Your very favorite as-cheap-as-possible recipe

[pegkerr]

I am starting to compile the grocery list for the week, and since we are retrenching, I am looking for rock-bottom price recipes. Nutritional main dish recipes that you actually like. Kid-friendly and easy a particular plus.

I remember one we ate pretty often when I was a kid, a fondue recipe we called "Blushing Bunny." I think I got it from Camp Fire Girls. Why the weird name? I think it is meant as a sort of sideways joke, a tip of the hat to the better known fondue "Welsh Rarebit," which a child might hear as "Welsh Rabbit."

Take a can of Campbell's tomato soup. Do not dilute it. Stir in one egg, well beaten and shredded cheddar cheese (I think we'd put in somewhere between a half cup to a cup or so). Heat gently until hot and thickened. Serve by pouring over toast and eat immediately. I think this serves 2-3, depending on whether you are serving kids or adults.

Like I said, I remember loving this one as a kid, but when I mentioned this one to Delia, she wrinkled her nose in disgust when I made the mistake of telling her the ingredients list. I know that adding the egg to the soup sounds disgusting, but when it is stirred in and heated up, you really can't tell it's there at all. It just is there to add protein and thicken it, I guess. I might make it anyway and insist that they try it at least. It is certainly dead cheap.

Mom used to serve spam and rice pretty frequently, but I'm not quite tempted to revisit that old memory. Rob remembers dinners of fried boloney when he was growing up, but I don't think he's nostalgic for that one, either.

How about you? My kids are picky, but give me your best shot anyway.

Edited to add: All three hate onions, broccoli and mushrooms. The girls hate potatoes (yes, potatoes!), brown rice, and bell peppers. Delia hates cooked tomatoes, cooked apples and cooked oranges and is very unpredictable about meat. She has tried and rejected a number of meat substitutes--impossible to predict, but she doesn't seem to like tofu-based products very much. She is hit or miss on most other vegetables, but less likely to eat them if they are cooked.

Fiona would eat nothing but carbs (pasta) if I let her. White, of course. I prefer whole wheat pasta, but they are much more reluctant to eat it.

Beans are also unpredictable. Rob will eat lentils, pinto beans and kidney beans (reluctantly); girls will not. The girls adore baked beans, however. Go figure. Rob will eat green beans (even canned!), girls, there is no predicting.

Rob will eat kale reluctantly, girls will not.

Edited to add again: My personal favorite suggestion, among all these comments, is moony's suggestion that I teach the girls basic photosynthesis: "You're hungry? Go stand in the yard for an hour."

Comments

[sundancekid.livejournal.com]

How about tacos? We're also on a budget, being in college, and I'm pretty picky myself. But tacos are easy, cheap, and if lettuce counts, they have two vegetables. ;)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. And even cheaper if you stretch the hamburger with black beans.

[hiddenhibiscus.livejournal.com]

This will sound weird, but it's good! (--and good for you!) Plus the kids can make it themselves to serve the whole family:

boil enough spaghetti to feed the family

open a can of black beans, drain, add to a saucepan/covered microwaveable bowl
add a jar of salsa to the bowl and heat together

pour over the drained noodles and add fresh tomatoes, avocados and peanuts

garnish with cilantro

Yum! Cheap-oh so very cheap- and actually tasty. :D

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I love mixing beans and salsa. I took pintos mixed with salsa just this week with my lunch (serve with either tortilla chips or cornbread to complete the protein). I also like to mix black beans with salsa and use it as an omelette filling.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Chop up assortment of roastable vegetables such as garlic (leave cloves whole), onions, leeks, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, yams, ect. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in oven at about 375 until done, stirring periodically. You can roast chicken or pork on top of this and that's delicious but not necessary. I like to add bacon, but again, not necessary.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I've been roasting vegetables like that and adding them to barley risottos. Mmmm . . .

Except the girls don't like them. *Sigh* Damn, they are just so picky.

[cirakaite.livejournal.com]

The cheap version of 'fried rice' was my favourite college-student staple- day old rice, frozen veggies (peas, corn, carrots, beans, or whatever frozen mix of veggies you have in), a beaten egg, and soya sauce to taste. You can add pretty much any leftover protein source because it's all in small bits mixed up in the rice, and it's quick and cheap.

[bibliotrope.livejournal.com]

In my family we didn't use an egg, just the soup and the cheddar cheese. I think we also used Campbells Cheddar Cheese Soup instead of actual cheese, and stirred until the cheese soup blended with the tomato soup. My older sister learned this recipe in home ec. class, ca. 1960.

I liked it, but it's been a long time since I've made it. Though if I were to do it now, I think I'd try regular tomato sauce instead of soup.

Thanks for reminding me of it. Maybe I'll try it again soon, it being Lent and all.

[legomymalfoy.livejournal.com]

We keep a fast and cheap 'stir fry' sauce on hand which is just 1/2 cup terriyaki sauce + 1/2 cup zesty Italian salad dressing. You can use it with just about anything from just veggies over rice, or with some cut up meat.

I second the tacos idea. Those are always super cheap.

Find a few things that are popular, and make/freeze. Then when you're having one of those "EVERYONE MUST DIE, NOW!" days, you can pull it out and reheat for the family... while you grab a glass of wine ;)

[faeryguinevere.livejournal.com]

I make tons of cheap things with beans. Vegetarian chili with canned beans and tomatoes is inexpensive. I also make a hot bean dip (recipe follows) that is good with tortilla chips or tortillas and is really customizable.

8 oz of cream cheese
1 cup of yogurt
1/2 package taco seasoning
a cup or so shredded cheese
2 cans of black beans, drained
a squirt of hot sauce, if you'd like
a cup of frozen corn, if you'd like
a cup of drained, canned, diced tomatoes, if you'd like

Combine yogurt and cream cheese until smooth. Add taco seasoning (and hot sauce if desired). Add all other ingredients EXCEPT a handful or two of the shredded cheese. Pour into a 8x8 or larger pan. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 375 until hot and bubbly.

Other cheap things:
burritos/tacos, especially veggie ones.
Mac and cheese with frozen veggies added.
Pasta with sauted bell peppers and onions, or whatever veg. you have laying around.
"Breakfast for dinner" - eggs, french toast, etc.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I'm a big fan of breakfast for dinner. We have an oven puff pancake I often make when it's just me and the girls.

This weekend I dragged out the waffle maker and made a huge batch which I threw in the freezer for the girls to eat for breakfasts. I think I'm going to start doing that every weekend, to save us the price of frozen waffles.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Cheese-potato soup:

Boil up an amount of potato suitable to the number of customers -- I peel and slice up two medium potatoes for myself. I cook them in the microwave, water to cover, salt, 15 minutes at full power.

While they're cooking, I slice or grate a mound of cheddar cheese, about 4 or 5 ounces, it varies. Also chop up a couple of slices of onion -- again, amount to taste.

When the potatoes are finished, mash them and add water if necessary to make a thick soup. Scrape the cheese and onion into that and stir until the cheese is melted.

Add a dollop or two of garlic vinegar, to taste, and eat out of the microwave bowl.

Cheap, so easy even a man can make it, basic Irish nutrition.

[vass]

Dhal. If it's good enough for most the population of India...

A spiced mush, made from any type of lentil or any type of split pea, or a combination. Served over rice, and if you're lucky, vegetables.

It's hot and filling and yummy. Delia and Fiona and Rob will probably hate it.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yes, they would. Or at least the girls would. Rob and I would periodically eat a dish of lentils, rice, sometimes ham or bacon and parmesan cheese (with a dash of balsamic vinegar) back when I was in graduate school, and we loved it. The girls won't touch it, though.

I also tried a recipe about a year ago of a flour tortilla baked semi-hard and then spread with a mixture of cooked lentils and salsa and cheese. I adored it. Everyone else hated it.

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

We just had tuna fish sandwiches for dinner ourselves...

I like soups for cheap meals. They can be elevated by the use of stock instead of broth, they can be hearty or light, they can be very very basic or complex.

We are fond of sopa de lima. You use cooked chicken (usually, I poach a couple of the frozen chicken breasts in water with a dash of lime juice and a bay leaf).

Saute one onion, chopped, in the bottom of your soup pan. Add a can of green chilies, a large can of broth (or stock, if you're feeling flush...), and the cooked chicken (chopped to bite size, of course). Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or so. Add a chopped tomato to the pot before the last five minutes. Add a squirt of lime juice right before serving.

While the simmering is going on, cut up several corn tortillas into 2 x 1/2" strips and fry them in hot oil until brown and crisp. Drain these, then use them to garnish the soup.

It's so simple, but it's really, really delicious.

[folk.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yeah, tuna melts = best thing ever.

[moony]

I think, since Delia somehow managed to find tomato soup + egg + cheese + bread to be disgusting, the safer question to start with would be what do your kids actually eat without complaint? Because if I know what I have to work with, I know what I might be able to suggest!

Or do your children receive nutrition through photosynthesis? :D Wouldn't that be perfect and handy? "You're hungry? Go stand in the yard for an hour." Hee!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks for my best laugh of the day.

[woodrunner.livejournal.com]

For some reason - and probably because I'm vegetarian and not really all that picky - my day to day recipes are fairly cheap to make, and I tend to reserve the special dishes (with pricey ingredients) for, ah, special occasions.

One of them is my Yam and Black Bean Burrito. Mash canned black beans with a little bit of water, spread them all over a tortilla. Peel, cube and boil yams, mash. Spread over the black beans. Add a tiny little bit of shredded cheese in the center (or this can be omitted). Bake at 350F for 10 minutes on both sides, and serve with salsa and/or sour cream.

I've made big batches of cajun rice, which is made with rice, black beans, celery, green peppers, onions (essentially vegetables that have been in the fridge so long that they'll go bad the next day) and common-type (not fancy) spices. I'd have to dig out the recipe for that one, if you're interested.

I usually buy a lot at the bulk store - couscous, rice, cereals, flours, sugars, beans, mixes etc. They are typically cheaper than the storebought stuff (I was surprised to see the difference in price to buy fennel seeds at the grocery store versus the bulk store - 80% price difference!). They even have powder mix to add to your pasta to make mac and cheese, for example, though, really, mac and cheese is pretty cheap in its own right.

[nmsunbear.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite recipes is my Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito! The method is very different -- sweet potatoes simmered with Ro-Tel and black beans and corn, basically, in a tortilla with goat cheese (or any cheese, but I love the tangines of goat with it).

So cool to see someone else with the same idea!

[loup_noir]

I'm not sure if your vegetarian daughter will like it, but we get a chicken, roast it, have one meal off of it, throw the carcass into a pot to make stock, add veggies and leftover meat. Serve that with a salad and maybe some bread. With two of us, we get six meals out of one chicken. If your daughter will eat turkey, you could easily stretch that into a soup, enchiladas, casserole, etc..., but turkey gets that funky "old" taste quickly.

I grew up on fried baloney and eggs. Used to love it as a kid, but then I used to love friend anything then, too. Grown-up gut says no!

How about fritattas? Veggies held together with a little bit of eggs and loads of cheese with or without sour cream.

Okay, now I'm hungry.

[sociofemme.livejournal.com]

lol, that first one is my favorite too!

[folk.livejournal.com]

That's...odd. I'm a big fan of Welsh rarebit in the traditional sense — and the "things on toast" option has saved many a British family from picky arguments. ("What do you mean, you don't want liver? Well, there's beans in the cupboard!") Beans on toast, cheese on toast, spaghetti-Os on toast (no, really...).

Risottos are also easy to do and staple-cheap — I'm actually more of a fan of pastottos, using penne instead of rice. Sounds weird, I know, but really easy and delicious. (Cumin seed and caraway seed risotto, made with Marigold bouillion -- dairy free and delicious, although with your picky eaters you may get eyebrows raised!)

I'm also a big fan of stretching chili with beans, onions, mushrooms, lentils, quinoa — anything, really. Takes the "mouthful of oil" problem away from the chili, and makes it healthier and cheaper!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I've started making risottos in the last year and really enjoyed them. But the girls don't like rice. I tried barley, and it was so delicious I devoured it, but they don't like that, either.

*sigh*

I keep telling myself, they'll eat when they get hungry enough.

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

Do you all like French toast? When I was growing up we frequently had this for dinner, which made it seem like we were having breakfast at night, so it was a real treat! You get protein from the egg and if you use a nice challah loaf with raisins (or any sort of cinnamin raisin bread) you get iron from the raisins. Add a little bit of breakfast sausage, ham, spam or bacon as a side if you really must have meat with the meal. I also like to cut up an apple in thin slices and saute it with a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamin, using this to top off the toast instead of putting maple syrup on top. (This is especially good to do if maple syrup is too dear for you right now, because anything that's not real maple syrup is probably just corn syrup and dreadful on a nice piece of French toast.)

[bluewaterlilies.livejournal.com]

I was raised eating powdered sugar on French toast. It's inexpensive, and it only takes a bit of butter and powdered sugar to make the toast deliciously sweet. :)

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

I used to love pinto beans and cornbread, but I think your daughters are anti-bean. Cook large pot of beans, cook cornbread, put out Tabasco, bowls of grated cheese, scallions, let everybody deck out to taste. If you're doing black bean soup, also provide sherry.

I don't know if slumgullion (a.k.a. American chop suey) is cheap enough: saute small amount of hamburger with onions and garlic, add canned chopped tomatoes, add noodles or elbow macaroni, cook until the noodles are soft and easy to eat.

[nmsunbear.livejournal.com]

They're anti-bean? Too bad, there goes my suggestion for a favorite meal from my childhood: Slop. :) It was just Van Camp's pork and beans, onions, some ketchup and mustard and brown sugar, and ground beef. Invariably served with cornbread.

[sociofemme.livejournal.com]

My favorite cheap meal is actually a little market-dependent, but great when sales roll around. When roasting chickens dip below $,79/#, I get a couple. Freeze one, roast another. Have roast chicken (side of frozen mixed veg & mashed potatoes) for one meal, some kind of chicken casserole with two cups of shredded leftover meat for another, then soup with the bones & scraps of leftover meat, plus loads of stock for later.

Probably doesn't work for picky, wanna-be-a-vegetarian Delia, I'm afraid--I didn't think about that until just now.

[snippy]

A different version of rarebit: grated cheese, an egg, mustard or ketchup (or both!). Beat together and spread on toast, then broil until cooked through. You can add chopped tomatoes and onions when you've got them. I've also made it as a casserole with stale bread cubes: spread alternate layers of bread cubes and grated cheese in large casserole dish, beat 3 to 6 eggs with half a cup of milk and a half-teaspoon mustard and pour over, bake at 350F for half an hour or so.

German pancake: beat 4 eggs well, slowly add 2/3 cup flour, then stir in 2/3 cup milk. Melt some butter in a cast-iron skillet or similar baking dish, pour batter in, bake at 400F for 11 minutes (depending on your oven). Top with sauteed apples, or lemon juice with powdered sugar, or think of it as yorkshire pud and top it with brown gravy with bits of leftover beef in.

I tend to think of dairy and eggs when I think of cheap protein, but whole chickens or chicken thighs on sale can be very cheap, and you can eat the meat one meal, casserole the rest, and make soup from the bones.

[slrose.livejournal.com]

My grandfather's pasta recipe. I call it zaydaghetti.

Saute' chopped onion in olive oil until it is golden, but not brown. Stir in 12 oz. of tomato paste and an equal amount of water. Reduce heat to simmer. When it is well blended, put a lid on the pan and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer for AT LEAST half an hour -- longer is even better. If it gets too thick, you can add more water.

Cook one pound of pasta -- shells or rotini. (I prefer rotini). Drain pasta.
[I then put it back into the pot, because we don't have a bowl big enough for the whole thing.]

Drop in a large spoonful of sauce, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and stir till it has spread as evenly as possible. Repeat until you are out of sauce.

This is the comfort food dish par excellence in our family, and my brother used to make it when he was in grad school, and eat it for several days.

[stinaleigh.livejournal.com]

Here is one for you that I think they would like.

This recipe from Real Simple claims to feed 4 but it is more like 6-8 and I leave out the spinach.

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1123648

Also try something a bit different. I like grilled peanut butter sandwiches or grilled PB&J instead of grilled cheese. Just a different spin on something that is inexpensive and yet relatively healthy (especially if you use wheat bread).

[nmsunbear.livejournal.com]

Ohh, hot peanut butter is decadent! I've never thoought to just grill it -- I make "stuffed French toast" that's just PB&Js dipped in French toast batter. And cooked, of course.

[embereye.livejournal.com]

One of my favorites was mexican casserole - layer tortillas, salsa, cheese, beans, (include precooked meat or chicken or veggies), and more cheese. Much like a lasagna, but with different ingredients. Then bake until everything's melted and serve with salad stuff or veggies and sour cream and more salsa and peppers or whatever the people like. Make-Your-Own tacos and fajitas went over well with my family too.

My mom also liked to make a gigantic tub of split pea soup which became a porridge over time and I was not a huge fan of but it would last forever.

[serenya-loreden.livejournal.com]

I loved fried balony too -- don't cut it till done cooking and it forms a little bowl :o


Memories of foods past: sloppy joes -- hamburger meat and cream cheese; also, when frying burgers and such, my mother would make a milk gravy from the drippings to put on bread. Filling, tasty, we thought it was a treat. She would make thin crepes for dinner that we filled with applesauce to which we added cinnamon. We *loved* these, and they were dead cheap. Porkchops cooked in rice as a casserole was tasty, and I think reasonably priced. Baked mac & cheese, sometimes layered with spagetti sauce was yummy!

We had a rice dish -- brown vermicelli noodle in butter, cook with rice, lentils in water or chicken broth with a pinch of saffron, serve with plain yogurt. For that matter, I'll eat rice/potatoes/noodles with plain yogurt any day of the week.

Stuffed cabbage/squash: 1 lb ground meat to 1 cup rice, wrapped, and cooked in tomato paste with water and a splash of lemon (we actually usually made stuffed grapeleaves, but that's a lot more time consuming).

[dreamflower]

Hot dog spaghetti. Not super nutritious, but easy on the wallet. Chop up hot dogs and heat in a skillet with cooked spaghetti, and pour over a can of tomato sauce.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

All of these aren't really big on vitamins, because I didn't want to write things with lots of vegetables that your kids won't eat. I really liked one-dish all-mixed-up things as a kid, but I bet your girls don't.

Frittata: eggs, potatoes, cheese, and any vegetables or herbs you can get away with.

Scrambled eggs and noodles from Diet for a Small Planet. (basically, dump cooked noodles into frying pan, pour beaten eggs over, stir until eggs cooked, add salt & pepper to taste)

Baked macaroni and cheese. Possibly with a bit of bacon on the side.

Open-faced cheese sandwiches done in the oven (butter the bottom of the bread) with bits of pepperoni or lunch meat on them; we used to have these with sliced process cheese (what you probably call American cheese)

Weiners wrapped up in Pillsbury dough.

Shepherd's pie with frozen veg.

Welsh rarebit: put half a pound of grated cheese in a double boiler, along with 1/4C of milk, a bit of butter, salt, pepper, and a bit of dried mustard, and heat it up. When the cheese melts, add a beaten egg and stir for a minute. Pour over toast (it thickens quickly) and eat with a knife and fork. Serves 4 who are not starving teenagers.

Hamburger stroganoff: fry ground beef, add canned mushrooms, seasonings (supposed to be chopped onion and garlic too), a bit of flour, cream of chicken soup, cook 5 mins, add sour cream, serve over noodles, or if you're making it for my brothers you can skip the mushrooms.

Hickory corn fritters: 3 eggs separated, 3 weiners, 1 short can corn, 1 tbsp flour, salt and pepper. Add everything else to egg yolks. Whip egg whites until fluffy, fold in other stuff, drop by big spoons into oil and fry, turn over, drain on paper towels and serve with maple syrup (or reasonable facsimile).

Chicken thighs cooked various ways. Beef stew. Hamburgers.

Any kind of homemade soup that they will eat. Knorr-Swiss packet soups.

[boldpurpletext.livejournal.com]

I think this fits most of your requirements, though I'm not sure how nutritional it is. My boyfriend grew up on it while his Mom stayed at home with three kids and his Dad was a grad student.

Take a bag of egg noodles, cook according to directions. Drain, put back in the cooking pot, and add a tablespoon of butter. Stir noodles 'til coated, then add a container of cottage cheese (around 4oz, I think). Stir well again, and salt and pepper to taste. That's it. We still make it sometimes ourselves because we like it, and you can vary it by adding tuna fish, or make it low fat with low fat cottage cheese.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

My mom made a very similar "Creamettes casserole", but put bits of butter and cream cheese in with elbow noodles instead of cottage cheese.