Cheap Eats

Frogleg <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

kilikini said:

What I think many people are forgetting is that in a college dorm...

Not, not, not asking about student food! Sorry I even mentioned it as a peripheral example of what
I *wasn't* interested in.

Want ideas of economical *real* food. What would dear Julia do if restricted to a common or garden
supermarket and no budget for a $50 roast and $2.50/ea artichokes? I have a feeling she'd be able
to dazzle with a packet of frozen spinach and some chicken thighs.

We're all (mostly) supposed to be inventive and talented cooks who can make the most of whatever
ingredients are available. Not Iron Chef weird stuff, but plain ol' supermarket food. If it takes
a specialty butcher and ground macadamia nuts and goat cheese and baby zucchini to make anything
worth eating, then we deserve to pay $45 for a restaurant hamburger.

Can't anybody come up with a few main dishes, sides, soups or salads that are a delight and don't
include some particularly expensive brand of chestnut puree? Is the only food worth eating the
product of free-range pheasants and out-of-season endiive?

No one suggested souffles and quiches. or simple fruit [censored] for dessert. Soups and stews are
often economical, but I'd like to see some more individual main dishes and crafty use of meat. A
new thread on 'elegant salmon loaf' has possibilities, 'though I wasn't thinking of 'open a can of
this and a can of that.' Not excluding it, either.

Come ON people. I'm a fan of white chicken meat, but whole fryers were on sale last week for
$0.48/lb. Wouldn't a roasted chicken surrounded by potatoes, carrots, and onions be cheap and good
eats with dark- & light-meat eaters around? *This* is the kind of thing I was looking for.

Cheap eats it is....

Cheap Black Bean Tortilla Soup

1 can black beans 1 can chicken stock 1 cooked chicken breast 2 tbsp salsa (or more- to taste) 2
corn tortillas (fresh or stale) Whatever Mexican type spices you have on hand

Pour beans (with liquid), chicken stock, and salsa into pan. Chop chicken breast into small pieces
and add to pan. Tear the tortilla into tiny pieces and add to pan. If available, add other spices
(chili powder, cumin, cayenne...) to taste. Cook over medium-low heat until tortillas are soft.

Should make two decent size servings.

This would probably be good served with crumbled queso fresco and pork rinds. Mexican cheese seem to
be a bit expensive, though.

tiberius

Thanks to all! I've gotten a lot of good ideas. A friend contributed
this recipe:

Moroccan Chicken with Lentils

8 cups water 3 teaspoons salt, divided 1 pound dried brown lentils, rinsed, drained 1 cup plus 2
tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar 3 tablespoons ground cumin, divided 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chili
powder (or less) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 large onion, chopped 1-1/2 pounds skinless boneless
chicken breast halves, thinly sliced (any bits of chicken will do)
2/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup chopped fresh parsley

Combine 8 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Add lentils; bring
to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmeruntil lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain
well; rinse with cold water and drain again. Place in large bowl.

Whisk 1 cup olive oil, vinegar, 2 tablespoons cumin, 2 tablespoons chili powder, garlic, and 1
teaspoon salt in large measuring cup. Pour 1 cup dressing over warm lentils and toss. Cool.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onion; saute until dark brown
and soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken; saute 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon
cumin, 2 teaspoons chili powder,and cinnamon. Saute until chicken is cooked through, another
couple of minutes.

Arrange lentils decoratively on large platter. Place sliced chicken atop lentils. Drizzle with
remaining dressing and sprinkle with parsley. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room
temperature, or serve immediately.)

On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 10:50:05 -0500 (EST), [email hidden] (Joe)

Quoted message said:

Simply buy frozen preformed pizza crusts. Reform them into squares of any size you want.

<Recipe snipped>

Interesting. And a lot more appealing than ramen noodles. :-) I really like new uses for frozen
spinach. It's sold now in 2-lb(?) bags sort of in individual 'clumps' so that you can easily remove
just enough for a single recipe.

A tip, not a recipe I go to the grocery store and get the nice meats and fish that are at their sell-
by date. They are always $1.50 off to $3 off, even on a small package. It ends up really cheap.

I also get meats etc. on sale, cuts I cannot afford if it's not a big sale. I plan my menu around
the sale, instead of going shopping around a menu. Yesterday it didn't work out cuz the I didn't
notice the trout I got on a last-day sale was farm-raised, which we don't like. But with a sale
pluse $1.50 off it was $1.38, and it wasn't horrible, just not enough flavor. Two days ago I got a
beautiful, thick steak on sale from $14 to $5. It was one of the best steaks I've ever eaten.
(Broiled 8 mins one side, 9 mins other side, just added olive oil and fresh pepper 1/3 hour before
broiling. Side of some boxed wild mushroom rice, just added some pine nuts (not cheap) Tara

Sapphire said:

My husband and I were amused this morning by a Denny's commercial for French Toast at "only"
$4.99. We made French toast for breakfast this morning, and when we calculated the costs, we
figured that we spent about $1.75 to feed both of us (including beverage, with leftovers in the
fridge). Of course, it helps that the bread was homemade (with flour I got on sale, so the whole
loaf probably only cost us about 50 cents).

To be fair, the french toast came with two eggs, bacon and sausage, if the commercial is to
be believed.

nancy

Donna Rose said:

One of my favorites -

BLACK BEAN SOUP

<recipe snipped>

I *love* Chili's black bean soup, and your recipe sounds similar. Campbells used to have a pureed
(no meat) 'black bean with sherry' which, I believe soon became 'black bean -- add your own sherry'.
Haven't thought of it in years.

Quoted message said:

Frogleg <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Why do cheap eats involve ramen noodles (can't argue with the cheapness, f'r sure) or hamburger
extended to the limit with pasta?

Then you have not been reading closely. I have seen lots of postings in the cheap foods threads
about interesting dishes that can be made inexpensively that do not involve raman noodles, or other
manufactured food extenders.

I *have* been reading closely. My query was specifially addressed not to the absolutely minimum
amount that could be spent to sustain life, as many 'dorm food' threads have discussed, but some
middle ground between that and lovely menus for smoked salmon, beef terderloin and white
asparagus(?) followed by Stilton and aged port. Not that there's anything wrong with it. :-)

Quoted message said:

chicken legs,

<snip recipe/method>

Sounds good, although I'm not a leg fan. :-) Chicken seems to figure largely in cheap eats. Chicken
livers, from which I've recently made a couple of respectable pates, are $1/lb. I guess I'm probably
too picky about meat. I keep buying, what is it? eye of round, either small roast or steaklettes
because I like very lean meat. Pot roast, beef or pork, is often on sale, but all my cooking methods
turn out a gluey, fatty result. I guess if you can't cook, you can't cook cheap. At least I've
gotten some guidelines.

On 10 Feb 2004 07:56:52 -0800, [email hidden]

(TaraDanielle) said:

A tip, not a recipe I go to the grocery store and get the nice meats and fish that are at their sell-
by date. They are always $1.50 off to $3 off, even on a small package. It ends up really cheap.

One of the supermarkets I shop at used to have a discount 'sell by right this minute' meat section,
but now those packages are scattered among the full-price stuff. They completely discontinued what I
called the "used veg" section of less-than-perfect produce. Probably more labor to price and bag it
than it was worth.

Quoted message said:

I also get meats etc. on sale, cuts I cannot afford if it's not a big sale. I plan my menu around
the sale, instead of going shopping around a menu. Yesterday it didn't work out cuz the I didn't
notice the trout I got on a last-day sale was farm-raised, which we don't like. But with a sale
pluse $1.50 off it was $1.38, and it wasn't horrible, just not enough flavor. Two days ago I got a
beautiful, thick steak on sale from $14 to $5. It was one of the best steaks I've ever eaten.
(Broiled 8 mins one side, 9 mins other side, just added olive oil and fresh pepper 1/3 hour before
broiling.

What kind of steak? How thick? How far from the broiler? I gave up broiling in my gas oven after a
couple of tries -- it has a really weird little U-shaped 'tongue' with tiny flames at the edges.
However, I have a Farberware convection oven/broiler (like they use at Costco for food samples) that
I've never tried broiling with.

Quoted message said:

Side of some boxed wild mushroom rice, just added some pine nuts (not cheap)

You got *that* right. However, I still have a lot of those pecans...

Garlic is cheap - and makes a huge difference in many dishes.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Welfare Porridge. Assuming a normal range of condiments and spices,

There's your problem. Assuming a normal range of condiments and spices. It's hardly fair to assume
in a college dorm one would have anything aside from salt, pepper and some packets of ketchup from
McDonalds. Maybe some hot sauce from Taco Bell or packets of Duck Sauce from the local Chinese
takeout place.

Nancy Young said:

Sapphire said:

My husband and I were amused this morning by a Denny's commercial for French Toast at "only"
$4.99. We made French toast for breakfast this morning, and when we calculated the costs, we
figured that we spent about $1.75 to feed both of us (including beverage, with leftovers in the
fridge). Of course, it helps that the bread was homemade (with flour I got on sale, so the whole
loaf probably only cost us about 50 cents).

To be fair, the french toast came with two eggs, bacon and sausage, if the commercial is to be
believed.

nancy

Even so, it costs less to make it myself. On the other hand, there's something to be said for paying
someone else to cook for me every once in a while. The Hubby *can* cook, but doesn't. He says that
if he doesn't have a good three of four hours to spend in the kitchen making a meal, it's not worth
it to him, and it becomes work instead of fun.

I can see his point, but it would still be nice to have a meal cooked by someone else every now
and then...

-Sapphire.

Frogleg said:

I guess if you can't cook, you can't cook cheap. At least I've gotten some guidelines.

So, what kind of "cheap" do you want? Meat or no meat?

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

What kind of steak? How thick? How far from the broiler? I gave up broiling in my gas oven after a
couple of tries -- it has a really weird little U-shaped 'tongue' with tiny flames at the edges.
However, I have a Farberware convection oven/broiler (like they use at Costco for food samples) that
I've never tried broiling with.

"Thick Bone-In Prime Sirloin" It was about 3" thick. I used the second rack, about 5 inches down,
for regular steaks I use the top onme. I was used to gas and ruined steaks learning to use the
elctric broiler. Everytime the red hot "burner" goes out (due to reaching a certain temp) I crack
the door to make it come back on. The oven company told me to, after I yelled about it going off and
slow-cooking my steaks, making them taste like flank steak.

Tara

Nancy Young said:

Sapphire said:

My husband and I were amused this morning by a Denny's commercial for French Toast at "only"
$4.99. We made French toast for breakfast this morning, and when we calculated the costs, we
figured that we spent about $1.75 to feed both of us (including beverage, with leftovers in the
fridge). Of course, it helps that the bread was homemade (with flour I got on sale, so the whole
loaf probably only cost us about 50 cents).

To be fair, the french toast came with two eggs, bacon and sausage, if the commercial is to be
believed.

nancy

...and an absurdly cheerful waitress.

your pal, blake

Frogleg said:

What kind of steak? How thick?

HEH! This is my favorite question when someone tells me what a deal they got - because usually one
crucial fact is left out... just to impress the listener.

I remember when someone told me she got 4 steaks for $x. It sounded impressive until I found out
that the 4 steaks were only ONE POUND of meat.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

Sapphire said:

Even so, it costs less to make it myself. On the other hand, there's something to be said for
paying someone else to cook for me every once in a while. The Hubby *can* cook, but doesn't. He
says that if he doesn't have a good three of four hours to spend in the kitchen making a meal, it's
not worth it to him, and it becomes work instead of fun.

I can see his point, but it would still be nice to have a meal cooked by someone else every now
and then...

How 'bout encouraging a specialty rather than a whole meal? My grandfather's was mashed potatoes. I
don't remember if they were anything special (my grandmother was a rotten cook), but this was his
'famous' contribution to Sunday dinner, always highly praised. My father made waffles or pancakes
for Saturday breakfast. Just keep nudging. :-)

sf said:

Frogleg said:

I guess if you can't cook, you can't cook cheap. At least I've gotten some guidelines.

So, what kind of "cheap" do you want? Meat or no meat?

Both. Either. I wasn't even thinking of strictly main dishes. Anyone have a veg timbale favorite?

[email hidden] (TaraDanielle) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

What kind of steak? How thick? How far from the broiler? I gave up broiling in my gas oven after a
couple of tries -- it has a really weird little U-shaped 'tongue' with tiny flames at the edges.
However, I have a Farberware convection oven/broiler (like they use at Costco for food samples)
that I've never tried broiling with.

"Thick Bone-In Prime Sirloin" It was about 3" thick. I used the second rack, about 5 inches down,
for regular steaks I use the top onme. I was used to gas and ruined steaks learning to use the
elctric broiler. Everytime the red hot "burner" goes out (due to reaching a certain temp) I crack
the door to make it come back on. The oven company told me to, after I yelled about it going off
and slow-cooking my steaks, making them taste like flank steak.

Tara

The instructions for most electric ovens indicate leaving the door "cracked" and the 1st open
position for the *entire* time broiling is done.

Wayne

On 11 Feb 2004 08:38:03 -0800, [email hidden]

(TaraDanielle) said:

Everytime the red hot "burner" goes out (due to reaching a certain temp) I crack the door to make
it come back on.

Iwas raised on electric, so that's not a surprise. I keep the door cracked with the handle of a
wooden spoon so cold air goes in and hot air escapes... which means the broiler unit stays on.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

I wasn't trying to trick anyone. I can never give those #s cuz I weigh with my eye, just looking for
a meal for 2.5 people. I looked it up, giantfood.dailyshopper.comindex.aspxOpen ↗
b7f5-eb06d64f6d64&storeid=1026099&sf=true, it was thick NY Strip on sale for $5.49/lb, $4.99/lb for
family packs. Plus I had the $ off for it being the sell-by date :-) Tara
PS So it was just over one pound

Quoted message said:

I remember when someone told me she got 4 steaks for $x. It sounded impressive until I found out
that the 4 steaks were only ONE POUND of meat.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments

Rodney Myrvaagnes said:

OK, my previous post assumed a dorm room without refrigerator. Nearly everything I do uses pretty
common ingredients, almost always starting by chopping an onion. I dealt with chicken stock before.

I unaccountably ran out, and asked my next door neighbors (single mother; teen daughter) if I could
borrow an onion. Not only did they not have one, they *never* have them. How can anybody cook
without onions?

<snip some good suggestions>

Quoted message said:

****************

Frugality demands that you buy whole chickens only. If you just want white meat for one meal use
the thighs and drumsticks later. Throw all bones in the freezer til you have time to make stock.
You could bone the thighs and drumsticks and use the meat in a stuffed squash as above.

I'm a breast-meat fan. I'm waiting for a good sale to try thighs, 'though I'm skeptical. Boneless
were $4/lb the other day, while bone-in breasts were $1 in another store. I've weighed after
trimming, and that's about the same as boneless for $2, plus the bones and trimming for stock, which
I *do* make, although not regularly. Before an elderly neighbor moved, I used to get a fryer and
roast; then deliver half to her, remaining half-breast for me, and the other bits for the cat.

Quoted message said:

If you can get over the idea that chili has to have meat in it, or just call it something else, a
dinner based on beans and rice has lots of tradition behind it and is nutritionally sound as well
as cheap. It is not that difficult to make it taste good as well.

Unfortunately, a lot of fresh veg are commanding near the price of standing rib roast these days.
Eggplant-based pasta sauce seems like a good idea, until you find that eggplant is $1.50/lb and a
nice big firm one weighs 2lbs, most of which is water. Similarly many summer and winter squashes.
Bok Choi might just as well be truffles! I like leek in my chicken stock, and they're astronomical.

What's cheap? Potatoes, onions, cabbage, beanz&rice, loss-leader meat items. Frozen veg. Cheese on
sale. The price of eggs seems to have gone way up recently, but butter has been $1.50/lb.