Meals on the cheap?

[DOC]

I was wondering what kind of good meals you are making now on the cheap. I'm talking Ramon Noodle Recipes, fried lunch meat... As long as its good and cheap please share it with me.

I'll start with one of my favorites.
Mashed Potato's with Ramon Noodles as the gravy.
(I pour out all the water from the noodles before I add the flavor pack BTW. It gives the noodles a kick.)

I just made Chicken Flavored Noodles with sliced fresh mushrooms. Hmm good stuff.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Fried some sweet onion.. eat it with some steamed rice or ramen noodle. Buy some cheap rice topping in Asian good store..and sprinkle your ramen or steamed rice and done.

Few childhood food that will always be around me... dried meat, dried fish, dried veggie, tons of rice. They are great food for emergency events too.

[hurley842002]

(I pour out all the water from the noodles before I add the flavor pack BTW. It gives the noodles a kick.)

+1 on pouring out the water pre flavor pack. Also, some cholula or similar hot sauce, mixed into the Ramens, is quite tasty. Not sure what type of budget you are on, but what I used to do, is buy spaghetti noodles in bulk, and when I say bulk, I mean the biggest package possible. I'd buy some spices and LOTS of tomato sauce. That would make me spaghetti dinners for awhile, and in the end, it was quite cheap. On the weekends you can add some ground beef or something as a treat to yourself (yes I used to be poor enough, that adding ground beef to my spaghetti was a treat). I used to do lots of vienna sausages, fry them up or eat them cold. I will see if I can remember some other things I used to eat, but its been awhile.

[Irving]

I have a friend who bought a whole turkey and ate that for a week.

I like to put a dollop of butter in the Ramen, the spice packet, and some Frank's Red Hot. I also pour out some of the water. You'd be surprised how simple spices like cilantro and oregano can make Ramen easier to eat over long periods of time.

If you scramble an egg and put it in the water about two minutes before the noodles are done, it comes out kind of like Chinese Hot and Sour (the consistency, not the taste). Put some fresh spinach in the water as you are preparing it (so it has like 30 seconds to simmer) and it is pretty good and different enough that it is almost like eating a different meal.

[hurley842002]

You'd be surprised how simple spices like cilantro and oregano can make Ramen easier to eat over long periods of time.

That's the great thing about Ramen Noodles, Variety of flavors + All the other stuff you can add to them = Hundreds of ways to keep your taste buds somewhat happy on the cheap.

[DOC]

I make some noodles and add an egg while its in a rolling boil. Its kinda like an egg drop soup like was mentioned earlier. And its pretty good too. I like eggs they always seem to supercharge me but always the next day after I eat them. Go figure?

[hurley842002]

I make some noodles and add an egg while its in a rolling boil. Its kinda like an egg drop soup like was mentioned earlier. And its pretty good too. I like eggs they always seem to supercharge me but always the next day after I eat them. Go figure?

The good thing about adding eggs to Ramen, is it gives good nutritional value to a not so nutritional food item. I would definitely think of some other nutritional items to add to your Ramen. Just because you are eating on the cheap, doesn't mean you have to cheap out on the nutrition, especially if you have kids.

[DOC]

I like boiling bratworst in beer cutting them up and adding to the Ramon Noodles. I could write a book with all the different ways I found to make noodles.

[4gunfun]

A couple I like to do are the 10 lb. bag of chicken leg quarters at wal mart. I think they are up to $5.75 or close to that now. Alot of cleaning but.... BBQ them all up for diner, have lunch the next day and then de bone them and make a chicken soup or caserole too. Next one, buy a $15 ham and have 3-4 meals on that too. Diner, scalop potatoes, sandwich's you get the picture. Yes and cook a whole turkey and eat all week.

[Irving]

If you still don't have power, you can pretty easily make one of those camp stoves we were talking about in the other threads. I made a package of Ramen noodles on mine when I tried it out.

[DOC]

I like rice. Spaghetti is another of my favorites that even in better times I can make that into a gourmet meal with different kinds of meat.

[Irving]

I used to have a nice little rice cooker, but I don't know what happened to it. We should probably eat more rice. What kind of nutritional value does it have?

I always had a difficult time making brown or wild rice in the rice cooker because it takes so much longer to cook. I love wild rice.

[StagLefty]

+100 on rice or pasta-Sam's has huge packs of both for cheap. Spices and assorted meats that are on sale make great additions. My son and I have a running duel to see who can make the the best meals on the cheap. I was amazed at how good he was at it-he developed that skill trying to live on his own. Now he realizes how cheap it is living with Dad. He even got me to try grocery shopping at Wally World this week. I did pretty good switching over to their generic brand-Great Value. Saved quite a bit and stocked up on staples pretty good. Keep the ideas coming folks-I'm watching this one. [Beer]
Stuart-I just picked up a decent rice cooker at Big Lots a few weeks ago for cheap.Good for pasta also.

[Irving]

We have a lot of cans of Great Value and Eating Right (from Safeway). Gloria hated Safeway at first, but she loves them now. Says the coupons on the receipts are always something she will buy and that $.10 off of gas for every $100 we spend at Safeway is nice.

[TS12000]

Potatoes, lots and lots of potatoes. Fried, baked, mashed, whatever I'll eat em with just about anything or as a meal themselves.

Also accumulate some parmesean cheese from pizza joints (or buy it I guess) and cook up whatever noodles you got + some parm and some butter

[Irving]

I personally hate potatoes. I have nothing against other cheap "filler" foods like rice, noodles, and beans. Okay, I don't hate potatoes, but they are my least favorite. French Fries have to be orgasmic for me to enjoy them, let alone pay for them. I guess I'd just have to be more creative with potatoes. I use to make decent hash browns (LOVE hash browns), and I like mashed potatoes.

[StagLefty]

Throw a little ranch dressing in them when you mash them-best thing ya ever flipped a lip over.

[Ranger]

Or when you mash them throw in garlic powder, yum! One of the cheap meals I used to make a lot of was that I would purchase a large box of instant potatoes and some smoked sausage links and made them on a Foreman grill. Another good one is buy some frozen biscuits in a bag, then with a bit of butter (better: bacon grease) and milk you can do a really simple biscuits and gravy. Of course I'm a southern boy, you can never go wrong with some biscuits and gravy!

[DOC]

I almost forgot one but. Tuna fish mayo and some crackers. Its got to be the best fast cheap food ever made.
Grilled cheese and noodles for dipping the samich in. Another great meal.
I do have a camp stove and BBQ grill that still have fuel. The kitchen stove uses electricity so that's out. However, I don't see why someone can't make a spaghetti on a BBQ burner if they need to?

[hurley842002]

What kind of nutritional value does it have?

White rice actually has pretty much zero nutritional value, it's pretty much a filler, carbs are about all it has going for it (energy). Brown rice is a much better option, in that it is processed differently, leaving behind the important nutrients.

Edit: The way I said leaving behind, may have been confusing. Brown rice is made when only the outer layer is removed (husk),
When the bran and germ layers are removed, you have white rice. Basically, the more processing a particular food goes through, the more nutrients are stripped from it.

[Byte Stryke]

Chicken Adobo

[DOC]

Chicken Adobo
OK I'll bite... What is that?

[ChunkyMonkey]

OK I'll bite... What is that?

A Filipino dish I think... soy sauce'd chicken.

[theGinsue]

"Cheesy Noodles"
* Bring 2.5 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan.
* At a fast boil, add in the noodle bricks of 2 pkg's of ramen soup (your flavor choice).
* When the noodles are about 3/4 cooked add in 1 ramen noodle seasoning pkg (two pkgs don't give much in the way of flavor and increase the sodium amount way too high)
* Place 1 1/2 slices American chesse on top of the boiling noodles; when softened, stir into noodles.
* When the first cheese slices are melted/stirred in, add another 1 1/2 slices of cheese.
* Allow cheese to melt and stir it in.
* Continue to boil until most of the water has been absorbed by the noodles or has evaporated.
* Remove from stove & serve.


IWe should probably eat more rice. What kind of nutritional value does it have?

Very little but it can be "fattening" (I don't really understand it)


I always had a difficult time making brown or wild rice in the rice cooker because it takes so much longer to cook. I love wild rice.

These are supposed to be so much better for you than white rice; and they taste better too.

[Irving]

Thanks Hurley, that's kind of what I thought but wasn't sure.


Another one I forgot, ever since I've discovered it, I like to put peanut butter into oatmeal. I take two oatmeal packets, pour some milk, but mostly water into it, and microwave it for like two minutes. When it comes out nice and hot, I take a large spoonful of peanut butter and stir it into the oatmeal. Since it is still hot, it helps melt the peanut butter right off the spoon. I think it's really great with those fake fruit oatmeals that I love, and really helps flavor those boring ass Apple/Cinnamon, Maple Syrup, and Regular flavors that I hate.

Sandwich and soup is always good. I don't really like much bread, but I love bread and butter and will eat it when I can to supplement a meal.

[hurley842002]

Thanks Hurley, that's kind of what I thought but wasn't sure.

No prob. After reading my post, it looked like it could be somewhat confusing on the whole nutrients left behind, I edited it for details.

[Byte Stryke]

OK I'll bite... What is that?


A Filipino dish I think... soy sauce'd chicken.


lemon, soy sauce, chicken broth, Coconut Milk, Chicken fried in "Skeeleet" Serve over your Preference of rice.

I think she over-simplified it.
and there are well over a million different ways to prepare adobo.

here are just a few:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,chicken_adobo,FF.html
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Chicken+Adobo

[DOC]

I think she over-simplified it.
and there are well over a million different ways to prepare adobo.

here are just a few:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,chicken_adobo,FF.html
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Chicken+Adobo
lol thanks I didn't know if it was their own recipe or not. I'm still up in the air about that google tutorial though. It seems nice but also seems like it should say something mean at the end too.?
[Weight]

[Mtn.man]

Kill most of our protein myself, grow stuff in the summer. Trade out with bros in Wash state, AK, and far South except now worried about the far south shit.

[Byte Stryke]

I have to tell you... Between the Pansit, Adobo and all of the other Filipino foods she cooks we are eating OK on very few dollars.

we are going through a ton of rice though

[theGinsue]

Pansit!

I haven't had pansit for more than 15 years. I always loved that dish.

[DOC]

Shish-ka-bobs. I remembered a Good Eats episode where he talked about the origin of Shish-ka-bobs and it involved cooking a big piece of meat with very little fuel and only a sword or something to cook with. I tried it with some of the mushrooms, peppers and some stew meat, salt and pepper for flavor. I cooked them of the grill and just kept turning them every once and while poking the meat for doneness. It was the best and I think cost $10 but I still have enough for 3 more meals. About $3 a meal. Its not Ramon Noodles meal but it was pretty cheap.

[Byte Stryke]

Pansit!

I haven't had pansit for more than 15 years. I always loved that dish.

you bring the Sam Adams and I will have the wife fix Pansit ;)

[theGinsue]

Oh, so tempting.