Favorite Frugal and Healthy Meals? About This Page:

[simbarel]

DH recently whipped up theeeeee best meal out of stuff we already had, it was kinda like Pad Thai, I guess......it was Wheat Spaghetti Noodles and a sauce made out of Peanut Butter, Olive Oil, Ginger, Crushed Peanuts, and Fresh Chopped Greens on top. It was incredible and couldn't have cost more than $5 for all the ingredients and there were leftovers for lunch the next day, I was in heaven.

So now I want to do more. Any other healthy frugal meal recipes? I'm not a big meat eater (at all...but I do now eat fish!)

[wheatenwalker]

Funny, I just made a big bowl of peanut sesame noodles! There are some good ideas here . I am a big fan of pasta salads- can be very cheap at this time of year-
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/di...90&oref=slogin

[wheatenwalker]

Black bean burgers and salsa

2 navel oranges, separated and cut into small pieces
1 large tomato, cored and diced finely
1 scallion, sliced thin
1 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp olive oil
1 small jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
1 dash salt

Bean Cakes
4 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained if canned
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil, plus oil for greasing pan
1 medium onion, diced finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery rib, sliced thin
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
Liberal seasoning of freshly ground pepper


Directions


Combine all the salsa ingredients in a bowl. Let sit for at least 1 hour.
Place 3 cups of the black beans in a large bowl. Process the remaining cup of beans with the eggs until smooth. Stir this mixture into the whole beans along with the bread crumbs.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and celery and saute until very tender and beginning to brown. Sprinkle on the cumin and cook 1 more minute.
Scrape the vegetables into the bean mixture and add the salt and pepper. Stir to mix well.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop up 12 portions of the bean mixture and place on the baking sheet. Flatten out with the scoop or your hand.
Bake 10 minutes, flip and bake 10 more minutes. Serve the bean cakes with a spoonful of salsa on each.
* Note, the cakes can be made in a lightly oiled skillet or pancake griddle. I have also used a Foreman grill.

Number of Servings: 6

I make roasted corn salad instead - pretty yummy!

[chezp]

Those sound great. One of my frugal recipes is mushroom risotto - just chop up half an onion, some mushrooms (can you tell how I cook? ) and chuck them in a pan and fry them. Boil up some water and make up some vegetable stock. When that's ready, throw that in as well and add the rice. Allow the stock to reduce completely and there you go. Frugal and easy to do.

[graygables]

Couscous! I stir fry squash, zucchini, peppers, onions, mushrooms, canned tomatoes, add some curry powder and seasonings, and top couscous with it. I sometimes add a side of stir-fried chicken breast, but for the cheap/veggie, it's yummy without!

[Starla4436]

Originally Posted by graygables

Couscous! I stir fry squash, zucchini, peppers, onions, mushrooms, canned tomatoes, add some curry powder and seasonings, and top couscous with it. I sometimes add a side of stir-fried chicken breast, but for the cheap/veggie, it's yummy without!

this sounds yummy!

[Belle*]

Grilled Shrimp! Our local Price Chopper often has Shrimp Skewers on sale 10/$10. I marinate them in some oil, lemon, garlic, etc and grill them. Add them to some couscous or put them on top of a salad and you have the perfect summer meal!

[fan of pan]

Wheat pasta
Garlic
Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Artichokes

Cook the pasta (any type)
Can of the new fangled fire roasted Tomatoes (I think Dole)
Jar of artichokes (cut up in bite size pcs)

Saute the garlic, tomatoes and artichokes while the pasta cooks. Drain pasta, dump veggies on pasta. Eat.....

[stretch2864]

Split pea soup is a favorite here. DBF makes this periodically, and it is so yummy. Basically it is 2-3 bags of split peas, water, onion, ham or Spam, salt, pepper, and Wyler's Chicken stock granules (you could probably use any kind of chicken bouillen.) He just throws it into a big stockpot, and lets it simmer for several hours. Sometimes he will throw a loaf of bread into the breadmaker so that we can have fresh bread with the soup.

[jjj6689]

We love split pea soup too.
I make a taco skillet dish. (homemade hamburger helper)
1-1.5 lbs of lean hamburger
1 can drained black beans
1 can drained corn
some canned tomatoes
1 cup or so of salsa. (or a taco seasoning pack)
I brown the hamburger with the onion, and then just dump everything else in. We have home canned tomatoes in quarts so I just add whatever looks good to me.
I serve it over rice, or as a topping on nachos or in tacos or burritos.

[simbarel]

I'm literally drooling, thanks for sharing all your tips! My grocery store has lots of 10/$10 sales, but I haven't seen shrimp skewers...maybe I should look harder!

[scottjs]

Well I remember how my wife got a free meal once. This was years ago when we were homeless. We were walking down the street that has a lot of outdoor cafes! Well she saw this potato on a plate and just grabbed it and ran!!! She had a free potato and the people who had been sitting there had a great story to tell!!! Ok this is bad nd not recommended, but it did happen long ago.

[simbarel]

Originally Posted by scottjs

Well I remember how my wife got a free meal once. This was years ago when we were homeless. We were walking down the street that has a lot of outdoor cafes! Well she saw this potato on a plate and just grabbed it and ran!!! She had a free potato and the people who had been sitting there had a great story to tell!!! Ok this is bad nd not recommended, but it did happen long ago.

...and you objected when I once called you a freegan!

[scottjs]

LMAO!!! Rachel---you may have a point there!!! But now we buy stuff like everybody else.

[poohmaine]

Here's one I got from a Passporter. It's easy, simple, very filling, and the ingredients are inexpensive. And it's really delicious!

Hashbrown Soup
4 cans chicken broth (or one large can)
1 pkg. frozen hash browns (thawed)
1 pkg. McCormicks country gravy (white gravy)
1/2 cup cold water

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add thawed potatoes. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Stir gravy mix into the cold water and stir until dissolved. Add to soup and simmer 5 more minutes.

I usually serve it with a bit of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Yum!