I'm super broke atm and would love some suggestions
EDIT: thank you all so much for all the suggestions 🤍
First of all great recipe. But big shout-out to celery tops with the leaves, especially 🙌🏻 Not a lot of people or recipes keep them. They taste so incredibly good and add so much!
My mom keeps celery ends and carrot tops in a bag in the freezer until she has enough to make stock it's so good
I do that plus onion skins and ends and tomato stems. Sometimes cucumber peels and ends, zucchini ends, just any bits and pieces of stuff. I peel my carrots so that goes in too.
I ALWAYS add celery tops when I’m using celery, it’s like a free separate ingredient! Love to hear others love it too 🖤
They’re nutritious too
I always use them, but my favorite is for my chicken soup because they just make it look so pretty!
My cat goes crazy for the celery leaves. Have I been unknowingly giving my cat the best part?
My mom always threw them out, but they are the best part IMO??
The leaves seem to have more concentrated flavor :]
I agree very nice touch. Try drying them too. You can save it for the times that celery is crazy expensive .
Good to know, thanks!
I get so mad now that all the celery in our grocery stores have them cut off! I want them!
You can put the base in some water and they will start growing some more.
Waste not, want not.
Do they not taste super bitter to you guys?? I assumed they did for everyone, but I’m a super taster, so maybe the bitterness comes from one of the compounds most people don’t taste
They do taste bitter to me (also a super-taster) but I LIKE bitter flavors.
Thank you! I didn’t know this was a thing. I just thought that I was weird. There’s so many things that I can’t eat because of tastes that no one around me picks up. Example I absolutely cannot eat or drink anything with artificial sweetener in it. It’s only been after getting COVID 3 times that I’ve been able to eat things that I couldn’t before. A lot of things don’t really taste of anything now. Though some things taste really bad that used to be favorite foods. Unfortunately watermelon smells like chemicals and rot now unless I sprinkle it with a little salt.
Yesss, I'll echo this! I purposely buy my celery with lots of leaves so I can add them to my soups.
I chop the leaves, along with some parsley, and use them for finishing/ garnishing my soup! They're so good and it adds a nice touch of freshness.
I like to dry celery leaves in my dehydrator. When I’m out of celery, the dried leaves work just fine - especially if making chicken pot pie!
I add them to shepherds pie too
This is a great list of cheap but good things to eat when you're broke. Thank you
It is hard to beat the Costco five dollar rotisserie chicken. They are massive compared to grocery store rotisserie chicken. Also, the hotdog and soda for like a dollar and a half is also hard to beat. I know it seems hard to justify the cost of the annual membership, but I think it pays off. For those unfamiliar, they also offer Pharmacy services and eyewear. They have clothes, furnishings, lots of stuff. The downside is, like frozen foods, you’re going to have to buy a dozen frozen cheeseburgers or whatever you’re after, you’re not going to get a meal for two there.
I have a love and hate relationship with Costco.
Also the chicken bones and skin makes fantastic broth!
I once as a snack had a mayo and cheese and pickle sandwich and it was honestly so good
Pickle and cheese (provolone if possible) with stone ground horseradish mustard!
Horseradish mustard adds so much flavor and depth to foods! I love adding it to deviled eggs
And a little in potato salad is delish!
This is amazing, with Wickle Pickles. They are kinda spicy and so good on a cheese and mayo sandwich!
Cheese & pickle sandwich with mustard & mayo. One of my favs.
Mayo and tomato sandwiches are pretty dang good!
Oh classic.
Yup, Touch of salt on the tomato. If I'm feeling fancy, a bit of pepper too.
Husband loves tomato-and-boiled-egg sandwiches.
I like all 3 of those things but I just want to clarify, dill pickles?
Add a lil salt and pepper and hmmmmmm it's the best.
I've been doing this for years. Respect.
We would have mayo sandwiches at Gram’s camp if we didn’t catch fish.
It never thought about making a stock in a crock pot. I will be doing this in the future.😊
Chili, costs like 10-15 dollars to make 4-6 servings if you have the spices (chili powder, salt, black pepper, cumin).
A box of Carroll Shelby’s chili will run you $3, a can of tomato sauce less than a buck, 2 lbs ground beef about $6-8, and if you want to stretch it, a can of black beans, a can of garbanzo beans and a can of corn. That stretches it out to two hearty meals for 3 adults, and enough left over to top baked potatoes ($3-5/bag) for an additional meal.
You can make this meatless. It's delicious
was just going to say this...same ingredients without the ground beef and add lots of cheap canned beans...very healthy and goes a long way
Hmmm never put corn in my chili, will have to give that a shot some time
Add cream cheese if you can, too! But corn and a tablespoon of sugar will absolutely change the flavor for the better
Brown sugar is better than white sugar for chili. It deepens the flavor profile a lot.
honey is also low key good
My mom always used grape jam. It works great! It creates a really unique flavor profile.
No sugar. Add cocoa powder. https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/3cc77df2-4e58-45c8-aee8-d517521e72f5.f361bc4b48bcad42399ae23e7304814c.jpeg
Chili is a beautiful dish, cheaper when adding beans.
Tuna Mac , one can tuna one to two boxes of macaroni and cheese depending on how many people or servings you want. It used to be under a buck but now it's under three dollars or so.
Chili mac is also one of my favorites. A box of Mac and cheese and a can of chili!
I want some tuna mac now, it’s been too long.
- shin ramen (or any ramen) with a fried egg
- spam, eggs, and white rice
- bologna sandwiches
- I love hamburger helper lol
- bean and cheese burritos
Spam, scrambled egg, rice with soy sauce and furikake! -Hawaiian breakfast
I went to Hawaii for the first (and probably only) time last year, and I’ve been hooked on rice, egg and spam since then! Delicious
Spam is my favorite!
Eggs and bacon, Spam Eggs and Hashbrowns, Sausage Eggs Spam Pancakes and Spam, Spam Spam Eggs and Spam, Spam Spam Spam SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM!
😄👍🏽
I like Chinese egg and tomato rice. You literally can use Minute Rice. just scramble eggs in the pan with no milk or anything, add the tomatoes chopped up towards the end and a few dashes of soy sauce. Add scallions when ready to plate or you can mix them in when you take it off the heat. Put the egg mixture over the rice or you can mix. You can always add more soy to taste. Super fast and cheap.
If you have a pot of dirt in a sunny place, a pack of bunching onion seeds will keep you in scallions for two years or more. The seeds are about $2. Plant half the seeds the first year. Cut the tops leaving a blade or two on each plant and they will regenerate. Most places they will survive one winter. Third year, plant the other half of the seeds, for two more years of scallions.
You have just given me some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten on Reddit. I’m totally looking into this. When’s the best time to start the process and plant?
I freaking love me some scallions. They go well with pretty much any dish in my opinion. Even if it’s just for garnish on the top.
You can also plant the rooty part of a scallion you buy at the grocery store. I usually wait about two weeks before I start cutting on them.
I live in Arizona and we just use the last 2-3" of root ends and drop them in a shot glass of water. They grow to good cutting length in about 2 weeks. We keep them growing in different stages so we always have them.
Also if you're in the US and have SNAP benefits in addition to food you can buy food seed with the benefits.
Depending on where you live I’m pretty sure you can even buy subsistence hunting equipment such as bow and arrow.
Elevate it with a little spoon of sugar while the tomatoes are cooking, it’s just too good
I will totally try that next time, thanks! I love that someone else makes this, it is just too good of a cheap dish.
Black beans & rice - Make some rice, add a can of black beans and a can of drained diced tomatoes, like Ro-Tel. Add a little seasoning, I like cumin and chili powder. If I happen to have cheese or sour cream, I dress it up. I eat some version of this weekly!
I've started incorporating more beans into my diet because they're so cheap, filling, so many different kinds, and you can cook in bulk. Many bean-forward dishes you can wrap in a tortilla and make into a burrito for extra carb. Even though I don't "need" to cut down on food costs, I still like saving when I can and beans are the way to go! They also don't leave me feeling like my diet is lacking anything when I cut down on meat.
I love beans so much. High in protein, versatile, cheap, easy, and like you said, so filling! They really are the “magical fruit” 😉
The more you eat, the more you toot!
Excuse you, they are the "musical fruit"!!
Yes but use the liquid from draining the tomatoes as part of the liquid to cook the rice!
Yes!! Sometimes I get the seasoned black beans and use that liquid for the rice, too!
I would often make something like this, only I'd use jarred salsa to cut out the extra steps. Sometimes pinto beans instead of black, too.
Rice and beans are a favorite, even on happy financial days. "Poor" food is the most filling and comforting.
this sounds really good with ground beef
To your bean rice tomatoe mix I like to add cilantro, lime juice, corn and sea salt makes it super fresh tasting.
Rajma masala It’s simple, cheap, and delicious. The most expensive part of it is the garam masala seasoning but that lasts a good long while so it’s totally worth it.
Pasta for me, in all its forms, is the ultimate comfort food.
Pasta with beans. Sounds weird but it's good
I love to use lentils in place of meat. Or a mix of lentils/mushroom/carrot. It has all the texture for far less cost.
I’ll make a bolognese with canned tomatoes and the above (plus peppers/onion/garlic). My favorite pasta is macaroni that I find in these bulk bags for like $0.70/lb. I could eat that all week.
Pasta fazool!
Heck, pasta with ketchup is a classic cheap food
Spaghetti-cooked and drained. Butter (if you have it). Dash of cayene pepper, black pepper, 1/4 cup ketchup. Mix.
Red pepper powder should be used over cayene pepper but I assume most people wont have it.
My grandma taught me this recipe. She was dirt poor and picked cotton before working in a bra factory.
As a diabetic, I can live without sweets--cakes, pastry, ice cream. I haven't had regular soda in 30 years. But pasta? Omg. I really try to cut back on it, but it's my weakness. Used to eat it every week. Got it down to 2x a month. Would eat it every day if I could. Don't care the noodle. If there's a cream sauce, I give in.
Pb & J with chocolate milk Celery, pb & raisins Spaghetti Plain yogurt with honey
Baked potatoes with chili and cheese on top. Hot dogs and beans. Scalloped potatoes with ham. Meatballs in tomato sauce over polenta. Salmon patties (canned salmon) Open-faced tuna melts Navy bean soup Red beans and rice Spanish rice (with leftover meat) Curried eggs and rice
Ramen and with frozen stir fry veggies.
Eggs and toast.
Beans and toast.
Meatless stirfry.
Cheap tacos with little meat and lots of fresh veg, bonus cheapness with chicken instead of beef.
Salads (love my veggies) little dressing.
Hashbrowns with canned corned beef and gravy (we call it breakfast slop)
Brats and hotdogs (this is cheap for my area, YMMV)
Quesadillas, add eggs for breakfast twist, or potatoes.
Variety canned veggies (or fresh) with gravy
Spaghetti. So cheap, easy to make. Add veg.
Spaghetti noodles with butter, salt and pepper, a bowl of cereal, popcorn.
My daughter loves noodles with butter and garlic salt.
Right now it's corn, black beans and cheese quesadillas.
I made that a lot in the poorer days. Also Hormel chili with rice. To this day, rice, eggs, and whatever green veggie is on hand is my go-to meal when I can't be bothered.
Roasted sweet potato + curry powder. Provided you have oil and curry seasoning around its a fast, delicious, filling, healthy meal. Preheat oven to 400 (or air fryer to 360), chop tater, toss in oil right on parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle curry powder, bake for 20idh minutes.
I’ll gladly eat this alone for a lunch.
This sounds delicious!
I love curry so so much. Thanks! I'm going to try this.
From my husband's childhood: wagon wheels. A pound of ground beef (seasoned how you like), 8pk of hamburger buns couple pieces of slicey cheese. Lay all the buns open side up on a baking sheet. Put a thin smear of raw meat on them. Put a thin criss-cross of cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20mins or so until the meatis cooked. Top with a lil blorp of ketchup. Pairs nicely with some food bank mac n cheese.
Here for the blorp
Ground beef, onion, and cabbage seasoned with some ginger, garlic, and soy sauce makes a bulky filling meal. Crack slaw is pretty cheap (anything that is mainly cabbage) and good. Roasted chicken thighs with just sautéed veg on the side (cabbage, kale, frozen spinach, green beans, any other frozen veg)
I second the cabbage fry, sometimes swap out the beef for some scrambled eggs. I almost always add rice to bulk up the meal even more.
Speaking of fry, if you have any kind of meat drippings, whether it's a pan you roasted chicken in or a pan with bacon or pork chop grease, save it! You can use that flavoring for any number of things...wilting cheap leafy greens, frying potatoes or cabbage, or even frying a few eggs in it if it's a pork one. Chicken or beef if you don't want to fry you can use the drippings to make soup.
Cajun dirty rice. I follow a recipe that I got from a friend, but with one twist: I cook the rice ahead of time with a rice cooker while I’m cooking the ground beef in my big pan. It’s just 2 cups of rice and 5 cups of water in the rice cooker (I usually spray the rice cooker with a little bit of cooking spray before I put everything in, so that the rice doesn’t stick). While that’s cooking, I cook a pound of ground beef, then add in a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, a can of French onion soup,then only ONE can of water. Once that’s simmered for a bit then I add in the cooked rice, and depending on if I want a little bit of kick to it, I sometimes add a little bit of Tony Chachere’s or other Cajun/Creole seasoning. Cooking it this way also makes enough for a few meals, depending on how hungry I get.
Loaf of bread and string cheese. Pretend I’m in France.
Lentil based curries
Black beans and rice
Red beans and rice
Cabbage, tofu, and potatoes
Tofu scramble
Soups of any kind. Most start with mirapoix (twice the amount of onion to one part celery and one part carrot). Homemade broth if you have it (I make batches and freeze). The rest is simple and so variable.
Especially lentil soup. I start with what you describe above and add a $1 bag of lentils. Makes a huge pot of soup for less than $5 in ingredients.
I see a lot of people suggesting meals made from boxes. I promise you, with minimal cooking skills you can make the same thing yourself to save money. (tuna-red-pepper-pasta)
Frozen vegetables are also a great way to bulk up a meal for very little cost. Beans and lentils are way cheaper than meat. A 1lb bag of dry beans for $2 will create 3-4 pounds of food vs $4 for 1 lb ground beef that becomes 0.7 pound once it’s cooked).
Beans on toast
I'll slice and caramelize an onion and then add in the beans
Knorr Rice dish (or knock off) mushroom flavor is my favorite + tuna (I put the tuna in at the very end)
I take it camping and it’s kind of a comfort food for me. :)
Ramen, add veggies (kale, shaved carrots, green onions, etc) and complimentary protein (chicken, beef, eggs, tofu, fish) if able.
Garlic butter noodles when sauce was out of the question, again adding protein when I could.
Baked/twice baked potatoes. Can be super simple, cheese and butter and sour cream (or omit the cream), or can get more expansive with chives and bacon (very rare to actually have bacon but sometimes).
Fried potatoes (cubed, sliced, sticks, shredded) and eggs
I second the garlic butter noodles. You can add whatever dried herbs you have and would like as well.
If you’re shy on funds but need the protein, any white bean is a tasty and filling addition to garlic butter noodles.
Ramen veggie soup is a favorite. Frozen peas will get you both the veggie and protein. And you can save half of the seasoning packet and make a second soup with soba noodles for a lower fat option or put the packet over rice.
Mujadara (lentils and rice with crispy onions)-3 ingredients, S&P and cumin
Buy a bag of potatoes. Wash, pierce for steam, then Microwave one or two or three at a time, depending on how big they are. About six minutes for a typical amount of potato. Split them open and put some shredded cheddar cheese on top. That's it. You can also add leftover veggies or hot sauce or whatever you like.
Lately I've been buying whatever dark meat chicken is on sale legs, thighs, or quarters then I take a super sharp pairing knife and just take 30 min listening to music to cut out all the bones and chunk them into a dutch oven throw in whatever seasoning i want in it and boil for hours then strain and store. Then you have all this boneless chicken and a big ass pot of stock that has lots of nutrients and making soup or stew or just rice with that stock is so much better than the stock at the store. It is a thing I started because I'm broke but now it feels like a luxury it's so much better. And with those two things you can make so many dishes with only buying a few more veggies or a bag of rice or noodles and make ramen with it,arroz con pollo, Asian style chicken and rice gumbo jambalaya,chicken Creole. And you have the most expensive ingredients in these dishes already for 5 bucks. And your not wasting a gram of that 5 dollar pack of chicken.
Hurst's sells a bag of 15 bean soup for about $3.99 that makes a big batch. If you can afford a little actual ham to put in it, that's great, but it comes with a little packet that makes it taste like it has ham in it. Make corn muffins from the Jiffy cornbread mix to have beside the soup!
I'm also a fan of the El Monterey bean and cheese frozen burritos, you can get a pack of 8 for under $5. And of course Ramen is a basic. Watch for sales on Mac n cheese too if you can afford some milk and butter.
If you have a rice cooker (we have a little $10 one from the store) you can make Oatmeal for breakfast or of course rice to stretch out any other meals.
I also like the post about making chicken soup, I used to do that only I would cook a raw chicken in a crockpot first, then pull everything apart. If you can afford a rotis chicken it is a timesaver.
Good luck to you!!
These are also really good with smoked turkey thighs, put it all in the crock pot and then pull the meat. A bit late to the party
Soy sauce flavor ramen with crunchy peanut or almond butter. Add some extra chopped green onion and a boiled egg.
Beef ramen with ground beef and frozen veggies..., "bagel pizzas" (plain bagel, pizza sauce, cheese), grilled cheese, "tuna and rice" (white rice, tuna mixed with cream of celery)
Ramen with your favorite Chunky Soup. Personally like Steak & Potato. Cook Ramen then mix in seasoning and stir in soup and heat through.
I love eating soup like beef stew and mixing in macaroni noodles. I never thought about mixing in Ramen noodles that sounds great.
I like to make chicken salad a lot, either with left over chicken from a rotisserie or with left over chicken breast.
I season the chicken breast with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
If chicken breast is still raw I will cook in the air fryer 15 min on each side at 375.
Shred the chicken breast & add in mayo, mustard, 2-3 hard boiled eggs, pickle relish & chopped onion!
Cheap & easy. Great to keep in the fridge for bulk lunches or a filling snack on crackers.
If you have a Grocery Outlet near you, you can absolutely kill it there. Other day large can roasted tomatoes for $.50, blended that with onion and garlic and spices, made a chunky sauce. Chicken thighs were $.89 lb, seared those threw it in the sauce with a cup of rice and a cup of homemade chicken stock. Baked covered for an hour, got 4 meals for probably $1 each, if that.
I go in there, find what's cheap and base my meals off of that. If you can give yourself enough time to cook, chicken thighs are of the best and cheapest meat you can do and so versatile. If you want them boneless and skinless it takes 1 min to do that yourself, don't pay the extra $2-4 a pound for them. Then you use the bones and skin to make your stock either stovetop, crock pot or Instapot (what I use).
Thing about chicken thighs is you can't overcook them, the longer you slow cook them the better they are.
I love our 'scratch and dent' discount grocery. Ours has a butcher and a meat special of 5 items for $20. I look for deals and then plan meals around them.
mmmmmmmmmm
Take a look at these videos made by this sweet old woman name Clara. She survived the great depression ( sadly passed now), but she shares her "struggle meals" from her childhood during the depression. The majority of the meals are very affordable and actually pretty filling.Luckily a lot of the ingredients are not too expensive despite the recession.
My personal favorite " struggle meal" that I just love to eat, is peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I always forget to eat, and when I feel my blood sugar dropping, I make the sandwichs. Helps me out in a pinch.
I mildly tweaked an old favorite of my mom's: shell pasta (or any you have on hand will do, shells were just her favorite but I've tried it with whatever I've had before), a can of tomato sauce or soup, butter, salt, pepper, and she would add in either a can of diced tomatoes or chop one up out of her little garden.
i leave out the tomato because I don't like them and prefer sauce over soup, and I add more seasonings (garlic and onion powder, sometimes I hit it with some hot sauce or spicy seasonings depending on my mood).
I'm not a nutritionist so I can't speak on how healthy or unhealthy it might be, but it's warm and filling and tastes good which is all you can hope for sometimes.
I've also put a can of drained peas and a can of drained tuna in several different boxed pastas for a quickie tuna casserole.
Jasmine rice and hot sauce with frozen vegetables
I’d also suggest going to a food bank. That’s what they are there for. When I went thru my divorce several years back, I had to use one. It was humbling, that’s for sure. Took me years to get financially stable again. I was able to donate my first $1400 stimulus check and donate all of it - 1K to the food bank. It made me really happy to do that. Please don’t starve yourself or go without a proper meal.
And for anyone thinking of donating goods to a food bank, they always have enough green beans.
Pancakes. But, instead of syrup, I take fruit sliced up (used frozen peaches today), and cook it in a pan with a little sugar sprinkled on it, a spoon full of jam and a little water and make a fruit sauce for the pancakes.
Fried rice. Even if I only add scrambled eggs and no meat, it's still amazing.
Goulash! I will usually raid the freezer or the freezer section for things on sale. I add a lot of frozen veggies like peas, green beans, corn, broccoli. It needs a carb base and it can be rice, beans, baked potatoes, gnocchi, pasta (left overs is always best!), and then some sort of creaminess I add sour cream or cream cheese or Alfredo sauce, a little sprinkling of cheese. Sometimes I add a little salsa for flavor. Mix it all up. Seriously suspiciously good.
Baked potato with chili and a little cheese and sour cream.
All the peanut butter and jellies!
Pasta and butter with Parmesan.
Stir fry. Tofu as protein. Home made sauce is very simple. Broccoli and green beans. Rice.
Healthy choice frozen meals when on sale for About $3.50. Add more frozen veggies and/or beans and rice and it can make a really big and very filling meal for under $5 that can be enough for me all.day if I ha e sime snacks
Grilled cheese potatoes are versatile and filling
Oatmeal and spinach. (Not at the same time).
The one gives me fibers, the other gives me iron.
Kraft mac (prepared normal) + cream of mushroom + peas+ tuna
Microwaveable Mac & cheese cups Or ravioli.
chicken and rice with a can of cream chicken will run you around 10$ for two days leftovers
same with spaghetti and beef
I do this, and add some frozen mixed veggies in. Usually I only cook enough chicken for the night and one or two lunches, but there is plenty of the rice/veggie/cream of chicken mix left over and that in itself is filling.
Fried egg sandwiches. Toasted bread, American cheese, fried egg, and bacon .
I’m also a huge fan of fried rice. It’s a delicious way to use up extra vegetables
I make a pot of chili. Beans, some type of ground meat (whatever is on sale), and taco seasoning.. makes enough for about 5 dinners (I live alone) for about $10.. I can stretch it out more if I make rice and mix it in too
Mac with hot dogs. Ramen. Spaghetti (lasts forever) Tacos Tuna salad Egg salad Pancakes Butter noodles, I add Parma. Sometimes making a big crock pot of veggie stew to eat on for a few days
Pan fried spam with dirty rice! Slice the spam into little cubes and fry it till it’s crispy then toss it in the rice and add some Tabasco green pepper sauce if you have it. Crazy good.
egg noodles and cottage cheese.
2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of salt, water. Knead into dough until it is uniform and elastic/stretchy.
Put in fridge for 1 to 20 hours.
Start boiling water.
Roll out dough on counter with anything round, a 2 liter pop bottle, wine bottle, baseball bat, etc.
Cut pasta into strips with a pizza cutter, or pasta coins/corzetti with a shot glass. Boil for maybe two minutes until pasta is thoroughly cooked. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly!
At this point, mix it with anything you have. You can make Italian pasta or noodle stirfry or just leave in sheets to make lasagna/dumplings/pierogies. I mix in greens and onions and mushrooms and herbs I found in the woods. Butter or oil helps if you have it.
Dinner for 2-10 people for a few dollars.
Oh man fried Bologna sandwiches
, poor man’s pad Thai ( package ramen or any long noodles on hand, peanut butter, ground protein , soy sauce, and carrots chopped up and add an egg or two to scramble . Any herbs or seasonings you have on hand just adds more flavor. I always have ground ginger and garlic on hand so I add that and sesame oil. Thin the sauce with pasta water to what you want and it’s good to go.
rice and chili
mac n cheese w/broccoli
Ramen with an egg - can easily/cheaply add stuff like garlic, chili oil, green onion, etc as $$ allows
chicken and rice soup
Pasta chicken alfredo (with peas, or broccoli)
Tuna sandwich (packet of tuna = $1, bread = cheap)
Lots of stuff people don't think of that can be made for dirt cheap.
Congee.
Pasta, rice, beans, peanut butter, bread, jam or honey, eggs.
You can make great fried rice by cooking the rice, adding some fried onion, frozen peas and corn and a scrambled egg or two if you can’t afford meat.
I was shown a yummy pasta dish of cooked spaghetti, add some garlic that has been chopped small and fried into crispy, light brown nuggets in olive oil, then add some red pepper flakes and more olive oil if needed. Don’t forget salt. It is filling and very inexpensive.
My favourite is like homemade hamburger helper. Cook pasta of any type, but usually macaroni. Brown hamburger in fry pan, add one dry onion soup mix package when cooked, then dump in a can of diced tomatoes (without draining, the ones with Italian seasoning already in are best) Add to pasta and you have a tasty meal. You can add extra stuff too. I usually dice some celery and add to cooked meat at same time as tomatoes. Let it simmer for a few minutes before adding to pasta. I also add cheese, but depends on your budget.
A large russet potato can be a meal
Ramen. You can soft boil an egg if you're feeling fancy maybe even throw some spam in. Fried baloney sandwiches. A rotisserie chicken like straight up just the chicken and you can eat it lol.
Chicken pot pie filling from scratch with egg noodles (usually reames frozen egg noodles, but any will do) in the instant pot, rue based sauce made on the stove. Do the same thing with beef or turkey for that variety pot pie minus the pie dinner, really whatever meat or veggies I need to use up or sounds good that night I throw in. It freezes really well too so I usually make extra for my mom. It’s healthier this way and pretty cheap.
Rice and beans can be very versatile, so you won't get too tired of them. Google recipes, rice and beans. Red beans and rice is my favorite.
One pound of hamburger with onion, cook it up and make a white gravy (don’t drain the fat). Eat over mashed potatoes. One lb of meat can feed over 9 people if you really need to stretch it. Sometimes I add oatmeal to the hamburger to stretch it further.
Omelets with whatever I have on hand. Eggs got really expensive for a while but are a bit cheaper now
Bean soup and cornbread. Add whatever veggies are on sale.
Baked potatoes with whatever I have on hand on top. You can do a can of chili, or broccoli and cheese, etc.
Veggie curry with garbanzo beans over rice. There are packets of powdered coconut milk that are a lot cheaper than the canned stuff. Sometimes you can get coconut milk pretty cheap in the dairy aisle.
If English muffins are on sale you can make little pizzas with them using spaghetti sauce. I sprinkle on the powdered Parmesan cheese if I can’t get regular cheese. You can sometimes get lots of packets to take home when you pick up a pizza to go for takeout and then use the packets later.
Homemade refried beans are really easy and cheap to make. You can eat them in burritos or on tostadas.
You want to make sure you get a complete protein with whatever meal you eat if it’s vegetarian. Like peanut butter on toast, beans with cornbread, hummus with pita bread, or pasta with peas, etc.
Home made waffles with applesauce, basically anything breakfast for dinner
Hot dogs and beans
Grilled cheese
15 bean soup
Chili on rice
Go to an Asian grocery store. Sometimes the vegetables - esp. the various greens, which can be super healthy - are super cheap.
my momma calls it slop- noodles (any kind), brown gravy, ground meat, and onion soup mix cook and strain the pasta, brown the meat and add onion soup mix, and then mix everything together and serve
A box of cheap Mac n cheese, a can of peas, drained and either a can of tuna or can of chicken. Food banks usually give out these things as a matter of routine. Make up the Mac n cheese, stir in the drained peas and tuna or chicken, season with salt and pepper to taste, put in a casserole dish and pop in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes at 350. Bonus points if you have saltines to crush and sprinkle on the top before baking. Another one is angel hair pasta and a can of diced tomatoes. Great value brand for both is 88 cents where I'm at. So for under $2, you can make a nice pasta dish. Split pea soup is another. You can always get a couple of ham hocks for cheap and make a big pot and then freeze leftovers. Also, I discovered that the Hispanic aisle has these little packages of star noodles for like $0.50. toss those in some chicken broth and you have a dit chicken noodle soup. When I got canned chicken from the food bank, I put some in with the little noodles and broth. It works. It's not five stars but it's nourishing.
Rotisserie chicken from Costco (only $5, and it's big and delicious)
Chopped beef liver
Beans and rice
Pasta and vegetables like spinach or broccoli
Any pasta dish honestly
Homemade soups: beans w/soup bones and pasta and veggies, minestrone, potato soup, split pea soup
Anything with potatoes eg roasted with cheese
Anything with eggs, eg 3 egg Omellette
Scrambled eggs in rice! Bonus if you have soy sauce or chicken to add!
Home made egg fried rice. Egg, rice, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Buttered pasta with kielbasa.
Ramen with a couple soft boiled eggs and chopped scallions are my go to struggle dinner.
Mine is from my great grandmother
Any kind of meat preferably with a bone, tomatoes (ok if over ripe), egg noodles (she made hers) and spices
Brown the meat and then add the tomatoes, onions and spices and cook for another hour at least
Drain the broth into a pot and put the tomatoes and onions aside. Cut up the meat and put in broth, add cooked noodles
Beef noodle soup
Now purée the tomatoes for the sauce, easy to freeze for lasagna or pasta
I do lasagna and can usually get 4 out of the sauce
I just made "banana bread" oatmeal. I have this little rice cooker, I melted a bit of butter, hand crushed some walnuts and threw them in. Once they were browned up I smashed 1/2 a banana (use more if you want it sweeter), let it caramelize a bit. I added 1 cup of oatmeal, 1 cup milk & 1 cup water. Let it cook until ready, topped with a pinch of butter and cinnamon! Yum! Cheap, filling and a bit healthy! Could also make in a pan, but I love the way that lil rice cooker cooks it.
A PB&J grilled like a grilled cheese. I have no idea why but start making when I was 10 and ate it every day for 2 or 3 years.
A fried egg/cheese sandwich
I like spaghetti and butter I have actually been wishing for it lately but I keep forgetting to look around my cupboard for pasta,
When I was super broke I would look forward to making it to one specific produce store that sold a 50lb bag of potatoes for like $20+ and it would last forever then I could slice it in thin slices or just square’s whatever and add garlic for flavouring or vegetables like carrots, celery maybe even jalapeño and for meat add like hot dog or sausages or bacon whatever
Otherwise I would just try to remember the staples from the food bank and stock Up on those when I can afford to
If you have Facebook sometimes there are free food exchange groups where people might offer specific food or people might be able to request food once a month
Tortilla and shredded cheese quesadilla.
Pasta w/broccoli and parmesan cheese.
I had a neighbor who was pretty broke once. He needed to buy food for lunches. He bought a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, mayo and mustard. He had egg salad sandwiches for the week.
Toast, spread thick with peanut butter, topped with hot applesauce with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Home canned or store bought applesauce.
Mashed potato or baked potato with whatever you have lying around on top. Cheese is good, a sprinkle of ground beef is good. A 1/4 leftover chicken breast, chopped broccoli, spinach, shredded carrot, the last scrapings from the sour cream carton, leftover canned ravioli, spaghetti, or tuna. Really, you can’t go wrong topping a potato.
Ramen and peanut butter. Trust me. You don’t have to use the flavor packet that comes with the ramen. I like to mix some of the ramen water with a spoonful of peanut butter, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. Sesame seeds too if you’ve got them. You can do the same thing with spaghetti. It’s absolutely DELICIOUS!! Adding some grilled chicken to it is a total game changer
I used to think I was poor when I had nothing in the fridge and had to walk outside to grab a guava or sugar cane from my grandpa’s gardens. Little did I know I had it good back then.
Tuna Mac and cheese
Sunflower seeds in the shell. Take forever to eat a bad so I technically eat all day.
Throughout recent history, sunflowers have been used for medicinal purposes. The Cherokee created a sunflower leaf infusion that they used to treat kidneys. Whilst in Mexico, sunflowers were used to treat chest pain.
Dill pickle, cheese and cracker struggling or not Ramen made 100 different ways depending on what else I have. Ramen layered in with Doritos and cheese plus anything else those goes is my favorite though
Rice and beans with eggs
1.99 lb chicken breast. Large jar of salsa. Bag of tortillas. Add chicken and salsa to a crock pot or put in the oven until stewed and the chicken falls apart with a fork. Put on tortilla, I add jalapeños and Greek yogurt. So good. All from Aldi for under $15 usually
I used to make something I called "meal rice." Take a can of Campbell's chicken enchilada soup, pour it in to a pan along with a pack of herb n butter quick rice and a bit of water. Rice comes out hearty and delicious with chunks of chicken and veggies. About a trillion grams of sodium in there though
Costco hot dog reigns supreme
Any type of pasta and some canned sauce, it’s cheaper than jarred and sometimes has more flavor. In PR, they eat eggs over rice. You soft boil the egg if you want or just fry it up.
If you’re able to, expand your search of supermarkets for cheaper meat. If you know the exportation dates you can go a day or two before and they’ll have it half off or you can ask for it be cheaper because it’s soon to expire.
And as someone else said: food bank. I was fortunate enough to have donated over 30 pounds last week.
Elbow macaroni, miracle whip, and if I so desire tuna bur just the first 2 alone are good
Elbow macaroni and milk and butter.
Breakfast burritos (scrambled eggs, add a bit of salsa n scramble that, sprinkle shredded cheese to melt a bit, wrap I'm tortillas, yum no meat needed)
$1 box generic tuna helper cheesy noodles
potatoes with eggs
just fry small cubes of potatoes in butter until they're cooked but not too soft and then pour whisked eggs over it. Salt and pepper to taste. Best with toast if you have any but I love munching on it as it is too! absolutely filling and good
Chicken soup, add an egg or two for more protein. I also do this when I’m sick
Disclaimer: I'm rural, things are different out here and there's some mutual aid going on that makes some things such as eggs or fresh vegetables easier for us. If you're rural too I highly recommend making friends with neighbors who grow vegetables or raise chickens, and think of what kinds of non-cash help you can offer. I realize this is a privilege, but it barely balances out the extra expenses involved in living so far away from the more usual resources.
Southern-style cornbread, pinto beans and vegetables. Southern cornbread doesn't cost much at all to make and I can feed a family of four for under $4.50 (two 89¢ cans each of beans and veggies if the vegetable gardens aren't producing plus 50¢ for cornbread ingredients).
Fried potatoes and onions: 1-2 potatoes per person, 1 onion for the entire pan, and about 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil.
Whatever vegetables my neighbor gifted me for helping with his yard work, and/or a big pan of scrambled eggs that I sort of traded walnuts for (there's a big walnut tree in our yard and our kids collect the nuts to give away since we don't eat many).
Tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches, for when I can't afford meat or cheese; they're better with a little salt on the slice of tomato.
Homemade biscuits made from self-rising flour, milk that's about to spoil soon, and vegetable shortening; the recipe on the side of the bag works fine if you don't already have your own. A little jam or even pancake syrup makes them a bit less boring.
Cabinet stew: start with a package of noodles and a can of beans, then add whatever has been cluttering up the pantry or fridge that you think will add nutrition and not clash too badly (diced Spam works fine for us, canned tuna does NOT in my experience).
Sweet potatoes microwaved til piping hot and soft inside , then split open and add butter and a little brown sugar.
Serve alongside rice (also steaming hot and buttered) and canned black beans for an incredibly warming, filling meal
(that is also very good for your body)
ETA: get the whole raw sweet potatoes, not the canned kind. Just chwaper
One thing of easy Mac (or half a box, it’s cheaper) and one of tuna, pepper, and paprika&garlic powder if you have them. Surprisingly delicious! And bonus if you’re depressed: oops all microwave!
Whatever meat I have mixed with gravy over egg noodles
Mac and cheese with peas.
Tuna noodle batch. Box of Mac & Cheese, Ramen & Tuna. Drain all the water, and sub milk for mayo I usually add something crunchy to it after. Crackers or doritos if I want to splurge.
Shredded potatoes pan-fried with chicken and peas
Grits with butter and canned salmon
If you put 2 cans of tuna and a packet of bacon bits in a boxed stroganoff skillet dinner, it tastes like a New England Clam Chowder, made into a casserole.
Shells with cheddar sauce and canned chicken.
Meatless tacos: saute a pint of diced mushrooms with a medium onion until mushrooms are deep brown. Add a can of drained black beans, a can of diced tomatoes (I prefer fire roasted), and your taco seasoning of choice. Heat till boiling then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until filling thickens. Scoop into shells, top with thin sliced American cheese and shredded lettuce.
If you have any left over taco filling after that, save it and add it to your packets of beef ramen for a savory umami punch and a more filling meal.
A can of black beans, heated up, add in a chopped tomato if you like. maybe some lime juice or hot sauce. Not a bad meal at all.
Black beans and rice. Can add frozen veggies, cheese, tortilla for various flavors and textures. Turn it into soup with a little broth. Mix in an egg or meat for more protein.It is also easy to make so low spoons and cash it still gets us fed.
Cheapest can of chickpeas. Open, drain half the liquid, add pepper packet and hot sauce pouch to taste, mash in can with fork. I like it chunky. Good with cracker packets, scooped up on chips, or right from the can. Canned refried beans (non-fat) can be found cheap, has fiber, protein and goodness. Well sealed keeps unrefrigerated for a few days.
Ramen with tuna and peas or corn.
Rice with broccoli and cheese
Fried ham sandwiches
Fried hotdogs cut lengthwise
Peas, corn, rice, and tuna
Mayo, cheese sandwiches
Buy a rotisserie chicken, 3 carrots, 2 to 4 potatoes, 2 med onions, a small bunch of celery, and a bag of egg noodles. Debone the chicken, save the skin and bones, and put them in a slow cooker with 4 to 10 cups of water and some onion, potato skins, carrots shavings, and celery tops/ leaves. Let cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Strain the fluid into a bowl and toss the rest. Put the stock back into the slow cooker and add chicken meat from the rotisserie, carrot slices, onion chopped, celery sliced, and diced potatoes. Let cook 30 mins to an hour. Add egg noodles and cook for another ten minutes.
You should get 4 to 8 portions of an inexpensive soup that will nourish you. You can use rice, peas, corn, or wheat berries as filler to make it last longer.