1 hour or less meals, low budget

[tasty food]

I dont know that many recipes. I'm ok at cooking. I've tried to find recipes on the internet but it takes too long to find what i want so i usually give up. This time i'm gonna give it 100%. I'm sick of eating the same crap i need new recipes lol. Quick and easy recipes, without too many ingredients and dont cost a lot.

Im gonna keep looking on the internet. I'm open to anything, calories isn't an issue. Stews, stir fry, sandwiches, eggs, anything. I want them to have taste, nothing too bland. Also I really wanna get to know how to make beef.

also i should've said this earlier, i cant do grill recipes. i dont have a grill, wont be able to afford one for awhile. had a foreman, but got lazy and stopped cleaning it. wish i didnt do that. and i dont know what broiling is and dont wanna learn anytime soon, so plz none of that lol. need recipes i can make with a pan, pot, or oven.

THANKS A MILLION I CANT WAIT TO STUFF MY FACE WITH YOUR RECIPES!

 

[Zhizara]

You're definitely in the right place to jazz up your menus. Browse around and jump in anywhere. We want your ideas too. Welcome to DC.

 

[tasty food]

thanks

 

[LindaLou]

Welcome to DC! You will find lots of great ideas to jazz up dinner here. It is easy for any of us to get into the same old rut of cooking, sometimes lack of time and or a cooking safe zone in our own abilities. Stepping out a trying new ideas develops our talents and our tastes to bigger and better things.

 

[powerplantop]

Stirfrying is great for quick easy cheap meals. If you do most of your prep on the weekends you can come home and quickly make a cheap meal.

I have cooked every dinner Mon-Thur in a wok with ingredients I prepared on Sunday.
Chop up a big batch of garlic
Grate ginger
Chop green onions and onions
Cut up meat / chicken into portion sizes and freeze. You can use inexpensive cuts of meat.
Make up your marinades.

The night before take your meat out of the freezer and put in the fridge to thaw.
When you come home take the meat out of the fridge and season or add marinade. Put your veggies on a plate. If you’re going to use a thickening slurry make it. Put everything close to where you will be cooking. Cook, eat then clean up.

 

[Josie1945]

Welcome to DC.

Josie

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Welcome to DC, jump in anywhere and have fun.

 

[MyCrummyApartment]

Hey. Most of my cooking is done in a pan as well, but also on a tiny electric oven. A little creativity can go a long way.

One thing you might want to do is hone in on a few basic recipes, and more importantly - processes. Once you know how to saute (pan fry) properly for example, a lot of the "reading" recipes will not so important. You are just going to know what to do. I guess what I am saying is that take the leap, and practice a lot. it will build your confidence to make some great meals on a budget.

All the best.

 

[Claire]

Welcome. You don't say where you are from or mention a specific taste, but right off the top of my head, one easy thing is to "scramble" some ground beef or thinly slice and dice an inexpensive cut of steak, season with a bit of cumin and if you like it, some heat, sautee with onion, green, red, or yellow bell peppers and a clove or so of garlic. This will give you a base for everything from tacos to tostadas to Spanish rice to a bowl of bean chili. Freezes well, too.

 

[Zhizara]

You're right on target, Claire.

Yesterday I made taco meat mixture and had tacos.

Today, I'm making the leftover mix to make a pot of no bean chili.

As the meat gets eaten and the sauce is still there, I'll add a couple of smoked sausages sliced up and heat them in the chili, OR

I'll thaw and dice up some braised pork and add that, and maybe some BBQ sauce.

 

[tasty food]

Welcome. You don't say where you are from or mention a specific taste, but right off the top of my head, one easy thing is to "scramble" some ground beef or thinly slice and dice an inexpensive cut of steak, season with a bit of cumin and if you like it, some heat, sautee with onion, green, red, or yellow bell peppers and a clove or so of garlic. This will give you a base for everything from tacos to tostadas to Spanish rice to a bowl of bean chili. Freezes well, too.

That sounds good, thanks. I'll give it a try this week. And thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

im cooking for 1-2 people. i dont mind saving food for the next day. I live in San Diego, southern california. I usually make a grocery list before i go out and buy groceries, so i do plan ahead. some foods i wanna start with are anything with beef in them (not ground beef). and chicken recipes, any kind of chicken but rather it be the regular stuff at grocery stores.

foods i dont wanna try are anything with mushrooms (unless i can take them out or substitute them), most canned food recipes (tomato sauce/paste, beans, etc are ok. i'd rather cut my own tomatoes tho)

 

[mommyNY2]

last week asked a question on meatloaf, and got whole bunch of cool recepies, so far tried one which came out superb! husband and his grandma (both fussy eaters) were absolutely swept off their feet. made meatloaf for our anniversary dinner.

totally love the following recepie,
Simple Roasted Chicken Meals

its called by parents magazine its called "roasted chicken" its so simple, easy and delicious! i serve it over salad or with some brown rice or quinoa

 

[luvs]

swiss steak, w/ mashed potato & a veggie; chix-fried steak w/cream gravy, a starch & a veg; breakfast items; roast a chix or 2, baste frequently, roast a few potatoes, may i recommed my fave, yukons?..... couldstrip 1 of them chix & make into a hearty soup or a stew w/ silpdowns, egg noodles, maybe dumplings for a stew-tpe dinner. pastas can be so cheaply-priced, & the sauce options, they're kinda endless. i mean, from carbonara to simplistic tomato, from pesto to olive oil w/ some shredded strong cheese , & so very many others. soup has innumerable hopes, & there's pierogies that can be a meal in-in-&-of-themselves, though may benefit from being paired w/ a meat-based main dish. there's the crokpot, too- sear canola-coated meat, crockpot, season on an ongoing basis. shred & make sammiches! or put veggies in partially thru, then serve a hearty stew-type dinner~

 

[CWS4322]

You may want to check out a local farmer's market or ethnic markets and do some comparison shopping. Sometimes you'll find better prices than at your local grocery store.

Buying local and in-season can help keep the grocery budget down.

Given where you live, I would think you'd have access to lots of fresh produce and Mexican food products at a local Mexican market. When in university, I lived on Mexican food (practically) because it was inexpensive and making tortillas wasn't that hard, but they are inexpensive to buy as well. You can debone your own chicken and that will cost less than buying it deboned. Deboned chicken breats don't take a long time to cook.

Some Mexican dishes you might try are a tortilla casserole or enchilada pie, heuvos rancheros, mole de olla (a beef stew). There should be tons of recipes on the Internet. If you focus on one or two "ethnic" food families, you can keep the number of spices and herbs you have on hand down. Otherwise, you may find that you are missing spices or herbs and buying those can be expensive and you may not use them before they go stale. A bulk food store should have spices and herbs that you can buy in small quantities while you explore dishes from one region or another. When you get tired of that type of food or want to move on to another region or ethnic food family, you can add the spices/herbs used for those. Another trick, if you make tomato sauce, make a double-batch and freeze half of it. That way, you have the base for spaghetti or another pasta dish ready to go.

Yard sales, estate sales, or the local thrift stores are places where you can pick up another Foreman (or similar grill) that is in good condition and inexpensive. You'd be amazed at what people get rid of...although, I have yet to see a KA stand mixer at any of these locations <g>.

And, welcome to DC!

 

[4meandthem]

Chile relllenos or Chile rellenos casserole is great and inexpensive.

Nachos can be made a ton of different ingredients

Chili or chicken chili or chili verde can be made and slow cooked in a pot on the stove while your at work/play.

Mixed seafood in white sauce enchiladas are quick.

The california roll sushi bowl from this site is awesome.

Steak or chicken stuffed peppers or tomatoes or big zuccinnis

Oven baked chicken (like fried chicken)

I usually buy some cheap cuts of meat and freeze them until I know what I going to make with them. You can work them into the following week after deciding and getting the remaining needed ingredients.

 

[tasty food]

i need to ask this question. how can you be sure that meat you get isnt spoiled? this is another reason why i dont cook a lot. grocery stores around here sell spoiled meat. about half their meat, or even more, is spoiled. almost everytime i get chicken it's spoiled. just now i got some chicken and 3 beef steaks on sale. 2 of the steaks were good (one was brown in the middle), and none of the chicken legs were good.

i looked online on how to look for good meat. for chicken the color has to be red/pink, not grey or brown. and when you buy the chicken it cant have a slimy feeling to it. the thing is, most of the chicken in the stores i go to cover their chicken with a lot of labels, so i cant really see i can barely see if the chicken is grey. they dont do that with beef or lamb.

is there something i'm missing? even if i go when grocery stores restock (wednesday) they still have suspiciuos looking meat. do i have to go somewhere else?

 

[Selkie]

There are two issues that led me to my current market where I do my shopping.

First, they have a good reputation among normal people (co-workers, fellow church goers, etc.) for this particular market having good meat. In general, this market is not a discount store... in fact, it's one of the more expensive supermarkets in town... BUT they have a good, and knowledgeable butcher who is willing to answer my questions and requests.

Second, they have a quick turnover in the meat department by not putting tons of plastic wrapped meats all at once. They put out only enough to last less than 1/2 a day and then restock. Fast turnover and limited exposure means fresher product.

Find a butcher you think you can trust... ask questions and express your concerns. If he's any kind of professional, he'll help you all he can.

 

[mommyNY2]

what about supermarkets like shoprite and stop and shop? i trust them with food items completely.

 

[Selkie]

I'm not familiar with those market chains. Besides, that isn't the point. The point is a particular market's butcher or butcher/manager combination with a desire to give their patrons the best product they can. A brand name market doesn't guarantee that. Only local reputation can help you zero in on what you're looking for.

 

[tasty food]

so brand stores usually sell bad meat. i have to go to local markets and pay some more to get quality meats?