Yahoo News 17 People Shared Their Favorite "Poor Man's Meal," And I'm Definitely Gonna Try Some Of These
A little while ago, we wrote about people's favorite "poor man's meals." Well, there were so many comments that we had to share those, too! So here are 17 more inexpensive meals that the BuzzFeed Community loves to make:
1."A pound of ground beef or turkey, a jar of salsa, a packet of taco seasoning, a can of drained and rinsed black beans, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, and a bag of frozen brown rice (which is actually surprisingly good). Cheap, filling, and healthy."
2."For instant ramen or yakisoba, I add seasoned, stir fry veggies, an egg, and sometimes complement it with seaweed."
3."A good one is a quick shawarma. Just cut up the chicken, add olive oil and shawarma seasoning or Lebanese 7-Spice to a hot pan, and sauté for a minute. Wrap in a large pita with pickles and hummus, then grill on a sandwich press. So good, and so cheap and easy."
4."Any kind of noodles or pasta, cook until done to your liking. Drain. In the same pan, add oil, garlic, and frozen peas. Toss until the peas aren't frozen, add pasta, and throw on some grated cheese."
5."I’ve gone mostly vegetarian due to the wild cost of groceries these days. My two go-to, protein-rich vegan meals are both Moosewood recipes (from the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook). One is a red lentil dahl with tomatoes and spinach added (you can use canned, drained, diced tomatoes and frozen spinach). Another is a French garlic and white bean soup, that uses dried navy beans. Both freeze excellently so if you have leftovers, that’s what I advise doing with them. Dried beans and legumes are a great way to save money."
6."I grew up eating ground beef mixed with rice and cream of mushroom (and also garlic, I LOVE garlic). It is still one of my favorite cheap meals. Plus, you can use ground pork, which is cheaper, and there's no noticeable difference in taste. Now that I'm older, I also eat chicken with rice and cream of chicken. Rotisserie chicken is good, but if you happen to have canned chicken, that works, too (a LOT of food that's given away by churches, charities, or the government is canned chicken). If you want to be fancy, sprinkle some cheese in with the chicken mixture, but I don't recommend it with the beef/pork mixture!"
7."Costco rotisserie chicken. We use ours for making huge batches of chicken salad. Add apples, celery, mayo, onion, grapes, or whatever you have. Eat it with crackers, in wraps, or on bread and croissants. Short of chicken salad, you can use it for just about anything."
8."Let the pirate cook you, poor souls, up something from Wal-Mart: a box of penne pasta, two jars of Alfredo sauce, a pound of hamburger meat, and Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. Boil pasta and brown the hamburger meat on high heat. Warm Alfredo sauce over medium heat at the same time while adding enough Creole seasoning to turn it pink. When pasta is al dente, throw the stuff all together in a large pot."
9."Brown ground turkey (we’re feeding nine so we use 2 pounds), add taco AND chili seasoning, a can of diced tomatoes, refried beans, salsa if you have it, and a little cheese. Dump in a casserole dish topped with (prepared) cornbread mix. Leave it in the oven until the cornbread is done. The meat base without the chili seasoning also makes a great burrito filling or nacho topping."
10."Fried rice. I’d get one of those rice microwaveables, heat it up, then throw it in a pan with some soy sauce, one egg, a little brown sugar, and maybe some frozen peas."
"I'm a big fan of 'whatever veggies and protein in my fridge' all cooked together with seasoning and sauces on the stove, then mixed into rice. Good way to make use of frozen veggies and get all of the food groups into one rice dish."
11."My go-to lately is a 3–4 pounds of roast, a packet of ranch seasoning, butter, and a jar of pepperoncinis. Throw it in the crockpot on low all day, then shred it and put it on some hoagie rolls with mayo and provolone cheese. Makes enough for leftovers, too."
12."In college, my go-to was poor man's French onion soup: swipe croutons and some white cheese from the dining hall, then make beef ramen and top it with the croutons and cheese. Total cost under $0.25. Sometimes, I still make this just for fun."
13."Chicken adobo! I made that for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and my family raved about it."
14."Smoked sausage and potato chowder: 2–3 pounds of diced potatoes (Russet for soft, white for firmer), diced onion, one to three ham hocks (depends on how smoky you want the chowder), 1½–2 pounds of diced smoked sausage (or andouille sausage or smoked ham), parsley, thyme, bay leaves, 6–8 cups of chicken broth (but you can use water), 1–1½ cups of heavy cream, instant mashed potatoes, and pepper."
"Instructions: Add ham hocks, onion, bay leaves, pepper, and broth to a crock pot. Cook on low for four hours. Remove ham hocks and add diced potatoes, thyme, parsley, and ham or sausage. If needed, add more chicken stock to make sure the potatoes are covered by at least ¼ inch (you can use water). I usually remove the bay leaves, but it's your preference. Cook on low for two hours. Add heavy cream, stir, and cook an additional 30 minutes. Check the thickness: if you want it thicker, add instant potatoes and cook 15 additional minutes. Check the thickness and repeat as desired."
15."Handful of kimchi, few cups of rice, and pork ribs in a rice pot. Cook. Can mix with any combination of soy sauce, minced garlic, sesame oil, sugar, and chili flakes to taste.
16."Dhal is incredibly cheap. The version I make uses two onions, three cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of ginger, spices (cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, turmeric and garam masala), a cup of lentils, a can of chopped tomatoes, a can of coconut milk, 2 cups of water and a couple of handfuls of spinach. It makes four generous portions, and all you need is a side of a carb (we usually have rice or naan) to have a filling, balanced meal."
"The coconut milk and/or spinach can be left out if you're really broke, or if you have some veggies that need using up, you can toss them in to add extra bulk. Frozen spinach works almost as well as fresh, and I like to use frozen pre-chopped garlic and ginger, so it's reasonably easy to keep the ingredients stocked for those days when the fridge is empty, and payday is just a little too far away. It also freezes really well, so I like to keep a few portions set aside that way too."
17.And finally, "Poor man's stuffed peppers, which is green peppers hollowed out, rice, ground beef, and a can of crushed tomatoes with whatever seasonings you want. Best with cheese."
Any other cheap meals you love to make? LMK in the comments below!
