As I’ve said in the past, eating out/ordering in is a colossal waste of money and beyond the occasional breakdown or special night out I tend not to reach for the Chinese take out menu or make reservations at our local restaurant very often. My other rationale for not eating out is that I simply will not get the same quality food at 95 percent of the restaurants in our immediate area (including New York City). I’m not a trained Chef, but outside some extraordinary restaurants in New York, I’ll take a simple meal prepared at home, with high quality ingredients, over a mediocre restaurant experience. Eating well at home is not rocket science and moreover you don’t always need to purchase exotic ingredients to make tasty dishes (the ingredients need to be high quality, but they shouldn’t break the bank).
Here are 4 ingredients that can help you eat cheap and well for as long as our recession lasts:
1. Eggs
Eggs are a terrific source of protein and can be prepared in a variety of ways. My two “go to” recipes for eggs include the basic onion and potato frittata and the cheese omelet. I often have eggs for dinner, but aim to keep my egg consumption to 1-2X per week. Also, I’ve gone back and forth on using organic/free range vs your typical Omega 3 fortified, Eggland, eggs and to be perfectly blunt there isn’t much difference taste wise (eggs taste best fresh so only buy what you’re going to consume).
2. Tuna in Olive Oil
I always keep between 3-4 cans of Italian tuna in olive oil stocked in my kitchen. My ideal tuna sandwich consists of one can of tuna (do not discard the oil!) with salt and pepper on toasted whole wheat bread. You can also add some fresh parsley and a few slices of tomatoes if they’re in season (try it without the mayonnaise, I swear you’ll like it).
3. Pasta and Rice
My pasta and rice arsenal includes: thin linguine, angel hair or capellini, linguine, rigatoni, penne rigate, pastine, soba noodles, arborio rice for risotto, Carolina rice, brown rice, jasmine rice, and whole wheat couscous. Having the aforementioned pasta and rice on hand at all times gives you limitless possibilities, including: linguine with olive oil, parsley, and garlic, baked rigatoni with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, soba noodles stir fried with green peppers, chicken breast, and onion, brown rice with ginger, cilantro, and cracked black pepper, couscous with feta, red onion, cucumber, and olive oil, etc.
4. Whole Chicken
Buying a whole, free range, chicken is the equivalent to getting the deal of a lifetime. A whole chicken gets you two types of meat (dark and white) as well various parts which translate into various types of dishes. I purchase a whole, free range, chicken every other week and butcher the chicken according to my preferences. If I’m interested in making a whole roasted chicken, I’ll simply leave the bird as is and make a rub mixture with lemon zest, salt and pepper, rosemary, and olive oil. If I have a little more time on my hands I’ll butcher the bird into nine pieces and freeze the parts for various dishes throughout the week, including: braised chicken thighs with fresh mint, breaded and baked drumsticks and wings, thinly pounded chicken breast with shitake mushrooms and sherry wine, etc.
Here is a depression era family recipe for baked macaroni:
Ingredients:
one lb box of elbow macaroni
one (normal size) can of Cambell’s tomato soup
two or three tablespoons of Carnation instant non-fat
dry milk
one package block of cheddar cheese
pepper for your taste
Directions:
grease a pyrex dish with cooking oil
boil and drain the macaroni and put it in the dish
mix in the tomato soup
mix the dry milk with water inside of the soup can
and pour into the macaroni mix
thoroughly mix these ingredients
cut slices of cheddar cheese and place them on top
bake in an oven at around 350F for about 30-40 minutes
(the top should be crusty with the melted cheese)
I want to thank you again for the potato and onion fritatta recipe. It’s delicious, and the only way I’ve been able to get my 1 year old son to eat eggs. He loves it!
We also had the linguine with olive oil, garlic and parsley… Yum! I made it for dinner, and it was so good I made more the next day for lunch. Thanks for the great recipes.
I am sorry I didn’t include the amount of cheese. A small 8oz package should be sufficient to cover the macaroni, but a larger amount can be used as well.
Wow that recipe does seem like something out of the depression. I think Nona Scordo would be rolling over in her grave baking Macaroni with campbell’s soup and sliced cheddar cheese!!!!
ooooouuuh!!
Yes, Harvey, the recipe would offend Nonna Scordo.
Oh well, no offense meant…I suppose this is what happens when you are 32 years old and still live with your parents as I do…nevertheless, the dish does taste good, especially when served with broccoli or string beans…signing off for now.
no offense, taken! I’m sure the dish tastes great; everyone has to adapt when coming to a new country and cooking traditional dishes! So the dish above is just another form of some authentic dish. Keep on posting!
Vince
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