Best Cheap and Easy Homemade Eats

There has been some talk lately in the fast food thread about eating/cooking at home for cheaper calorie wise than fast food. I think the people arguing the fast food side(and i used to be one of them) typically argue that the time/startup costs/ingredient cost are worse than just ordering deals off the apps or whatever. So this is a thread for people to dump their easy/fast home snacks and meals that are cheap. Bonus points if they are healthy. I will start although this one isn’t healthy. When I am really lazy I brown some:

cut up some:

boil some water and make some:

Add in some(this isn’t the brand i use but you get the idea):

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Put it all together and you have a good and cheap garbage meal.

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ha, great idea for a thread.

here was my ramen bowl in college:

1 pack of chicken flavored ramen
1 chopped clove of garlic
1 sliced up hotdog

cook the hotdog in water, add the garlic, toss in the flavoring and the ramen. pour the entire thing into serving bowl. add 1 (or 2) slices of pepper jack cheese on top.

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Bullion powder (or cubes) is a great kitchen hack when you’re feeling hungry, cheap, and lazy.

Bullion + water + pasta (orzo and acini de pepe work great) + whatever else you want to throw in there makes tasty and filling soup.

Add bullion and some butter or oil to your rice, plus anything else you have lying around, and you have pilaf.

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1 thing linguine
chopped/diced clams, your preference, you need to save the juice
garlic
parmesan
lemon/salt/pepper to taste

pretty self explanatory what to do here. cook the pasta, put some garlic on the pan, when its done you add the clam juice and let it simmer.

when pasta is done, add clam juice + clams + as much parmesan as you can handle. lemon/salt/pepper for seasoning although I usually ditch the salt because parmesan’s already naturally salty.

sometimes i add artechoke hearts to this which is pretty good but def not cheap. the clams can be subbed for a lot of different things, and arent always cheap, but you can make 6 solid large servings of this for less than $15. it’s always a hit.

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when i get to walking again I’m gonna show you some of my $8/hr gas station surprise recipes.

I still do instant ramen. My preferred add-ons are some frozen vegetables, whatever leafy greens I might have, and a few eggs.

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My instant ramen is hella delicious.

Saute chopped mushrooms in butter. When brown, add sliced shallot and chopped garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add more water than the ramen instructions suggest so I can add my own seasoning on top of the ramen seasoning. Add ramen seasoning/veg. I buy Shin Gourmet Spicy. Once boiling add noodles and stir. Add a pour of fish sauce and a few drops of Maggi seasoning. Add chopped broccoli to steam while noodles cook. After a few minutes, take off heat and add chopped bell pepper and left over sliced chicken. To serve, top with spicy chili crisp.

I make this more often than I should.

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Buying a pork shoulder and slow cooking it for bbq pulled pork sandwiches, carnitas, nachos etc is the first thing I think of for delicious and cheap.

I’ve also been trying out vegetarian taco varieties, poblanos and corn (rajas), Buffalo cauliflower, chipotle beets and carrots have all been very tasty. Basically anything made with chipotles in adobo is a big winner to me!

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any good recipes for pulled pork

Half Ass Chicken Parm

Thin slice chicken breast

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Shake N Bake

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Mozzarella

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Sauce

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Pasta

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Shake N bake the chicken, when it’s done spoon a little bit of sauce on it, top with the cheese, and stick it under the broiler for a couple of moments until the cheese melts. Serve with pasta and sauce.

It’s half ass but makes a surprisingly tasty chicken parm. For ever more rave reviews, use the hot & spicy Shake N Bake.

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Pre-made Kikoman stir fry sauce + whatever protein and vegetables you have on hand = fast stir fry meal.

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For BBQ pulled pork I’m no connoisseur, I season the meat, brown it in a pan, put it in a slow cooker with beer and some onions and garlic on low and forget about for 10 hours. Shred it, let it rest in some of the juices for a bit, and then slather it in Sweet Baby Rays. Maybe put it in the broiler at the end the crisp up the edges. One day I’ll get around to making my own BBQ sauce…

Something like this I guess https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020497-slow-cooker-bbq-pulled-pork

If your oven will hold a reasonably steady low temperature you can do it just like a smoker. Exact same results minus the smoke.

Dry brine, cover it in Memphis Dust, and stick it in a 225 degree oven for ~12 hours until it’s 200 degrees. Doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of this thread tho.

For bottled sauce I like Stubb’s a lot more than sticky sweet KC style.

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I think it qualifies for the thread, the $ per pound of meat is really good, but if you’re cooking for one you’ve gotta eat pork for a week straight…

Longer than that. Or, portion and freeze.

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that’s actually way easier for me, but would need to wait til it cools off a bit here because that’d make my entire house unbearably hot

Enjoyed many great meals @ the original Stubbs BBQ while he was alive and cooking.

Lots of good live music there as well.

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Frozen vegetables - I use California mix (brocolli, cauliflower, carrots)
2-3 Eggs
Hot sauce - I use Cholula
Salt, pepper, whatever

Vegetables go in first on a frying pan with Avocado oil on medium heat. Add eggs when veggies start turning brown and mix together.

Cheap, delicious, healthy, and fast.

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Down and dirty lettuce wraps:

-One head of iceberg lettuce
-One pound of lean ground beef
-2-3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
-a tablespoon or so of soy sauce
-a cheapo can of water chestnuts
-a bit of thai chili oil

Brown the ground beef. While that is happening dice the water chestnuts and tear off leaves of lettuce. When the ground beef is almost done add the sauce and water chestnuts and cook them together for a couple mins while stirring. Serve the mixture in the lettuce.

Sausage/Peppers/Onions/Potatoes in the oven w/ seasoning is super easy and delicious.

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