Ghetto-fabulous Recipes...

Alrighty... gonna be slim pickin's for a few weeks (hopefully not more)... so I'm going to need some 'ghetto-fabulous' recipes... poor man's food... and any other tricks you may know to make food go further within a limited budget.

I've learned a few things as I grew up during times of complete impoverishment (family lived in a car for a while) to upper lower-class living standards. But it's always nice to add a bit of variety to one's diet... even if your wallet is a little thin.

And yes... I have ramen noodles! :lol:

I was going to suggest ramen noodles but I see you are on top of things hehe. If you are creative you can make many tasty meals with it. I learned that from my ex when he was an ultra poor college student. He probably has a personal cook now rofl.

Start incorporating as many cereal grains into your diet as you can. Rice, for example. Eat small portions of meat and vegetables for nutritional value and flavor along with a heap of rice to fill you up. If you really want to go cheap grab a bag or two of black beans and some rice. That'll last you a long time. Eat oats for breakfast. Not that overpriced individually packaged stuff. Get a great big container of oats. It's incredibly cheap and it'll keep you fed for a good while. If you've got the dough pair the oatmeal with some fruit. I actually like to eat my oatmeal with a couple tablespoons of apple sauce on top.

It's all about the beans and rice, baby. Together, they have all of the crucial 8 amino acids provided by meat, so you can live on that cheap shit for a long time.

You are going to become well-acquainted with the many forms a burrito can take. There's nothing like wrapping up random stuff in a tortilla and calling it lunch.

Could you get a job at a restaurant? Maybe do some catering? When you're broke, it's good to have a job where they feed you.

mmmmmmmmmm arroz con frijoles la comida de mi gente!!!

^ Practically everyone's...

Spam fried rice ... You can't mess it up.

I live near a mostly Asian part of town... so noodles, rice, and all kinds of 'variety' in regards to low-cost foods are available.

Stopped off at Krogers and got some steaks that were on sale - $1.50 a steak (just have to eat it within the week or so), and they have these sales on a regular basis. So meat is definitely available. If all else fails... chicken is fairly cheap. And I'm not one to turn my nose up to potted meat (aka 'mystery meat').

I remember beans and rice when I was growing up :P

Though sometimes they have liver on sale at Tom Thumb and similar places... and onions are always fairly cheap. Being here is so much better than the smaller towns I've been in. In the right location you can have a wide variation in 'poor food.'

At one point, I was so broke, I ate toast and grey poupon for lunch for a month straight ...

Make a ****load of chili and freeze it, like Gribble suggested in my one thread. Buy cheap veggies and douse it all with cayenne peppers. You won't taste it.

Buy cheap loaves of bread and some cheap marmelade to go with it.

Dried beans and rice and whatnot. Dry is better... it's fresher, and it's much cheaper.

Speaking of steaks, see about picking up some of the ultra thin ones. I can't remember what they're called but they're like 3.50 for a pack of three. Granted you'll need all three for one meal probably, but they're actually fairly good if you cook them right. I sprinkle them with salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice, then I cook them in the same pan as a sliced onion. Serve with black beans and rice and you'll have an el-cheapo Cuban meal. Fry up some plantains to go with it and I'll fly out to Texas and have dinner with you.

Buy some cheap pork and some lentils. Dice the lentils and cook the steaks with them. Use balsamic too. It's a Bohemian dish. Very good.

rice and canned meat will do wonders... i'm a spam person but you might like veinna sausages.

raverboy

Baked potatoes with a bit of shredded cheese, margarine, and some leftover chicken on top is good, especially if you throw in some broccoli.

cabbage soup from willy wonka.. haha hey, it's cheap.

raverboy