Thread: too expensive to cook?

Here's the obvious - have you gone to your local library and looked for cookbooks? There's usually a huge selection, with a bunch about "economical" eats.

Steamed bok choi. Chop it, steam it, maybe a little salt & pepper.

We make fish tacos alot. The very simplest -- saute up the soft tortillas. Saute the fish in canola or olive oil - no breading needed, so healthy. Mash it in the frying pan to get little pieces of fish. Plop fish onto tortillas and add taco sauce, salsa, vegies, whatever. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, guacamole.........

Originally Posted by zumarrad

Big bag of spuds. Boil, add butter, eat.

Not that I do this, but I should. Potatoes are very cheap and good.

I looooove potatoes. They have been so under-appreciated and much maligned. I was just reading a health magazine that mentioned they "provide a considerable amount of vitamin C along with copper, fiber, manganese, potassium and vitamin B6."

As far as cookbooks, I've been tempted to by some of those college or 'starving student' cookbooks. I figure that's about as cheap as the meals are going to get. ..l;, I think I have one called "Cheap. Fast. Good.".

Boneless chicken breasts in a lasagna dish, pour over salsa and bake until chicken is done and salsa is bubbling, grate cheese (if you want) over top and melt. Serve with rice. Super cheap and delish.

Caldo Verde - Portugese Kale Soup

Kale, Potatoes, Onion, Garlic, Chorizo (optional)....Less than $8 for a pot of it.

Originally Posted by TediThomas

Actually (as the husband puts it), it is expensive to set up a kitchen. All the little things that go into making a dish/cooking add up in a hurry. Once you have your "basics" in stock in your pantry, cooking becomes much less expensive.

This is very true. You do need to cook on a regular basis to make cooking from scratch worth its while. Some things are pretty essential, everyone needs salt, flour, olive oil, canned tomatoes etc. but if you only cook half the time, you don't need to get anything too exotic or lots of variety.

Mixed herbs from the markets are good for beginning cooks, not the salted expensive kind from the supermarket though, just blended herbs and spices. Get some for your favorite styles of cooking. For example Italian herbs, Masalla curry, Mexican Spices and Fivespice. You can vary by adding black pepper, onions or garlic. If you make different kinds of meat and veggies for each, it will take several weeks before a dish is repeated. For example, one time you make chicken with fivespice and green beans, next week shrimp with garlic and fivespice, then pork with cabbage, pepper and fivespice and it is not boring.

Once you start cooking more often, loose herbs are more economical and you learn how to mix them to create many beautiful flavours.

throw a piece of salmon in the oven with some spike on it- it's a seasoning- fry some potatoes in olive oil with rosemary and microwave some frozen peas and bam there is a super cheap and DELICOUS meal. (I had it for dinner last night).

spike is really great, not too salty and has lots of flavors in it.

mmm- potatoes are so versatile- we love roasted potatoes at our place- chop them in 1" pieces & toss them in olive oil & spices, roast at 425-
red potatoes, we like lemon juice, salt, pepper, sometimes a little rosemary
yellow potatoes we like with other veggies- minced sweet onions, garlic, fennel when it's in season, or red peppers & green tomatoes- the veggies get nice & carmelized- so yummy!

you can experiment with lot's of different spice blends too- white potatoes with curry powder,salt & cumin are nice, you can use an italian herb blend, my son likes adding carrots, (soaked) raisins & cinnamon (sounds weird, but it turned out nice- but add the raisins when the potatoes are mostly cooked!)

Salmon, yea! It's very hard to ruin.

Something tasty I've found recently is sesame wasabe oil/dip. Perks up just about anything.