Any ideas for very low budget, yet tasty, meals for couples?

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My MIL used to keep big bottles of different kinds of booze in her cabinet. When they got empty, she would buy a little bottle :LOL: and pour it into the larger bottle so that guests wouldn't think she was cheap. :ROFLMAO:

I used to be embarrassed about serving guests from 1/2 pint and pint bottles of good booze until I saw an upscale couple on a British television show doing the exact same thing.

I was transformed from cheap to chic in an instant! :ermm::ohmy::LOL:

It is actually a good tip. I would rather buy small quantities of good booze and use it up instead of having larger bottles sitting on the shelf gathering dust. I also buy 'airline' bottles when I only need one shot for a recipe.
 
Anything cheap for two!
Good thick, chunky, tasty soup made with vegetables (onions, carrots, garlic, a bell pepper and any veg in season and therefore cheap) a tin of tomatoes, stock from a cube or can, dried or fresh herbs, salt and pepper, a tin of chick peas or cannelini beans or dried red lentils. If you have a blender or processor pulse it to a chunky puree or mash some of the veg with a fork or potato masher. Serve with good bread and cheese. (the cheese can be grated and scattered on the soup if you like) Follow up with fruit in season - apples go well with cheese - and you have more than your 5-a-day portions of furit and veg and all of your important food groups.

Pasta's good and cheap. It's filling and takes up the flavours of whatever sauce you put on it. Homemade tomato sauce is tastier and cheaper than the yucky stuff in jars (and better for you as well) and if made in bulk you can stash it away in the freezer in portion sizes. And what about good old mac and cheese?

Invest in a supply of dried herbs and a few basic spices. Nutmeg is good for both sweet and savoury recipes, especially with spinach and cheese sauces but buy whole nutmegs as ready grated goes off quickly. Others are ginger, rosemary, sage, thyme, etc., Strong cheddar cheese is more economical than mild as you can use less of it to get a good cheese-y flavour in sauces.

Make a list when you go shopping and stick to it - no little treats. Don't shop on an empty stomach - if you are hungry you are more likely to fall for things you don't really need. A butcher once advised me to buy expensive cuts of meat in the more down-market end of town and cheap cuts and offal in the more up-market areas as in both cases the butcher will be discounting the cuts he can't sell in his area. Take advantage of BOGOFs and "twofers" on canned goods, rice, pasta, etc., but only if you know you will use them within a reasonable amount of time (but check the "use by" dates).
 
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Recently read consumer reports on inexpensive wines. They said Trader Joes, Chardonnay at $3.00@ bottle was a first pick in a blind study.Has anybody used Trader Joe's brand for cooking and liked it?Hard to believe it was considered a number one drinking wine in its class. We don't have a Trader Joe's in our town .I would travel a little distance if it was worth it. We have an Aldi which is Joe's parent company from Germany, but food stores are not allowed to sell wine in our state. Not that far to go out of state for a good cooking wine. Any comments appreciated.

Trader Joes has 'two buck chuck'.
Charles Shaw wine for two bucks. It doesn't taste great but what do you expect for two bucks.
 
Trader Joes has 'two buck chuck'.
Charles Shaw wine for two bucks. It doesn't taste great but what do you expect for two bucks.
Life's too short to drink bad wine. Save he two bucks, put it together with next week's two bucks and perhaps the following week's two bucks and buy a decent bottle with the save six bucks. Something to look forward to and worth looking forward to.
 
Life's too short to drink bad wine.
Truer words ain't never been spoke.
Luckily, I live in NE NC and we have access to a regional winery that makes what I feel is mighty good wine. Most of it is made from Muscadine grapes.
I like my wine to taste like grapes. Most don't. I realize that my palate is still evolving, but I know what I like.
 
I have a great cauliflower stir-fry dish that I love: Ginger Cashew Cauliflower

I'm cooking for one. Yes, buy veggies and fruit.

I love smoothies, that I make in the blender.

I haven't tried dried beans yet, but I do have a crock pot, and have been meaning to try it.

I always have cereal and bread. Sometimes I just don't want to cook.

I want to learn how to make guacamole.

I love to make Boboli (crust) pizza with lots of veggies.

Try different websites. Good luck.
 
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