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. ;)

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

[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.

[sundancekid.livejournal.com]

Ooh, and that would just taste really good, too! Must try that sometime.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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!

[folk.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yeah, tuna melts = best thing ever.

[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.)

[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.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a brilliant plan. Mmmm, waffles.

[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.