retete

Actual poor student cookbookby breadedfishstrip · 16 hours ago

But - Ramen is cheap!

No it's not. Ramen is only cheap if you're a lazy fuck. A 5kg bag of rice wil run you $5 - $6 and last you 50 or so servings. Prices for dried egg-or rice noodles are about the same, depending on market. You can get extremely cheap bulk rice and dried ramen if you visit your local 'ethnic' shop. They will have 5kg bags of rice or dried ramen/noodles for a much lower price than the equivalent in ramen boxes. What you miss out on are powdered bouilloun cubes.

Bouillon cubes

What should be in a student's pantry

Dry versions of: - Kidney/black beans - lentils - chickpeas / sweetpeas - Pasta (bulk, can be noodles, macaroni, whatever) - Rice (bulk) - Flour - Milk - Sugar Canned versions of: - Diced tomatoes (Usually less than 0.50$ a can!) - Tomato Pasta (Used for spicing up soups, stews, etc) - Corn If you have a freezer: - Frozen Spinach - Frozen

cauliflower / Broccoli Flour is extremely versitile. I'm not saying you should bake your own bread, but can you bake an egg? If yes, then even you can make pancakes by mixing flour (1cup) milk (1cup) and some sugar (1tbsp at least) and dumping that shit in a pan. Eggs are nice, but not required. You can also use that stock for: - Flour: Browning meat for stew, giving fish a crisp skin when baked, making tortillas - Sugar: un-tarting tomato dishes, other pastry, in hot drinks - Corn: add a sweet touch to veggie-only dishes

Ditch the sodas

Maybe the hardest. Soda/pop contains an insane amount of sugar, but more importantly: it's expensive and addictive. Buy tea in bulk - your local ethnic shop is gonna have mint leaves in bulk for half the price you spend on soda in a day. Brew a tea with it, dump some sugar in it in a glass container and put it in the fridge. Better yet: learn to love hot teas. There's a crazy amount of teas out there, from herbal and fruit infusions to variations of black and green teas. All of them are cheaper when bought in bulk compared to sodas, and you will find that eventually a hot green tea quenches that thirst much more than a sugary coke.

Learn to spice

Spices are the most expensive part of recipes for a reason. They make the difference between 'carrot water' soup and 'tasty carrot' soup. They are expensive at first purchase, but any student kitchen should at least have some of the most common spices that are affordable: - Cumin (a 'curry' mix is acceptable, and sometimes cheaper) - Oregano and Basil (necessity for Tomato dishes) - Marjory/marjoram (Good on tomato dishes, also good on potato/egg/cream dishes) - Nutmeg (always good on potato/cream dishes) Other affordable spices are: - Paprika (sweet, good in tomato/savory dishes) - Fennel seeds (Anis-y taste) - Dried chiles

(add some heat to a dish without coloring like paprika) - Cayenne (add some heat. Not as much as chiles)

Beans are pretty sweet

Beans get a wrap for being poor people food. Guess what: you're poor. Buy a stock of dried beans (kidney/red/black) and lentils (any), and you'll have a steady supply of something that is filling, tasty and easy to use in any recipe. Indian/ethiopian/afghani cooking revolves around lentils, beans and rice - but they know how to spice. Dried beans and lentils are extremely cheap - the downside is that dried beans need a 12 hour 'soaking' before you can use them. Dry lentils and peas (not chickpeas) are pretty much good to go if you're making anything liquidy that's gonna simmer.

Red Beans & Rice

One of those low effort recipes that ends up being amazing. This uses dried red beans and some fresh celery and bell pepper to make an amazing stew to go with rice. A small bowl with some rice will fill you up for a damn long time. Recipe:

Vegan Red Beans and Rice

 Save Print

Prep time24 hours

Cook time3 hours

Total time27 hours

Total Cost: $7.40

Cost Per Serving: $1.23Serves: 6-8 (about 10 cups total)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil $0.32 1 medium yellow onion $0.52 1 medium bell pepper $0.97 4 stalks celery $0.50 4 cloves garlic $0.32 1 lb. dry red beans $1.59 6 cups vegetable broth $0.78* 1 tsp thyme $0.10 1 tsp oregano $0.10 1 whole bay leaf $0.15 ½ Tbsp smoked paprika $0.15 Freshly cracked pepper $0.05 (10-15 cranks of a mill) Pinch cayenne pepper $0.02 6 cups cooked rice $1.04 1 bunch green onions, sliced $0.79

Instructions

1. The night before, Place your beans in a large pot and fill with enough cool water

to cover the beans by a few inches. Place the beans in the refrigerator to soak

over night.

2. When you're ready to cook, finely dice the celery, bell pepper, and onion, and

mince the garlic. Cook the celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a large pot

with the olive oil over medium heat until softened (5-7 minutes).

3. Drain the soaked beans in a colander and rinse with fresh, cool water. Add the

rinsed beans to the pot with the vegetables. Also add the vegetable broth, thyme,

oregano, bay leaf, smoked paprika, some freshly cracked pepper, and a pinch of

cayenne pepper.

4. Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a full boil over high heat. After it reaches

a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow the pot to simmer for at least two

hours. Make sure the pot is simmering the entire time, increasing the heat if

needed. Stir the pot occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

Keep the lid in place the entire time to keep the beans from drying out.

5. After two hours (or longer if desired) the beans should be soft and tender. Mash

some of the beans against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon. This will

thicken the pot and make the classic, creamy texture of the dish. Remove the

bay leaf and allow the pot to simmer for about 30 minutes more (after smashing)

to help it thicken.

6. To serve, add a scoop of red beans to a bowl and top with a scoop warm, cooked

rice. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top and add a dash of hot sauce if

desired.

Dragon Noodles

As cheap as it gets. Cooked noodles (pref in a broth/bouillon water) with chili flakes. Feel free to replace dried chili with sriracha, tabasco or whatever heat you prefer. If you got your noodles in bulk, this is the cheapest recipe ever. As a bonus: add an extra egg, or peas, or diced carrots, or basically any leftover veg. Consider this a 'vidanche frigo - "empty the fridge"' Cost: about $1.5 for 2-3 servings dragon noodles

 Save Print

Prep time5 mins

Cook time10 mins

Total time15 mins

Total Cost: $2.04Cost Per Serving: $1.04Serves: 2

Ingredients

4 oz. lo mein noodles $1.13 2 Tbsp butter $0.20 ¼ tsp crushed red pepper $0.02 1 large egg $0.25 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.02 1 Tbsp soy sauce $0.02 1 Tbsp sriracha (rooster sauce) $0.08 1 handful fresh cilantro $0.22 1 sliced green onion $0.06

Instructions

1. Begin to boil water for the noodles. Once the water reaches a full boil, add the

noodles and cook according to the package directions (boil for 5-7 minutes).

2. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir

together the brown sugar, soy sauce, and sriracha.

3. In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add the red

pepper to the butter as it melts. Whisk an egg in a bowl and then add to the

melted butter. Stir gently and cook through. Once the egg is done cooking, turn

off the heat.

4. When the noodles are tender, drain the water and then add them to the skillet

with the cooked egg. Also add the prepared sauce. Turn the heat on to low to

evaporate excess moisture, and stir until everything is coated well with the

sauce. Sprinkle the sliced green onions and cilantro leaves (whole) on top and

serve!

Chunky Lentil soup

One of my personal favorites, I make this shit a lot because it's so easy and filling. Requires almost no effort and the longer you 'forget' to turn off the heat, the better it gets. Extremely easy to make, super cheap ($5 or less for a full pot) and very filling. Make a batch on full ingredients worth $5 - 7$ and you'll have a hearty meal soup for 3 - 7 days. It'll hold in the fridge for a week and only gets better with age. If it gets too thick you can just pour that shit over rice. Cost: about $6 for 5+ servings Recipe: Chunky Lentil and Vegetable Soup

 Save Print

Prep time10 mins

Cook time35 mins

Total time45 mins

Total Cost: $5.24Cost Per Serving: $0.52Serves: 8 (1.25 cups each)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil $0.32 2 cloves garlic $0.16 1 medium onion $0.50 ½ lb. (3-4) carrots $0.55 3 ribs celery $0.80 1 (15 oz.) can black beans $0.89 1 cup brown lentils $0.31 1 tsp cumin $0.10 1 tsp oregano $0.10 ½ tsp smoked paprika $0.05 ¼ tsp cayenne pepper $0.02 Freshly ground black pepper $0.05 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes $0.85 4 cups vegetable broth $0.52* ½ tsp salt $0.02

Instructions

1. Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Cook both in a large pot with olive oil over

medium heat until tender. Meanwhile, slice the celery and peel and slice the

carrots. Add the celery and carrots to the pot and continue to sauté for about 5

more minutes.

2. Drain the can of black beans and add it to the pot along with the dry lentils,

cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and some freshly cracked

pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill). Finally, add the diced tomatoes (with

juices) and vegetable broth, and stir to combine.

3. Increase the heat to medium high and allow the pot to come up to a boil. Once it

reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, place a lid on top, and let it simmer for

30 minutes. After 30 minutes, test the lentils to make sure they are tender. If not,

continue to simmer until they are tender.**

4. Taste the soup and add salt as needed (I added ½ tsp). Serve hot.

Wonderpot

An easy as fuck one-pot recipe. Simmer some onion and garlic, and then dump the rest in with some water. Add a bouilon cube. You don't need to boil pasta in water - getting it ready in the sauce it's supposed to be in just makes it tastier and is easier. Cost: about $7 for 3 - 6 servings Recipe: Italian Wonderpot

 Save Print

Prep time10 mins

Cook time15 mins

Total time25 mins

Author: Inspired by Apron Strings

Total Cost: $6.52Cost Per Serving: $1.09Serves: 6

Ingredients

4 cups vegetable broth $0.52 2 Tbsp olive oil $0.32 12 oz. fettuccine $1.33 8 oz. frozen chopped spinach $0.79 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes $1.73 1 medium onion $0.43 4 cloves garlic $0.32 ½ Tbsp dried basil $0.07 ½ Tbsp dried oregano $0.07 ¼ tsp red pepper flakes $0.02 freshly cracked pepper to taste $0.05 2 oz. feta cheese $0.87

Instructions

1. Add four cups of vegetable broth to a large pot. Break the fettuccine in half to

make stirring easier later, and then add it to the pot. Also add the canned

tomatoes (undrained), olive oil, frozen spinach, onion (thinly sliced), garlic (thinly

sliced), basil, oregano, red pepper, and some freshly cracked black pepper.

2. Make sure the ingredients are submerged under the liquid, place a lid on top of

the pot, and then turn the heat on to high. Allow the pot to come up to a full,

rolling boil over high heat then remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium.

3. Allow the pot to continue to boil over medium heat, without a lid, for 10-15

minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir the pot every few minutes as it cooks to prevent the pasta from sticking to the

bottom, but avoid over stirring which can cause the pasta to become sticky and

mushy. The pot must be boiling the entire time.

4. After the pasta is cooked, crumble the feta cheese over top and serve.

Spinach and tomato macaroni

This requires you have a freezer - makes a lot of budget recipes a lot easier. Again, its a one-pot recipe: dump your onions and garlic in oil until glazed, add diced tomatoes (from can) and spinach (from freezer) and your herbs. Dump your dry pasta in there to simmer with all that shit (use the tomato can for water measurements) and let simmer. Cost: About $4 for 4 servings Recipe: Creamy Tomato & Spinach Pasta

 Save Print

Prep time5 mins

Cook time20 mins

Total time25 mins

Total Cost: $3.72Cost Per Serving: $0.93Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil $0.16 1 small onion $0.25 2 cloves garlic $0.16 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes $0.59 ½ tsp dried oregano $0.03 ½ tsp dried basil $0.03 pinch red pepper flakes (optional) $0.02 freshly cracked pepper to taste $0.05 ½ tsp salt $0.03 2 Tbsp tomato paste $0.11 2 oz. cream cheese $0.48 ¼ cup grated Parmesan $0.42 ½ lb. penne pasta $0.89 ½ (9 oz.) bag fresh spinach $0.50

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until

tender (7-10) minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander.

2. While waiting for the pasta to cook, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook

both in a large skillet with the olive oil over medium-low heat until softened and

transparent (about 5 minutes).

3. Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and

some freshly cracked pepper to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Stir to

combine. Add the tomato paste and a ½ cup of water to the skillet and stir until

the tomato paste is dissolved into the sauce.

4. Turn the heat down to low. Cut the cream cheese into a few pieces and then add

them to the skillet with the tomato sauce. Use a whisk to stir the sauce until the

cream cheese has fully melted in and the sauce is creamy. Add half of the

Parmesan to the skillet and whisk until it is melted in. Add the remainder of the

parmesan and whisk until melted in again.

5. Add the fresh spinach and gently stir it into the sauce until it has wilted (3-5

minutes). Add the pasta and stir until it is well coated in the creamy tomato

sauce. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.

Rice leftovers?

Spinach breakfast bowl! Definitely not for breakfast only, but a good way to clean up rice leftovers: Dump some frozen spinach chunks with a hardboiled egg with your rice leftovers, nuke, add chili flakes/hot sauce. Spinach Rice Breakfast Bowls

Save PrintPrep time

5 minsCook time

6 minsTotal time

11 mins 

Total Cost: $0.64 eachServes: 1 bowl

Ingredients

½ cup cooked seasoned rice $0.11 ½ cup frozen chopped spinach $0.16 ½ Tbsp butter $0.08 1 large egg $0.21 pinch of salt & pepper $0.03 splash of hot sauce $0.05

Instructions

1. Place one inch of water in a small sauce pan. Bring it up to a boil over high heat

with the lid on top. Once it reaches a full boil, add the egg in the pot, replace the

lid, and let boil/steam in the shallow water for exactly six minutes. After six

minutes, pour out the hot water, rinse with cool water, then peel immediately.

2. While the egg is cooking, add ½ cup of precooked seasoned rice to a bowl along

with ½ cup frozen chopped spinach. Microwave on high until heated through

(about two minutes, stirring once half way through). Season the spinach and rice

with butter and a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Once the egg is cooked and peeled, add it to the bowl with the spinach rice,

drizzle hot sauce over top, and eat.