Favorite economical recipe?

[Scanner]

If posting links is allowed, what's your favorite economical recipe? And on a tasty scale of 0 (awful) to 10 (almost as good as sex), it has to be at least a 5.

here's what I have been living off of lately:

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/248/Taco-Soup-With-Black-Beans124359.shtml

I omit the Ground Beef (expensive) and just use beef broth. I saute onion in butter.

You can omit cheese, sour cream and other expensive items (or unhealthy like chips)

This is an 8 or a 9 in my book. I think the bit of butter with the beef broth makes it savory. The beans fill and give protein and fiber.

Now, if only I could figure out how to make dried black beans not taste so crunchy when I try to reconstitute them. . .could save even more. But I suck at reconstituting dried beans. . .

[hamchan]

My favorite really cheap and really easy recipe is this:

2 lbs dried brown lentils
15 oz can diced tomatoes
4-6 carrots cut into chunks
1/4 cup dried onion
1 1/2 T curry powder
1 T turmeric
1 T ginger
2 T olive oil
6 cups or so water

I usually cook it in the crock pot, but it will cook on the stove in about an hour. My whole family loves this. It's got a good flavor, but not spicy. My teenager eats it cold for lunch at school, she loves it so much.

Beans take a long time to cook. Like 4-6 hours. Soak them overnight first, and use a crock pot. Or if you have a pressure cooker that will reduce cook time

[97guns]

i like fried rice, its really cheap to make and you can use any kind of meat veggie combination you like, a great way to get rid of leftover rice and everything else

[Scanner]

OK..I'll try that lentil recipe ( need to add tumeric to my shelf ). I haven't had much luck with lentils... comes out pasty and bland when I've made them. But they are filling and all metrics indicate I need a protein dominant diet.

[hamchan]

OK..I'll try that lentil recipe ( need to add tumeric to my shelf ). I haven't had much luck with lentils... comes out pasty and bland when I've made them. But they are filling and all metrics indicate I need a protein dominant diet.

It depends which kind of lentils you get. The red ones cook much more quickly, and can get pasty if over cooked. The brown ones take longer and maintain a good texture. I wouldn't even use red ones in a slow cooker because they cook too quickly.

[marvholly]

I have no problems w/dry black beans. Soak then 12-24 hr. Change the water. Slow simmer as long as it takes, checking that the water is covering the beans every 30 minutes.

Black beans are the only ones I do from dry. Chickpeas NEVER work for me, come out hard. I seldom use red or pinto beans so not worth it to do rom dry for me.

Cheap recipes are:

egg anything
lentil stew
tofu stir fry (3 days of stuff to do)
black bean soup
chicken anything (esp carcas soup)

[MonkeyMama]

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/egyptian-koshary/

I haven't tried this exact recipe but it looks awfully close. Our hack though is to cook the lentils with the rice. (That still leaves 3 pots to use and makes it a little more complicated than most dishes we cook. Not *complicated*, but you know, you have to figure out the timing and use 3 burners on the stove at once. We usually keep it much simpler. So I can't imagine cooking the rice and the lentils separate and using 4 burners).

I accidentally put in way way way too much garlic the first time I made this dish and is now my favorite tomato sauce recipe. Lots of garlic + vinegar.

This comes to mine as overall cheap and ingredients usually on hand. Very filling.

P.S. I have an Indian black lentil crockpot recipe but I have to dig it out. We always make it for potlucks because it's cheap, filling, and is a crowd pleaser.

[Scanner]

Bought the tumeric and ginger (yes, didn't have it) today. . .will try it.

Thanks.

[Scanner]

Needed salt. Bad.

[hamchan]

Needed salt. Bad.

I'm used to a low sodium diet and find that the salt in the canned tomatoes adds plenty for me, but if you're not used to that I could see it tasting too bland. You can always add salt to taste.

[disneysteve]

As long as you aren't on the gluten-free craze, I could live my life on homemade pizza. It is cheap and easy and you can top it with anything you can think of so it is really an endless supply of meals.

My wife makes pizza dough which is a little involved with yeast and rising and kneading and all, but we've also used a no-yeast recipe that we liked. Here it is:

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/4e76o217/no-yeast-pizza-dough.html

We substitute 1/2 cup of white flour with whole wheat flour to add some fiber and nutrition. You can try substituting more than that. We haven't yet.

As for toppings, you can add anything you want - veggies, cheese, various meats, different sauces, different cheeses, whatever you're into. Our standard weekly pizza is pizza sauce, cheese, and veggies (spinach, onion, green/red pepper, mushrooms). On occasion, we've also made bbq chicken pizza, buffalo chicken pizza, since our home is largely vegetarian, we also top with various meat substitutes - faux chicken, faux beef, faux sausage, crumbled tofu, etc.

As for cost, it all depends on what toppings you use and how economically you can buy them.

[ua_guy]

Cheesy Potato soup. Feeds two people for days.

Bag of hashbrowns
One stick of celery chopped
1/4c onion
A box of chicken broth (lower sodium, if you're anti-salt like I am)
Mix with a spoon in a crock pot.

Crock on high for 6-8 hours.

When the potatoes are pretty soft, add some cheese (we do a bag of shredded sharp cheddar)- and just a tad of flour if it needs thickening.

Optional- serve with bacon bits, chopped green onion, saltine crackers.


It's a great meal after you've been outside all day, or if you need to feed a bunch of people rather simply and fairly cheaply.

[HappySaver]

DS, I'm celiac. Does that count? Anyhow, your pizza recipe could just as easily be made with gluten-free pizza crust or flour, so no need to single that out.

Yes, my favorite cheap meal used to be spagetti with tomato sauce. Simple and perfect. But not very nutritious, and perhaps too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Anyhow, gluten-free spagetti isn't quite as exciting, so I contribute Spanish Omelettes to this thread instead.

Potatoes, Onions, Eggs, made into a large pie. Yum.

[moula]

If you’re going to cook beans, just go for it. In other words, don’t go through the time and trouble of soaking and simmering for just a tiny amount. Cook more than you’ll eat at one meal, and use them throughout the week.

[snafu]

@scanner, adding to moula's suggestion, it's easy peasy to dump a 2 cups of inexpensive, dried beans [kidney, navy, black etc] + water to your crock pot on low overnight. Drain in AM and let dry slightly before packing 2C in sandwich size zip bags and lay flat in your fridge freezer. Once frozen you can stack as suits your space. They await your use for casseroles, chili, chowder, Cuban styles, dip, mixed with rice or pasta, rarebit, soup, salad, stew.