Food and recipes: how far can you stretch $100?

[Mithrandir]

Hey guys!

Have you ever sat down to plan a meal and not known how to maximize the bang for your buck? I know we have a lot of users on this board who are great at stretching their food budget and I was thinking this would be a fun way to get some interaction going (and share shopping tips, advice, recipes, etc.) Here's how this thread works...

Post a shopping list, complete with line-by-line dollar amounts, that totals NO MORE THAN $100.00. From that list, provide some recipes that can be made using those ingredients. You can assume people have "the staples" around, and don't have to include them (things like salt, pepper, milk, butter, etc). Since there won't be any formal winner, per se, there's no need to quibble over whether something is a common staple or not (worst case scenario, it would be a fun poll thread for someone to start!)

Things to keep in mind:
* Try to stick to recipes that can be frozen - soup, for example, can be made to freeze really well.
* Pick multiple menu items that use the same ingredients.
* Pick things that don't have weird ingredients that people can't find unless they have access to a gourmet market (ethnic ingredients are fine, if you can find a universally available substitution).

What do you think? Does this sound like fun? Obviously you'll have to go shopping first, so I expect some "I'll do this when I go shopping next!" responses.

Thoughts? Etc?

[xblack_x_rosesx]

When I went through my whole "fend for myself" stage I lived for a month on soley:

- Tomatoe wraps: $4.00
- Bagged cut lettuce: $5.00
- Ceaser Dressing: $7.00
- Pickles: $8.00
- Baby tomatoes: $8.00
- Chocolate milk: $5.00
- Ensure: $11.00
- Soy Jerky: $10.00
- Ichiban noodles (lots): $10.00

I made veggie wraps with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and ceaser dressing. I don't know why, but I couldn't stop eating them. My mouth is STILL watering.
Mmmm.

That and I ate a lot of ichiban noodles in a wrap.
I just like wraps.

This is a really slick idea for a thread though.
I wanna try out some recipes. ^_^

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Frozen Tilapias - Maybe 10-15 dollars
Mushrooms - I want to say 3-5 dollars
Olive Oil - 5 dollars?
Minced Garlic
Black Pepper
Other seasonings. Season All works great

Thaw the tilapias, put them on a baking pan with aluminum foil. Mix a little olive oil in a separate bowl with minced garlic. Brush both sides of the fillets with them. Then dice mushrooms really small and then sprinkle them over the brushed fillets. And then shake a little bit of seasoning onto the fillets.

Bake for like... 375 or something for maybe 10 minutes. Voila. It's pretty awesome

(I made this)

[Maledicte]

WOW those fillets look GOOD. *must try this*

Um, it's not really a recipe, just something I throw together every once in a while:

Can of baby corn - $2
Can of sliced water chestnuts - $1.50
Can of sliced bamboo shoots - $2
Frozen shrimp - $8-9 a bag
Your choice of stirfry sauce - $4-5

Thaw five or six shrimp, let dry. Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil on medium high in a skillet. When the oil is hot, add a generous dash of red pepper and throw in the shrimp; stir-fry until pink and opaque. Toss in half the corn, chestnuts, and bamboo shoots; stir-fry for about a minute. Add as much sauce as coats everything, serve hot. You can save the leftover veggies in the fridge, they keep for about 3 days or so.

[minakichan]

Water - free from the tap
Water - free from the tap
Water - free from the tap
Water - free from the tap
Water - free from the tap
Multivitamins - what, $20-30 for a bottle?

But in reality, it's really easy to be thrifty if you don't care about taste. Found a box of 12 instant chicken broth packets for less than 2 bucks-- you drink a lot of soup and you won't be hungry anymore. Apples are also super filling (but fruit can be kind of pricey)

Here in Taiwan, got a big loaf of cheese bread cake for 50NT ($1.50) =D

You know how much money we would all be saving if restaurants collected the leftovers customers leave on their plates and let people eat their pick for free?

I think about these things in my spare time.

[Ashley]

Well, I can give you a rundown on what my boyfriend and I are eating this week (I plan it/cook it, he pays for it--we both save money), which was less than $40:

- ramen noodles x 2 ($.35 each!)
- tuna sandwiches (tuna - $1.35 for 1 can, I'm assuming bread is a staple)
- cereal ($2)
-leftovers (free!)

Rosemary Pork Chops:
-2 pork chops ($4.50)
-rosemary seasoning ($1.25)
-butter
-2 medium pears ($1 or $2, can't remember)
- salt, pepper, olive oil
- frozen corn ($1.50~)
- We had some leftover rice from last week, so I made it again here

Broccoli Linguini:
- 1 c. broccoli ($2, I think)
- 1 pkg pine nuts ($2.30)
- 1 box linguini pasta ($1.25)
- 1 lemon ($.50)
- olive oil

Muffin Pizzas:
- 1 box English Muffins ($2.50)
- 1 bottle tomato sauce (ours was already in the pantry)
- 1 pkg mozzarella cheese ($2.50)
- 1 pkg pepperoni ($3)
- we have some leftover parmesan cheese, so I'm adding that too

Believe it or not, all of the above will feed us for an entire week. Those numbers were estimates, but I know for sure the bill was under $40. The key is portions--figuring out how to divide the food into as many satisfying meals as possible--and then doing LOTS of repeats.

[White Raven]

Jeremy and I are currently living on one income. That means I have to make every dollar count. I have found that I can buy one month’s worth of food with just $ 200.00. I have to plan out every meal, and make sure to get healthy foods, because I am breast-feeding Elizabeth.

Adding rice to things makes food go farther but you have to be smart about it. I found out that I can add rice to 1lb hamburger and make it go much farther for things like sloppy joe’s and tacos.

[Mithrandir]

Adding rice to things makes food go farther but you have to be smart about it. I found out that I can add rice to 1lb hamburger and make it go much farther for things like sloppy joe’s and tacos.

...


Rice in sloppy joes. That's awesome! I've never even considered that one. *adds to his list of things to do.*

[mechana2015]

Question... how many people, and how many meals for $100?

[Tsukuyomi]

...


Rice in sloppy joes. That's awesome! I've never even considered that one. *adds to his list of things to do.*

We eat rice with about anything ^ ^; It goes well with anything meat :-?

I think a 25lb bag is around $20-$30. It diepends what brand and where you buy it ^^ A 50lb bag is around $50 ^^ Both lasting a pretty good deal of time

[Ashley]

I found out that I can add rice to 1lb hamburger and make it go much farther for things like sloppy joe’s and tacos.

Is the rice cooked before you add it? When do you add it? Is it a certain kind of rice?

[xblack_x_rosesx]

[quote="Tsukuyomi (post: 1280358)"]We eat rice with about anything ^ ^]

=\
I LOVE RICE SO MUCH! But I NEVER get to eat it =[

My parents don't believe in rice.

[Mithrandir]

Question... how many people, and how many meals for $100?

That's one of the reasons I left it open-ended. XD For example, when I cook for myself and Eirewolf I'll make 3 gallons of soup, and then freeze most of it. We can get at least 7 meals each out of a batch like that. I'm calling that "14 meals" to make it easier to calculate.