What are today's most economical foods at the store?

[warmsecondrinse]

All good advice. But as stated sometimes you need to make compromises, particularly if time/energy are concerns.

If you don't already have some, do some thrifting and invest some 2-3 qt. Pyrex casserole dishes with refrigerator lids. Browse through Lean Cuisine, Atkins, Weight Watchers, etc. prepared meals. Some meals have only recognisable food ingredients in them. On sale they can be under $2.00 each.

-Hannover frozen vegetables are dirt cheap; I but them in massive quantities.
-Canned fish if you like can be a source of cheap, tasty protein.
-Canned legumes.... chick peas and lentils are my favorites

Typical meal for me: Lean Cuisine Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo w/ziti, can of chick peas, package of chopped broccoli. Dump all into a Pyrex dish, add a splash of water and desired seasonings. Microwave 1 min @ 100%, 2 min @ 90, 3 @ 80. Stir then 4 min @ 70 and 5 min @ 60%. I've found that descending power makes the cooking more even. YMMV.

I'm also fond of Tabatchnik soups. I take one of their soups, a bag of Hannover Soup Vegetables and cook as above. If I want to stretch it, I first halfway cook a cup of whatever grain is on sale, then dump the half-cooked grain into a Pyrex dish along with the frozen soup and veggies.

Kasha (or kasza) is cheap when on sale. It makes for a nice variety.

I cook tons of oatmeal and add a cup of pasturized egg whites. That makes them more filling and adds protein while keeping calories and cholesterol low. The internet has a whole slew of SAVORY oatmeal recipes. One of my favourites is plain oatmeal with curry, dill, and cheddar cheese added.

Just an FYI, I've found that I prefer most grains cooked with half again as much water and 5-10 minutes longer than what the directions state.

Hope this helps.

Jim

 

[helicaldrive]

Cabbage and stewed tomatoes

When funds were low I used to braise a head of green cabbage (chopped into 1-2” pieces) with canned stewed tomatoes, especially when stewed tomatoes were on sale. I added canned drained kidney beans for protein. If I had a lemon, some lemon juice brightened it up nicely. A splash of plain white vinegar (not enough that anybody would know it was there) will do so also. If I had more money I would buy polish sausage, cut it into coins, and brown it first. Deglazing the pan with the stewed tomatoes added a lot of flavor. Okra is also good in this. Of course you can begin by sautéing more onion and bell pepper if desired. Or you could season it Cajun style too.

Indian buffets often have shredded cabbage braised with onions and curry.

It doesn’t get any cheaper than cabbage.

The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine has the most amazing cabbage soup recipe which includes white wine and paprika. It is SO good. Best cabbage soup ever. I have made it for Sunday night soup parties.

A teaspoon or two of vinegar or lemon juice, or a couple drops of hot sauce, will disguise that awful canned taste that canned soups have.