My Recession Meal

[jfrizzell]

Yeah, I agree too, Revvy. But not about banging Rachel Ray. I'm more of a Giada Delaurentis fan.

Damn Yoop, I think that's the second comment like that I've seen from you today. Is there something you're trying to tell us? Or maybe something you'll be posting photos of later?

 

[goodbyebluesky82]

Dude, I am the king of cheap, feed-a-family-of-four under 3 bucks meals ever.

I make oatmeal from scratch for my sons. $2 of oats and $0.98 of brown sugar go a looong way. Like for weeks.
I make this wicked cheesy enchilada rice with cheap white rice, a small amount of hamburger or chicken, the cheese packet from a box of generic mac and cheese, and several spices including chili powder, cumin, and then some packs of hot sauce that I bogart from Taco Bell every time I am there. A HUGE pot for under 3 bucks. Goes great with some flour tortillas. I eat the leftovers at work at least once.
Here in the south we make "pintos and cornbread" which really WAS a great depression food. You can seriously feed four people under $1 if you use dried beans. I don't mind eating it every couple weeks.
Spaghetti is dirt cheap if you make your sauce from tomato paste and a can of diced tomatoes, and buy your pasta in bulk from somewhere like Sam's or Costco like I do.

and of course:

Hamburger helper bought on sale, meat bought in bulk at Sam's (3 bucks or less)
Two cans of black beans, a packet of vigo yellow rice + some Mexi hot sauce = yum (for $1.75)

I don't subject my family to this all the time, just here and there to leave room to go out on the weekend. But my income is cut 25% at work right now so I will be eating everything I just listed, along with some mac and cheese and bologna sandwiches at work. I can't wait for this election to be over and things go back to semi-normal so people will buy furniture again......

 

[BigKahuna]

Hamburger helper bought on sale, meat bought in bulk at Sam's (3 bucks or less)

You know Clark...I don't know why they call it HAMBURGER helper...it's just fine by itself!

OF WHICH.

I have the remains of a pork roast...maybe...8 oz in the crock pot with 1/2 onion, a fire roasted chili, 1/4 cup Pearled Barley (AKA NON MALTED 2 ROW!), 1/2 pack of Pintos, and 1/4 pack of lentils...this is in the crock with some frozen chicken broth that I rendered out of the bones from a chicken SWMBO used a month or so ago...and some curry spice.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I used to eat this back in the college apartment days:

1 Pkg Ramen
1 Egg
2 tbsp Frozen Peas

Crack the egg in the ramen when boiling and then whip with a fork. Add peas after the egg is cooked through. Actually, pretty damn good!

Ramen: $0.10
Egg: $0.20
Peas: <$0.10

That and PB&J sandwiches for weeks on end (shudders).

 

[Malticulous]

I haven't had lamb chops in months.

 

[Jaybird]

I used to eat alot of tuna and rice in college.

I used to drink tuna shakes when I was broke and working out a lot.

1 can of tuna
6 eggs
1 cup of wheat germ
4 scoops of protein mix and fill blender w/ whole milk
add a grapefruit if I was feeling wiggy

Oh it was fkn nasty!!! But it got the job done

Oh ya and then well you know... a steak (cheep POS whatever was on sale for like .99 a #)

My step dad taught me you could eat like a king on $5

I spent $6

I showed him LOL

 

[olllllo]

Speaking of legumes. Split Pea Soup. 1 ham bone, 1 bag of split green peas, water, onion (optional) and salt to taste. Cook until the peas mush and the remnants of meat fall off the bone. It has to be one of the easiest recipes that is so tasty and cheap. Carrots are another good addition, but I like to keep it really simple.

Made this on Sunday with Carrots and the butt end of some Turkey Ham (SWMBO thing). It was outstanding.

Thanks!

 

[zoebisch01]

Made this on Sunday with Carrots and the butt end of some Turkey Ham (SWMBO thing). It was outstanding.

Thanks!

yw! There is something about the simplicity that makes it great. If you want a different texture, you can do half split peas and half lentils. The lentils retain most of their shape.

 

[lustreking]

Speaking of legumes. Split Pea Soup. 1 ham bone, 1 bag of split green peas, water, onion (optional) and salt to taste. Cook until the peas mush and the remnants of meat fall off the bone. It has to be one of the easiest recipes that is so tasty and cheap. Carrots are another good addition, but I like to keep it really simple.

Hmmm... What do you think replacing some of the water with beer would do?

 

[Donasay]

You have to be careful eating so much rice and ramen without any fresh fruit or veggies, there was a guy in my dorm freshman year of college who didn't get the meal plan and ate nothing but 10 cent packages of ramen that he made in his room.

He eventually got really sick, and had to go to the hospital, in the end they diagnosed him with SCURVY! You know scurvy the good old vitamine dificency disease sailors used to get in the 17th century...

Eating cheaply is all well and good, just make sure you are having a balanced diet.

 

[Chriso]

Yarrr! Does fruit count if it's been fermented already?

(Seriously, though, I wish fruits and veggies were actually tasty.. I hate the buggers.)

 

[gratus fermentatio]

For about $3 (the price for a box of .22 ammo) and some time spent walking in the field, I can bag a couple of bunnies every day for nearly a month. That works out to a cost of about 1 penny per pound for the meat portion of a meal, which leaves some money left over for things like potatoes, onions, salt & pepper, and a can of frozen orange juice concentrate (to ward off scurvy). Regards, GF.

 

[toasted]

SPam eggs and rice

SLice up some spam real thin and fry it until crispy, then add to a fresh bowl of hot rice and add an egg over-Ez, then put in some soy sauce or chili-garlic sauce--mix up with a spoon and enjoy.
Breakfast of champions

 

[zoebisch01]

For about $3 (the price for a box of .22 ammo) and some time spent walking in the field, I can bag a couple of bunnies every day for nearly a month. That works out to a cost of about 1 penny per pound for the meat portion of a meal, which leaves some money left over for things like potatoes, onions, salt & pepper, and a can of frozen orange juice concentrate (to ward off scurvy). Regards, GF.

Keep in mind though you need lipids if you go strictly on rabbit

Rabbit Starvation

Or so they say. I'd imagine you'd need to eat it for quite a bit.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Keep in mind though you need lipids if you go strictly on rabbit

Rabbit Starvation

Or so they say. I'd imagine you'd need to eat it for quite a bit.

Guess I'd have to splurge & buy some butter. LOL

 

[EdWort]

As everyone cuts back, we create a self fulfilling prophecy of a recession. Less demand, less products are sold, less products are needed, less are built, produced, or grown and those jobs disappear along with the supply line jobs needed to make products that folks are cutting back on for whatever reason.

I guess it would be a good time to go on a diet.

 

[zoebisch01]

As everyone cuts back, we create a self fulfilling prophecy of a recession. Less demand, less products are sold, less products are needed, less are built, produced, or grown and those jobs disappear along with the supply line jobs needed to make products that folks are cutting back on for whatever reason.

I guess it would be a good time to go on a diet.

The really funny thing is, here in State College, PA the housing market is pretty much 'same as it ever was' (no foreclosures other than what is normal, and no plummeting sales prices). I don't see any doors closing and the stores are all packed. Now here's the screwed up part. Housing sales have slowed and people are getting the mentality that house prices should be going down simply because people are listening to what is going on with the nation as a whole, not the hometown economy. I understand there are some areas that are doing really bad, but it is not the case everywhere.

 

[mmb]

The really funny thing is, here in State College, PA the housing market is pretty much 'same as it ever was' (no foreclosures other than what is normal, and no plummeting sales prices). I don't see any doors closing and the stores are all packed. Now here's the screwed up part. Housing sales have slowed and people are getting the mentality that house prices should be going down simply because people are listening to what is going on with the nation as a whole, not the hometown economy. I understand there are some areas that are doing really bad, but it is not the case everywhere.

Michigan, on the other hand, sucks. But our economy has been in the tank for the past two years or so. The last 6 months have just sucked worse than before.