The Poor Girl's Cookbook(5267 total words in this text) (940 Reads)  'The Poor Girl's Cookbook'
Written by Katharina Katt
© Copyright 2000-2004 by Katharina Katt.
This online cookbook is FREE and it is recommended that this be printed out and given to anyone who could use it.
Do you know a friend that is low on funds and doesn't know how to make ends meet? Are you a parent and sending your child off to college? Whatever the situation this is a great resource.
Anyone who wishes to add a recipe to this listing please email the recipe with your name (used to mark the dedication by) to
katharinakatt@yahoo.com and I will add it to the listing.
Shopping list:
1 bag of potatoes: (5 pound bags work best, but if the heavier ones are on sale then get them.) Get the ones on sale, and bagged potatoes are always cheaper than buying them individually. Red potatoes are good for baked potatoes, but they are expensive, and baked potatoes on a regular basis can be fattening because of the starch content. If you are having company over it might be nice to buy a few red potatoes individually for that dinner. Occasionally you can find a bag of red potatoes for sale, go ahead and buy them when that happens.
Veggies: Vegetables are some of the cheapest foods you can buy, they are healthy, and you can get a lot of them for a good price. Try whole sweet peas still in the pod, broccoli, one red onion (red tastes better in my opinion and isn’t as strong, plus gives color to your food), or get frozen veggies from the freezer section, they usually have some on sale, or canned mixed vegetables. Fresh is always cheaper unless the item is out of season, or if you want mixed vegetables then its usually cheaper to get it in the can or frozen. If you bought mixed vegetables freshly you would have quite a large amount and lets just say I hope you are a vegetarian if you plan to eat that much before it goes bad. Lettuce is good for salads but it’s hard to catch it on sale, and buying the pre-made salad mix is both expensive and doesn’t last long. Spinach is good but few like it. Tomato paste is also a necessity which can be bought by the can as several on the dollar. These are good for many meals.
Fruit: Fruit is good for you, and best for snacking when you have that craving. Apples by the bag often go on sale, and so do bananas. This isn’t necessary shopping, but if you have a extra dollar or two it’s a good idea to get some. Grapes are great but they aren’t on sale often and you get more fruit for your dollar with other fruits such as oranges, bananas, and apples.
Meat: There are many cheap pieces of meat, especially if you keep your meat portion to a small one which is what is recommended anyway. The trick with meat is that it is easily frozen which can last for weeks easily. With whatever piece you get wrap it up in separate pieces which you can make one meal with. Fish is also a good item to buy and very healthy. Usually you can get a whole fish for under two dollars. Because there are so many different fish and each has to be cooked differently I have not included any fish recipes here.
Buying a tube of hamburger meat is the cheapest way of buying it, but you get more than you are going to use in the next few days. Take it home and cut it into 6 to 8 sections. Wrap up each section making sure no air can get in it, and put all of the sections in the freezer except for what you plan to use that night. Each morning before you leave for your day take out the portion of meat you plan to use that night for dinner and leave it in the refrigerator department. Leaving meat out on the counter is said to be bad as it attracts air born bacteria and can make you sick. If your refrigerator is too cold to let things defrost in a day, then put it into the refrigerator ealier, such as the night before.
Chicken often is on sale. Sometimes it’s the whole chicken that is on sale, but also check for packages of legs or thighs, or breasts. The problem with whole chickens is that you have to spend the extra work when you get home to cut the pieces apart and freeze them separately. The chances of you using the whole chicken at once is low and its defrost time is much higher as a whole.
Pork and beef steaks can run pretty cheap if they are thinly sliced. Sometimes you can get cubed steak just as cheap as well which gives you a different way to prepare it. Usually you can find packages of thinly slices pork or beef steaks 3 to 5 count each package for 3 or less dollars. These can be frozen directly in their package, or if you don’t think you will use all of it in one meal go ahead and separate it before freezing it.
Sandwich meat: Surprisingly if you don’t get the 2 for a dollar cheap sandwich meats then the next cheapest thing is to get your meat from the deli. It tastes better and is not ‘processed’ with chemicals to make it last longer. You can always freeze some to make it last longer and often there are some types on sale.
Cheese: Buy non-sliced cheese. You can get several types and use it in not only your sandwiches but also some dinner dishes. Slicing it doesn’t take much time and some stores offer free slicing in their deli department. Be sure to ask before you order it because you might end up with a extra fee which wouldn’t make it any cheaper that way.
Milk, Soda, Water, Juice: Water is still the best item to buy. Buy it once by the gallon and then refill the bottle for 25 cents at the refill station. The water tastes better than the tap water and won’t involve chemicals that can sometimes pollute local water. Milk can be bought in quart or half gallon containers, but any larger and it will have a chance of going bad before you have time to drink it or use it. Powdered milk works excellent in recipes and you can buy a box of it that will last you for several months. Drinking powdered milk isn’t very appealing unless you mix it with some kind of flavoring. Soda is a luxury, it isn’t good for you but now and then you want to have it. Buy a 2-liter bottle for 99 cents when they go on sale, or buy the generic version. Get your fix and call it a luxury. Juice is good for you, but often expensive. Frozen concentrate is the cheapest, but the price on it has been going up lately as well. Thankfully there is generic, but be sure to shop wisely and decide if it’s better just to drink water or milk.
Eggs: A dozen eggs can stay fresh for a few weeks, so go ahead and buy a dozen at a time. Watch the prices for a dozen of eggs. Sometimes you can get brown eggs just as cheap and the only difference is that the shell isn’t white. The egg tastes the same and is the same size.
Bread: Sliced bread can always be found for sale. Wheat is better for you, but I know some people can’t stand eating it. French bread is good for dinner and some people use it for sandwiches as well. French bread doesn’t last as long because it isn’t usually sliced in as many slices as normal sandwich bread is, and it can often cost as much or more as a loaf of normal sandwich bread. Sometimes you can find bags of rolls for sale, or a sale for 8 for 2 dollars or something like that. These aren’t the dinner rolls but the large sandwich rolls. These are good for lunches as they do help fill you up and last til dinnertime without starving.
Mixes: Jiffy makes some of the cheapest and best mixes there are! I would recommend getting a large box of their baking mix that can be used for many recipes, and then pick and choose between cornbread, muffin, and cake mixes for other side dish items. They usually run 25 cents and up a box and give you enough to last you for at least a few days.
Butter and Oil: You don’t have to buy a expensive butter. Butter is most commonly used for cooking recipes. Buy the cheapest kind, usually 4 cubes (1 package) for 50 cents. Sometimes you can get it cheaper still. Oil you want to buy a large container of the cheapest kind. You’ll only be using it for cooking and the more you buy the cheaper it is. Be sure to compare prices by looking at how many ML are in a bottle compared to a bigger or smaller size. See the money you will save by buying a larger bottle and it lasting you longer. A large bottle usually lasts me a entire month or more!
Seasonings: pepper, sugar, salt, oregano or Italian seasoning, garlic (or get fresh garlic in the vegetable section).
Optional item: Alcohol. Certain wines, beer, or hard liquor cook very well with meals. I like to soak my steaks in wine a day before cooking for flavor, or pour some JD in my stir fry. These can be expensive, but if bought only for cooking you can find some cheap brands.
Pasta and extra supplies have not been listed but will be listed with each recipe.
Cooking items: 1 non-stick frying pan. Non-stick costs more but you’ll find it worth every extra penny! Its easier to clean and your foods won’t stick to it when cooking. 1 pot for cooking water and pasta. It doesn’t have to be non-stick, but that’s always nice. Set of wooden spoons. These usually include a wooden spatula or flat wooden spoon which you can use on your non-stick frying pan. Don’t use metal when cooking with non-stick pans because they scratch off the non-stick coating. A cookie sheet and pie pans or bread pans is helpful, but not necessary. Tin foil is very necessary for baking.
Macaroni and Cheese
1 box macaroni & cheese
½ cup mixed vegetables
1 cup hamburger (optional)
1 tsp oil
Most people shudder when they hear about Mac and cheese, however there is a way to make it taste good and not remind you of your horrid childhood meals of Mac & cheese and hotdogs. You can often buy generic brand Mac & cheese for 8 for a dollar or other numbers for sale.
Cook the macaroni like you would normally cook it. Add a tsp of oil to the water to keep the macaroni from sticking together or to your pan. When you add the pasta to the boiling water add a little extra water and throw in your mixed vegetables, or just a few kinds like broccoli and spinach. These taste really good with cheese and kids will even eat their veggies with it covered with cheese. Once your macaroni is finished drain off any water left over and finish the recipe according to the box. Usually this means adding some butter and milk and stirring in the powdered cheese.
You can add some cooked hamburger to this mixture which gives you more protein. It tastes great! Its even nice enough to give to company.
Ramon Noodles
1 package Ramon brand (or similar) noodles
½ cup mixed vegetables
1 egg (optional)
1 cup cubed meat (optional)
Just like the Mac & Cheese recipe, when you put these in to boil add your mixed vegetables or the vegetable of your choice. Usually this tastes better with 2 or more vegetables. Cut up some meat of any type and cook it. When its cooked and cut into pieces throw it into the boiling mixture. While it is boiling put in a egg and stir it up. Its healthy for you and will give it a thicker consistency. Try to keep the water level low because the recipe doesn’t let you drain it, but insists for you to drink the broth as it is healthy for you. Ramon noodles are usually on sale for 8 to 12 for 1 dollar with many different seasoning packets. When you store these its best to wrap them in something so air won’t get to them because bugs love these things and its very terrible to cook half your meal and then find things floating in your pasta. Keep the bugs out and enjoy your meal.
Sunday Breakfast
1 potato
1/8 cup green peppers (or other vegetable)
1 tablespoon onions
1 pinch salt
1 pinch green pepper
1 pinch oregano (or Italian seasoning)
1 pinch garlic
Dice up one potato, keep the skin on, its better for you and gives you more flavor. Be sure to scrub the potato well with a rough washcloth or scrubber. Do not use steel wool or a pre-chemically treated cleaning cloth because you don’t want the residue in your food.
Fry the potato in the frying pan and add one or two slices of cut up sandwich meat, add some diced onions, and green peppers go well with this recipe. Or pick another vegetable you like. Cook them together until the potatoes are soft. Sometimes cooking the potatoes by themselves for half the time will cut down on the rest being burnt. Season with salt, pepper, oregano (or Italian seasoning), and garlic. Take out the mixture and fry a egg to the way you like it. The meal is done so enjoy it! This isn’t a meal for every day, as it takes a little work to get it done, but it is a nice one for now and then.
Poor Girl’s Meat and Cheese Pizza
Portion of Jiffy brand baking mix (or equivalent)
1 can tomato paste (small oz can)
1/8 cup shredded cheese
1 ½ pieces sandwich meat
Use the Jiffy baking box recipe for making bread, use your hands to make a ball of the dough and flatten it out by using a jar or other round surfaced object to use like a rolling pin. Try to keep a round shape. Put it on a flat piece of tin foil (that way you don’t have to wash anything) and put it in the oven for the time the box says. Be sure to check on it every 5 minutes because you don’t want it to burn. If it turns dark brown or black, its burning. Turn down the oven or take it out completely. 3 minutes before its completely done pull it out and smooth on tomato paste (you can get this by the can for sale, usually 4 to 8 for a dollar) and sprinkle shredded cheese in a circle, then lay out pieces of cut up sliced sandwich meat. If you want other toppings feel free to put them on as well. Put it back in the oven and take it out once the cheese is melted. That should give the other 3 minutes cooking time the dough needs.
Another pizza recipe is to use sandwich roles. Cut them in half and lay them with the insides facing up. Toast them in the oven at 400 F degrees until they are turning golden brown on the inside top, then smooth on a thin layer of tomato paste, shredded cheese, and lay out pieces of cup up sliced sandwich meat. If you want other toppings feel free to put them on as well. Put it back in the oven for about 3 more minutes until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!
Stir Fry
2 potatoes
½ handful sweet peas in pod
½ handful red onions (purple colored)
½ cup cube cut mixed vegetables (pick what you want – green veggies are best)2 pinches salt
1 pinch pepper
2 pinches oregano (or Italian seasoning)
1 pinch garlic
1 cup cube cut meat
½ cup alcohol (wine or liquor)
Cube potatoes, you can keep the skin on, which is better for you, but sometimes this recipe tastes better with them pealed. Cube cut vegetables and sweet peas still in the pod taste great with this meal, add red onions. Use cubed meat and fry it all in the frying pan. Add some wine for flavor as it cooks and season it with your seasons. Add salt, pepper, oregano (or Italian seasoning) and garlic (dry or cut up fresh). If you are on a low salt diet then leave the salt out, it tastes fine without it. This meal is fine on its own, but if you have company you can add a salad to it and its perfect.
Steak and Potato Dinner
1 – 2 steaks (pork or beef)1 tsp oil
1 red potato (or regular as substitute)
1/8 cup red onions
1/8 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup vegetables
1 table spoon butter
This meal is best served with a side of vegetables along with baked red potato (regular potato works fine as well).
If you bought the thinly sliced steak or pork steak this cooks very fast. The easiest way is to cook it in the frying pan. Only add a few drops of oil (1 tsp), you only want to make the pan a bit slippery and preheat it to the medium high position. While cooking the steak you do not want to divert your attention to anything, but focus on the steaks - otherwise it will burn. If you like more flavor in your steaks soak them in a mixture of alcohol (wine or hard liquor or JD), garlic, minced onions, and oregano the day before you cook them (12 to 24 hours). If you like your steak rare to pink you’re going to want to just brown each side of the steak and then take it out. If you like it more well cooked then let it cook on each side a minute or two, be sure to keep turning it over otherwise it will burn very quickly. Slice up mushrooms and onions and cook them in the pan afterwards while its still hot and add a tablespoon or less of butter. Stir them together until the butter is melted and the onions and mushrooms seem a bit ‘melted’ or cooked. Place these on top of the steak on your plate as they taste good with it and will help keep it warm. Add your boiled vegetables and baked potato to your plate and you’re done. If you have a microwave, a good way of cheating to make a baked potato without having to use all the energy on a oven’s heat is to poke the potato with a fork all over and throw it in the microwave for a few minutes. It comes out freshly baked.
Chili Spaghetti
8 oz spaghetti noodles
1 can Hormel brand chili with no beans (or equivalent)
¼ cup shredded cheese (or 2 – 3 slices American sliced cheese)1 tsp oil
Add 1 tsp oil to your boiling water so the noodles don’t stick together and cook your spaghetti as normal and drain well. Instead of adding spaghetti sauce, which pre-made is often expensive, buy a can of chili with no beans. Hormel makes a wonderful kind full of flavor. Cook the chili quickly in the microwave for a few minutes or in a pot on the stove. Mix the chili with the spaghetti and when you put it on a plate sprinkle grated cheese over the top and stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt it. Slices of American cheese work just as well if the brand melts well, some don’t. This is a very delicious meal which many people don’t know about, and it doesn’t cost much.
Poor Girl’s Spaghetti
8 oz spaghetti noodles
2 cups hamburger
2 cans tomato paste (or 1 can tomato soup)
1 tsp oil
1 pinch of salt
3 pinches of oregano (or Italian seasoning)
1 pinch garlic
1 pinch onions
Add 1 tsp oil to your boiling water so the noodles don’t stick together and cook your spaghetti as normal and drain well. You can make this with or without the hamburger meat depending on what you want. Brown the hamburger and drain it. Add two cans of tomato paste and 1 – 2 cans of water and stir. Start out with low water and stir it to see if it’s the consistency that you want. A great alternative is to use tomato soup instead of tomato paste and don’t add water. A can of tomato soup contains great seasoning and often tastes better. Add salt, oregano (or Italian seasoning), garlic, and onions. Turn it up to boil and then once boiling lower it down to simmer. Boil your spaghetti in a separate pot until its done and drain completely. Mix the spaghetti with your sauce and meat mixture and enjoy your meal.
Garlic bread
Butter (enough to spread each roll)
1 pinch oregano (or Italian seasoning)
1 pinch onion
Garlic powder (enough to cover the spreaded butter in a fine spread) (don’t layer)Bread
Use French bread, bread rolls, or even sandwich bread. Place on a flat piece of tin foil and heat the oven to 425 F degrees. Butter the bread and sprinkle garlic powder across the butter. A little oregano or Italian seasoning is good too but only when very little is used. If you have onion powder you might want to add a very little bit as well for flavor. Bake until the butter is melted and the bread is slightly golden brown. Add grated cheese to the mixture to make garlic cheese bread and remove as soon as the cheese is melted.
Cinnamon bread
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Bread
This is usually a ‘treat’ item with breakfast. Mix in a cup ¼ cup of sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon powder. Just shake it up or stir it well with a spoon til the sugar looks brown. Butter toasted sandwich bread and sprinkle it with your mixture. I sometimes cook this in the microwave for 1 minute or until the butter is melted, but can also be cooked in the oven at 425 F degrees until the butter is melted.
Chicken Cordon Bleu ~ Poor Girl style
1 chicken breast
1 slice Swiss cheese
Portion of Jiffy Brand baking mix or Stove Top brand stuffing mix (see recipe)
This meal tastes great along with a side of vegetables or a salad. It’s also great to get your aggressions out! Buy some chicken breasts, or cut them from your whole chicken. Lay a large piece of saran wrap over your cutting board, or over a well cleaned area of your counter. Put one breast in the center and add a second piece of saran wrap over it matching the same size as the one below. The stores do sell hammers for this, you’ve probably seen them, with one side being pointed in several areas for tenderizing, and then the other side is flat. You can use a normal hammer however. The point is to make your chicken breast flat. If you are using the mallet from the store then strike the breast in every area with the flat side until it is thin like a fruit roll up or a thick tortilla. If you are using a normal hammer then use another piece of wood and lay it over the breast. Hit the wood with the hammer; this will flatten the breast.
Take the layers of plastic off. I like to cook my chicken then, lightly browning it on both sides in my pan. Don’t let it burn or turn brown, place it on a plate and lay Swiss cheese slices across it and then roll it up into a tube shape. Make it tight so there is no space left in the middle or between the rolls of meat and cheese. Use tooth picks to hold it together. The true recipe tells you to use bread crumbs, but I found that really hard to do. Bread crumbs at the store are expensive and making them at home gives a burnt taste. Plus they always fall off when you serve it. I’ve found 2 preferred ways to do this. The first and best way I’ve found is to use the Jiffy cooking mix and using the pancake recipe and dipping the chicken and cheese roll into the batter, then placing it on my tin foil ready to be baked. It gives it a thin bread layer around the meat and keeps the cheese from leaking all over when it melts. Another way is to use stove top stuffing and patting the mixture (before cooking) around the meat. The problem with that is it often breaks apart just like the bread crumbs did.
Bake in the oven at 325 – 350 F degrees for 30 minutes. Take out when the bread is golden colored. Be sure to check on them often because each oven is different and may burn it quickly, or not cook long enough and leave the bread mushy.
Egg-roll Pleasure
1 pkg Egg roll or Wan Ton wraps
1 egg or 1 cup of water (see recipe)
Portion of filling of choice (meat, veggie, combination)
3 cups oil or enough to have 3 inches high in the pot
Egg rolls can be made with any kind of mixture. I usually use my leftovers for this. Egg wraps can be found in the vegetable department and sometimes called Wan-Ton wraps. These stay good for even a year if stored in the freezer. Fill your pot with oil at least three inches up. This is a lot of oil for one meal and you might want to keep what’s left to use with other meals, however it will always keep some of the flavor of the food you first fried in it and that may not be wanted for any meals you use the oil for later. Heat the oil on high. The rolls will cook very fast and you may have to turn it down to medium to keep them from burning too quickly. Follow the directions on the package as to folding the rolls, you might have to experiment on your own a few times to get it to stay together. Add cooked meat and some vegetables to the middle and roll it together, sealing it with water or egg, whichever you have decided or the folding instructions indicate. Tongs are the best to use when cooking these because you can turn them over quickly to cook both sides. When they are golden brown take them out and put them on a plate covered with paper towels. The paper towels will help drain some of the oil from it. A recipe I use a lot is when I get a can of baby shrimp, often called salad shrimp. I use these as my only filling and they get great reviews.
Home Made Burritos
1 pkg tortillas
½ cup diced tomatoes
¼ cup diced onions
1 cup lettuce
½ cup shredded cheese
¼ cup hot sauce
2 cups hamburger
1 can refried beans
Tortillas come usually in packages of 8 to 12. Most people don’t eat that many in one sitting, but this recipe would fill them all, so use your own judgment on how to use your measurements. You can always save the excess to have the next day. Brown the hamburger in the frying pan and drain off the grease, add the refried beans and stir over heat until well blended. Here’s a way you can cheat while heating the tortillas. Its best to heat them because they are more flexible and you can fold them without ripping them. The hint is to stick 1 at a time in the microwave for 15 seconds, it will be hot and steaming and you will place 2 spoonfuls of your hamburger and bean combination in the middle to one side, and then add a pinch full of tomatoes, onions, cheese, lettuce, and a small spoon full of hot sauce. Fold it up and move on to the next one. The traditional way to heat a tortilla is over heat. I’ve seen many women hold half of the tortilla over a hot burner and turning it around getting all the sides hot. I tend to think that isn’t very sanitary and plus it leaves black marks on the tortilla.
Meat Loaf
1 pound hamburger (uncooked)
1 package un-salted crackers (this is the saltines type that come 4 to a box, you only want to use 1)
or use 1 cup oatmeal
1 egg
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ cup milk
Ketchup
1/8 cup onions
¼ cup desired vegetable (green is good)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
1 pinch oregano (or Italian seasoning)
1 pinch garlic
Keep the crackers in its package and smash them up til they are crumbs and pour them into a large mixing bowl. Add the hamburger, egg, milk, onions, and vegetable. A good vegetable to use is green peppers, or broccoli. If you don’t want any vegetables leave them out, but keep the onions for flavor. You don’t need to buy a large bottle of Worcestershire sauce unless you plan to make this a lot. A small bottle lasts a while and doesn’t go bad very quickly. Mix the mixture with your hands, getting it all mixed like you would bread dough. When its well blended put it in a greased bread-baking pan, or put on greased tinfoil and pat it into a square shape. If you do it on the tin foil be sure it sits on a plate and will not drain off the edges. Some grease will result and drain off from the hamburger as it cooks. Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees. Be sure to check on your meat loaf often so it doesn’t burn. Bake for 30 minutes or until it is brown through the center. (Not pink)
Cover the top with ketchup with a knife and enjoy. This is a great dish to have home made French fries with.
Stuffed Bell Peppers
4 green bell peppers
1 pound hamburger (uncooked)
1 package crackers (this is the saltines type that come 4 to a box, you only want to use 1)
or use 1 cup oatmeal
1 egg
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ cup milk
2 cans tomato paste
1/8 cup onions
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
1 pinch oregano (or Italian seasoning)
1 pinch garlic
Keep the crackers in its package and smash them up til they are crumbs and pour them into a large mixing bowl. Add the hamburger, egg, milk, and onions. You don’t need to buy a large bottle of Worcestershire sauce unless you plan to make this a lot. A small bottle lasts a while and doesn’t go bad very quickly. Mix the mixture with your hands, getting it all mixed like you would bread dough. Cut the very tops off the bell peppers and clean out the insides. Line the inside walls of the bell peppers with the tomato paste and then pack in your blended meat. Dice the covers you removed into little pieces and put them on top, it looks good that way. Place the peppers in a square baking pan that will not let them tip over while you move them to the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees. Be sure to check on your meat loaf often so it doesn’t burn. Bake for 45 minutes or until it is brown through the center (not pink). You may have to drain the excess grease that developed from the peppers before serving. This can be easily done by either turning them over and letting it drip out, or poking a hole in the bottom and letting it spill out. Remember these are hot when they come out of the oven so use protection so you don’t burn your hands from the grease.
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