Favorite Meal under $2.00

[JohnnyGutz]

Ramen! and lol @ "i pretty much eat like a mexican" ... im mexican.. maybe i should embrace my roots and start eating like one.. i barely eat beans and rice and tortillas. but i do love all of those and they're usualy really cheap!.. that said, i think my favorite and one purchase i'll make a lot are those microwavable meals.. a lot come under 2 dollars. and have pretty much everything in one <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> .. but i dont think i'll ever give up my chips habit.. i gotta eat those. and ill pay the 4.30 for them lol <img src="/images/boards/smilies/tongue.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[tink]

for me a can or two of van camps chili and add a&nbsp;quarter&nbsp;cup or so of Franks Buffalo wing sauce.. may have gone over two bucks slightly but it is great.

 

[karl]

Oriental ramen, can of chicken, small can mixed veggies- boil ramen, drain off most excess water, add half the seasoning packet( toss the rest), drain chicken and veggies, add top pot with a few shakes of worchester sauce and ground pepper, stir and heat through.<br /><br />Katie- found that bacon jerky...I'm thinking that might liven up fish chowder, canned beans, homefries.....It is GOOD! thanksferthetip.

 

[She]

Ikea has breakfast for 99 cents..just add coffee.

 

[kappydell]

spanish rice - 3 cups cooked rice + 1 can of walmart's hot dog chili sauce. Spiced just right, and if you use minute rice you can cook it over a candle in a pinch.

cream soup - 3/4 c water, 1 bouillon cube (or 1 tsp), whatever leftovers you can scrounge chopped fine, 3 TB nonfat instant dry milk (protein boost). Heat to a simmer, stir in 1/4 cup water shaken in a jar with either 1 heaping TB cornstarch, or 2 heaping TB flour until smooth. Stir it into the hot broth mixture, then stir until it thickens. Decrease the flour or cornstarch if you don't like it as thick (I like very thick soup). Good to use up bits and pieces, and the thickening makes it more satisfying.

fried rice, made with however many eggs you can find/spare and minced 'miscellaneous leftovers'.

omelettes will take just about any additions and still taste wonderful. Frittatta is very continental, but is still an omelet baked in a pan rather than wrapped around a filling.

crepes filled with minced whatever and thick gravy. ditto with tortillas, which are after all, similar pancakey like thingies.

cooked ramen stir fried like rice; or mixed with just about any sauce; or (calorie overload) mixed with mashed potatoes then fried in patties.

walmarts house brand rice & cheese with broccoli side dish; one envelope, made up with a one serving can or pouch of tuna (!!)to flavor it up and enhance the protein profile.

minced up meat of any species in really thick gravy, poured over rice, instant potatoes, biscuits, or noodles. my late husband called it slop but asked for it all the time. SOS (I like the army style best, cooked hamburger in country gravy, over toast with an egg on top!

 

[WanderingRain]

Try noodle pack brand "Nong Shim" found in Asian stores. Tastier and spicier than most generic ramen, they come at either one dollar or buck fifty price range. Add a few veggies for variety and you got a meal under $2.

 

[twokniveskatie]

Karl- glad you liked it. I am watching for other sources for it. I'd love if I could get it in bulk also. I have a plan for the RTR.....

 

[IGBT]

My favorite meal under $2 is chicken pie.&nbsp; Well, it actually makes about 5 meals but the cost is well under $10 total.<br /><br />Chicken, celery, butter, cream of chicken soup, self rising flour, milk, salt is all you need.&nbsp; Amazingly good.&nbsp; My mom taught me the recipe.<br /><br />Most expensive meal I have ever had was a $200 omelette at the Mont St Michel Abbey in France.&nbsp; Insane.&nbsp; Looks like this:<br /><br /><a href=""></a>

 

[Spirituallifetime]

My favorite breakfast on the road: chunk pineapple with sliced banana mixed together and some raisins and crushed walnuts on top. Doctor approved no cholesterol!<br /><br />Favorite diner that I would love to try out on the road, roasted beets and carrots. Take whole fresh beets and cut leaves off about inch or so from top of beet(uncooked beets are hard as rocks so its to hard to cut them) add in about the same amount of whole carrots then large chunks of onion and whole garlic cloves. Sprinkle olive oil and balsamic vinegar on every thing and wrap in aluminum foil, roast on covered BBQ until beets are tender. I think one of the small portable propane BBQ's should work for this meal, I have cooked this meal in an as seen on TV nuwave oven and it turned out to be great diner.

 

[angeli]

Spiritual,<br /><br />Add a sweet potato and I'm there!&nbsp; It seems that what you describe would be an excellent candidate for under the hood cookery.&nbsp; Roast as you drive!

 

[karl]

Sounds good! <br />Had my first ever grilled beets last week- no more boiled beets for this guy. They are a bear to slice, really like you roasting Idea.

 

[WanderingRain]

It sounds strange but, rice, vienna sausage (fry if possible) and a can of peaches in syrup.&nbsp;

 

[fluffabear]

I'm a fan of beans, peas, lentils, barley and rice, which are all fairly cheap and all store well. I make a pretty decent lentil stew (yes, stew) and a great split pea soup. <br /><br />As far as meat dishes go, I prefer pork over beef (beef has gotten pricey up here lately) so I usually buy a huge pack of chops and divide it up and freeze them so i can use one at a time.<br /><br />I try to stay away from what I call "short acting" foods (such as ramen, although I admit I do love it and will have it once in a while) in favor of foods that stick around (whole grains, etc), but I have been known to live on junk food from time to time (sweet tooth the size of Alaska!).

 

[beachwalker7]

<span style="font-size: medium;">That lentil stew sounds good how do you make it? I eat very little meat love veg's and beans, rice and fruit.</span>

 

[user 2252]

A can of Armor Chilli and box of Saltine Crackers. Heat the can of chilli under the hood.

 

[fluffabear]

Oh, it's super easy! You can either save up veggie scraps and make a broth, or get a pre-made veggie broth (pretty cheap, very tasty). Soak your lentils for 20 mins, cook your barley while that's going on. (For just me I use 1/4c lentils and 1/4c barley, which will make 3 days worth of soup). Once the barley is done, take your cooked barley, (drain off most but not all the water) add your veggie broth, your raw lentils and if you like 1/4 cup of rice (or even a little less). I put in a carrot, some onion, a celery stalk, some dried garlic and salt and pepper, along with a bay leaf that I take out at the end. The lentils will absorb a lot of the broth, so you will need to use a bit of it (one of those boxes of broth from the organic aisle is about perfect).&nbsp;<br /><br />This soup is super cheap, super filling, and one of my favorites.

 

[fluffabear]

Oh, and for clarification, 3 days = 3 meals :/, sorry I confuse myself.

 

[beachwalker7]

Thanks I'll give that one a try has all the stuff I like and it's easy, even in Fl. soup is good

 

[Roadworthy]

Okay, this is an old thread, but when I saw this Martha Stewart recipe for Upgraded Ramen Noodles, I had to share:

1 package Ramen noodles
1 pack noodle flavoring
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
2 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce
1/2 scallion, thinly sliced (optional)

Make noodles as usual, mix in other ingredients, top with scallions, eat right away.


The flavor packets are loaded with MSG, but if you don't care about that, bon appetit!

 

[compassrose]

After reading all the posts, I think it becomes very clear to pretty much anyone that home cooking is how to keep the cost of meals down. Another way is to make your own homemade versions of the many "convenience mixes" found on grocery store shelves. I also keep dry milk on hand. If you break the cost down per gallon, it works out to the about same price (sometimes more, sometimes less) as regular liquid milk. Difference is, I only make what I need to cook with (I loathe drinking milk), I can use it to make cocoa mixes and I no longer buy a gallon of milk, use a cup or two, then toss the rest because it went bad. Saves me a lot of money in wasted milk. And I ALWAYS have it in the pantry. No gas wasting "quick trip" to the nearest grocery store or paying far too much at the convenience store across the street. We also use the instant mashed potatoes sold at Sam's Club. They do NOT taste like the Idahoan sold at WalMart (red box same brand, Food Service version tastes MUCH better and more like real mashed taters). But we have found that about many products sold at Sam's Club. Always on the shelf and never a spoiled tater to be smelled. I make it with reconstituted dry milk.

I have found Budget101.com to be a good website for frugal recipes. The "gift" mixes can be packed into ziplock baggies or jars and used just like a box mix. I used to make homemade cake mixes in ziplock baggies to carry camping when the kids were little and we camped in the popup. Now I pack into canning jars (haven't broke one yet while traveling). Nice thing about canning jars is they don't pick up food stains and odors like plastic does.

I use a version of Once-A-Month-Cooking (OMAC) that suits the two of us. Not really workable for vandwelling but for others it may help.....

There are now just the two of us. But all my recipes tend to be 4 servings and up. So I freeze the excess in 8 oz or 4 oz canning jars. I even make my lunches for work in the little canning jars. I bake stuff directly in canning jars or bake 3 or 4 batches of entrees all at the same time (uses same temp in oven). Part of one dish is our supper for that night and I pack up the excess for the freezer. We do not live in a normal RV. We live fulltime in a converted bus that, understanding what we needed in the galley, is outfitted with a 12cf upright freezer, 30" residential style range (my old barely used range out of the last house we owned that allows me to use one 20lb BBQ tank of LP in 3 or 4 months) and two 4.4cf refrigerators (gives me an 8.8 cf refrigerator). We save a lot of money doing this because we thought ahead and planned our conversion to save us time and money. We rarely eat out at a restaurant or buy the expensive "fast food". Our individual frozen entrees & casseroles that are tucked away in the freezer are very fast to thaw out in the microwave (or overnight in the refrigerator) and always there for those days when we do not feel like cooking. We save a lot in LP and food dollars because I will crank up the oven two or three times per month and make several dishes at a time. Some things, like my enchiladas, are just too messy to make every time. So I make a double recipe, bake then wrap two enchiladas per foil pack. Any time one of us wants enchiladas for lunch or supper, we just grab it out of the huge ziplock baggie the 2-packs are stored in.