Favorite Frugal Recipe

[Finally_Frugal]

I, too, am a rice and beans gal (with canned or fresh tomatoes, taco seasoning, corn, whatever else is on hand). I recently came across a recipe for 'chilaquiles', which I'd never heard of before, and which uses most of these ingredients, and is DELICIOUS!

Here's the recipe:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 (19 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cups corn, frozen (thawed) or fresh
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 corn tortillas, quartered
1 (19 ounce) can mild red or green enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are heated through, about 3 minutes.
3. Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the baking dish. Top with about half the vegetable mixture, about half the enchilada sauce and half the cheese. Repeat with one more layer of tortillas, vegetables, sauce and cheese. Cover with foil.
4. Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more.

Yield: 10 servings

[CheapCanuck]

Rice is the big staple in my diet, and it is of course very cheap as well I get one of those pre-cooked rotisserie BBQ chickens for $6-7, a can of pineapples, and a jar of plum sauce. Start with a bed of rice, cut some chicken and add that, then a few pineapples and top with the plum sauce. Makes 7-8 meals for maybe $10 total. Cheap, easy and tasty!

[Kathryn]

My favorite frugal meal is chili with cornbread. If I've got more time than money, it's super-cheap if to start from dry beans and make my own cornbread, but even if I do the quick version using canned chili beans and a couple boxes of cornbread mix, it's still pretty cheap. I always use frozen ground turkey, which if you find the right store runs about $.80-.90/lb, and I stir in some masa harina in the last half hour of cooking time to stretch it a little farther without sacrificing the thick, hearty texture we like in our chili.

[Frugal Fannie]

A favorite here is Beef Soup with Rivels. I take a very small piece of cheap beef roast (as small as a deck of cards) with a beef soup bone and put in a big pot of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2 - 3 hours. Remove the bone and meat. Shred the meat and return to the pot. Add cut up vegetables: carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes along with minced garlic, dried basil, and S & P. Bring to a boil and cook till vegetables are done. For rivels (Amish dumplings) use a fork to beat an egg, stir in a cup of flour and a dash of salt. Then stir in a 1/4 cup milk. Dough will be sticky. Use 2 forks to pull off small pieces of dough and drop in boiling soup. They are ready when they float (just a couple of minutes). Rivels can be added to any soup.

[Mary Webber]

Living here on the coast of Maine, I really love fresh fish, and since I eat no other meats, I have lots of ways to cook that fish. Every summer as the harvest comes in, I make tons and tons of salsa and FREEZE it. I wasn't too sure how that would work out, but it's excellent. And, of course, this salsa isn't all mush, it has nice chunks of tomato, onion, green pepers, garlic, and lots of good seasonings.

To cook the fish, which can be fresh or frozen, I empty a container of salsa into a frypan and heat - I use the frypan as I want a nice layer of salsa, but with a large surface to cook the fish on. I just lay the fish pieces on the heated salsa, and let simmer for a few minutes, until the fish flakes. Served over a thick slice of hearty, crusty bread, this makes a good quick, very filling, and inexpensive meal. I've added pasta and any number of other on-hand things, such as black olives and rosemary for a more international look and flavor, and every variations been tasty.

[DistilledRose]

Potatoes and Peppers!
I just dice some potatoes very small and sauté them with a little olive oil. Then after they've cooked a few minutes, I add some diced peppers... cook until it is brown, salt and cover with sharp cheddar cheese. Absolutely yummy and pretty cheap and simple!

[amyschiff]

Once in a while I make couscous with edamame. Both are really high in protein and together they are a pretty filling dish. I usually cook up 1/2 a bag of frozen edamame (and then pop them out of their shells) and then I also 1/2 the recipe on the couscous container. Salt, pepper, garlic, and maybe some red pepper flakes finish it off.

Couscous takes no time at all to cook, and if you can find pre-shelled edamame, you should be good to go in not much longer than it takes to boil a pan of water.

[khorrell]

Not my recipe, but a friend's: When she's pinched for time, she opens an can of potatoes and a can of spinach. Heat in the microwave. For me, it would require salsa and maybe some cheese or sour cream, but, as far as I know, she eats it straight-up. It's worth a try

[Mary Webber]

A friend is staying with us for a month this summer, and she requested a childhood favorite meal the other night, goldenrod eggs. I'd forgotten how good they are and how much I, too, love this dish. Since my husband just shudders when this dish is mentioned, we had it as girls' treat one night when he was out.

Just chopped, hard-boiled eggs in a butter-rich while sauce over toast. YUM!

[Beignet]

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm

Good frugal stuff here.

You can't beat beans and grains for nutrition and costs.