Frugal recipes (boil, bread, sandwiches, rice)

[DubbleT]

potatoes- fried, boiled, mashed, baked, baked and stuffed, turned into potato pancakes or potato soup
Chicken thighs and drums are cheaper than breast, and if you are truly desperate you can use chicken necks for flavor even if there isn't enough meat on them to do anything with. :P

[lieqiang]

You can do a lot with Ramen.

Add hot dog slices, egg, green onion, etc. or use as a stir fry base.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by victimofGM

You’re young, you’re broke, and you’re hungry.
What are some strange meals you made that worked and didn’t work.

Not to be preachy, but... if you're broke and hungry you shouldn't be eating alone.

Live with others, share a pantry and the cooking/cleaning chores required.
Organize a well balanced and healthy diet even if portions have to be small.

[VTsnowbird]

I have made a box of mac & cheese and eaten the whole thing. Back when I got off work at 9PM and was STARVING.


Now that I am (much) older it lasts me about 3 meals and I add frozen vegs to it. And I had to quit eating ramen noodles, I would gain about 2 pounds of water weight with each package.


I just got home after 3 days and wanted a quick light meal, thawed out some frozen strawberries and added them to Special K and milk . Perfect. If you are broke, substitute an over-ripe banana for the strawberries.

[victimofGM]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Not to be preachy, but... if you're broke and hungry you shouldn't be eating alone.

Live with others, share a pantry and the cooking/cleaning chores required.
Organize a well balanced and healthy diet even if portions have to be small.

I’m 49, married, and employed full time at a hospital boiler room. I started this topic as a fun way of looking back on my early years and for others the share what they did that worked or didn’t work. First apartment didn’t even have a stove. It was an efficiency with a sink, dorm size refrigerator, and an electric hot plate. I got a larger refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, and electric skillet. Some other examples of cheap meals I made include 1. Pound ground meat browned in skillet, add can of black eyed peas and Rotel Tomatoes, bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, serve over rice. 2. Pound ground meat browned, chili seasoning, kidney beans, and bake Jiffy cornbread.

I’m Cajun so red beans and rice goes a long way. Just add your favorite flavor sausage to the beans along with seasoning.

[redplum33]

You can get a pound of pasta for $1.00 (and you can even cook it in a microwave). A jar of marinara sauce is about $2.00 and can sometimes be as low as $1.00 on sale. A big bag of frozen mixed vegetables is inexpensive and can go a long way. Throw some in with your pasta and marinara sauce.

You could get a jar of peanut butter. Just a couple spoonfuls will take care of your protein needs and is very filling. Not a meal but it's a good way to start your day or in-between meals. If you can find some bananas on sale, a banana along with a couple spoonfuls of PB will do the trick.

You can get a box of instant oatmeal packets. They will come out to less than 50 cents each, and are healthy and filling.

As you've mentioned, tuna works.

It might be boring, but you could live off everything mentioned in this post on a very small budget, and it wouldn't be unhealthy.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by victimofGM

I’m 49, married, and employed full time at a hospital boiler room. I started this topic as a fun way of looking back on my early years

Oh, I thought you were looking for suggestions.

[Mikala43]

I was quite poor in my youth, lived on my own since I was 16.

Rice with seasonings, whatever was in the cabinet.

[Happy in Wyoming]

Potato pancakes made with grated potatoes, dried onions, and milk are delicious. Top with sour cream.

Julia Child has some great recipes for carrots and other vegetables.

https://smile.amazon.com/Mastering-A...french+cooking

Quiche can use all all sorts of things stirred into it.

Don't forget gruel. It can be truly yummy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruel

Ramen noodles are OK for breakfast with a bit of soy sauce added. Cooking a couple of eggs in it works. Don't forget simple boiled eggs, hard or soft, with plenty of butter, salt, and pepper.

[califlorida2]

Like DubbleT, I used potatoes a lot. I would make two meals out of a potato (potatoes) by peeling it and placing the peels in cold water so I could fry them up the next day. Truly potato skins before potato skins were a popular appetizer.
And eggs were always cheap and versatile.