The "I'm poor as hell recipe collection"

a reply to: BASSPLYR

I'd buy a bag of beans and a stack of corn tortillas, were it me.

Tonight we are actually having bean chalupas. Had some left over beans from New Years, so we refried them for breakfast this morning (refried bean, egg, and chorizo burritos are a favorite of mine).

A chalupa is incredibly easy to make: just fry a tortilla in oil, laid flat, until it starts to get crispy. I like to do mine until they just start to brown....toasted corn flavor is awsome. Drain the tortilla, then smear beans all over it, cover with cheese and pico de gallo....yum.

The next night you can cut the tortillas into quarters and fry them into chips, and make refried bean nachos.

In a Mexican household, all you need is beans, maybe a bit of ground beef, some cheese, some salsa, and some tortillas. Making flour torts from scratch is as simple as lard, flour, and some baking powder.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
Making flour torts from scratch is as simple as lard, flour, and some baking powder.

Do you use any particular type of press?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

LOL....i have 2 presses that actually get used all the time. Very versatile tools, i can also use them to measure, to stir....

We do it the old fashioned way: by hand. A rollling pin and hand, actually, to make it the smoothest. It takes practice so get where they come out round.

ETA: this is a great dessert, too. You take the raw tortilla and throw it on the comal to cook a little (a comal is just a flat iron). When it just barely starts to hold together like a fully cooked tortilla, take it off and throw it into hot oil (or a mix of oil and butter) until it fries up crisp. Drain it for a moment, then cover in sugar and cinnamon.

A variation on premade torts: throw them into a skillet with melted butter and cook until they start to crisp/brown. Cover in cinnonmon and sugar (maybe swirl a little honey on it) and serve.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Well,if you can do $5.00a day...
Day one...
Buy a loaf of bread and some mayo...an 18 pack of eggs and 2 cans of tuna.
1.00 bread
2.00 mayo
3.00 eggs
1.50 tuna
7.50 = $27.50 left for the week

Make some scrambled eggs (2) with tuna for breakfast...then tuna sammy for lunch, then open face "hot" tuna with boiled eggs (2) for dinner...
If you spend around
$10.00 on a good roast, that should last you 4 meals or so just thought if you buy a pork roast you could spend 1.00 on some store bought Bar B Que sauce and have it a couple of different ways!
$17.50 left for the week

Don't forget you still have 14 eggs left!

Go ahead and buy you some taters to go with the roast, carrots too...I know you want to focus on protein but...this is just ONE week...

$3.00 5 lb of taters
$1.50 pound of carrots
$13.00 left for the week

Buy a pound of bacon to have bacon and eggs one night or breakfast and for dinner...

$6.00 bacon (I went on the high side)
$7.00 left for the week

Buy a good size filet of salmon and make it last two meals...that should run out your $7.00. Good protein source!

Save some bacon and taters for tater soup...you may have to go a little over budget and buy a can of evaporated (not sweetened condensed!) milk...may run you about 1.00...the tater soup won't taste as good with out it...chicken broth (a can) right now in my area is 50 cents. That would be an "okay" alternative...

So, you may not eat the "traditional" breakfast, lunch, and dinner...but, you will eat well...

Good luck with the gift!

I'll never forget how Amazon screwed me over (not really just really really late!) last Christmas!

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I lived with a family moons ago and the "Matriarch" would make tortillas by hand. She would just mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and shape them by hand.
We were staying in a wing of a hotel and she would stagger (if you will) the tortillas around the hotel table until they were all done. There was a gas stove in the kitchenette area and she would cook them on it. No pan, just right over the eye. She delegated other jobs to me as I wasn't very good at keeping an eye on them!
We ate so well back in those days. We would stuff them with whatever...beans, fish, potatoes, I remember them being so yummy and so grateful for all of the work that was involved in dinner production.
You know, she always had a smile on her face, she would just be grinning and rolling out tortillas and humming...

Fond memories!

a reply to: TNMockingbird

Yeah...thats the stuff right there. Memories of that kind of stuff growing up....

Im gringo, but that's never mattered much to me (or the locals). As a young boy, all the ladies loved my blond hair and blues eyes. LOL...so i always got treats and whatnot.

Fresh queso fresco on a warm, fresh tortilla is the simplest heaven...

The food is very cheap to buy, but the flavors are anything but cheap.



To the person asking earlier....there are things you can do with a corn tortilla that go byonnd tacos and chips. You can steam them to make gorditas, too. The qualities of the tortillas change a little, so its not like eating "tortillas, again?"

Enchiladas are another dish that are really good, and give you different texture out of the tortillas (lightly fried, then rolled and put into the casserole).

You can buy large amounts of maybe 10 ingredients and make a weeks worth of food out of them.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
LOL....i have 2 presses that actually get used all the time. Very versatile tools, i can also use them to measure, to stir....

I walked right into that one, didn't I?

ETA: this is a great dessert, too. You take the raw tortilla and throw it on the comal to cook a little (a comal is just a flat iron). When it just barely starts to hold together like a fully cooked tortilla, take it off and throw it into hot oil (or a mix of oil and butter) until it fries up crisp. Drain it for a moment, then cover in sugar and cinnamon.

A variation on premade torts: throw them into a skillet with melted butter and cook until they start to crisp/brown. Cover in cinnonmon and sugar (maybe swirl a little honey on it) and serve.

Kind of like dessert flautas? (I have a nice comal that one of the staff gave me)

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

there you go.

you can also use a very similar dough to make sopapillas. Which, with a bit of honey and powdered sugar, become something really special.

cheap easy eats...

1 box of frozen chopped spinach
2 eggs per person
mashed real or instant potatoes

I know.....sounds ????? but serve the spinach & taters with some butter & salt, the key is cooking the eggs over easy.
top the spinach & taters with the eggs. I have no idea why this tastes so amazing, but I've made it for friends, grandkids ect...an it's always a hit.

This was one of my Mom's "go to meals", as kids we only got one egg each tho....LMAO!!!
Now I'm older ...heeheehee....I use two boxes of spinach! WHEEEEE living large!!!

Polenta.

It's a very cheap and easy thing to make, and can be served many ways.

Basically it's boiled cornmeal will a little bit of salt in it.

You can serve it up hot like a bowl of grits or oatmeal, and one can put butter (or jelly or many other things) in it. Quite filling and great on cold days.

You can also let it cool, and it will solidify, which you can then take and either bake it like a loaf, or cut it up and fry it in some oil.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil, then add 2 teaspoons of salt and add about 1 3/4 a cup of cornmeal, using a whisk on it.
Then lower the temp to a simmer can continue to cook and whisk it until it thickens (takes about 15 to 20 minutes).

Once it's done, you can scoop it in to bowls and serve or like I said, let it cool off and either bake it like bread or cut it up and fry it in oil.

It's actually quite good and I believe it was a staple of Roman solders.

Australian prices

INEXPENSIVE STEW

1/2 kg of mince $3.99
1 kg of frozen mixed vegetables $1.56
packet of soup mix such as chicken noodle/French onion etc. $0.50
can also flavour to own taste with whatever sauces/spices you have to hand

I use a microwave, so times may need to be reviewed for regular stove.

01. boil mince and break up to smaller pieces. 20 minutes.
02. strain mince to drain off excess fat.
03. add fresh water to mince.
04. add vegetables and soup mixes plus whatever flavours you prefer.
05. cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. depends how soft you prefer your vegetables.
06. serve.

I find this can make up to 8 good sized bowls of stew for $6-$7.

Just add more water to thin out for soup to get up to 12 bowls.

Australia actually can have higher food prices than other western society countries.

Maybe not flash, but at least it is filling for a reasonable price.

a reply to: TNMockingbird

thank you very much for this. im going to the market tonight after i get off work. going to give this a shot.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

I didn't see the latter part of this query....but IMO dad can wait for a gift.

I wouldn't want my son choosing food, phone, or a gift for me. Just my 2 cents there.

But you sound like a good son. That makes me smile...and i need some smiles.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

right on bfft,

always appreciated your posts.

I've decided to pay the phone bill, cut my budget further and buy him a side present (that's not too expensive but says I'm thinking about you) and prey the real present shows up in the next week or so.

the tortilla idea was used btw. I saw your post and looked over at half a bag of tortillas that amazingly hadn't dried out or gotten stiff and stale in my pantry. you don't want to know what I had to top the chips with but it got me through. but more importantly with proper toppings you have given me a useful medium/tool food wise for when I'm hurtn.

a reply to: Daavin

You must have read my mind - I was in the process of gathering ideas for a thread on using a dried food larder for the survival forum but this is needful now.

We eat as cheaply as possible and I tend to buy in bulk to save overall cost. I do grow my own fruit and veg so during the growing season I save a huge amount and preserve either through dehydration or canning, pickling, jam, chutney, vinegars and homemade wine the surplus. There is a lot to say about condiments to spice up a normally bland meal.

Potatoes are usually quite inexpensive - if you add a spoonful of chutney to mashed potato it transforms it. Also try a teaspoon of mustard if taste allows. Awesome served with sausages and onions.

Hommity Pie - you will need:-

Pastry to fill desired dish - I use 8" to feed 4 people. Pastry is half fat to flour. S&P and a little water to blend. So 8oz all purpose flour, 4 oz white veg fat or lard, pinch salt and pepper. Rub in fat and flour and salt and pepper to resemble breadcrumb and then add enough water to form a dough. Probably about a tablespoon - do it slowly though or you will end up with sticky gloop. Gloop is not good! The trick with good pastry is to keep it cool - so cold water and be quick when bringing in together. Roll out with a rolling pin or an empty wine bottle and line a greased pie dish. You can blind bake in an oven for 10 minutes if you want to but I honestly do not bother. You can also skip this bit and buy an already made pie crust if you want to cheat. Have done this myself so do not feel bad.

Filling
About 3 medium potatoes peeled and diced into 1" cubes and then cook until tender - about 7 -10 mins if that. Drain and put by. Might actually be more or less depending on your interpretation of medium and pie dish size. If you do more than you need you can always freeze up for later use. The idea is to pack the dish with potato scrumminess so don't be shy.
I onion
1 leek
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Cheese - grated
In a saute pan saute onions and leeks and then when golden brown add potatoes add a splash of worcestershire sauce and/or soy sauce and cook for a few minutes. Tip your potato and onion leek mixture into pastry case and grate some cheese to cover - according to taste. Bake for half an hour at gas mark 5 until case is golden brown and cheese is bubbling and golden.

Serve with any veg or salad you have to hand. Also really good cold. I also tend to add garlic to my onion and leek mix. I've also been know to add smoked bacon to the mix - very good is an understatement.

originally posted by: Malynn
a reply to: ChuckNasty

People can turn up their noses at Spam, but it doesn't change the fact that its delicious. Lol Especially sliced thin and fried. But I've given up canned food except for French Style green beans. Which just taste better to me than other green beans. Fried Spam and eggs though...so good.

Spam was as much as a staple growing up as was the rice. Every Sunday morning, breakfast was a crap ton of rice, eggs over easy, and thinly sliced/fried spam. Better than bacon IMO.

The way the egg yolk, when put over the hot rice, melts into the steamed rice grains...magical. Then dashing soysauce over the lot and black and red pepper for flavor...priceless.

Then the magical moment of scooping the rice/yolk mixture into your mouth using the fried spam slice...extreme bliss from my adolescent memories.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

You remind me of what we used to make when I was little and living in an all mexican neighborhood- the mamas would deep fry flour tortillas, until they puffed up, then sprinkle them with sugar!

When I moved to france, I found out they have something called "bugnes" which is the same thing, only more costly and difficult to make. I surprised my family by whipping them out with a package of tortillas.
(googling it came up with "angel wings").

A totally cheap soup idea that is traditional in my husbands family, and they swear is great for cleaning the body and treating colds and flu- Garlic soup.
Like, garlic cloves boiled in water, and quickly passed through a blender in the water. Add salt to taste.

I actually haven't tried it, despite my husbands demands. But you can't get cheaper than that.

Get phone
Call parents
Say "we need to catch up"
Come an hour or two before dinner time

originally posted by: Dumbass
Get phone
Call parents
Say "we need to catch up"
Come an hour or two before dinner time

When my wife and I were with young children and struggling to make ends meet, we'd have these occasional desires to not cook. Maybe once a month or so i'd call my mom up and volunteer her to take us all out to eat. "Hey mom...what'ya doin'? Oh, ok...well, we all want chicken fried steak. You wanna cook at your place, or just go eat at X?"