Cheap, easy meals to pull through this time period

Pasta is really versatile. I have dozens of pasta dishes, I make up new ones all the time. Last week I used bow tie pasta, chicken breast, and taco seasoning (with some other things, obviously) but it wasn’t bad!

What I’m saying is, boil some noodles and dump random stuff into the pot. You likely will be able to at least choke it down.

Here's a recipe for something I like to call Neighbor's Beans.

What you'll need:

A neighbor A gun

Go to your neighbors' house and shoot them until they stop screaming "Uncle Joe, why are you doing this?" Take their beans Consume beans Fart proudly

MAGA!

Freshly baked bread and butter. That’s a complete meal to me.

Here’s a favorite recipe of mine: take a can of Progresso Soup, heat it up, eat it.

Spaghetti aglio e olio. Easiest pasta to make -- boxed pasta, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, parsley (optional).

Pasta carbonara is also unbelievably simple and only requires a handful of ingredients. Fattening as hell, but who cares now?

beans

rixce

gin

regret

Steel cut oatmeal - well, any kind of oatmeal. Maybe it can still be ordered? It's more filling than other cereals.

Make soup out of any kind of meat, to make a "stock" type base - or if you want just veg, maybe a base from canned tomatoes? Then whatever fresh, frozen or canned veg you have. Serve with any kind of bread or crackers (if you have it)

Obviously beans and rice, but apparently that's selling out pretty quickly.

If you can't get fresh milk, try to get some dry milk - there's a brand, "Peak" that sells dried whole milk. (for oatmeal or homemade bread)

Oh god - just checked and a can of "Peak" dried milk was $70.

Here's one that's still affordable: Hoosier Hill All American Whole Milk Powder 2 LBS, $17.50

Oh and find a starch to put in your soup: potatoes, rice, pasta, barley (maybe still available?), wheat berries - it'll be more filling, especially if you don't have bread

During very lean times, I used to make a lentil-rice casserole with cheese. It was surprisingly delicious and filling. And cheap!

Lentils and brown rice, baked in chicken or beef broth with onions and herbs or whatever. Then add whatever grated cheese you want when all the liquid is soaked up and everything is tender. It’s a mushy gooey savory mess. Now that we can afford it, I’d pair it with a salad of dark greens and a tangy vinaigrette. Or some nice cold homemade applesauce. (We used to get the bruised, beat up apples from the farmers market for a dollar and I’d make jars of sauce or apple butter.)

Curried basmati rice. Saute chopped onions and 2 cloves of garlic for 5 minutes, add a teaspoon or so curry powder and 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice, cook for a minute stirring constantly; add salt and about 20 ounces of chicken broth and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or so until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, add parsley and a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice, cover let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Throw out. (just kidding -- it's yummy).

Here you go. It's cheap...it's easy. And everyone in my house loves it

All it takes is chicken or beef, olive oil, mushrooms (if you have them), onions, marsala cooking wine (or whatever wine you have on hand. I have used chardonnay or zinfindel and it came out fine.

I make enough for four...our son eats two portions.

First, clean your mushrooms and chop. Use about a cup of mushrooms (we love mushrooms so we use more). In a large skillet (I use a cast iron skillet) saute' the mushrooms in 2T olive oil (about 5 minutes). Add a half cup wine to the mushrooms, and add a half cup chopped onion. Continue to saute' about 5 more minutes. Add chopped chicken breasts (or beef) to the mixture and cook until the meat is cooked through. If you like (we like) just before you serve it you can put a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup into the meat mixture and heat through. Serve over rice

Here's something that's really basic (although if you gain weight easily, you might want to skip it):

In a tiny non-stick frying pan, saute a garlic clove you put through a garlic press in a TB of EVOO for a minute or so, & set aside

Boil 3 oz linguine, and reserve 3TB of the pasta water before draining

Return the drained pasta to the pot, add the garlic/oil, another TB oil, ¼ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp lemon juice, ½ pecorino romano & mix together

Then mix in the reserved pasta water, let it sit for a minute, give it another mix and then plate it.

Bolognese is not terribly difficult to make.

This thread just appeared directly below this one. Pure DL magic.

Tuna sandwiches.

Rice and pasta can be stretched like all hell. Adopt the Korean method little bit of meat, veggies and rice. Or Barley is good too. If you get beans you can get the dry variety but you have to soak them overnight. The canned are pre-soaked and cooked and munch more convenient.

If you have meat, stretch it out by making soup from it. Soup is more filling for fewer calories than "solid" food. Plus you can use up your older vegetables in it with no problem, and it can be frozen indefinitely.

Bolly, stoli, maybe some bubbly things.....

Why are you eating canned food? My freezer is stocked for at least 2 months and grocery stores are still open/delivering.

Cheap easy meals are hardly a home on the range.

Clara Cannucciari (1915–2013) became an early YouTube star with her Great Depression Cooking series.

She looks pretty cheery to me.

Bat soup

Pangolin stew

Thanks for that link R23. That reminds me so much of my father; he was an Italian-American who grew up during the Depression and we still ate a lot of those meals in our house when I was a kid. He was especially big on dandelion salad.

In my lean times, a can of corn, a can of kidney beans, and a can of diced tomatoes stewed together made a very tasty dish. If you can add sauteed onion and garlic, oregano and chili powder, so much the better.

Koala Stirfry?

R23, thanks for that link. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a return to some Depression-era recipes before this is all over. Stuff like vinegar pie.

Scramble some fucking eggs! Make some toast!

This recipe for chicken paprikash is easy and requires minimal ingredients.

You can never go wrong with Spam.

Y'all are making me hungry!

Pizza Hut!

I don't really cook but I made pasta with olive oil, garlic (chopped from a jar), frozen broccoli and yummy parmesan. It's pretty easy

I have 3 tubs of Earth Balance non-butter and that also is tasty on pasta.

I also have stocked up on pouches of different dals from Maya Kaimal, but that stuff is not cheap.

I find garlic from a jar to be especially heinous. I've tried it now several times. Perhaps I am buying the wrong. brand? Any recommendations?

Buy fresh garlic and keep it in your cupboard; not the fridge. The kind in the jar, esp. pre-chopped always seems way too strong or "rancid".

Chili

Couscous sounds frou frou, but it's not. Super easy to make. (Just add a bit of hot water, cover it, and voila, nice and fluffy & ready to eat.) You can add whatever you like to it. I usually put cooked vegetables and/or garbanzos. Can also put shredded (salty type) cheese. It's comforting, to me.

Chicken cacciatore -- chicken thighs, onion, garlic, bell peppers, canned tomatoes, broth, wine, herbs, spices, seasoning.

shit on a shingle

In R14, when I posted "½ pecorino," I meant to say ½ oz. grated pecorino.

Baked potato

Shortn'in' Bread

Puttanesca. Tomatoes, anchovies, pasta, garlic, capers, olives, herbs.

Gay men aren't eating a dish that smells like pussy, R45.

Call it puttanesc[bold]o[/bold] then, r46.

You fat whores are going to get even fatter eating all that pasta.

I CAN'T STOP GRAZING MY HORDE!

Fuck off, r48. And die. Especially die.

R48 -

Why would you get fat eating pasta?

Unless you have no self-control.

These threads always crack me up--the complex multi-ingredient recipes (chicken paprikas!) DLers post when asked for "cheap and easy" with limited ingredients.

Eggs are your best friend OP

You can add anything you have left over--meat or vegetable to them, and you have a meal.

If you want to get fancy, you can throw it into a wrap or on a roll.

"Gay men aren't eating a dish that smells like pussy, [R45]."

Said by someone who's neither eaten puttanesca nor pussy.

Stay in your lane, hon.

It's the one marked "slow."

Where's the "soup" eldergay? -The one always suggesting to just chop a piece of celery and throw it a cup of tap water for a quick and filling meal.

As an Italian American I'm going with a dish I discovered in Siena. You saute' raw, drained slightly damp spinach in olive oil and crushed garlic. Toss it around. Add a can of drained rinsed cannellini beans and heat it thru, tossing it around, and finally ad some chopped fresh cherry tomatoes. Make sure everything is the same temperature. It takes less than ten minutes from start to finish. Serve it topped off with grated Pecorino Romano, and salt and pepper. You can add some garlic bread. I take Naan flat bread that i smear olive oil and rosemary and garlic powder on and warm it up. Delicious!!!!! And it's the quickest meal you'll ever have.

Had some bread that was a little stale, one egg, about a cup of milk. Trying to use everything up before going to the store. Remembered how my mom used to make us French toast, so made that. Always have a little syrup in the pantry, so it was perfect and very cheap.

Here’s a link to recipes with lentils. Since a lot of people bought lentils, maybe something here will work for you.

If you don’t know much about them, you don’t have to soak them, they cook fast because they’re small (the smaller the bean, the faster it cooks), and you can use them with chicken, beef, tomato sauce base, or vegetarian broth base.

Chicken broth, add a diced onion, carrots and celery, with some garlic, salt and pepper, and serve.

Or lentils with a tomato base, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic and some bacon or sausage makes a good soup.

If you like a spicier soup, cumin and a bit of chili pepper with lentils, onions, garlic and ground beef or turkey.

Lentils are also good with curry and sweet potatoes. You can do a lot of different things with them.

R57, thanks for the link. I'm not usually very big on lentils, but might give some of those recipes a shot.

Lentils are great because they are a source of cheap protein, like eggs. They go well with bacon and curries and vinaigrette. They make a fine substitute for beef if you make Americanized tacos (hard shell, shredded lettuce, cheddar). Use cumin to make them taste like “taco”.

r44=Ethel Mertz

[quote] Bat soup Pangolin stew

Served with a cold, refreshing bottle of Corona!

Pea soup.

Kroger recently had Texas 1015 onions on sale. I bought a bunch and made French onion soup.

I bought the ingredients for R55 's tip. That sounds great. I bought frozen spinach instead of fresh (for storage) so we'll see how that goes.

James Beard’s beef stroganoff.

R65, I have made that once before and it's a good recipe.

But hardly cheap and not relatively easy, so for the purposes of this thread: MASSIVE FAIL

It won't got well, R64.

Do a simple sourdough pizza dough. It costs nothing and can be made from pantry ingredients. Then, make a simple tomato sauce using tomatoes from the garden, cooked down to a rich thick sauce. Then top the pizza with whatever you have on hand - arugula, olives, mushrooms, hearts of palm - whatever. Toss it on the outdoor grill and you have a gourmet feast that cost practically nothing.

Spicy chicken.

One packet taco seasoning, onion, green pepper, potato, lime, chicken stock.

Brown chicken in a pan, set aside. Saute onion and green pepper. Add chicken and stock. Add taco seasoning and lime. Add cubed potato and bring to boil. Reduce and simmer 30-40 min.

R65/ R66, that recipe looks amazing. Question - the recipe doesn't indicate if or when you slice the beef tenderloin. I assume you do slice it because that's traditional for this dish (and what the photo shows), but do you slice the t-loin prior to frying? Or do you fry the t-loin and then slice it before you add it back to the sauce?

I’ve making it for the first time in a few days, r71.

I imagine you slice it first - can’t see how you would fry a whole log of meat.

This is not a cheap or easy meal.

But in answer to r71, Julia slices her tenderloin first -

1) Trim off the surrounding fat and filament from the beef and cut into 2-ounce pieces, about 2 inches across and 1/2-inch thick. Dry thoroughly on paper towels.

The meat in Beard’s stroganoff looks like it’s in strips instead of rounds.

Hmmmmm.

R69, it's mid-March -- even here in Calif, we don't have tomatoes in the garden yet and won't for at least 3 months -- I expect it's the same anywhere else in the USA, despite global warming.

So use canned, undrained tomatoes and make Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce. At the end of the cooking time, I cool it enough to puree in the blender with the onion, plus garlic and dried oregano to taste -- then you can cook it down a little more if you want it thicker.

NO OREGANO, R75. Ewww. Just leave it alone, but especially NO OREGANO.

Joe's Special

Chef John will show ya how to make it.

The chick at R75's link makes the sauce but doesn't even toss the pasta in it. She just slops it on top so that the pasta doesn't absorb shit.

A six-ounce piece of salmon cost $4 at WFM. I cut a yellow potato into bite sized pieces, then roasted them at 400 for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, I put the piece of salmon, which I'd salted and brushed with olive oil, in the pan with the potatoes, and cooked another 12 minutes. When I had 7 minutes left, I put some frozen peas on to boil.

Not that expensive. Very easy.

R76, I said that I add oregano to taste -- your taste apparently calls for "NO OREGANO", which is fine for you. You won't be forced to eat oregano, I promise!

For russet potato fans like me, cube up some russets, better if it's room temperature. Put some oil (1-2 Tbsp.) in a medium-heat pan (my pan is nonstick). Let one side brown, turn the pieces over, let the opposite side brown. Serve with ketchup, black pepper, hot sauce. If you have sour cream, use that.

I like the skins of the potatoes, but you can peel the potatoes if you don't like the skins.

Cheap & easy-- something I saw my dad make for himself several times:

Cook some egg noodles -- any noodles or pasta will do but Dad used egg noodles. Drain and add a pat of butter and maybe a splash of milk, if I remember correctly. Black pepper to taste (he used a lot). Add a can of condensed cream of chicken soup and mix. Add enough egg noodles so that the dish almost resembles fettuccine alfredo.

Dad wasn't/isn't fat, however he has always been very physically active.

Most recipes involving chicken thighs.

R64 and others tempted to make my spinach and beans, if you are forced to use frozen spinach, please squeeze it and drain it really well, otherwise it'll ruin everything bcz it turns into a soggy mess.

FYI: Ricers are great for squeezing frozen spinach.

Last night: Fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli

Tonight: Baked Haddock in a light tomato-caper sauce and asparagus risotto

Tomorrow night; NY sirloin, baked potatoes, haricots verts

Does anyone know why there's a chicken shortage? I've read about it here and seen it where I shop.

Top an English muffin with sliced tomato, tuna salad, and shredded cheese. Broil in the oven.

I'm not going to be holed up for awhile with anything, fuck this ridiculousness. I am going to the grocery stiore right now to pick up some shit.

Greek Lemon Chicken - quick, easy and cheap. I make this often. I don't know why it's "Greek" though.

Chef John, once again.

^^^ Greek Lemon Chicken AND POTATOES, how could I forget the potatoes - they are the best part.

R89 - Well, I know lemon potatoes are a Greek thing, so maybe that's why.

I bought some frozen meals as back ups. Michael Angelo Chicken Piccata Meal Starter is very good, high quality. Just add some angel hair or pasta of choice and you've got a nice little meal. Best prepared in oven rather than microwave, worth the 50 minutes. Everything I've tried from Michael Angelo has been good.

Devour frozen meals are also good, calories bombs but good.

I got a couple of chicken breast put them in a skillet with some seasonings. And poured a can of progresso cheddar broccoli soup light on them. And cooked it till it reduced and the chicken was cooked. And served it over rice. Was pretty good.

I stockpiled a local Italian food store's frozen sauces: Sugo de Carne (meat), Putannesca, (vegan), and Alfredo; all made from scratch. That and some linguine or fettuccine and we have the basis for a meal. They also sell pre-made entrees (a mushroom strata, chicken parm, sausage and shells, three different lasagnas) so I bought half a dozen and we had the chicken parm last night. All the entrees are enough for three or four people, so it's lunch the next day if we want it. I bought some of their homemade pasta and froze it, too, but it has to be used in a week or so.

Even without it, some boxed spaghetti, oil or butter, and some parmesan and you have the starch. Some vegetables and protein and you've got a meal.

Made a pot of chili tonight for dinner and will freeze the rest in individual servings.

Tomorrow is chicken paprikash and then I am out of fresh food and will be eating out of the freezer for the next few weeks. I am in NY so not going to the store.

What you want is the I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken. Fast, simple recipes using only a few ingredients, from the era when fresh foods were only available when in season, meaning people cooked with a lot of canned stuff.

Jack Monroe, the "Tin Can Cook" has all sorts of recipes designed for the poors. (For real, that is her stated purpose, to show people how to cook with Food Bank canned goods.)

Added Bonus: She identifies as non-binary!

I always have a bag of Quinoa in the pantry. It's really easy to make and really versatile. You can through it on a salad for texture, you can make a bowl with some veggies a protein and some dressing or sauce and voila. I love mixing it up with Guacamole with some veggies too.

you bitches are going to call me the frau-iest frau that ever frau-ed, but this morning i was thrilled to find and download the “dump and bake” cookbook. a month of simple casseroles i can’t fuck up!

The Buddhist Chef on YouTube has some great vegan (lentils, beans, etc) recipes that are very easy to make. Very tasty and even my subpar cooking skills can handle his recipes.

Coconut palm beetle larvae.

Apparently, salmon in a dishwasher..

Learn cooking. Make your own bread. And for the beginners soup from vegetables is easy to produce,.

Anyway, how stupid we are all in those modern times.

Chicken fajitas with the McCormick spice packet.

I had some skinless boneless chicken breasts and decided to cut them into bite sized chunks and saute' them in olive oil. I seasoned them very lightly with salt pepper garlic powder and a bit of oregano then I refrigerated them. Yesterday I had a delicious salad with chicken. Tonight I cooked frozen gnocchi with a marinara sauce containing eggplant and zucchini...and chicken. I will use the remaining chicken to make myself a chicken pot pie. By the time I'm done I will have had five or sixmeals from them.

And you didn't say "veggies" once. Mazel tov, r105.

Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken Soup(or any kind of soup or stew), and chili, are all very filling and you can always freeze leftovers to have another day, in case of shortages. Also, I wanted to make chicken and dumplings the other day, but I couldn't find any chicken at my supermarket. I went to the can goods section and got a couple cans of canned chicken and some chicken broth, it turned out just as good.

Before DL, I had no idea that canned chicken was a thing and would have bet money against its existence.

Same with potatoes, r108.

Burrito bowls. Beans, cheese, rice, sour cream, salsa, guac and other add-ins optional. Quesadillas, tacos...easy and cheap

Hackleback (a great substitute for osetra) caviar pie. As a garnish cut up thin slivers of a 1 dollar bill. You can tell friends it’s a $100 bill. Be best!

Easy meal from earlier this week: Broccoli and Chicken with Penne

1. Chop up broccoli into bite-sized pieces.

2. Mix broccoli in bowl with olive oil and salt

3. Arrange broccoli on baking pan and cook for 12 minutes at 425º

4. Cut chicken (tenders, breasts, thigh meat--your choice) into bite size pieces

5. Cook over low heat with olive oil, salt, pepper and any Italian-type spices you have: Oregano, Rosemary, Parsley, Garlic--you can even add lemon zest/juice if you want to get really fancy.

6. Boil some sort of pasta-- penne or rigatoni probably work best.

7. Mix everything together in a large bowl, drizzle some more olive oil on it and mix, put out parmesan cheese if people want to add that to their own bowl.

Should be pretty quick--you can cook the pasta and bake the broccoli at the same time you are cooking the chicken, so everything is ready around the same time.

If you order pizza, throw away the cardboard box right away and then wash your hands. Put it in tupperware or something.

Then make sure each piece is reheated till it's bubbly - at least 30 seconds in the microwave, longer in the oven. The reheating should kill the virus. Make sure you get every piece piping hot and don't eat it right after it's taken out of the box it comes in. Do the same with chicken nuggets.

And I guess any delivered or take-away food. Enough heat kills coronavirus.

[quote] If you order pizza, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE BEFORE YOU throw away the cardboard box and wash your hands.

Fixed

I find the Dollar Tree pound cake very fairly-priced and quite filling.

Chicken Divan

Crepes. Make a big bowl of crepe batter, and fill it with whatever you've got. Cheese, meats, cottage cheese, frozen veg, jam, maple syrup, liqueurs, anything sweet or savory! You can think of crepes as comfort food or decadent stuff you wouldn't ordinarily make, as you prefer!

If you've got flour, eggs, a little milk, some oil, and a decent frying pan, it's the simplest thing in the world. The batter contains no leavening, so it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, all you have to do is stir up the batter each time, as the flour will settle a little. It's a way to keep from going to the grocery store for a while.

Pizza quesadillas- put a low-carb (or not) tortilla in skillet sprayed with Pam or whatever you have, over medium heat. Spread a little pizza sauce or the next best thing you have available on the tortilla. Add your favorite pizza toppings, if available- olives, pepperoni, some sautéed bell pepper or whatever--if not, try not to think about it and just sprinkle some seasoning on it (Mccormick Italian spice grinder is the best, otherwise oregano or even just red or black pepper if that's all you have).

Put mozzarella or provolone or Muenster on top of all that, then top with another tortilla and flip it over in the pan so the cheese melts and the other tortilla gets toasted. Slice it up like a pizza.

Serve with tender spring dandelion greens picked from the parking lot cracks and a glass of year old kombucha from the back of the refrigerator.