Low-Cost Recipes

Ingredients: 

 A simple American goulash recipe. Very comfort food vibes. Also, soft to eat, which was handy after Eldest had an accident requiring an emergency dentist visit and doctor's orders to eat soft foods. This is a recipe she tweaked, since I've never been a fan of goulash.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
2 cups elbow macaroni or pasta of choice
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef in large saucepan (I used a pan advertised for frying chicken, and whatever pan is used, it needs to have a lid), and drain off excess grease.

 
Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables are soft.

Add pasta, tomato sauce, water, and seasonings.

Cover and simmer on low for about 25 minutes, or until thickened and pasta is cooked to desired texture.

We added shredded cheese to our bowls to add a bit of fun. 

Eldest child found this recipe on Pinterest, did some tweaks, made cupcakes instead of a sheet cake, and they were a hit at the office pot luck and at home aka there were none left over when Eldest came home. Ironically, Eldest is the only one who does not care for the taste. "Too coffee forward", but then, she's a "I'll have a little coffee with my cream and sugar" kind of gal. 

Daughter here. Years ago, Mom was at the end of her pantry, the grocery money would not drop into the account for a couple of days, but we still needed dinner. She rifled through her collection of recipe books and magazines and found a casserole recipe that she actually had all the ingredients for. She made it. It looked weird. Smelled kind of funny. Everyone (including stepdad and baby bro who would eat just about anything) poked at their food for a bit before trying it.

It was Awesome. It kind of made layers when it baked, but it worked. We all wanted seconds and we're bummed when there were none. A rare 6 out of 6 (3 of us kids, both parents, and a guest who was visiting from out of town.) on Mom's rating scale.

And then she promptly lost the recipe. We knew it involved broccoli, cheese, rice, cream of something soup, and corn flakes. She thinks it was from Taste of Home. We have scoured the Taste of Home website, Pinterest, and friend's recipe stashes, to no avail. It has been almost 20 years, and we have finally found something similar in taste, smell, and appearance. It is under development to get to what we like.

 Daughter checking in again. Mom put a version of chicken pot pie (which we often use the day after Thanksgiving with leftover turkey instead of chicken to use up some of the leftovers) on the blog years ago. It's tasty, it's comfort food, it's fairly easy. But, unfortunately, our local grocery store chain (Giant Eagle) has chicken pot pies in their hot food counter that has such a good flavor to the, for lack of a better word, gravy inside, topped with a circle of puff pastry. We have been trying for years to mimic the taste of it, and despite being given false leads from some of the staff at our local store, we think we have come pretty darned close. To keep with the theme of Low Budget, most everything you could get at a Dollar Tree if need be, but if you want to get the same experience, two items (the fancy cream of chicken soup and puff pastry topping) were bought on sale at Giant Eagle.

Ingredients:

1 can of Swanson's Chicken a la King

1 can of Cream of Chicken with Herbs (regular cream of chicken will work, but the additional flavors takes it to the next level. Store brands don't typically make this flavor, so we get them when on sale)

1 large can of chunk white chicken or 2 small cans

1 can mixed vegetables

1 can peas

1 can sliced carrots

1 roll of puff pastry, or biscuit like topping of your choice (like sheets of crescent rolls with the perforations sealed or biscuit mix poured on top)

If using puff pastry, 1 egg

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a 9x13" baking dish, mix the Chicken a la King and cream of chicken soup. Open the cans of vegetables and chicken, draining off the liquid. Layer the three cans of vegetables in the baking dish, distributing evenly. On top, layer the shredded chicken evenly. You can mix it together or leave as a layer on top. Top with puff pastry or biscuit topping of choice. If using puff pastry, wisk one egg and use as an egg wash over the top of the puff pastry. 

Bake at 425 F for 30 mins or until topping is fully cooked. Makes 6 servings.

 We found a recipe with this same name, but it was so bland when we tried it. It was disappointing, but had promise as a base. Taking it as inspiration, we came up with our own version, and it does not have many ingredients, so is good for a quick "I can't think of anything for dinner" kind of night.

Ingredients :

1lb ground beef, crumbled and drained

1 15 Oz can of either Southwest corn (with the peppers) or Fire roasted corn, drained.

1 10.5 Oz can Cheddar cheese soup

1 10.5 Oz can Golden Mushroom soup

Frozen French fries 

French fry seasoning 

In a standard casserole dish (13x9 in), mix the ground beef, soups, and drained corn until homogenous. Smooth evenly through the pan. Spread a layer of the French fries across the top. You should still be able to see the mixture through the fries. We have found that about 3/4ths of a bag will be almost too much. Sprinkle a little bit of the French fry seasoning across the top.

Bake for 40 minutes at 425, or until fries are done. Makes about 6 servings. 

 This is a recipe I (oldest daughter) modified from a recipe that is on the side of a box of Jiffy baking mix. Just a small tweak that I think adds to it. It makes 6 good sized portions, but could make 8 slightly smaller portions, depending on how you divide the casserole dish. The topping is similar to the one that is used in the pot pie recipe, but is both fluffier and more custard like in texture. It's odd to describe, but there have been no complaints. I've actually gotten requests for it, now that we've added it to the recipe rotation. 

Ingredients:

1 10 Oz bag of frozen broccoli

1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded (about 1 1/2 cups), or 1 10 Oz can of white chicken, drained

1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 10 or 14 Oz can of Cream of something soup. I use Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery

1 cup Jiffy baking mix or Bisquick 

3 eggs

1 cup of milk

1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven at 400°F

Spray or lightly grease a 13x9 casserole dish. 

Mix together the can of soup, the chicken, cheese, and broccoli, then evenly distribute in the casserole dish. 

In a bowl, mix together the baking mix, eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. For a kick, you could replace the salt and pepper with a peppery seasoning salt, like Tony Chachere's. Mix well. It should seem runny and have very few lumps.

Pour the baking mix over the filling. Some of the broccoli might peek through. That is fine. Just try to get the crust part as even as possible. It will seep down into the chicken mixture. If you have ever made Cheeseburger In Paradise, it is kind of like that. 

Bake for 35-40 mins. 

 This recipe, like the basic white bread recipe, can be done without a bread machine. You will need to bloom the yeast first, though.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Warm water (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit)

2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Egg, beaten

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Cups Flour (Bread or All Purpose)

3 Teaspoons Yeast

Put in the machine pan in the order listed. Could be made into one fluffy loaf of bread (I'll make it as a loaf for holiday meals, like Thanksgiving dinner), or cut the dough into 12-16 evenly sized balls, shape, and place in a 9 by 12 inch cake pan or casserole dish. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the top with butter.

One thing we found is that the rolls, next day, work great for a substitute for a hamburger bun. 

1-1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1 16 oz jar chunky spaghetti sauce
2 eggs
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 package (16 oz) Mozzarella or Italian blend shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350f
 In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce. Mix thoroughly. Add meat to mixture and combine.
 Lay out a long piece of cling wrap, foil, or wax paper. On one end, place your loaf pan. Use this as a guide and roll out the meat mixture into a thin layer (max thickness of 1/2") that's as wide as the pan is long.
Spread 1 cup of sauce on top of the meat, leaving about an inch at the furthest edge (on the side that is as wide as the pan) clear of sauce. Sprinkle 3/4 of the bag of cheese on top of the sauce. Roll up the meat like a swiss roll, starting at the sauced end and ending at the empty end of the meat. Pinch the end closed, and place in loaf pan sealed side down.
 Bake for roughly 1 hour, checking for doneness. (Your mileage may vary, depending on your oven.)
When no longer pink in the center, remove from the oven, and spread the last 1/2 cup of sauce on top, followed by the last 1/4 of the package of cheese. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
 Serve with plain pasta (little to no sauce) and maybe broccoli or the "Florentine blend" of steamed vegetables.

 Note from daughter: My mom looks at me funny and blatantly says "No." when I offer to make this for her. She has never eaten it, but she says it sounds too weird for her. Honestly, it tastes like if a meatloaf and a meatball stuffed full of cheese had a food baby.
Since my immediate family won't eat it, I have references of a sort from friends, former significant others, and coworkers. My former roommates and an ex boyfriend would beg me to make this, and didn't understand why I didn't make it more often. A former coworker paid me $20 per meatloaf I made for him (maybe once a month) because, despite only having 5 ingredients, he insisted that I made it better than he ever could. Another coworker asked for the recipe, and reported that it passed the finicky toddler test. I figure if a 4 year old who won't eat anything but chicken nuggets wants more, it's got to be good.

1-1.5 lbs ground beef (can substitute the "Meatloaf Mix" of ground beef and pork some grocery stores sell)
2 eggs
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2-1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (to taste)
1/2-1 teaspoon A-1 steak sauce (to taste)
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350f.
In a mixing bowl, crack and lightly beat 2 eggs. Add in the sauces and tablespoon of ketchup, and mix thoroughly. Gradually add bread crumbs until fully combined. Add in meat/meat mixture, and work together fully, avoiding clumps of bread crumb mixture.
Spray loaf pan lightly with cooking spray to prevent sticking (an important step if you use a draining loaf pan, like the Perfect Meatloaf Pan). Gently mold meat mixture into a loaf like shape that's an even thickness along it's length.
Bake for 1 hour. Check the loaf for doneness. Continue baking until no pink can be seen. Pull out of oven, and apply an even coat of the remaining ketchup on the top. Return to oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until ketchup turns into a glaze like substance and darkens.
Remove and serve. Feeds roughly 4 people, depending on how thick you cut the slices, and if people want seconds.

 Note from daughter: Out of my two meatloaf recipes, this is the one my mom likes. She looked at me funny when I pulled out the tin of bread crumbs, since she normally uses oats or bits of bread heels she's frozen, etc., but she actually liked this!