Krauerking , 3 months ago

People, learn from your ancestors.
I know this sucks, it really does, but our cooks from 100+ years ago had figured depression era cooking in a food scarce world and it does help to add those skills and recipes to your ammo against starvation.

Every country has truly poor cuisine too so there’s something for everyone. And potato flakes sold in the box should be your friend.

Mexican: try chilaquiles and enchiladas can be made with lots of different ingredients for cheap

European: Eggs tomatoes and cheese (it’s polish depression dish and one of my favorites), shepherds pie, and potato cakes (can stuff them or add chicken and peppers)

Pasta: imitation crab and veggies white wine pasta. Trust me it’s delicious and cheap as hell, I recommend as a splurge get raviolis to serve on.

Soups: egg drop, bean, heck a nice pumpkin stout stew can be cheap and let you use cheap beef.

Rice: I mean base staple by nature but cook it with broth or spices, fry an omelette for on top like in Japan and add garlic and carrot. Don’t be afraid of pokebowl type meals of just what you have in the fridge thrown on top like shredded chicken and cabbage but try to save some budget for nice soy sauce or garlic chili oil.
I am also a huge proponent of quick risotto since it also uses lots of cheap ingredients well. Mushroom and miso is amazing.

Good luck out there, and if you struggle with cooking it’s ok. We all do and we all ruin a dish eventually.

P.S. buy rotisserie chickens and use the whole thing by after cutting off the meat throw it in a pot with celery carrots and onion, salt pepper, bay leaf, cover with enough water to submerge it all and you have chicken broth for a week and meat for a couple days. My grocery store even sells the day old ones for half price in a cooler next to the fried chicken.