Cheap Recipes

Here are some quick, cheap, and mostly healthy meal ideas. I have collected these from the backs of cans, my favorite food magazine (Everyday food) and websites (like hillbillyhousewife.com).

Enchiladas (From back of enchilada sauce can)

• 4 tortillas
• 1 can of green or red enchilada sauce
• 1 pound of beef or 1 can of refried beans
• 1 and ½ cup of shredded cheese
• ½ cup of salsa

Heat oven to 350. Heat up beans or cook beef, add 1/3 can of enchilada sauce and ½ cup of salsa to meat or beans. Put equal amounts of beans or meat in the middle of each tortilla and roll up, place tortillas seam side down in pan. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on tortillas and sprinkle on the cheese. Cook for 20 min and serve with Spanish rice.

Spanish rice (From Everyday Food magazine)

• 1 cup of rice (I use regular white rice)
• ½ cup of chipped onion
• 1 T. of olive oil
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes or stewed tomatoes
• ½ t. of Thyme
• 2 cups of water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil on med-high until hot, add onions and let brown. Add rice and cook until light brown. Add water, thyme, salt and pepper, and can of tomatoes, get it boiling and then turn down to med-low, cover and let cook for about 10 min. Time will vary so check often.

Garlic chili shrimp, peanut noodles and broccoli (From Everyday Food magazine)

Garlic chili oil

• 6 chopped garlic gloves
• ½ t. red pepper flakes
• 4 T. vegetable oil

• 8 ounces spaghetti
• 2 T. peanut butter
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. rice vinegar
• 1 T. brown sugar
• ½ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 ½ pounds of broccoli

Mix up the stuff for the garlic chili oil and set aside. Cook noodles and rinse with cold water. Mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add to spaghetti and season with salt. Simmer broccoli in a pan with 1 T. of the garlic chili oil with the lid on until done. While this is cooking, mix shrimp with remaining oil. Put the shrimp on a pan and in the oven on broil for 5 min.

Healthier tuna casserole (My own)

• 1 can of Campbell’s Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup
• 1 ½ t. basil
• 1 ½ t. oregano
• 2 cans of tuna (I love Chicken of the Sea, it is chunky)
• 2/3 cup frozen veggies (I use FMV veggie mix because it is cheap and has no lima beans)
• 1 t. pepper
• ½ bag egg noodles
• Sliced or shredded cheddar cheese (enough to cover the top of the bowl)

Heat oven to 400. Cook noodles, while they are cooking mix together tuna, seasonings, veggies, and soup in a med size oven safe bowl. When noodles are done, drain and mix them in the oven safe bowl. Slice or shred cheese and place on top of mixture. Cook in oven until cheese is melted and a little crispy. Should be about 25 min.

Lentil chili (From hillbillyhousewife.com)

• 1-1/4 cups dry lentils (half a pound)
• 4 cups tap water
• 2 tablespoons oil or bacon grease
• 1 to 2 tablespoons dry onions
• 3 beef bouillon cubes
• 15 oz can tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• Dash hot pepper flakes or Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Place the lentils and the water in a large pot. Put the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat so that the lentils are simmering gently. Cook for 30 minutes. Do not add the other ingredients until after the lentils have cooked. If the lentils begin to get dry, or if their water boils away then add more water. You want the lentils to remain juicy while they cook. When your 30 minutes are up, add all of the remaining ingredients. Simmer the chili for 15 to 20 minutes and serve with crackers or cornbread or over rice. Makes 4 servings.

Hoe Cakes (From hillbillyhousewife.com)

• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups corn meal
• Any seasoning you like
• 1 tablespoon oil or butter

Boil the water and mix with the corn meal and the seasoning. Heat pan with oil or butter to med-high. Drop ¼ cups of the mix on to the hot pan. Let cook until golden on both sides. Serve with chili or soups of any sort.