Hello there! I was wondering if anyone has some low budget meal recipes that they want to share. I wanna save money but I also don't want to get malnourished on my low budget!
This is more of a broad suggestion, but try to look for a discount grocer in your area. Where I live we have one called Grocery Outlet, they sell a lot of generic and near-expiration products for a bargain. Whenever I go, I'll find things I like that are around half the price they'd be at a typical grocery store.
Chicken curry. Tasty, nutritional, cheap, fast. Ingredients for one person, note that this scales up nicely:
- skinless, boneless, cubed chicken thigh (freeze skin/bones for homemade stock)
- seasoning of your choice (mine is curry powder, salt, minced garlic, hot pepper sauce, brown sugar)
- some veg oil
- half onion, grated
- 2tbsp tomato paste
- one potato, peeled, diced
- one carrot, peeled, sliced
- water or stock (cold is fine but boiling hot is preferable)
- 1 tsp (teaspoon) cornstarch
- [OPTIONAL] chives, parsley, sesame seeds, whatever garnish you'd like
- Sprinkle seasoning over chicken thigh cubes. Sear them on high heat until brown outside, using the veg oil. Don't worry about the inside, they'll get cooked further.
- Turn fire to low. Add onion. Let it cook a bit more, stirring often, until transparent. Add a bit of water as needed, you want it to melt down and thicken the sauce.
- Add tomato paste, potato, carrot, and enough water/stock to cover everything. Test the seasoning, and correct it as necessary. (Note: potatoes absorb salt, so it'll taste now slightly saltier than the final dish. Take that into account.)
- Wait until everything is cooked. The carrots and potatoes should take roughly the same time to cook, but if you're worried about one cooking faster, cut it in slightly larger chunks instead.
- Use the cornstarch and a bit of water to make a slurry, then add it to the curry while mixing well. The sauce will be initially milky and runny, but as the cornstarch dissolves it'll become transparent and thicker.
- [OPTIONAL] garnish!
Serve it alongside some flat bread, white rice, or polenta. I never did the nutrition maths for this recipe but it's three vegs, a source of protein, and the only fat there is from the meat and the veg oil that you used to brown it, so I'd say that it's healthy.
Variants: feel free to add cabbage or other vegs if you so desire. I don't recommend yucca for this one, it has a tendency to either dissolve into the sauce (some recipes exploit it... not this one). You can also swap the chicken thighs with breast, pork, or even some tougher beef cuts. Just take cooking times into account.
2 chicken breasts or 4 thighs, boneless and skinless Olive oil Neutral vinegar Salt Pepper Adobo seasoning (optional) Bay leaf (optional) 1/2 onion 2-4 cloves garlic 2-3 cans beans, any variety but I like to mix up black, red, and kidney 2 cups rice 1/2 cup white wine (optional) 4 cups water or low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
I like to make rice, beans, and chicken. Cube some chicken and mix it with some olive oil, neutral vinegar like rice or white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and adobo seasoning. Let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to overnight.
When it’s ready, remove it from the marinade and brown it in a large deep pan or pot with about 1-2tbsp oil and a bay leaf (enough to hold all the ingredients) with a lid (lid off for now). While it browns dice the onion and garlic
When it’s browned, 5-10m, add the onion. Cook till the inion is softened (another 10m) then add the garlic. Cook for 1m.
Add the wine here if you’re using it. Reduce to about 2tbsp of liquid. Otherwise skip this step.
Add the rice and cook for 30 seconds or so, then add all the liquid and the beans. Cover and cook for 25 minutes. Water should be just barely bubbling, not a roiling or visible boil.
Check it after time - rice should be tender. If not, stir and keep cooking adding water 1/4 cup at a time if needed to keep from burning. Once the rice is cooked through, check for seasoning and it’s done.
