Anybody have some good inflation-fiting "Poor Man" meal recipes?

What helps me is to always divide any raw meat purchased into smaller servings before freezing. For example, today I bought a large pack of chicken strips at Aldis. Divided it into 4 smaller packs of 3 strips each. A pound of hamburger will also be divided. I’ve found I can usually get by with less than a pound of beef in any casserole recipes.

I feel I can justify an expensive meat purchase if if I can get two or more meals from it.
 
regarding quinoa- It is cheap and versatile. But I’ve found the taste really varies by brands. Quinoa bought in bulk needs to be rinsed before cooking or it has a bitter taste.
However, the quinoa sold in boxes, flavored, has usually been pre-rinsed. Sometimes it will state that on the box.
Murrmurr, maybe, try a different brand or recipe.
 

I make chili with half the meat and double the beans, or meatless. If it is meatless, then I add brown rice to it. Just in case it's true that beans need rice to make a complete protein.

Yesterday I used Beyond Meat's ground "beef" crumbles in my son's vegan chili. He liked it a lot, and I didn't have to add rice to it. The trouble is that rice soaks up all the "gravy".
 
MountainRa said:
What helps me is to always divide any raw meat purchased into smaller servings before freezing. For example, today I bought a large pack of chicken strips at Aldis. Divided it into 4 smaller packs of 3 strips each. A pound of hamburger will also be divided. I’ve found I can usually get by with less than a pound of beef in any casserole recipes.

I feel I can justify an expensive meat purchase if if I can get two or more meals from it.
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You know what's a good time-saving idea? When I divide up meats, before I stick some in the freezer I pour various marinades on top of it. I usually use a plastic bag and squish it all around after putting in the marinade, then pop it in the freezer.

I make my own marinades, like butter and herbs, BBQ, teriyaki, or fruit jelly....depending on the kind of meat. Anyway, this way it marinates really well as it thaws.
 
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WheatenLover said:
If it is meatless, then I add brown rice to it. Just in case it's true that beans need rice to make a complete protein.
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I found this googling it...
Grain-based protein sources like rice, wheat, and oats are typically low in the [essential] amino acid lysine but high in cystine and methionine, that makes them a great complement to legume-based proteins, which are conversely high in lysine but low in cystine and methionine...also recommends pairing nuts and seeds, which are usually low in lysine and threonine, with legume-based proteins.
 
Aunt Bea said:
These days I try to make things a little healthier. Sweat a few cloves of minced garlic and some hot pepper flakes in olive oil, a bag of microwaved frozen vegetables, and an equal amount of cooked pasta, noodles, or rice. I serve it with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese or a squirt of soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil.
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That's one of my vegan son's favorite meals!
Here's another of his favorites :Zucchini skillet

We just had a motley meal made up of things I had that I needed to use or lose:
A small head of cabbage and an orange pepper sliced thin and fried in a big skillet with olive oil and soy sauce.
A small bag of little red potatoes, boiled and buttered.
Vegan hotdogs and buns.
It was weird but delicious, but that may be because we were all three starving.
"Appetite is the best cook."
 
Murrmurr said:
My granddaughter loves to snack on ramen. She likes me to drop a raw egg into it and a few green onion bulbs when I have them. I don't use the flavor packet that comes with the flavored ramen, I use a few dashes of turmeric and a little salt/pepper instead.

I like your recipe.
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I use the little packet. I wish they would come out with some that were lower in sodium.
 
Couscous is versatile. I make cold or hot dishes using it as a base. For cold, I add slices of tomato, cucumber, olives, and a bit of vinaigrette dressing. For warm, I use a bouillon base. I cook a chicken breast, shred it, and add cooked diced carrots, peas, corn, cooked mushrooms. It's quite filling.
 
Squirrel and Dumplings.

With the meat prices these days this will definitely save some money and it is delicious. I have eaten this many times through the years

Ingredients​

  • 3-4 squirrels, skinned but not quartered
  • 2-3 quarts chicken stock or water with a bay leaf and a tablespoon of salt
Dumplings
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or butter
  • 1/2 cup cold milk
Directions
  1. Start the recipe well in advance of meal time (the night before is fine, but the 3- to 4 hours it takes to simmer the squirrels is long enough) by making the dumplings. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the flour then cut in the shortening with a fork until you have pea-sized bits mixed throughout the flour. Gradually stir in milk, a bit at a time, until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch-thick sheet. Cover with a clean towel and set the dough aside to rest overnight or until the squirrel is done.
  2. Simmer the squirrels in stock or salted water for 3- to 4 hours. Remove the cooked squirrels from the pot and set them aside to cool. Skim off any discolored foam from the top of the stock. If desired, the stock can be filtered through a piece of cheesecloth to remove any extra bits. Return the stock to the heat and bring to a light boil. Once the squirrel is cool enough to handle, pick the meat from the bones and add it back to the pot.
  3. Uncover your rested dumpling dough and, using a pizza cutter, cut it into 1-inch by 2-inch dumplings. Drop the dumplings into the boiling stock and simmer for another 10 minutes until they are cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
 
oldpop said:
Squirrel and Dumplings.

With the meat prices these days this will definitely save some money and it is delicious. I have eaten this many times through the years

Ingredients​

  • 3-4 squirrels, skinned but not quartered
  • 2-3 quarts chicken stock or water with a bay leaf and a tablespoon of salt
Dumplings
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or butter
  • 1/2 cup cold milk
Directions
  1. Start the recipe well in advance of meal time (the night before is fine, but the 3- to 4 hours it takes to simmer the squirrels is long enough) by making the dumplings. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the flour then cut in the shortening with a fork until you have pea-sized bits mixed throughout the flour. Gradually stir in milk, a bit at a time, until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch-thick sheet. Cover with a clean towel and set the dough aside to rest overnight or until the squirrel is done.
  2. Simmer the squirrels in stock or salted water for 3- to 4 hours. Remove the cooked squirrels from the pot and set them aside to cool. Skim off any discolored foam from the top of the stock. If desired, the stock can be filtered through a piece of cheesecloth to remove any extra bits. Return the stock to the heat and bring to a light boil. Once the squirrel is cool enough to handle, pick the meat from the bones and add it back to the pot.
  3. Uncover your rested dumpling dough and, using a pizza cutter, cut it into 1-inch by 2-inch dumplings. Drop the dumplings into the boiling stock and simmer for another 10 minutes until they are cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Click to expand...
You can use rabbit also instead of squirrel.
 
The native red squirrel is legally protected here, but the non-native greys are fair game and would ideally be exterminated. Fortunately the greys have not made it this far north, but I've never seen them for sale in other parts of the country. Not so many rabbits here either, but I've seen plenty of hares.

When I were a lad, chicken was a real treat, but now they can be bought for as little as £4 ($5). OK, hardly high quality, but you can make 3 meals for 2 from it.
1. Remove the breasts, and these can be used in a number of different dishes.
2. The legs + wings in another meal.
3. Boil the carcass to form the basis of a soup with whatever vegetables you have.

I've done this in the past, but I prefer to spend a bit more and buy a better quality chicken which will cost around £8 ($10).
 
Honey cuts up a can of spam and sautés it with onions seasoned with oregano, s & p, and other seasonings and mixes it with a bag of boiled egg noodles. I recently had him add cut up celery. Really good. It took me a while to get used to it a I never ate spam before, but now I really enjoy it. Makes a lot so you can have it more than one day.
 

Anybody have some good inflation-fiting "Poor Man" meal recipes?​


When I was single
this filled my gullet til dinner;

krusteaz.jpg

add water
stir
throw on the skillet til you think it's done (I like mine a bit burnt)


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add sugar and water
heat it in the pan
best maple syrup

cost
pennies
 

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