Recipes
Cheap Meals
Here are some cheap meal alternatives. These are only but a few…I can get very creative when times are tough or I can’t get to the store.
Ramen noodle soup with added fresh vegetables
Egg noodles, your choice of meat and undiluted mushroom soup
Pasta and sauce with homemade garlic bread. Just take some cheap sliced white bread and spread margarine and sprinkle garlic powder.
Rice, potatoes and hardboiled eggs
Rice, potatoes and canned sardines
Fried eggs and rice
Fried bananas, fried eggs and rice
Rice and canned pork and beans
Rice and canned vegetables
Toasted cheese sandwich and canned tomato soup
Corn chips and homemade salsa
Fried hotdogs and rice
Instant mashed potatoes with canned beef stew over top
Instant macaroni and cheese with sliced hotdogs
Vegetarian canned baked beans with cut up hot dogs added over rice or potatoes
Fried bologne and eggs with toast
Try breakfast for dinner
Try dinner leftovers for breakfast
Rice with ketchup packets you picked up at a convenient store for free (bachelor recipe)
If I’ve run out of economy grade bacon I use left over sliced deli ham and fry that up for breakfast or add to my pasta sauce.
Macaroni salad with mayonnaise and salt and pepper
Cook one- pot meals for dinner
Sweet plantain omelets
Potato omelets
I could go on and on but the message here is to use pantry food and add the few cheap staples to create a more balanced meal.
Posted in Frugality, Recipes, Save Money | 
Tags: cheap, cheap meals, eating, food, frugal, meals, save money on food
Vegitarian Potato Recipes
A FEW VEGETARIAN POTATO RECIPES:
| “It says we are given dominion over the creatures of the earth, but it doesn’t say we have to be their butchers. We could be the keepers of our lesser brothers. ” PEACE PILGRIM From the book Peace Pilgrim’s Wisdom – A Very Simple Guide – compiled by: Cheryl Canfield -All of Peace Pilgrim’s books and materials are offered for free at www.peacepilgrim.org. |
Potatoes:
Potatoes are a healthy and cheap form of nutrition. They can be served as a side dish, or main meal and can be found in nearly all corners of the world. The following is some information on potatoes and fairly simple and cheap ways to fix them.
Although there has been huge hype on diminishing your potato intake from psuedo-medical scientific research and ridiculous diet programs, scientific research has yet to confirm that potatoes can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer.
In other countries where potatoes are a staple, such diseases are rare; possibly because these folks do not have as much exposure to fatty, artificial, preservative filled, hormone injected, artificially sugared and antibiotic filled foods.
Potatoes have been a staple for centuries and along with hard work and healthier side dishes they can become an integral part of a simple, cheap and healthy way of eating. Much of the media information you get on nutrition should be personally investigated, because most of the time it’s pure hype.
They have no scientific evidence or studies to back them up! Scientific studies have shown that carbohydrates consumed in moderate and normal amounts DON’T contribute to obesity, DON’T cause a raise in blood sugars and DON’T contribute to cancer, heart disease or diabetes.
Without carbs your body will begin to break down muscle tissue by a process called gluconeogenesis. There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple ones contain one or two molecules while complex ones contain two or more connected molecules.
The following are simple carbohydrates: monosaccharides, fructose, glucose, disaccharides, sucrose, lactose and maltose. The following are complex: fiber, glycogen and starch. We all commonly think of grains and cereals to be the only foods high in carbohydrates but, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and even dairy products are also filled with carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates found in these foods contain higher health benefits, including…preventing colon cancer, regulating bowel movements, reducing heart disease, loweingr blood pressure and helping in weight reduction; by making you feel fuller for longer periods.
Potatoes eaten with the skins provide more fiber than some whole grain products. Potatoes contain no fat and about 100 calories per serving, high in potassium and 3grams of fiber. They also carry a high level of vitamin C, Calcium, Thiamin, Niacin, Folate, Zinc, Iron, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Phosphorous and Magnesium.
They also contain Carotenoids and anthocyanins which are helpful in the reduction of heart disease and most types of malignancies. We think most of the vitamins and minerals are found in the skin of the potato but actually this is not true. Most of the nutrients are found in the potato itself! Always wash and scrub your potatoes before cooking. Whether boiling, steaming, frying or baking – don’t over cook them.
Mom’s Potato Balls:
Boil some potatoes. Prepare a bowl of scrambled eggs and your favorite spices with a touch of milk. In another bowl pour out some bread crumbs. Mash your boiled potatoes and form them into big balls. Dip each potato ball into the egg mixture and then the bread crumbs…fry until golden brown.
For healthier potato balls use organic eggs or a soy egg substitute, organic or homegrown spices, organic potatoes or home grown, fat free organic milk (soy milk will give it a strange taste), and homemade breadcrumbs toasted and minced from your own bread. Fry until golden brown…fry in extra virgin olive, canola, hempseed or flaxseed oil.
These oils contain a high concentration of omega threes which promote healthy heart function. You can also stuff the center of the potato with anything you’d like before frying. My mom would sometimes make smaller potato balls and put them into her homemade soups.
Ingredients that can be added to mashed potatoes:
Shredded Parmesan or shredded Soy cheese
Horseradish
Cream or milk
Black and white pepper
Butter and garlic
Salt and nutmeg
Sour cream and hot sauce
Cayenne pepper and lemon juice
Ricotta and goat cheese
Fontina cheese
Fresh onions or onion powder and mayonnaise
Olive oil, garlic and onion powder
Olive oil and lime juice
Paprika and granulated garlic
Soy sauce and minced garlic
Light wine and canola oil
Healthy toppings for baked potatoes:
Broccoli and melted soy cheese
Home made salsa
Vegetarian chili
Tomatoes and cheese
Light sour cream and chives
Cottage cheese and black pepper
Foods to eat less of that contain added or refined carbohydrates:
Corn syrup
Refined white sugar and flour
Sodas and fruit drinks
Icecream
White flour bakery goodies such as pastries, cookies and frostings
Jellies and jams with added sugars
Artificial syrups
Candy
Foods that have natural sugars – healthier than the list above but still considered a simple carbohydrate:
All fruits
Fruit juice with no added sugars
Dairy products containing lactose
The healthiest to consume:
Whole grain products
Seeds, nuts, peas and beans
Bagels and tortillas
Potatoes, corn and squash
Fruggle Fooding
Gigi’s simple and cheap eating:
Try to buy as many organic products as you can afford. It’s important we support organic farmers; they use no pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or genetically altered crops. This is extremely important to our children’s health in the future. There is an alarming growth in childhood cancers and obesity.
Since I can’t afford to purchase everything organically grown, foods my family consumes the most, are always purchased with the organic label (milk, eggs, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, some fruits and vegetables, cereals on sale, and cream cheese). My local supermarket also carries naturally made generic products, such as: natural peanut butter made with only peanuts and salt, natural jams and jellies with no added sugar or preservatives, natural juices, breads, and an array of snacks and drinks.
My daughter is the meat lover in the family and although I tend to limit her intake of flesh, I make sure any meat she consumes come from organic farmers.
Look for sale ads on organic products or even buy one get one free offfers. I have to be careful though, because once I walk down that organic isle, the temptation to purchase non-food items (lotions and potions, fragrance oils and body and hair care products)begins. Try and limit these purchases to a minimum.
-Oh, there’s also a variety of organic canned chili made with soy protein that my daughter just can’t get enough of. She never even realized it was meat-less until I told her and even then she couldn’t stop eating it. Nutrition can be a simple process…buy cheap, natural and organic whenever possible. Limit your intake of refined sugar, white flour, candy, chips and soda pops. Try baking your own bread, pastries and cookies and look for ways to make more foods from scratch in bulk amounts. Drink plenty of water, take a daily vitamin and don’t forget that apple a day. Simplicity in food shopping can save you plenty of money, not to mention helping to avoid visits to the doctor.
Eat to live
Don’t live to eat
Anonymous
Some advice from some older folks on living a long life:
drink plenty of water
eat whole foods
cook with lots of olive oil
don’t eat red meat
butter is better than margarine
don’t over eat
no junk food
if you can’t read the label, don’t eat it
keep active
and always look at life in a positive way
Gigi’s frugal food ideas:
Your favorite beans on whole grain toast with melted soy or regular cheese. You can mash and re-fry the beans from the night before.
Your favorite beans and rice dish. We love black beans over steamed white rice topped off with chopped green onions and a strong drizzle of extra virgin olive oil!
Natural peanut butter and jelly with sliced banana. Makes a good sweet treat.
Boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs over your choice of steamed rice…top this with sardines and olive oil, sliced onions and your favorite spices. Tastes even better the next day!
Cream cheese sandwiches or cream cheese on toast. Cream cheese is cheaper than regular cheese and goes with a variety of toppings…also very useful in home-made desserts.
Potato and onion sandwiches. This one came from my ex-husband, Jeff…something he ate lots of while traveling as a hippie.
Mayonnaise, miracle whip or butter sandwiches. Something I ate quite a bit of as a kid when hard times hit. Oh, and let me not forget, when I got real creative and mixed the butter with the sugar!
Peanut Butter and sliced banana sandwiches. I think it was Elvis’s favorite – except the bananas were fried.
Peanut Butter and mayonnaise sandwich. One of my husband’s favorite.
Ramen noodles with chopped celery and green onion. From my husband’s bachelor days.
Onion sandwich. Another one of my ex-husband’s.
And who could forget the famous ketchup and pasta or on bread combination.!
Fried bologne and eggs or fried bologne sandwiches. A country favorite. You could even try some fried canned spam.
Chopped celery, green onion, mushroom and tomato on cuban bread with some homemade salad dressing on top. I make my homemade dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and water. I then add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper(black and red), and add mustard and honey when I feel like adding some sweetness. This combination of vegetables and dressing make a great side dish on hot summer days and celery and green onions are about the cheapest vegetables around. Green vegetables are the healthiest.
Try having breakfast for dinner like: Jiffy blueberry pancakes with a side of turkey bacon or even some fried hot dogs with sliced onion. Jiffy is the cheapest baking mix.
I buy good quality hot dogs without preservatives or fillers and fry them up. I add them to pasta dishes, rice, potatoes, salads, toast, and have even stuffed them in my oven baked green peppers. My mom used to stuff fried hotdogs in her home-made potato balls.
When I’m really pressed for time, we’ve been known to have cold cereal and milk for dinner.
Trash salad: I often make this one as a main dish with my home-made dressing as the end of the month approaches and funds are running low. Just like my garbage soup which incorporates bits and pieces here and there that are not enough for one serving, I do the same with this salad. I get some lettuce and whatever vegetable and fruit that’s laying around, chop these up, add peanuts, grated cheese, left over turkey bacon bits, sliced cheese, crunched up saltine crackers or triscuits (even old bread that I baked in the oven with garlic), hard-boiled eggs, raisins, and if you really want to be bad some crunched up potato chips. Chop, slice or crunch your ingredients all up and mix with your lettuce in a big bowl. Top with my home-made dressing and it’s more than a complete meal! It tastes even better the next day for lunch on some toasted cuban bread.
A bowl of warm oatmeal with raisins, honey, brown sugar, molasses and cinnamon. My favorite anytime as a meal or sweet snack. A healthy snack when you’re pre-menstraul and craving sugar!
The kids favorite is our family night buffet. I make small portions of the following: pasta and sauce, fried hot dogs or bologne, trash salad and garbage soup, hard boiled eggs, fried potatoes, cream cheese on crackers, peanut butter and jelly squares, home-made rice krispies, popcorn and your choice of drinks. It’s cheaper and more fun than going out to a sit down buffet.
Well, I could go on and on but will leave more food ideas for the near future. My whole point is food doesn’t have to be expensive and complicated to be good or good for you. Make simple dishes that are both healthy and cheap. I know lots of the foods I mentioned are not the healthiest but eat them on a moderate basis or as a special treat. Omit the meat if you’re a vegetarian(meat is expensive and unhealthy). Simple cooking allows you more time with family and friends and in the end you won’t break the bank and feel healthier.
***don’t forget to take a walk after dinner***
***it takes lots more land to raise the animal for slaughter than to grow fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains…less meat consumption means more food to go around…don’t forget your vitamin B-12 supplement if you’re going meat-less – and that includes fish***
I don’t preach vegetarianism more because
we haven’t learned not to kill each other yet. I
realize we’re probably far from a step like this.
Peace Pilgrim
Here are some of my favorite cookbooks:
More – with – Less Cookbook by: Doris J. Longacre (simply one of the best)
The Vegetarian Epicure by: Anna Thomas
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by: Carla Emery (my favorite author and book of all times…although Carla is no longer with us, she will forever remain in my heart…it was because of her and her book that I fell in love with simple living and self sufficiency; thanks Carla, your book was a constant friend and companion through both happy and sad times. There’ll never be another one quite like you)!
An Amish Table by: Phyllis Pellman Good
For more great cookbooks go to:
www.mennonitemaidens.com
goodbks.com
Lehman’s.com
Alibris.com
Order the GVS Catalog: PO Box 310 Versailles, MO 65084
There are many periodicals that contain book order information or simply some great recipes and tips on simple living:
www.countrylivingmagazine.com
www.backhomemagazine.com
Wisdom’s Gate PO Box 374 Covert, MI 49043
Keepers at Home Magazine
Country Woman Magazine
www.motherearthnews.com
you can also find free recipes, brochures, books and magazines at: www.freenclearstuff.com
Till next time – Peace Always, Gigi
Mango Vinegar
Here’s a recipe from my grandma Gloria…
Mango Vinegar:
2 and a half cups white vinegar
1 cubed mango
4 tablespoons honey
a dash of pure almond extract
In a pan cook your vinegar, honey and almond extract. Cook on low while stirring. Let cool and store in a pretty jar in refrigerator. If not refrigerated it should last about a week or so but will last much longer if refrigerated. Where my grandmother was raised there was no refrigeration so a lot of dressings and marinades for meats were made with a vinegar base not only to preserve the dressing themselves but to help preserve meat for as long as possible.
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Posted in Recipes
Old-Time Recipe
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Here’s and old-time recipe from the book written by Dorothy Kemball Walker called: ROOM, PATH, AND WALKING WATER ( a definite must-read). This recipe didn’t have a name but I guess you could call it a “one pot meal.†By the way, this is a fabulous book. I haven’t managed to be able to put it down for any long period of time!
One-half pound of bacon
Several onions
One pound of hamburger
One can of tomatoes
One can of kidney beans
Biscuit mix
Butter
Cook the bacon and crumble it into a separate kettle. Fry the onions and add them to the separate kettle. Cook the hamburger and add it, then add the tomatoes and beans. Let it all come to a boil. Add salt to taste and a bit of sugar. Make soft biscuit dough and drop it by spoonfuls onto the boiling mixture. Cover and let cook for twelve minutes. Uncover and poke a hole in the top of each dumpling to hold a lump of butter.
Sounds like a great winter dish to me. I’ll have to try it and if you do, let me know how you liked it.
Posted in Recipes
Summer Salad Recipe
Summer Salad Recipe
In a bowl mix:
About 4 stalks cooked white corn
2 or 3 green tomatoes
about half cup Spanish onion diced
half a green and yellow pepper
small amount of green olives sliced
half a cucumber diced
Dressing:
Dribble directly into bowl as much or as little as desired…
Lemon juice
White distilled vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Dab of pure maple syrup
Dab of mayonnaise
Dab of hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
By the way, this is called my Corn and Tomato Salad…you can make it as cheap as possible like I do. The above contains more expensive ingredients but cheaper substitutes can definitely be used and tastes just as good. Don’t add green olives or full fat mayonnaise if you’re watching salt and fat-and remember…low-fat mayonnaise is better for you than fat-free!
**The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists; we simply provide a space where hard to find information is free for the gathering. Use common sense when implementing any of our suggestions or those of your fellow reader. **
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Posted in Recipes
Spanish Peasant Dish Recipe
Spanish Peasant Dish Recipe
This was a common dish seen on holiday tables among gypsies and the
lower financial class in northern Spain. Originally, this dish is topped
of with fresh sardines, but you can substitute your favorite seafood or
leave meat out all together. The ingredients are very low cost as well
as healthy; containing fresh garlic, apple cider vinegar, and fresh
lemon.
Cut potatoes in big chunks and boil.
Hard boil eggs
Cut a fresh white onion into thin slices.
Layer potatoes and eggs in a big bowl topped off with your onion slices.
Pour over top:
1) Extra virgin olive oil
2) Apple cider vinegar
3) Fresh lemon juice
4) Browned garlic cloves
5) Salt and pepper
6) Paprika for accent color
And finally top off with fresh sardines.
Serve mixture over a bed of steamed white rice that has been cooked with
a touch of olive oil and garlic powder.
***A wonderful accompaniment would be some sweet fried plantains and a
side of your favorite red wine or sangria***
**The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists; we simply provide a space where hard to find information is free for the gathering. Use common sense when implementing any of our suggestions or those of your fellow reader. **
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**The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists; we simply provide a space where hard to find information is free for the gathering. Use common sense when implementing any of our suggestions or those of your fellow reader. **
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Posted in Recipes
Fast One Pot Meals
Fast One Pot Meals
Chili
Ingredient amounts are up to you…
Brown some ground meat,Toss it in a big pot;
Add to this: A can of chopped tomatoes,A can of white corn,
A can of black beans,
Onion powder,
Curry powder,
White pepper,
Chopped green pepper,
Ketchup and tomato paste;
Cook on low for about 25 minutes and check on it a few times and stir.
Cuban Garlic Bread
Slice bread into long strips and dress it with…
Salted butter
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper
Grated parmesan cheese
Sprinkle extra virgin olive oil
Here’s a recipe from my grandma Gloria…
Mango Vinegar:
2 and a half cups white vinegar
1 cubed mango
4 tablespoons honey
a dash of pure almond extract
In a pan cook your vinegar, honey and almond extract. Cook on low while stirring. Let cool and store in a pretty jar in refrigerator. If not refrigerated it should last about a week or so but will last much longer if refrigerated. Where my grandmother was raised there was no refrigeration so a lot of dressings and marinades for meats were made with a vinegar base not only to preserve the dressing themselves but to help preserve meat for as long as possible.
**The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists; we simply provide a space where hard to find information is free for the gathering. Use common sense when implementing any of our suggestions or those of your fellow reader. **
Posted in Recipes
LIGHT BROWN SUGAR COOKIES
GIGI’S QUICK LIGHT BROWN SUGAR COOKIES:
Set oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl mix 1 cup salted butter or unsalted butter if you’re watching your salt intake
1 and a half cups light brown sugar
2 small organic eggs
a dash of real maple syrup
a dash of black strap molasses
2 cups whole wheat flour
a dash of baking soda
Form small to medium sized balls and put on baking sheet about 1 and a half inches apart depending on size
bake for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how crisp you’d like them to be-I prefer them extra crispy! Keep checking them the last few minutes so they don’t burn.
**The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists; we simply provide a space where hard to find information is free for the gathering. Use common sense when implementing any of our suggestions or those of your fellow reader. **
Posted in Recipes
Banana Bread
Banana Bread
(This will make 2 loaves)
Ingredients: 5 to 6 very large, very ripe bananas, two thirds cup of
your choice oil, 2 and one half cups unbleached flour, 1 and one fourth
teaspoon baking powder, one teaspoon soda, one fourth teaspoon salt. Mix
then add: 2 thirds cup milk, 2 eggs, then mix again. Bake at 325 for
about 45 to 50 min.
**The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists; we simply provide a space where hard to find information is free for the gathering. Use common sense when implementing any of our suggestions or those of your fellow reader. **
Posted in Recipes