If you only had $5.00 what would you fix for a family of 4?

[my_psychosis]

Yummy

This is a good topic. I got so many Ideas. My boyfriend taught me this dish. Mix 2 cans of cream soup ( mushroom, celery, etc) Mix with a can of tuna heat and serve over rice. Its realy good. Also I love tator tot casserole.

 

[silvercliff_46]

I think I would buy 5 rifle bullets. Trade one deer for vegees and pantry items. Another for some beer, and yet another for 5 more rifle bullets, and have the family eat like kings all winter.

and your welcome to come have some free range, chemical free meat at my house June.

 

[TexasTamale]

I think I would buy 5 rifle bullets. Trade one deer for vegees and pantry items. Another for some beer, and yet another for 5 more rifle bullets, and have the family eat like kings all winter.

and your welcome to come have some free range, chemical free meat at my house June.

 

[college_cook]

This thread inspired me to head to one of the local Asian markets around town.

For only $15 you could get 25 lb. bags of almost any type of rice imagineable-
Basmati, Jasmine, Thai Jasmine, Brown, Wild, Thai Sweet rice, the list goes on and on.

There were also countless bags of dried beans, lentils, you name it; all for about the same price as the rice.

I bought about 10 lbs. of stir-fry noodles for $8, as well as large bottles of Soy, Rice wine vinegar, and Siracha for about $1.80 each.

FYI- Chicken/pork/beef on some toasted bread with a mixture of mayo and siracha + a little ketchup makes a pretty tasty and cheap sandwich. Throw in some of that cheap rice and you've got quite a meal.

To my surprise they also had some woks for sale there, most of them were the same non-stick variety that crapped out on me about 4 months ago, but they had a lone carbon-steel wok, which IO quickly snatched up for a meager $20! You can expect to see me posting in the Ethnic food forums again soon, I think

 

[silvercliff_46]

This thread inspired me to head to one of the local Asian markets around town.

For only $15 you could get 25 lb. bags of almost any type of rice imagineable-
Basmati, Jasmine, Thai Jasmine, Brown, Wild, Thai Sweet rice, the list goes on and on.

There were also countless bags of dried beans, lentils, you name it; all for about the same price as the rice.

I bought about 10 lbs. of stir-fry noodles for $8, as well as large bottles of Soy, Rice wine vinegar, and Siracha for about $1.80 each.

FYI- Chicken/pork/beef on some toasted bread with a mixture of mayo and siracha + a little ketchup makes a pretty tasty and cheap sandwich. Throw in some of that cheap rice and you've got quite a meal.

To my surprise they also had some woks for sale there, most of them were the same non-stick variety that crapped out on me about 4 months ago, but they had a lone carbon-steel wok, which IO quickly snatched up for a meager $20! You can expect to see me posting in the Ethnic food forums again soon, I think

"and gee Honey! I only spent $500, and I saved $59,000 in coupons". Do you happen to know my wife

 

[FryBoy]

Red Beans & Rice
Corn Tortillas
Broccoli
Oranges or apples for dessert
Milk for the kids
Tea for the adults

 

[Hades]

Despite the many ideas here, I wouldn't like to be in a position where spending a maximum of 5$ for a meal is actually a requirement to make it to the end of the month
This being said: here's a cheap yet very tasty dish my mom used to make every now and then. Steamed cauliflower and potato's topped with béchamel sauce and fried eggs. The eggs not only substitute for (expensive) meat, but also the pierced yolk of the eggs acts as an extra sauce and gives the whole dish some extra dimension. It's quite tasty realy.
(it also works very well with spinach mash)

 

[Mel!]

economical meals

Hello SizzlininIN

I think there is a lot i could make with that much money.

Various pasta sauces
Pancakes with cheese, mushrooms or other fillings
Various soups
Curries, if i already have the spices

I am a vegetarian, so i suppose that makes it easier to be economical.

Mel

 

[philso]

i was really surprised that i had to wade through 8 pages before anyone even mentioned pizza. the flour for the dough is in your pantry, so you've got the whole $5 for topping. actually, most of the toppings are already in my pantry or freezer: various cheeses, olives, artichoke hearts, sardines, etc. i just need to get some nice slab bacon, spinach, zuchinni or whatever. another pizza i like is tandoori chicken with bell peppers, red onions and feta cheese.

hey! let's not forget quiche. fill it up with left overs! hee hee! save the $5 for a top-shelf wine. LOL

 

[BigDog]

My question for this topic is what can be assumed to have on hand? Spices? Boullion? Basic "baking products" (flour, sugar, etc.)? Crackers? Cereal?

IMHO, the first three would be considered assumed on hand. Maybe not on the crackers or cereal, mainly because the recipes I have in mind use specific types (Ritz and Frosted Shredded Wheat, respectively).

Also, I consider milk & butter to be assumed on hand.

Am I assuming too much?

 

[Snoop Puss]

I guess if you have these things in your cupboard and fridge, then no, you're not assuming too much. I'm intrigued to see what you might use Frosted Shredded Wheat in!

 

[BigDog]

I guess if you have these things in your cupboard and fridge, then no, you're not assuming too much. I'm intrigued to see what you might use Frosted Shredded Wheat in!

I have a recipe where boneless pork chops are breaded with Frosted Shredded Wheat . . . . . sounds weird, but tastes great!

 

[rdcast]

Sweetheart, I gotz moi money than I needz. What's yo address ?
I'd make "poor-man's cheesecake" Everything borrowed in exchange for a slice !!!
No one should go hungry. Ill fatten you all up.

 

[rdcast]

I have a recipe where boneless pork chops are breaded with Frosted Shredded Wheat . . . . . sounds weird, but tastes great!

now that just sounds wonderful. I'm going to try that, thanx BigDog

 

[Snoop Puss]

I always think that who ever invented knitting must have had an amazing imagination. There he or she is, sitting there with two sticks and a pile of yarn. And for some reason they decide to tie the yarn round the sticks and do this funny kind of twiddly motion and look guys, it's a scarf!

I think boneless pork chops breaded with Frosted Shredded Wheat isn't far behind for imagination! How did you come up with it?

 

[licia]

I read something a while back on budgeting. One of the ideas was to declare yourself poor for a week and eat that way, don't spend anything you don't have to and see how much money you save. I think it would probably be good to do that once a month, but I probably won't.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I think the biggest problem is not so much "eating like you're poor", but eating healthy when on a strict budget.

I come across an awful lot of people who think buying Hamburger Helper is a good (& cheap) alternative to buying meat & fresh vegetables. I think the problem stems from so many people having no idea how to properly utilize cheaper cuts of meat, or having no idea how to properly cut up a whole chicken rather than buy the precut parts (which are always more expensive), or are willing to experiment with inexpensive types of seafood, like cod, catfish, etc., instead of just going for pricey steamed shrimp or processed frozen fish sticks. Also - there are a completely unbelievable number of people who also aren't willing to try new vegetables - it's always green beans, baked potatoes, etc. - forget about chard, kale, different squashes in season, etc., etc. And then, of course, there's that whole wonderful world of dry beans - something else that many people just don't want to learn about. When I contribute to our local food pantries here - both throughout the year & during the holidays - I always include cans & bags of different dried beans & bags of rice with the other more interesting things I always give.

 

[prada]

Fettucini Alfredo

campbell cream of mushroom soup $0.99
Fettucini $0.99
Chicken quarters $0.69/lb so 1.38 for 2lb leg thigh deboned
the remaining $1.64 goes to the purchase of bread crumbs and garlic cloves

 

[shpj4]

I would probably fix spaghetti and I have some already made sauce in the refrigerator.

Have a nice day.

 

[Toots]

When ground beef is on sale, I stock up on it.
I make a great shepherds pie that is made with ground beef, or meatloaf, baked ziti, burgers on the grill.

Last night I made beef/vegtable soup with leftover frozen pot roast and the stock, a bag of frozen veggies, a small head of caggage and some tomatoes (from the farmers market). The meal probably cost $3.50 total and it made a big stockpot of soup.

there are alot of good ideas for cheap yet good meals on this thread.