how to eat cheap and eat good

[fiti-vation]

[ernasd]

oh this is a life saver

[gallusrostromegalus]

So these are both “Aw Fuck I’m outta real food” meals BUT ALSO:  if you’re learning how to cook, these are great “baby steps” meals to learn how to cook basics into something enjoyable without “wasting” anything expensive.  Though I maintain that even cooking screw-ups are valuable in terms of lessons learned.

Also they’re great for when you get absorbed in something and you realize your blood sugar is dropping and you need to make something Quick.

[asymbina]

I don’t think of myself as a cook at all, but I looked through this list and was like “if you have [center] and [any item on a surrounding ring] how do you sit there thinking you’ve got nothing to eat?” Like, I buy a fair amount of staples knowing that I’ll be able to quickly assemble them into something tasty if I’m hungry and don’t have anything instant (or in a leftovers container because I made it earlier in the week specifically to eat for a week): butter, cheese, noodles, and more.

[elodieunderglass]

It still impresses people how I can go into random kitchens with no food in them and emerge with Filling Snacks for Five People. This is the secret: knowing how to assemble Cupboard Meals. And these charts are incredibly well-laid-out too!

[songsfromtheveil-deactivated202]

Adding butter and some of the pasta water to the pasta + parmesan + black pepper combo will also give you a simple alfredo.

[warpedellipsis]

you can cook and melt and blend nut butters???

[nimthirielrinon]

About 15 years ago there was a TV show in Australia called Surprise Chef where a Chef Calles Aristos would find a person in a supermarket and and he’d cook a really good dinner using only what was in ther trolley and in ther pantry. If you search on YouTube you can watch episodes.

[madewithtlc]

Spam Spaghetti

do you like your spaghetti meaty? are you too broke for ground meat? are meatballs too much work? this is the spaghetti for you!

_-_-_

COOKWARE NEEDED

*a large pot

*another pot, of any size

-_-_-

FOOD STUFFS

*spaghetti ($1;use half a pack for this recipe! either only cook half, or put half in a container for later use)

*1 can spag sauce OR 1 can tomato sauce ($1; if using tomato sauce, spice it up with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, a table spoon of brown sugar, and some salt)

*1 can spam ($1; are you trying to really stretch that buck? use half a can here, and use the other for Spam Muffins!)

_-_-_

OPTIONAL 

*parm cheese ($1 for a small container of the real thing OR $1 for a large container of the fake stuff!)

-_-_-

THE HOW’S

in the large pot, put your spaghetti on to cook! throw some salt in there! if you have it, a little oil will mean it doesn’t stick!

dice your spam and put it in the small cooking vessel. cook it until it’s starting to get brown. toss the sauce in on top of it. let it boil, but don’t let it burn!

when the pasta is done, go on and dump the sauce right on top of it. yep, all in one bowl. we’re all about not making a ton of dishes in this house. or, if you’re serving guests, or trying to be fancy, go on and serve up the pasta, then put the sauce on it!

you do you!

NOTES

*burn the sauce? don’t worry, we’ve all been there. what you’re going to do is pour the remainder of the sauce into a clean pot or bowl. don’t scrape the bottom of the pan! it’s still savable! got a bit of a burn taste? put in a bit more seasoning, and a bit more brown sugar!

*refrigerates well!

*can serve a lot of people on a small dime!

[madewithtlc]

Crustless Pizza

got a hankering for pizza? can’t eat carbs? or gluten? don’t have the space to roll out dough? I got you covered!

_-_-_

BAKING SUPPLIES

*a pie tin. glass? aluminum? whatever works! no pie tin? any small, oven safe container can work! 

-_-_-

FOOD STUFFS

*1 can tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce ($1; if the spag sauce is on sale, grab it! if not, spice the tomato sauce up with some Italian seasoning!)

*1/3 bag mozzarella cheese (whole bag, $2.50)

_-_-_

OPTIONAL FOODS

*1 can mushrooms (.50)

*1/2 bag pepperoni ($1.50 for full bag)

*any leftover meats? toss them in!

*jarred banana peppers ($1.50)

*black olives (large can, $1.50)

*half of an onion, diced (whole bag, $2.50) OR dried diced onions (container, $1)

*pre-cooked bacon ($4 - expensive, but if you only use four slices, you have eight other slices for other things! like more recipes, or late night snacking!)

basically any topping that you could conceivably put on a pizza can go in this dish!

-_-_-_-

THE HOWS

prep your oven to 350. dump your sauce into your chosen container. add any of those optional ingredient right on in there, and give it a good stir. top with as much mozzarella cheese as you want, and put it in the oven! you’re only baking it until the cheese is melted, and slightly golden brown!

now, the eating! use a spoon! tortilla chips! pork rinds! pita chips! frozen garlic bread!

enjoy

NOTES -

*this recipe is great for reheating!

*all canned foods!

*carb free! gluten free!

[madewithtlc]

hey, guys! this is just a friendly notice that i’ll bump on the occasion! with the exception of the occasional fresh fruit or veggie, or some fresh pork, pretty much anything I make here, i’ll be buying at family dollar or dollar general - this is because i’m medically unable to drive, and both of these stores are in walking distance of me!

because of this, when I give a “price idea” for a recipe, it’s based off prices for these items, bought at these stores, in the region I live in. if any of the recipes have a “specialty ingredient” i’ll let you know where I got it!

it’s also worth keeping in mind that when I put down the price of “eggs” i’m listing the price for the full dozen; not for the two or three eggs used in that recipe! this is often the case! I try to only buy food items that can be used in more than one recipe!

so that bag of shredded cheese? sure, it might cost $2.50 but it’s about to be used in four meals, wow! that brings it to .62 cents per meal!

i’ll keep the recipes simple and put any other notes I have under a cut!