Cheap and Good Foods For the Lazy

* "Universal" Burritos *

- Pack of Tortillas. They are available as flour, corn etc. We usually use the corn ones.
- 3 cans of precooked Pinto Beans
- Hot Sauce
- Sour Cream (better even: plain non-sugared Yogurt)
- Optional: Sides like Tomatoes, Iceberg Salad , Olives, Peppers, Guacomole if you want it really "fancy"
- Shredded cheese (Mexican, Mozzarella, Etc. whatever you like)


Put the three cans of Pinto Bins in large microwave-able bowl. Put MW at approx. 20 mins and cook beans. Stir after about 10 mins.

When done, take out beans from MW and take a whisk and MASH the **** out of the beans so they get really smooth. Careful, beans are very hot.

Place tortillas in MW and heat for 5-10 sec to soften to separate them easily without breaking.

Take tortilla(s) out and put 2-3 tablespoons of soft beans in it, you can also sprinkle some cheese inside the tortilla. Roll up tortilla into a burrito or simply fold to make a flat, "moon" thingy.

Sprinkle some cheese on top of tortilla, put into MW and heat 1-3 mins until cheese is soft. (If beans are freshly made and hot it won't take long, maybe 1min, if beans are kept in fridge then have them in MW for 2-3 mins or so)

After the cheese on top of the tortillas melted, take them out.

Sprinkle a few drops of Hot Sauce and/or Sour Cream/Yogurt or both on the Tortilla, or serve with Sour Cream/Yogurt on the side. Hot Sauce makes all the difference!!

Serve with various sides, it RALLY makes a different as well!! eg. sliced tomates, slightly salted and some leaves of Ice Berg salad, green olives, peppers (jalapeno etc.)...

MANY VARIATIONS possible: For example, you can make burritos with cooked chicken or ground beef. Or you cook beans with some onions cut in. You can also stuff some leftovers into the burritos such as potatoes or even things like noodles etc.

Very quick to make and very yummy, the worst part is really the mashing of the beans after they were cooked


* Super-Simple Potato Hash With Hot Dogs *

- Get bag of Potatoes
- A bunch of Hot Dogs or Wieners
- Onions

Cut Potatoes in two/three pieces each, place suitable amount in microwaveable bowl with salt water. Cook in MW for about 15-20mins until potatoes are soft/done.

Take potatoes out from MW, drain water.

Slice 4 hot dogs or wieners into smaller pieces
Slightly brown cut onion and hot dogs in frying pan.

Add potatoes to pan, smash bigger potato pieces to make into hash, fry and flip for about 10-15 mins together with the onions and hot-dogs until brown.

Add salt and/or pepper to taste. I especially like it with mustard.


* Guacamole *

- 2 or 3 Avocados
- Lime
- Onions
- fresh CILANTRO!!
- optional Tomatoes, Taco Chips, Hot Peppers (Jalapeno)

Get 2 or 3 Avocados at the store. THIS IS THE MOST important part: They must be ripe but cannot be too ripe/brown. Normally when we get them they are still green and need a few days sitting at home, means you buy them 2-3 days before you plan to make the Guac Once they are ripe they QUICKLY go bad and icky brown.

So....slice your Avocados in two halves with a good knife. Take out the stone. Use a SPOON and entirely scrape out the green stuff and put in a bowl. Sprinkle with lime juice so it doesn't get brown.
You can throw everything (Guac, Onions, Cilantro, Salt, Pepper) into a food processor and run it for a few seconds. Don't make it too smooth, it's perfect when the guac is still somewhat "chunky". You can also make a Guac with chopped Tomatoes, chopped jalapeno etc.

Serve and eat with taco chips.

For us, Cilantro makes all the difference. (It's a Mexican spice. Some hate it tho

**

You see that we like Mexican food A LOT, but we don't live in the states anymore. The above is somehow trying to make authentic "Mexican food", eg. the Burritos and the Guac.

Taco Soup

1 package ground beef/turkey
1 diced onion
1 can red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can light red beans
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 package taco seasoning
shredded cheese (optional)
tortilla chips.

Brown ground meat in a large pot. add onion and cook it until soft. add the rest of the ingredients and eat it over chips with cheese on top after its hot. You can add other things you like such as jalapenos, sour cream or whatever.

Very tasty and tastes even better the next day. Easy to make too. You can make a pot and eat on it for a good while.

Recipe....

1 tin of baked beans
2 slices of bread of your choice

Add the beans to a saucepan and heat on the stove...

While the beans are heating up, put two slices of bread into the toaster...

When the bread has toasted, spread some butter/margarine on the toasted bread...

When the beans have warmed to a temperature of your choice, pour them over the buttered toast, add a little pepper and serve on a plate along with a knife and fork...

If you want to be really cheeky you can also add a sprinkling of cheese on top of the beans and maybe even a little smattering of HP Tangy Sauce...

Mmmmmmmm, heaven.........

Here is a photo of the finished recipe, if it doesn't look like this, then you have done something really wrong....

Enjoy........

reply to post by NoRulesAllowed

My amazing lentils and rice recipe is in my signature, and the thread has an added bonus: my amazing oatmeal recipe. Feast, my brothers and sisters, feast!

I make all kinds of cheap and easy food for the lazy. I can everything from homemade beef stew to taco meat.
Then the Lazy sons, just open the jars, heat it up and eat it.
Can't get any easier than that. LOL

reply to post by NoRulesAllowed


OK I'm bored and can't sleep and now I've got a raging food on. thanks.
My contribution will be a simple one.
Chicken corn chowder!

Ingredients
9 cups of water
3 heaping tablespoons chicken bouillon (more or less to taste)
1lb chicken boneless skinless (breasts are my favorite)
Can or frozen bag of corn
2/3 cup DEHYDRATED milk
5 or 6 medium potatoes skins on
1 large onion
1/2 cup of flour, any kind will do
Salt, pepper, garlic to taste.

Add 5 cups of water to pot and add spices and chicken (whole pieces, dicing comes later).
cut potatoes and onion into 1/2 to 3/4 inch chunks (10 to 15 Millimeters for you foodies across the pond).
Once chicken has been at a rolling boil for about 5 minutes remove to a cutting board and dice similar to the potatoes.
Add chicken, potatoes, corn, and onions to the broth.
Add 2 more cups of water with the 2/3 powdered milk. (leaving only 2 cups left to add 9 cups in all)
Simmer until potatoes are done to your taste.
At this point add the flour to the last 2 cups of water and stir, add to the chowder.
Stir until gravy like consistency with a wood spoon.
EAT!
Serving size varies, feeds 2 adults and 3 dogs, with maybe abit leftover for lunch.
Note: always use powdered milk, something about the taste just works best for this, and never use bouillon cubes, buy the big jar, it's a lot cheaper and lasts and stores forever. you could also use this recipe with beef rather than chicken, if I do, I add peas and carrots though.

In all this recipe takes about an hour if I putt around the kitchen, and is awesome powerful on rainy days!
I hope the OP is hungry now!!!

Ok, I just had to add my "chili" recipe... consider yourselves lucky cuz I never give this recipe out (mainly because it would blow my cover as the family gourmet lmao)

Chili to feed an ARMY

1 lb each ground chicken/pork/turkey (cheaper than ground beef, I've also used sausage)
2 16 oz jars salsa (heat level of your choice, I use hot)
2 cans each pinto/kidney/great northern beans - drained and rinsed
3 tsp beef bullion
2 16 oz cans diced tomatoes, do NOT drain (I have used rotell, but usually just diced)
3 cloves garlic diced or pressed (you can also use garlic powder for ease, 2 Tbsp is about right)
black pepper to taste

The most labor intensive part is browning the meat, then put meat and all other ingredients into whatever you choose to cook it. I use the crock pot on low all day, but you can make it in a heavy stock pot simmering for a few hours. Alternately you can cook this on med-hi for about 30 mins stirring often (this way gets it done faster, but doesn't allow the flavors to "marry" the same way), it'll taste better the next day if done like this.

This will easily feed 10 people, or my family of 5 till they're stuffed. I also make rice to go with it and serve shredded cheese (mexican or taco) and sour cream! This freezes REALLY well so sometimes I double the recipe and freeze in single serving containers for quick meals or snacks. It can also be served with shredded lettuce and tortilla chips. Sometimes we even use it for taco salad, serving it with salad mix greens and ranch dressing over a bed of tortilla chips. This is my most versatile recipe in my arsenal and I make it often.

All together the ingredients (not counting what I usually have on hand, garlic, pepper, beef bullion) cost about $17 and prep time if using a crock pot is 20 minutes tops.

Clammy Noodles

1 can baby clams w/ juice
1 stick to 1/2 stick butter (to taste)
garlic to taste (we like lots)

Put it all in a skillet and heat over high until it boils; then reduce heat to medium and cook until simmered down some. Toss with cooked spaghetti and serve.

We made the above all the time in college when we wanted something different to go with our spaghetti than just red sauce.

Carbonera (Heart Attack Spaghetti)

1/2 lb bacon cooked to crumbly crispy, drained and crumbled
2 to 3 eggs beaten
1c or so grated Parmesan cheese (to taste really)
Cooked spaghetti noodles

Cook and drain bacon. Crumble and set aside. Beat the eggs and mix with Parmesan cheese and set aside. Cook spaghetti noodles, drain and return to hot pot over low heat. Pour in beaten egg mixture with bacon crumbles and toss with spaghetti noodles over low heat until cheese melts and egg curdles. Season with black pepper (should already be plenty salty!). Remove from heat and serve. My husband sometimes likes to add a little of the leftover bacon grease for extra flavor and we do sometimes do the whole pound of bacon.

Fish soup.

You go to the store and buy some cheap fish. I like whiter fish for this, not oily fish. Pollack is cheap, usually less than two bucks a pound frozen for filets. Put a frozen filet soaking in some water to thaw and draw out the sulfites. While that is soaking, peel a couple of potatoes and an onion. quarter the potato and slice it to quarter inch thick pieces. Slice the onion and put them in water with enough water to almost cover them. Add salt and pepper to taste and a bout 3/8 of an inch of a butter stick. I add a little sliced cabbage but that is just an option. Boil till the potatoes start getting soft.

Drain and rinse the fish and cut it into pieces and drop them in the soup. Cover and cook about five minutes, the fish doesn't have to cook that long. The potatoes give the soup a creamy texture.

It comes out to about 85 cents to make plenty of food for lunch or supper. If there is two of you, just double the ingredients. This was my grandfathers recipe for Kala Mojakka.

Another cheap meal is to make Pasties. I make a medium pasty for about 90 censt, enough to feed a person who isn't working hard. A person who works hard may eat two of the size I make. Making twenty of them and freezing them individually is the best way, just pop it out of the freezer in the morning and put it in the freezer. Stick it in the oven for about twenty minutes at 300 at night and it's ready to go. Microwaves don't crispen the crust to make them freshlike like the oven does, but it works. That is another recipe, my daughter wants me to make a video of my process of making them.

When the moneys just about running out, this is what we have, its also a good way of using up old veggies and hard old cheese.

PAYDAY TORTILLA.
Start out by frying up an onion, caramelising it with a bit of sugar to make it go soft and brown,(this is important, this adds a lot of flavour.
Now venture to the deepest recesses of your fridge, and get out that bit of cold cooked potato, wrinkly bell pepper, a few frozen peas and sweetcorn from the freezer, whatever youve got thats edible but needs using up.
Now chuck them in with the onion, and fry them around a bit.
Beat up two or three eggs (free range if you can run to it), throw them on top of the veg, bit of salt and pepper, a bit of ancient cheese if youve got it, cook on low for five minutes or so, put a plate on top of the frying pan (itll make it cook quicker and all the way through).
Turn it out onto plate, eat with a bit of bread and butter for your tea, whats left have tomorrow for brekkie/lunch.
Yummy yummy in my tummy.

Peanut butter noodles
1 package of spaghetti noodles, cooked
A few Tablespoons of peanut butter
A few tablespoons of soy sauce ( or liquid aminos)
Squirt of honey
Minced garlic to taste
Minced ginger to taste
1/2 pint of broth, I'm using veggie tonight
Cooked chicken
Bag of frozen mixed veggies

Boil the noodles and veggies in the same pot or add veggies to chicken after cooked to sauté
Cook chicken ( I usually use a couple of frozen thighs)
Combine cooked noodles, veggies and chicken
Add sauce ingredients and mix to coat
Add some chili pepper or sauce if you like the heat, I do but the kids don't.

For british readers i can heartily recommend a trip to asda at around 3pm on a sunday, (they close at 4). Last sunday i procured, £24 worth of tuna for 60p, £10worth of salmon for 60p, £12 worth of cod for 60p, 4 lamb chops for 40p, two small fillet steaks for £1. Also loaves and bags of fruit for a penny each. The fish was perfectly fresh, which i didnt expect.
BE PREPARED TO FIGHT.

reply to post by thedoctorswife


You reminded me of a trick I use often for procuring my meats... shop the evening (as late as possible) before the new adverts come out. I guess you could apply the same method for fruits and veggies as well, but those tend to last longer and don't get as deeply discounted. See the chain stores will always have ads for their "weekly deals" in the Sunday paper and will want to sell as much of their overstock as possible the night before so there's room for the new inventory. The delivery trucks roll in early afternoon and the employees are charged wit the task of weighing, packaging and pricing the new inventory so that day shift (early morning) can put it out on display. Part of this process is going through what is currently out on display and left in the fridge/freezer and then repricing it for quick sale. What was frozen (which will be marked as "previously frozen) will get the deepest price reduction because it isn't advisable to re-freeze meats. I can by pounds upon pounds of meat that was "previously frozen", bring it home and cook it within 24 hours and then freeze it. My best score ever and one I'll never forget was 8.06lbs of thick cut, bone-in pork chops for $3.87!! I brought that pork home and made it 6 different ways, froze it and we had pork and kraut, bbq chops, pulled pork sandwiches, pork tenderloins (cut the meat off the bone into strips) with fried apples and the pies-ta resistance; stuffed and smothered pork chops...

Here's that recipe:

preheat oven to 325 degrees
2 thick cut bone-in pork chops ('cause that's what I had)
1 box store brand stuffing mix (follow package directions)
1 envelope pork/chicken/white gravy (follow package directions)
2 Tbsp butter

Cut the meat free of the bone, pound meat as flat as possible (I used the broad side of a meat tenderizer, but you can use a rolling pin or even a hammer, taking care to not pulverize the meat) between wax paper, cheese cloth or even a clean tea towel. Cut flattened pork chops in half. Make stuffing according to directions then spread the butter on one side of each pork chop piece. Place a heaping spoonful of stuffing about 1 inch away from edge of pork chop piece, making sure to get as close as possible to edges, then tuck and roll pork chop around stuffing. Secure rolls with a toothpick, place rolls on greased cookie sheet and bake for 30 mins. During the last 10 minutes of baking prepare the gravy. When the pork chops are done remove from oven, plate the chops and "smother" with gravy. Serve with veggie of your choice and enjoy.

If you make the stuffing while you "dissect" and flatten the chops this recipe takes a total of 40 minutes from start to finish.

Sesame and Curry Crusted Salmon with Tomato Salad

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of curry powder
1/4 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
1.5 lb. center-cut, salmon fillet, with skin
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved or Campari tomatoes, quartered
1/2 serrano or jalepenochile, minced with seeds
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped cilantro

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit.
In a spice grinder, combine the sesame seeds, curry powder and crushed red pepper and pulse until coarsely ground.
Season the salmon with salt and pepper, brush one side of the fillet with 1 tablespoon of the Dijon mustard and coat with the ground sesame seed mixture.
In a large, ovenproof, nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the salmon, coated side down, and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Carefully flip the salmon. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for about 10 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked through. Transfer the salmon to a platter.
In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the remaining 1 tsp of mustard and 1 tbs of olive oil.
Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, chile and cilantro and toss.
Cut the salmon into 4 pieces and serve right away with the tomato salad.

here is my version of chicken thighs and rice super easy to make and tastes pretty good,

1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 small onion diced
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
6 chicken thighs bone in skin on

mix soup with enough water to make 3 cups liquid
pour rice into a casserole layer onions place thighs on top and pour liquid all over
cover and bake at 375F for 1 hour 30 min uncovering for last 30 min to brown meat.

The rice comes out creamy and the best thing is you can add whatever spice suits your tastes.

(I swear to god I will make Aleister's Lentil/Rice recipe one day, but today I made this)

Cheap and Super Simple Lentil Soup

* Cut large onion and some garlic, brown in large skillet with olive oil.
* (Optional add a can of diced tomato too)
* Add one cup of dry lentils when onion is glassy and four cups of chicken or vegetable broth
* Add some salt, pepper
* Cover, let simmer at low heat for about 30-40 mins.

* Serve by adding some lemon/lime juice and a few drops of hot sauce.

I like to serve over dry/old bread. We always have tons of old/rock hard bread which we normally toss out. But it's great for soups. For even more flavor you can brown the bread in a skillet in some butter and use that for serving.

Lentil soup should also be great with hot dogs, wieners etc. which you could add 10min before the soup is done if you want that.

Very easy to make, very cheap.