We live in the middle of nowhere (its funny because we actually live in the center of town, but there is nothing in the town lol) so we have to drive 30 minutes to get anywhere. There is small grocery store in our town but the prices are so high that we don't shop there that often. So because of this we try to make our groceries last two to three weeks (also because we are on a tight budget) towards the end when we are really short on groceries I am forced to get creative with our meals. This is nothing new. When I was younger and had just moved out on my own I had very very little (at one point I had gone 10 days without eating anything) and would have to eat things like pancakes dipped in mustard or the worst (but something I ate regularly) was mayo mixed with flour and salt and rolled flat cut into pieces and baked (its tastes kinda like a pita chip when you are really really hungry) Now that I am older married and have kids things are alot better but I still have to get creative with our meals. A month ago I tried to make a vegan hash using spilt peas, lentils and potatoes. Not bad but not something I would make if I had a choice. What are some of the most "creative meals" you have made
We eat rice with red or black beans on top and salsa on top of it all. Serve with tortilla chips. Yum and cheap.
Spaghetti with sauce or pesto (homemade from fresh basil and olive oil). I also make my own tomato sauce with Italian seasoning. No additives and you know what's in it.
Tuna fish casserole. Get a recipe book. Tuna, noodles and soup.Bake in oven. Easy.
I just had a home made "garbage" pizza the other day. I was CRAVING pizza, but didn't have any money or much in the way of ingredients. Home made crust (flour, yeast, water, oil, salt) spaghetti sauce and tomato paste for the sauce. Then I opened up the pantry cupboards and refrigerator to see what I had. It ended up with canned mushrooms, artichoke hearts, black olives, frozen diced onions and some sliced ham and turkey, and some mozzarella and parmesan. it was GOOD!
ETA I bet that the apple butter chicken would be AWESOME with pork too...
someone already said it, but you really can add all sorts of frozen or canned veggies to ramon noodles, even leftover or canned chicken, and make a meal.
French toast casserole....made out of left over hot dog buns, eggs, cinnamon, etc.
Stuffing from hamburger buns (everything else I had in my pantry).
Hot dog Ramen...yeah it's exactly what it sounds like.
Probably a lot more i'm not thinking of. =)
shell pasta with diced tomatoes, zucchini and squash, oregano, garlic salt, red pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar. I cooked the shells first then added it to the rest.
Scrambled Eggs
My boyfriend adds saltine crackers to eggs to make the eggs go farther. Take 10 crackers or more and crumble them. Add 2-3 eggs to it, a splash of water, stir well, then cook as your normally would. My 17 year old loves it cooked this way.
You can make 2 cups of instant rice with 15oz. of chicken broth. Layer mixed veggies, broccoli or peas on top of that. Bake on top of that 4 chicken breasts or so with cream of mushroom or celery on top.
Also, beans and rice with side veggie:
Caribbean Rice and Beans
2 C uncooked rice
1/2 C water
1 can coconut milk (13 oz)
1 Tsp salt (I use less)
1 can red kidney beans (drained)
or:
Apple Butter Chicken
Cut some chicken into cubes
put it on skewers alternating with pieces of apple.
Cover in apple butter on the kabobs and grill it.
Serve with sweetcorn and warm bread.
I am thinking something with ramon noodles......ramon noodles with mixed veggies and fried hotdogs with soy sauce and cooked with a bunch of butter.
Fried rice with whatever leftover meat you have. Cut the cooked meat really fine or use a food chopper, mix it with cooked rice, whatever vegetable you have (onions, carrots, peas or all of them), add a couple of beaten eggs and soy sauce and cook until eggs are cooked.
Tuna patties: can tuna, mashed potatoes (boxed or regular), onion, egg, salt to taste and flour. Mix tuna, mash potatoes, onion, egg and salt; make a patty, cover with flour and fry it - VERY good.
Flautas - leftover Chicken, pork or beef, shredded or diced small and cooked with red salsa; fill warm corn tortillas with the mix, roll and hold with toothpick, fry and serve with side of rice and/or beans.
We did this just last night. Cheese stuffed hot dogs, pork n beans, and fried potatoes. Not too bad! Make a slit through the hot dog, stuff with cheese and bake until hot and cheese is melted.
