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

Rice goes a long way and is inexpensive when you buy the regular kind (not Minute Rice) and there is so much you can do with it.

Answer 2

Eggs and hot dogs make for a cheap omelet, and try ground turkey. It's cheaper than ground beef by the pound and you can use it to make rice dishes that are similar to hamburger helper. As a seasoning, buy fresh garlic since it's relatively cheap. Check all the supermarket circulars before shopping to catch the best bargains on all food items. If you go to a supermarket during a sale and they are out of any particular sale item, ask for a rain check. That way, you can get it at any other time for the discounted price. Also try to locate any food banks in your area, where they may be giving out free food. Local churches usually can inform you of the locations, if not, try the Yellow pages, or other community directories. I've been in a similar situation so I understand completely how it can be.Good luck, and I really hope things improve for you sooner rather than later.
Post Script,
Frozen Pot Pies are also an inexpensive meal. Try to get the ones with a complete crust, (top and Bottom) they have more food inside.

Answer 3

Potato and Egg Tacos = my best dish when I'm broke. It's cheaper if you make your own salsa in a blender or food processor, or by chopping the ingredients -- but otherwise you can buy salsa.

Salsa with a Food Processor:
* 1 can of chopped tomatoes
* Handful fresh cilantro (50 cents a bunch at the right stores)
* A few fresh serrano chiles (very cheap)
* Few cloves of garlic
* Some salt
(Whiz the above in the food processor.)

Salsa Fresca with No Food Processor:
* Half a white onion chopped
* Several plum tomatoes/Roma tomatoes chopped
* Several fresh serrano chiles minced small
* Big handful of cilantro chopped
* Salt
Put the chopped up ingredients in a bowl and stir together.

Potato and Egg Tacos
* I medium potato will serve at LEAST one person - (If you have too many potato chunks, they will freeze for a couple of days)
* I egg per person
* Corn tortillas (a big stack should set you back less than a dollar)

* Wash the potato, cut it in bite-size chunks, put it in a bowl of salted water and microwave it for about five minutes (Or cook it in boiling salted water on the stove for about the same length of time). Drain and keep ready.
* Break the egg into a bowl, add a little salt and beat lightly to mix the yolk with the white. Stir a little salsa into the egg if you want.
* Heat the tortillas while you are fixing the taco filling:
* To cook the taco filling, heat a little oil in a frying pan (It should be less than a tablespoon, you don't want these to be greasy.) When the oil is hot, put in the potato chunks, and stir them around some till they start looking a little toasted (Just with a little tan on them here and there; you are not trying to brown them thoroughly or anything.) Turn the heat to medium and stir in the eggs. Cook the eggs and potatoes, scrambling them with a fork or a spatula.

When the eggs are done, put them on a plate and serve with the tortillas and salsa. Everyone takes a hot tortilla and wraps up some eggs-and-potatoes on it, and adds salsa.

Answer 4

You probably qualify for food stamps! If you are married or have young children, WIC is there for you, too.

~Red, White, Black, Navy Beans and Rice
~a big turkey that you can bake and eat on for af ew days, freeze the rest, and pull out as you need it
~Ground Beef and chicken leg quarters are inexpensive, too. Buy on sale.
~Eggs, Peanut Butter, and Cheeses are good sources of protein for little cost
~Boiled & buttered noodles w/ shredded cheese on top
~Bean burritos are still great! Add cheese and some salsa for variety, or maybe a strip or two of that turkey

Here is another good website for those facing a super-tight budget. She wrote it for friends who were facing a 5-month lay-off. The ideas are great, and so are her recipes.

http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/improv.html

Answer 5

You can do many things with rice, and its pretty cheap if you buy it in a big bag. Not only that, its good fot you, but everyone has different taste. I have been pretty poor my self this year, and last year, just find things that are reasonable and mix it up time to time so you don't get too tired of the same thing all the time, You can always get recipes for what ever kind of food you are eating online.

Answer 6

Find out if there is an Aldi store in your area. Ground turkey is only 79 cents a pound at Aldi, sold in one pound frozen rolls. Use it in chili, spaghetti sauce, anywhere you would use ground beef. Buy and cook eggs, they are also low cost high quality protein. Aldi is a low cost store with good quality food. Find out what you can get from a food bank. Get fruits and vegetables fresh or canned from a food bank. Don't be too proud to accept help. While you are looking for a new job, maybe you can volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank. Take good care of yourself and good luck to you.

Answer 7

Ramen Noodles.....they go a long way. And as an added bonus you can use them as a pasta for just about any dish. I also enjoy SPAM it is a college students best friend. It can be used as a substitute for any meat .

Answer 8

I've been there... try hamburger stroganoff... browned hamburger, can of cream of mushroom, cup of water, garlic, and some sour cream if you have it. Serve it over noodles.

Also, bags of soup beans are cheap and make a whole pot. You can just add water if its all you have.

Vienna sausages, not really good for you though. Canned tuna.

Good luck

Answer 9

$2 tuna caserole

i lived on this in college:
1 can of pea's
1 box of mac n cheez
1 can of tuna

cook mac
put in caserole dissh
add other ingredients
bake for 15 mins

addons: cheese or corn flakes, or both!

Answer 10

Cheer up my friend and keep smiling its not u the only one whose having this excellent skills.....!! :)