leasmom:

I love these ideals!!! I never thought to use tomatoes to make a jelly though I used it to make a smoothie with bananas...it is fruit afterall!

The Sun Gold tomatoes (really sweet little yellow cherry tomatoes) are good in a pie or cobbler as well.

Cheryl:

Fried potatoes and green onions is another one. I put the potatoes in a pan with a very small amount of water and let them semi-boil as the water evaporates. Once it does, I add a bit of oil and then start the frying process. Makes them very tender as well as brown. Add salt and pepper at the end.. I like a lot of black pepper.  Served with green onions that I keep in a jar of water in the fridge.

My husband does his hash-browns this way too, but he cooks the scallions with the potatoes and uses veggie stock instead of water to give them more flavor. He also likes to add a bit of lemon juice along with the salt and pepper. I think they're delicious.

Cheryl:

His favorite was salad with lettuce and tomatoes he grew, and odd as this sounds, he'd heat up bacon grease and dribble it over the salad.

Not odd at all. We have a cookbook called Mountain Cooking (recipes from the Appalachian region), and the standard dressing for greens up there seems to be hot bacon grease with vinegar and a little salt and sugar. This is great on dandelion greens--pour it on while it's still hot so it wilts the greens a bit.

Another easy and cheap meal that I make is steamed veggies. I like cabbage, white or yukon gold potatoes, sweet potato, celery, carrots and onion in it.  I just use what I have to make it. Put the water to boil before you start washing off the veggies and toss them in as you go, lid on top when all are in the pot. Only takes 5-10 minutes to cook. Add butter to it and salt.

 Michelle

MichelleG70124:

Another easy and cheap meal that I make is steamed veggies. I like cabbage, white or yukon gold potatoes, sweet potato, celery, carrots and onion in it.  I just use what I have to make it. Put the water to boil before you start washing off the veggies and toss them in as you go, lid on top when all are in the pot. Only takes 5-10 minutes to cook. Add butter to it and salt.

 Michelle

That sounds similar to a Mediterranean recipe I have. It's from a woman who was born in Catalonia and has lived along the Mediterrean basin all her life. The way they eat is the healthiest, too. Anyway, it is called simple dinner or Verdura. The only difference is at the end, they're drained and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and salt. The first time I tried it, honestly, I expected to hate it. But I was so amazed at how incredible and fresh everything tasted. Only for that recipe, it also calls for a one egg omelet per person. I made that for hubby and myself and made us each a 2 egg omelet. I wish now I'd done one.. crazy as it sounds we were stuffed!

Eating healthy really can be cheap!

haverwench, thank you for sharing that :)  my stepdad was a really good man and i always thought his country ways a little odd when i was a teenager, now.. not so much. lol

he was an arkansas mountain man.. lived and died on land he'd inherited from his dad, up on mill creek mountain. thanks again!

'We have a cookbook called Mountain Cooking (recipes from the Appalachian region), and the standard dressing for greens up there seems to be hot bacon grease with vinegar and a little salt and sugar. This is great on dandelion greens--pour it on while it's still hot so it wilts the greens a bit'.-haverwench

Thats called Kilted Greens. You can use greens or cabbage to make Kilted Greens or Wilted as some say. I live in Appalachia in East Tennesse.

My mother would make egg sandwiches. You fry some eggs, place mayonaisse on the bread, you can add sausage or bacon and cheese or have a plain egg sandwich.

I used to live on the Navajo reservation when I was 18 and I remember eating a potato taco. You make Fried Potatoes, and you cook it with a tiny amount of Jalapeno. Serve on a tortilla with salsa.

Fried Hotdog sandwiches

Fried Bologna Sandwiches

Scrambled Egg Sandwiches 

These aren't exactly Poor man's, these are Frugal Recipes but they work as Poor Man's because its only a few ingredients...

Eggs in a Basket-Make a whole in a piece of bread, set aside. Put butter into a frying pan, add the bread and crack an egg inside the whole. Fry and flip and fry on other side. For me, I always break the yolk and fry it completely until done. But you don't have too.

Canned Biscuit Donuts-peel each biscuit, make a tiny hole in each, fry in clean oil, sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon.

Canned Biscuit Pizza's-use tomato sauce and cheese to make a pizza.

English Muffin Pizzas-same as other

Cup Meals-Press canned biscuits into a muffin tin, press to the sides of the muffin tin. Fill the inside with sausage, meat, cheese, broccoli, chili, whatever you can come up with, bake. Pop out and freeze.

Canned Biscuit Calzones-flatten each biscuit, fill with cheese, sauce, fold over. Seal the edges and bake.

 

 mmmm.....strata!  leftover bits of bread (heels, sliced up buns, whatever), bits of ham and/or turkey, frozen spinach (thawed and wrung out), shredded cheese (whatever's in the freezer), milk(dry, reconstituted) and some egg.  layer it, bake it.  grease the casserole first, though.

and, how far can you stretch a ham?  first it's baked, served sliced with potatoes and veg; then, slices with waffles; then, chopped, added to mac and cheese with peas; then, chopped in spanish rice; wait, there's more...strata; then use the bone in pea soup or white beans- serve with corn bread.  six meals, about $3 average, each meal!

funny how all those egg sandwiches sound just like egg mcmuffins but I wonder how many think of making something that simple at home.

I am not from India,but I like the food and am learning some of the (very) basics.

Lentil Dal and rice (Indian food).

Dollar store or dollar section has many spices, cheap. Onions,garlic, tomatoes, green onions (which will grow back every time you cut it, even in winter in mild climates), broccoli, cabbage, potatoes, mustard greens or turnip greens, carrots, bell peppers, all can be used in the dal.

Use plenty of butter, or vegetable oil and some salt, in both the dal and the rice. 

Yogurt or lassi (sweet fruit yogurt drink like a smoothie) as a side dish (yogurt can be made at home if you have milk near the expiration date you want to use up. You don't need a yogurt maker, use your hot water heater).

Sliced fruit or small green salad as the fruit/veggie side.

Chai tea (black tea spiced with cinnamon,cloves, cardamom, with sugar and milk).

Flat tortillas make OK "naan" or "chapati" if you want to scoop (steam or lightly cook on stovetop in wide pan). I guess greek pita bread could work too. (you can get the naan or chapati in freezer section of Indian stores or some groceries - they are fun because they puff up like a balloon when you heat them).

This is vegan if you skip the yogurt and vegetarian if you don't.

 

 "breakfast for dinner" - special fun treat, my Mom grew up in a working class Baptist household with 4 kids and they would have "breakfast for dinner" every wednesday night.

 

I like to do this as a treat because I don't always have time to make a full hot breakfast in the morning (maybe once on the weekend). I make fresh homeade bread in my breadmaker and make french toast. An egg or two each (runny yolks are best for health) and a couple strips of bacon apiece (or fried ham if we are using up a ham) and you are good to go. Country potatoes are good too. Bell peppers, onions, spinach and/or salsa can be used in or on either the eggs or potatoes for added veggies. Cheese on top if you have it.

I refuse to use "fake foods" because they are not good for your family's health. I use real butter and vegetable oil (no trans fats), real maple syrup (stretched with brown sugar, or white sugar with a touch of molasses). 

 This way we can enjoy a full restaurant Sunday-breakfast style meal when we have the time to make it and enjoy it - in the evening!  Also eggs are quick, and if you have baked potatoes the night before,and make a few extra and keep them in the fridge, the country potatoes are quick to fix too.