Posted on 02/16/2009 10:39:54 AM PST by JoeProBono
These days, the idea of making a three-course meal for a family of four for less than $20 can seem impossible. Unless, that is, you shop at the 99¢ Only Stores. There are more than 200 of them throughout the West not to mention other bargain variations like the Dollar Store true to their name, everything costs exactly 99 cents. Christiane Jory thoroughly embraces this fact in her book, The 99¢ Only Stores Cookbook. The idea may sound silly, but the book is filled with recipes for gourmet items like gruyere beignets, salmon souffle and Pinot Noir poached pear tarts. Many of the recipes have been adapted from culinary classics like the Joy of Cooking and the Moosewood Cookbook.
TEXAS COWBOY BREAKFAST
Beans and Cornbread. YUM!
Tie a chicken neck on a string and let it sit...Pull it up slowly and feel if there is a crab on it.If so..keep going till you can net the crab! A cheap and effective way to catch some crabs! Remember to pull up s..l..o..w..l..y!
BTTT
Red beans and rice & sausage
“Some of the best foods in the world are the food of the poor-working class. It isnt about the price of the ingredients, but the time and care put into the dish”
Exactly. If folks had been raised by my Mama, they’d know how. She raised the food, killed it, cooked it, canned it.
and don’t forget the herbs and spices, Texas :)
I’d add one more to the list: Learn to can.
Once leftovers are properly canned, they will never spoil, so you don’t have to eat them for days at a time, and they don’t take up space in the fridge or freezer.
I just made shepherd’s pie using turkey I canned up last November. Still good, still yummy!
I can eat (6) bowls of ramen noodles for that.
You said it. Love Ramen Noodles. Add anything or eat straight.Good AND CHEAP!
I won’t, I left out the Jalero (jalapeno) peppers. Those are in my sun room now.
If you watch for specials like this, clip those coupons, and buy in bulk when things go on sale, you don't have to shop at 99 cent stores or use a lot of canned fruits and vegetables, which are heavy on the sugar and salt. I routinely rack up savings of $80 or more on a $200 grocery order just with sales and coupons. And I try not to waste anything. I even make slaw with the stems of fresh broccoli.
We also started buying wine in a box. Very good and cheap, and it keeps longer than bottles.
I’m getting hungry reading all this. It all sounds so yummy, makes me wish we had a Freepers cookbook! I bet with all the Freepers from all over the country we would have quite a selection of recipes!
I learned how to streatch the cost of meals when I was growing up as my parents and grandparents lived through the depression and learned how to make the most out of everything they had.
I have a family of 6 to cook for, and I cook a whole roasted chicken one night and then boil down the carcas the next day and make soup. The same thing with turkeys, hams, pork sholder roasts. Almost everything I cook is stretched to at least two meals for the family, if not more. Turkey leftovers become turkey turkey sandwiches, pot pies, Latin style arroz con pavo,and the carcas gets boiled down for soup. Pork roasts become pulled pork sandwiches, burittos, and the ajus from cooking it becomes a hearty bean or lentil soup. Corned beef and cabbage becomes corned beef hash and split pea soup. Hams become casseroles, crepes, eggs benedict, and a bean or lentil soup. A beef roast becomes beef stroganoff, beef stir fry, french dip sandwiches, and beef stew.
I use mostly fresh vegetables, so the cost stays low too.
Good idea
“It all sounds so yummy, makes me wish we had a Freepers cookbook!”
Those are easy to get printed. But if we did, would anyone buy one? Or would it be better to start a FReeper recipe website? Or both?
Do dollar stores ever have sales? That would be the time to buy.
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