extravagant, Jiffy corn muffin mix is only 79 cents a box, plus an egg.
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joev · Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 11

My favorite is chicken soup. One pot lasts a really long time! I use my grandma's recipe always. Skinny egg noodles make it filling for a very low cost. Plus it doesn't feel like you're broke when your house smells so good.

Jayne · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 2 Location: Warwick, RI

Any kind of Asian noodle or rice dish. We have one whole cupboard (plus the small space above it, right below the ceiling) of all sorts of noodles, dried mushrooms, dried seaweed, small dried chili peppers, and whatever else we pick up at one of the Asian markets. And we always have soy sauce, and fish sauce, and sesame oil, and an assortment of vinegars - and a little of any of those goes a long way. To that we can add anything - garlic, a bit of ginger, and whatever other vegetables we have on hand. We can get a pretty large and filling meal together for very little money. And the smells are wonderful.
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kristylynn · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1

My college meal of choice was what I called "Enchilada Lasagna": tortilla, refried beans, chicken, enchilada sauce, and cheese. I actually ate CANNED chicken (icky to me now)...so it ALL came from a can (but the tortilla and cheese). Perhaps not the cheapest, but the fastest while still filling and great for leftovers the next day.

I have been saving money on lunches this year making my own soups on Sundays. Vegetable with garbanzo and navy bean soup, chick pea soup, butternut squash soup, and white bean chicken chili have been my favorites. And since I use pulled chicken from a roasted chicken, and THEN make and freeze stock, it is quite affordable!

EarlyBirdKate · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 9

Beans & Rice is definitely the main thing I would always make in college...and I still do now when I need a little boost in saving money. If I could afford it, I would add tomatoes or avocado but usually it was just black beans heated with cumin and lime juice and then mixed with rice. Yum...you'd think I'd be tired of it but I still love it.

dcandohio · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1

Lentils or split peas and rice
Potato soup
Tuna salad (tuna bought super-cheap on sale)
Egg Salad
Pancakes (make a huge batch and freeze in serving sizes)
Chili (when the meat is on sale)

Ed · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 2 Location: Clintonville

I had two.

1st. Add olive oil to a hot cast iron skillet. Add a lot of black pepper to the hot oil. Add chopped/shredded cabbage and onions. Cook down. Move to the side, add split kielbasa and brown.

2nd, and I'm not proud of this, but it delivered the goods, and at least in my recall, tasted surprisingly good - or at least glutenous. Make a packet of Ramen in an oversize bowl - don't drain. Add flavor packet, many small chunks of white bread and one can of drained tuna. Stir and microwave. Serve.

uhockey · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 26 Location: Dublin

Oatmeal, Raisins, Peanuts, Cottage Cheese, Honey (artificial sweetener can replace honey for those who want to avoid simple sugars, but quality honey's micronutrients have incredible health benefits)

Loaded with healthy fats, protein, and complex carbs plus fiber. Perfect and cheap. Smile

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JENNerAsian · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 6

Vegetarian chili: canned beans, low-sodium canned tomatoes, some aromatics and chili powder, probably less than $5 for two or three meals.

martabure · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 2

The post about the ramen and bread cracked me up. Seriously? Wow. That's quite a dish!! My 8 year old would love it. Anyway, Lisa thanks for asking the question, I think I asked you about this earlier in an email. I have two favorite cheap meals. One is shredded cabbage pasta. It's just green cabbage shredded and sauted in olive oil, onion and garlic and then tossed with spaghetti pasta. The second is pork shoulder (aka boston butt)which I can get for $2 a pound at Giant Eagle (why doesnt Kroger sell por shoulder EVER, does anyone know?). I put in the crco pot w/ cabbage and carrots, vinegar brown sugar and broth and voila. Has to be about 50 cents a serving.

Anne · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 6 Location: Columbus, Ohio

When I'm *really* broke, we eat whatever is in the cupboard. Spaghetti with olive oil and garlic is always a standby. Pasta salad with canned or frozen veggies is another one, as is good old rice and beans. In my younger days I lived on ramen noodles, potatoes and frozen broccoli.

If I have a whole chicken on hand (and only eating local pasture-raised chickens makes this less cheap of a meal than before) I will have a week of chicken, usually the week before payday. (I try to have bread, onions, celery, carrots, and a few potatoes on hand for this.) Day 1 the bird gets roasted and we eat most of the chicken breast with whatever starches and veggies are on hand, plus gravy from the drippings. On day 2 the dark meat and leftover gravy go into a stew with leftover veggies, or I make chicken and noodles with the same ingredients. That's usually enough for two meals for two people. I make stock from the carcass on day 2. Day 3 we eat the second servings of stew. On day 4, I make soup (either chicken noodle or chicken with rice, usually enough for two meals.) I am pretty tired of chicken by this point, but one small roast chicken has stretched to give about 5 days worth of dinners. I've done no grocery shopping, and used pretty much every scrap the chicken had to offer.

pheedme · Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 16 Location: North Campus

Rice cake smeared on one side w/ peanut butter and dotted with slices of banana. My variation on the ole favorite -- PB&Banana sandwich.

Martabure's shredded cabbage pasta reminds me of halushki -- shredded cabbage boiled & then fried in onions, mixed with buttered egg noodles, and the whole thing sprinkled generously with black pepper. Like Proust's madeleines, that dish conjures up a world 40 yrs long gone, in my Mom's immigrant-decorated kitchen, with many good smells and flavors.