Today I have a short backlog of post ideas but they’re mostly getting crammed into one short post. I guess we could call this, “How to shop on 25 bucks.”
There’s a few basic things you have to have in the kitchen that are going to make life a lot easier, and a lot tastier for you. Cooking with no money often means making dull food interesting and so spices are paramount. For under ten dollars you can get all the spices you want and you wont have to buy them again for months, so go wild. Some suggestions based on what I use almost daily:
Basil– Its pretty versatile, and can be used to liven up a lot of meals that are a little one dimensional. However its strongest suit is fixing cheap tomato sauce!!
Garlic– I use garlic salt and garlic power, but the powder is better for most applications. One of the first things I learned when I lived in Rome was that Americans love to over-salt everything!
Oregano– Works in many of the same places Basil is helpful, but you can use Oregano to season proteins!! If I had once spice that I could not get by without, this would be it. As we’ll get to soon I eat a ton of frozen chicken tenders, and this gives them more character
Pepper– This should be obvious, I like to buy the ones with a pepper grinder attached. If you’ve got a reusable grinder, even better you’re saving money
Salt– I don’t really use it all that much, and if I do I’ll add seasoning salt usually. Its good for making ground beef more appealing.
Peppers– I love spicy food. I’ve been meaning to buy some Thai chili sauce. In the meantime however, its red pepper flakes and chili powder.
These are basic and don’t sound like much, but you’ll find that by using these and incorporating other spices you find in the supermarket, you can very cheaply create new flavors and keep your food interesting. Also, while you’re there pick up some olive oil. But there are so many kinds of oil, whats the best, Dan? You’re poor, remember? It doesn’t matter, at least at this level. I’m using Giant brand now.
Meat
Chicken
In college I had a friend who always made chicken patty sandwiches or hot dogs. Granted these are inexpensive (Hot dogs at Target are 10 for less than 2 bucks) You really don’t get the bang for your buck. The secret? Frozen (raw, unbreaded) chicken tenders. Yup.. for 6-7 dollars you get 2.5 POUNDS of chicken. Most places have it including Target, Trader Joes, and Giant. That’s really a ton of chicken if you think about it and if you’re eating proper portions it will last you a long time. I like the tenders over breasts because they thaw quicker, and more evenly in the microwave. Plus they are a more fine grain way to dictate portions than breasts. Just my preference.
Pork Chops
Really? Pork Chops I thought that was going to cost some bills. Not as much as you’d think really. Most supermarkets have thin pork chops, 4-6 to a package for two or three dollars. That’s a at least two meals-worth of meat. They’re easy too, because they come so thin (1/4 inch or so). Into the pan with olive oil, a touch of butter, a little pepper, and oregano. Flip those bad boys once and you’re done really.
Ground Beef
I don’t normally buy much ground beef but I was at the supermarket yesterday and I stumbled upon something epic. Three pounds of beef, six dollars. Granted it was sell by today, but were going to talk about harnessing the power of the freezer in a second and you’ll see why this was a steal.
Your freezer is your friend.
Say it with me now. Or don’t, either way it helps you out. Its already got your chicken in it. If your like me it has a few frozen pizzas too. Lets put it to work, using the ground beef from yesterday. One thing you need to have is storage containers. The cheap gladware ones are fine, right next to the ziplock bags and they come a few to a pack. So What do you do with 3 pounds of beef? I started by making three 1/3 lb burgers and individually freezing them. Think about this, the beef was $2/lb, and if I made three 1/3 pound patties that is 0.67 CENTS a patty. A quarter pounder w/ cheese at Mc Donalds is how much? The next pound just gets frozen till we know what to do with it. And the last pound will be our experiment tomorrow… CHILI!
The other stuff.
Spaghetti. You want crates of this stuff, but you need to have different pasta sauces, including ones that aren’t red. Try a pesto sauce. Just a little bit goes a very long way, which will save money. One box of pasta and a jar of pesto is easily four servings. I haven’t experimented much with rice yet but it is coming.
So this is admittedly a little more than 25 dollars, but heres where it becomes brilliant. Most of thsese purchases last a while alowing you to make many many meals. So each week I spend about 25 bucks on milk, cereal, veggies, bread, different grains, and lunch meat, as well as whatever is above that I need to replace. You can afford $25 a week.
Cooking Without Cash 