Low Cost Cooking from Scratch Meals
With recipes
Many of you may find this diet to be monotonous, but I'm one of those that eats to live, not live to eat. Very little processed food is used. Quantities are for one person unless otherwise indicated.
- Breakfast
- Pancakes: One cup flour, one third cup powdered milk, one half teaspoon baking soda, one cup water, one egg, one quarter cup canola oil. In a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients first, add water and egg and mix until just uniform, fold in
the canola oil. Cook on a hot griddle, turning once after the batter bubbles and turns dull on the edges (about two minutes) cook on the other side for two minutes and serve with house brand syrup if desired. I usually have this every day except Sunday.
OR
Waffles: Cook the same batter in a waffle iron for six minutes. I usually have this on Sunday.
OR
French Toast: In a small dish, beat two eggs and a half cup of skim milk with a wire wisk until well mixed. Dip slices of toast (each side) in mixture, then fry in olive oil at medium heat for two minutes each side. Makes six to eight slices.
OR
House Brand Toasted Oats with milk. I use this during hot weather when I don't want to heat up the kitchen with cooking.
- eight ounces of house brand orange juice prepared from concentrate.
- Lunch
- Four peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, made with wheat bread.
- eight ounces or more of water
- Dinner
- Spaghetti with vegetarian sauce: One half pound of spaghetti, one 6 ounce can of tomato paste, 6 ounces water, one teaspoon minced onion, one teaspoon parsley flakes, one pinch pepper, garlic power to taste. In a saucepan, mix tomato paste and water with a wire whisk,
stir in onion, parsley, pepper and garlic powder. Simmer over low heat, while sauce is simmering, cook spaghetti per package directions. Serve with house brand Parmesan cheese if desired. I usually have this on Monday and Wednesday.
OR
Tuna Treat: One 6 ounce can chunk light tuna in oil, 3 tablespoons flour, one third cup powdered milk one cup water ,one half pound frozen peas. Drain oil from tuna into small saucepan, stir in flour. Stir in water and powdered milk.
Add frozen peas. Bring mixture to a boil stirring continuously. When the sauce thickens, stir in tuna and serve. I usually have this on Tuesday and Thursday.
OR
Tuna Patties: One 6 ounce can chunk light tuna in water, one egg, three slices of bread. Mix the tuna, egg and bread slices in a food processor or stand mixer at the lowest speed. Grease a skillet with olive or canola oil. Form the mixture into four patties and fry at medium-low heat 5 minutes on each side. Serve with vegetables. Serves two.
OR
Tuna Cassorle: One cup elbow macaroni, Two 6 ounce cans chunk light tuna in water, 6 tablespoons flour, one can of sliced carrots. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain oil from tuna into microwave safe cassorle dish stir in flour. Stir liquid from the sliced carrots.
Heat on high for three minutes or until sauce has thickened, stirring halfway through the cooking time. Stir in tuna, carrots and cooked macaroni and serve. Serves two.
OR
Turkey Burgers and vegetables: One pound ground turkey, hamburger buns, one pound package frozen mixed vegetables. Cook turkey in covered skillet, adding water if necessary to prevent burning. Drain off fat (not down the drain! Into a can which is then covered and refrigerated). Cook vegetables per package directions. Form turkey into patties and serve on hamburger buns.
Serves 2-3. I usually have this on Friday with company, instead of going out to eat.
OR
Sweet and Sour Chicken: One pound boneless skinless chicken breast, one cup rice, two cups water, one 20 oz can chunk pineapple, one quarter cup brown sugar, one eight cup vinegar, two tablespoons corn starch, one pound frozen stir fry vegetables.
Cook chicken in a covered skillet. While the chicken is cooking bring to boil the water, then simmer the cup of rice for twenty minutes. While the other items are cooking, combine juice from the pineapple, brown sugar, vinegar and corn starch in a second skillet.
Cook over high heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Immediately add pineapple and stir fry vegetables, reduce heat to medium/simmer. By the time the rice is done, everything else will be ready, cut up the chicken and add to the vegetables. Serve over the rice. Serves three. I usually have this on Saturday with guests.
OR
Sweet and Sour Vegetables: Same as above, but omit the chicken. Serves two. I have this on Saturday if vegetarian guests are present.
OR
Honey Orange Chicken: One half pound boneless skinless chicken breast, 3/4 cup orange juice, one tablespoon honey, two tablespoons rasins, one half cup rice, one cups water, one tablespoon corn starch, a tablespoon of water.
Mix orange juice, honey and rasins in a skillet. Add chicken cover and cook for twenty minutes. While the chicken is cooking bring to boil the water, then simmer the 1/2 cup of rice for twenty minutes. When the chicken is cooked, remove from the
skillet. Mix the corn starch and water, then pour this mixture into the skillet serving continuoulsy. Serve the chicken over the rice, pouring the honey orange sauce from the skillet over the top of everything. Serves two.
OR
Old-fashioned Macaroni and Cheese: Cook 8 oz of macaroni per package directions. Place cooked macaroni and a half pound of sharp Cheddar cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes in alternating layers in a 8 X 8 inch baking dish ending with a layer of cheese on the top. Pour 2 cups of skim milk over all and bake at 350 degrees F until top is golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Serves 3.
- eight ounces grape juice.
OR
eight ounces skim milk.
- Snacks
- Bananas
- Other fruits in season
- Anything raw from the vegetable garden, such as carrots, snap peas, asparagus and cherry tomatoes.
- PowerBar OR Balance Bar
- Dessert
Chocolate Chip Cookies: Two cups flour, one teaspoon baking soda, one half cup brown sugar, one half cup granulated sugar, one cup canola oil, two eggs, one teaspoon vanilla, six ounces (one half package) chocolate chips.
Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside. In a large bowl mix brown and granulated sugar. If you have trouble getting these to mix, try using a blender for this step. Mix in the canola oil using medium speed.
At high speed stir in eggs and vanilla. Finally fold in the flour and baking soda mixture one quarter cup of a time, stopping as the flour just disappears. Over mixing at this stage will create tough cookies. Mix in chocolate chips.
Place teaspoon sized lumps on ungreased cookie sheets. Make all cookies in a batch the same size. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, turning cookie sheet at 5-6 minutes to ensure even baking. Makes about 45 cookies. I usually bake on Saturday night, in the wood cook stove. People seem to think that the cookies taste better in the wood stove, rather than the modern gas stove.
(I'll have more desserts later)
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