Recipies for the broke, impoverished, and unemployed?

Question

I have no cooking skills whatsoever. I lost my job and am on my last few hundred dollar bills. I need some ideas. So far have been eating nothing but noodles with cheese, ramen noodles, and bean burritos. Ideas?

Answer 1

hamburger meat is inexpensive, and easy to cook for several different meals, you can cook a meal of spaghetti for about 3.50, or tacos for not much more than that. chicken legs and thighs are cheap as are wings, potatoes are good, and get some canned corn and green beans and things like that. they are all easy to prepare, and inexpensive too!

Answer 2

If you have at least ten bucks for a meal, try chicken adobo. Its simply done by browning chicken thighs and drumsticks in a little oil, and then add vinegar and soy sauce and allow this to simmer, covered on low for approx one hour. The vinegar smells strong, so maybe a rice vinegar would be more agreeable. Make sure the chicken does not dry out and add water if necessary to keep it in at least 1/4 inch of water. Last, toast a couple of slices of white bread, cut into cubes and sprinkle over the meat. The dish should be ready when the bread expands a little. Serve with white or brown rice.

Answer 3

Get whole grain cereal, milk and some OJ. There's breakfast.

Eggs are easy to cook, inexpensive, and good any time of day. With a few veggies and a bit of cheese, you can make omelettes - very easy, inexpensive and good nutrition.

Get fresh veggies like carrots, potatoes, green peppers, onions. Good any time, in a million different ways and not expensive.

Take a job as a waitress or in a fast food place. Most of the time, you'll get a meal or a big discount on a meal, as part of your pay.

Go to the library and find yourself a beginner's cookbook. Perhaps something like Betty Crocker.

Best of luck to you, and stay positive....your fortunes WILL change.

Answer 4

Rice is a good filler, Dollar Stores have a variety of canned veggies and often fresh produce like green peppers and squash that you can turn into creative meals. Check out a food stamp program if there is one. Don't despair you have no place to go but up. Good luck.

Answer 5

Rice, it's cheap and it goes a long way nutritionally. Maybe some rolled oats, breads, this kind of thing. Make sure to get enough protein though, cheese is pricey but you probably get enough just from the beans.

Answer 6

Potatoes. They fed the whole poverty stricken nation of Ireland on them. My Dad used to tell use stories of having potato soup every day during the great depression. Peanut butter and bread or crackers.

Also you can look into local missions, soup kitchens, even restaurants that give out free food at the end of their day.

Answer 7

One thing I do is I mostly shop sale prices and double coupons. There are some things, though, that I don't compromise on. Soy milk is a staple for me, especially now that I'm pregnant. however, I buy the Kroger grocery store brand as it's a dollar cheaper than Silk. If coupons and/or sale prices are not available, go with the lowest price. If you see a good deal on something, stock up. I've noticed that Meijer regularly puts Progresso soup on sale six for $8. I used to be able to use Internet coupons on them, but Meijer no longer accepts them. (Internet coupons can be good, but some stores don't take them.) Never under estimate the taste and price of store brands. I find that they are just as good, if not better than national brand.

Try to avoid convience foods if you can. A can of Spaghetti-Os for a dollar might look good. However, you might get one, maybe two meals out of that. (Not to mention the extra sodium and preservatives and other stuff.) However, a box of whole wheat pasta (at the Kroger I shop at) is only $.99 and they frequently put spaghetti sauce on sale for $1. My husband and I can get two meals out of a jar of sauce. The same with, say, Rice-a-Roni. The dollar box might look good, but I stock up on brown rice when it's a dollar. I have rice about two to three times a week. It's easy and filling and I often throw in some canned beans (which I stock up on at $.50 a can) or some tofu, which I get at Trader Joe's for $.99 a package. With both, I also mix in some steamed veggies (which I get at Kroger for $.99 a frozen bag; I think they're healthier than canned or fresh). With the tofu and rice, I shake in a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce.

Today, I plan on having oatmeal from a canister that I got for a quarter. Rite Aid often has the Malt-o-Meal Mom's Best oatmeal for $.99, I've been buying it with $.75 coupons I've been printing on-line. I have at least six canisters that I got for a quarter a peice. They had it on sale last week, but I didn't make it there.
For lunch, a veggie burger from a package I bought on sale with coupon for less than $2. From what I understand, meat costs more than that, especially for the pre-formed stuff. I'm going to have it on store bought whole wheat bread, which we didn't get on sale, but needed, because I've not been able to make bread. (I've been ill the past four or so days and have barely wanted to look at food, let alone make it.) I'll add some ketchup ($1.25 for the large bottle, store brand). I'll also have a salad from a bagged mix (maybe not as good as a deal as the lettuce, but I let my husband buy it because I didn't feel like chopping the lettuce), which cost $1, and a carrot from a bag that also cost a dollar and dressing from a bottle that also cost a dollar.
Dinner, some of the aforementioned brown rice, tofu, steamed veggies and soy sauce.

Fruit and vegetables are non-negotiable, especially since I'm pregnant. It's just a matter now of just getting things as cheaply as possible. I'm the type of person who can go to the grocery store, get $31 worth of stuff and pay only $8 something. Also, don't underestimate stores like Save-A-Lot and Aldi, they're cheaper, as they only have house brands, but becareful. Many foods at Aldi, that I would have thought healthy, have things like preservatives and corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup in them. I used to shop there for staples, like fruit and potatoes, canned tomatoes and tomato sauce (to go with my lentil soup-- I boil the lentils, drain, then add the tomato sauce and tomatoes and some spices) and other little things.

Do Yahoo! searches for frugal living, living frugal, cheap living, simple living, living simple, frugal families... If I had time, I could copy and paste some sites I have, but you should be able to glean some information if you do some searches.

Answer 8

I can give you one spagetti Ragu sauce Mushrooms Fry up some hamburger & thats it

Answer 9

get potatoes,hamburger, onions,look for meat speacials