What are your best recipes for low cost meals

W

Wilberforce

Jeannine
Location
BC Canada
I am curious as to what folks would cook for low cost meals. I was a baby when WW2 finished in the UK but my mother taught me many of the wartime recipes and I often do them. Sometimes for Lent I do the whole 40 days just to see if I still can. They would be more stringent than just a low cost meal of course as stuff was not available. It is a challenge I enjoy now and again though LOL


So a full meal and a dessert. How low can you go?

Yes you can grow your own.


XX Jeannine
 

For me low cost meals mean lots of carbs so I tend to shy away from them these days.

I would go with breakfast for dinner, pancakes, french toast or eggs, maybe a frittata with some odds and ends of vegetables.

Another option from my childhood was creamed salmon, tuna, chipped beef, cod fish, etc... on a baked potato with a side of peas or carrots. Dessert would likely be an egg custard, rice pudding, cornstarch pudding or a simple cake with a cornstarch based dessert sauce.
 
Split pea soup is low cost and tastes good. Dry split peas, chopped onions, couple pieces of leftover ham or bacon bits work just as well. A few slices carrots can be added.

Lentil soup is always good and is cheap. Dry lentils, chopped onions, maybe a couple sliced carrots and celery.

Liguini and clams. Linguini, a couple cans of baby clams, optionally sauteed chopped onions, and olive oil, salt and pepper.
 

BlondieBoomer said:
Split pea soup is low cost and tastes good. Dry split peas, chopped onions, couple pieces of leftover ham or bacon bits work just as well. A few slices carrots can be added.

Lentil soup is always good and is cheap. Dry lentils, chopped onions, maybe a couple sliced carrots and celery.

Liguini and clams. Linguini, a couple cans of baby clams, optionally sauteed chopped onions, and olive oil, salt and pepper.
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Exactly! I would also add chicken soup to the list as well. Chicken is usually reasonably priced.
 
We just bought a holiday Honey Baked ham and am coming to the end. I went out and bought some Great Northern beans and some Black beans, not sure which one I'll make first. But beans are a good low cost and healthy meal, I make them in the crock pot with onion, garlic and spices. The ham I add for flavor and the chunks in there make it a hearty meal, but I don't add the ham until last, so it doesn't get dried out. I never use the ham bone anymore, too fatty, prefer healthier these days.
 
Tonight I made a large fried rice for 4 people, rice, 1/4 of a red pepper diced small I/4 of a finely chopped onion 4 chopped mushrooms 1/4 cup frozen peas, 2 beaten eggs and a 1/2 inch slice of a ham about tree inches in diameter, cchopped up like everything else

To go with it I made Samosas, cubed boiled potatoes, fine chopped onion, peas, a chunk of beef left over from yesterday's roast and little bit of beef gravy, all mixed together and seasoned with Ship curry powder, then formed into triangles with puff pastry. dessert was just a small fetherlight sponge with jam and cream

The whole lot was very cheap to make and everyone loved it.
 
I do a chicken soup using an ,old fat hen they cost me $5 for three. I pressure cook them add barley, carrots and onions and of course seasoning. I make sour dough bread that day to go with it , home made butter and follow it with a steamed pudding and custard


Very cheap and you can feed a crowd on this one if you use all the three hens. My veggies are home grown so that keeps the cost low too.
 
Meatloaf made with chopped onion and bell peppers, breadcrumbs or bread chunks, egg, s&p and whatever flavorings you like. Bake with some potatoes at the same time.

About 10 to 15 minutes before it's done, spoon out the fat, top and surround with a can of plum tomatoes, squeezed by hand and some frozen peas, season w/ s&p. Bake until it's all hot throughout.

Almost a complete meal baked at once; meat, baked potatoes, peas, tomatoes.

Dessert is not an option in my house due to type 2 diabetes. No one needs it anyway, but there might be some fresh fruit or a few small cookies around.
 
My husband loved dessert and bribery was involved. The only way he would eat anything green was if there was something sweet to follow.
 
Stir Fry using chicken or fish with peppers,onion,celery,broccoli, egg plant, mushroom, in olive oils with balsamic rice, sauce of choice. Inexpensive, healthy and easy preparation.
 
I rarely make a desert, except for special occasions. But for just the meal I enjoy making a nice stirfry. Usually with either cubed up chicken breast or ground turkey. I add green peppers, onions and some seasonings. I will sometimes make rice, but since my husband prefers potatoes to rice, I usually slice some up and either roast them with some seasons and olive oil, and roast them in the oven. I can make a meal for both of us, and maybe a small amount of left over for a lunch for one of us.
 
I make a version of Spanish rice that my husband taught me how to make. His Mother used to make it for him, and it was actually the first meal he requested when he came back from VietNam. I make it a main meal using ground turkey.
 
I try to make a huge pot of soup once a week. Cabbage goes a long way and is cheap. Salad many times is the main meal. I make beans once or twice a week. Love love love the pressure cooker (Instantpot).
 
I made a tasty, low cost dinner last night. Tilapia fillets baked in the oven with canned chopped tomatoes, garlic, some olive oil, oregano and a splash of white cooking wine. Served it with a half of a baked potato and some roasted frozen mixed vegetables. Inexpensive for sure and very healthy as well.
 
I live n Australia ..it's summer here ,we don't eat soup in summer in our house ,but in winter I buy a fairly large fresh chicken (number 20 size ) from out local Foodland ..I boil it and make up to three meals for both of us from most of the meat from the chicken
which includes curried chicken ,chicken strips lightly crumbed and just cold chicken to put on a sandwich (toasted bread with cold chicken and chutney ) I then make soup the next day from the stock adding any fat free scrappy bits of chicken back to the stock ,we eat very little carbs so I add plenty of vegetables and a few lentils .

Another of our favourites in winter is I cook what we call gravy beef which I brown with chopped onions ,first as I believe it gives a better flavour ....I them add chopped mushrooms and a small handful of lentils, barely cover with water and simmer untill tender ,I thicken it a little ,then add to small ramekins ,top with a small square of puff pastry and cook in oven until brown
The 1kg of beef I cook (costs $9 kg) makes 3 meals each for us .There is only my hubby and I
 
Jeannine said:
I do a chicken soup using an ,old fat hen they cost me $5 for three. I pressure cook them add barley, carrots and onions and of course seasoning. I make sour dough bread that day to go with it , home made butter and follow it with a steamed pudding and custard


Very cheap and you can feed a crowd on this one if you use all the three hens. My veggies are home grown so that keeps the cost low too.
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Jeanine, Do you actually churn cream into butter?
 
Yes, well actually I don't churn it I do it in my mixer, but yea I do make it. 2 reasons, now and again I like the natural taste although the majority of the time I buy butter, the other reason is sometimes I want the buttermilk that is left over
 
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