FoodGyvering

[Seriously]

Guys I am not Rich.


Which isn't related to my name so much as to my SES.

(Not a gaming system)


Basically, I am trying to avoid Ramen as that is the bottom of the barrell becoming raked and rasped. But I like actual pasta well enough.


But I am in a rut. So far all I can do is mix variously shaped semolina with different sauces.

What can you or I do to spice up our diets on a shoe-string budget?


I don't necessarily mean just pasta, but I do mean on the cheap. Detailed instructions if you can summon the patience please.



Remember: I reside in a poor part of the United States, so when I say cheap I mean close to the minimum extreme of double digits.



EDIT:

Aw hell


If you want to throw in some neat mixed drink recipes, that's cool too.



I like drinking.

[AngelBaby]

I hear this is good...

Fill a shot glass about 3/4 full with Amaretto and carefully top it off with enough Bacardi 151 to make it burn. Fill a pint glass with enough beer such that it won't overflow for this next part. Light the Amaretto/151 and drop it into the beer. Blow it out (or leave it burning if you're brave) and chug-a-lug. Supposedly tastes just like Dr. Pepper.

I srsly need to try one of these.

[smash]

I hear this is good...

Fill a shot glass about 3/4 full with Amaretto and carefully top it off with enough Bacardi 151 to make it burn. Fill a pint glass with enough beer such that it won't overflow for this next part. Light the Amaretto/151 and drop it into the beer. Blow it out (or leave it burning if you're brave) and chug-a-lug. Supposedly tastes just like Dr. Pepper.

I srsly need to try one of these.

I need to try it! It sounds like a flaming moe!

[efilflah]

I hear this is good...

Fill a shot glass about 3/4 full with Amaretto and carefully top it off with enough Bacardi 151 to make it burn. Fill a pint glass with enough beer such that it won't overflow for this next part. Light the Amaretto/151 and drop it into the beer. Blow it out (or leave it burning if you're brave) and chug-a-lug. Supposedly tastes just like Dr. Pepper.

I srsly need to try one of these.

Back when I used to drink, I had one of those, but I forget the "barname" for it (probably different in the UK).

As for Srsly's food request.

What I do with pasta dishes is buy some red wine (buy 1 bottle just for cooking, it'll last ages), lazy pre chopped garlic and chillies, beef stock, tinned tomatoes and grated cheese.

Add some chilli, oil and basil to your pasta water (I personally love fusilli, but whatever you wanna use is fine), and let that boil and leave to simmer until the pasta is at the consistency you like.

Now I dunno how expensive things like bacon beef mince are where you are, but they're pretty cheap here in the UK (especially in Wales where I live - cos we have so many farms), so an alternative to buying big loads of meat is to buy pre packed processed meat which are pennies, and use them.

Cut up some veg like peppers, mushrooms and onions and fry lightly with the garlic and chilli for about 2/3 minutes, then add the meat and fry for a further 5 minutes. Mix about 125ml of beef stock and 125ml of red wine and add it to the pan, then add the tinned tomatoes.

Sprinkle in some sugar and whatever seasoning you can find around your house that tastes nice and leave for about 10 minutes, and maybe some flour if you want to thicken the sauce a bit.

Sprinkle on the grated cheese and serve (what I do is make a massive batch and then freeze/refridgerate little meals that I can just plop in the micro if needs be).

It's not gourmet or anything but it's cheap (at least here it is) and tastes really nice.

[AngelBaby]

The drink I mentioned is, not surprisingly, called a Flaming Dr. Pepper.


And I still want one.

[Zorak]

Only girls order flaming dr. pepper shots

[smash]

Only girls order flaming dr. pepper shots

Proof she's a she?

Seriously, you could start a 'feed Seriously, seriously' fund.

You could also sell translation keys to your posts. I'd buy one.

[eamon angelface]

Indian food is pretty cheap to make.

You can buy big jars of Tika Masala sauce and then all you need is chicken and a pepper. If you buy the pre-sliced chicken strips it's even cheaper and faster to make. Fry the chicken till it's cooked then lower the heat and add the peppers and sauce. Throw that on some rice and you have a really nice little meal.

actually...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala


Thai food is also pretty cheap to make but I find takes a lot more skill. Indian food has proven pretty idiot proof while Thai food is easy to fuck up.

Kimchi soup is also very cheap to make buy sometimes hard to eat since it's spicey/hot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi_jjigae

This thread is already valuable to me because I never thought to wiki recipes.

[exelis]

Pork is cheaper than beef and chicken at this point, and is delicious if you do it up right. (i.e. the biggest thing is not to cook it 'til it's dry, corrugated protein fibers.) Ground pork is even cheaper, and can be made into asian style dumplings (just buy and fill wonton skins with the ground pork mixed with some onions or scallions, soy sauce cabbage, and sesame oil... all of which go a long way/last a long time/can be very versatile, etc.) Dumplings can then be fried or steamed and eaten as an entree or boiled in a broth to make soup. The ground pork is also great in meatloaf (usually mixed with the cheapest ground beef you can find, and then just some day old bread crumbs or saltine cracker crumbs, an egg or two, onion and seasonings to taste)....

Gosh. I could write a book, thinking about it. Whole chickens are cheap and easy to make loads of diverse dishes from, etc.

[smash]

I've discovered the joys of my indoor grill. I use it to make breakfasts (cooking bacon or sausage eggs or french toast is a snap) but it also doubles as a great way to make fried rice. I boil a pot of water, slow cook the rice and then toss it into the grill with veggies (and meat) and stir fry with garlic butter/oil and soy.

If you are living on a tight budget you can skip the meat, if you can splurge some, chicken always works. Best part is you can make enough for several meals at one sitting and it reheats real well.