Return of the Revenge of the Really Cheap Dinners
Doing another budget cooking project. My mom got interested in the Live Below The Line challenge and was costing it out, which made me think of my old projects of that nature. $2/day is a bit austere for me, so I tried to design some $2 dinners. It was great fun. If you live in an area with good grocery infrastructure so you can comparison shop, you don't mind cooking from scratch, and your metabolism can tolerate a high-carb diet, there's a surprising variety of meals you can cook for $2/person or under.
Lentil-oat "meatballs" and gravy with boiled potatoes and sweet-and-sour cabbage: 91 cents.
Egg drop soup, stir-fried noodles and vegetables, rice, and fruit salad: $1.50
Chicken-fried oatmeal cutlets and gravy, devilled eggs, and homemade coleslaw: 84 cents
Vegetarian split pea soup, savory cabbage, and garlic bread: $1.02
Mushy peas, oven fries, carrot sticks, bananas and mock custard: 92 cents
Pasta with white bean alfredo sauce, broccoli with herbs and cheese, garlic bread: $1.16
Bean loaf with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas and carrots: 86 cents
Chickpea stew with dumplings and vegetables, baked winter squash: $1.63
Curried lentils and vegetables (carrots, spinach, potatoes) over rice with homemade chapatis: 98 cents
Homemade baked beans, toasted tortillas, cabbage-apple salad with sunflower seeds and evaporated-milk dressing: 97 cents
Black bean taco soup, quesadillas with salsa, carrot sticks, pan-fried banana with cinnamon: $1.81
All-in vegetable frittata with garlic bread and cabbage-carrot salad: $1.41
And so on. I haven't had a chance to cook any of these yet so I estimated the costs and nutritional info using abstract standardized servings. It'll be interesting to actually make these and see how they come out and what the real proportions of ingredients are.
Lentil-oat "meatballs" and gravy with boiled potatoes and sweet-and-sour cabbage: 91 cents.
Egg drop soup, stir-fried noodles and vegetables, rice, and fruit salad: $1.50
Chicken-fried oatmeal cutlets and gravy, devilled eggs, and homemade coleslaw: 84 cents
Vegetarian split pea soup, savory cabbage, and garlic bread: $1.02
Mushy peas, oven fries, carrot sticks, bananas and mock custard: 92 cents
Pasta with white bean alfredo sauce, broccoli with herbs and cheese, garlic bread: $1.16
Bean loaf with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas and carrots: 86 cents
Chickpea stew with dumplings and vegetables, baked winter squash: $1.63
Curried lentils and vegetables (carrots, spinach, potatoes) over rice with homemade chapatis: 98 cents
Homemade baked beans, toasted tortillas, cabbage-apple salad with sunflower seeds and evaporated-milk dressing: 97 cents
Black bean taco soup, quesadillas with salsa, carrot sticks, pan-fried banana with cinnamon: $1.81
All-in vegetable frittata with garlic bread and cabbage-carrot salad: $1.41
And so on. I haven't had a chance to cook any of these yet so I estimated the costs and nutritional info using abstract standardized servings. It'll be interesting to actually make these and see how they come out and what the real proportions of ingredients are.