Recipes - Simple to Gourmet - During Hard Times

[Benjamin Müller]

I want to expand my repertoire of recipes and would love if you all could share some of your recipes, whether personal family-held recipes or ones you've discovered yourselves and can link.

It's easy to store tons of rice and beans in the pantry, but, it can get awfully boring eating them plain.

The recipes can be anything, but meals that can made from home-grown produce; inexpensive ingredients or easily acquired ingredients would be preferable.

Either way, it might help me (and others) figure out if I/we don't have enough of a particular ingredient and allow us to focus on things to add to the pantry. Obviously not every recipe will be to everyone's taste, but that's alright. So, I guess I'll start with the first recipe:

CHICKEN BROCCOLI PIZZA

Valentino's Pizza Crust Recipe
1 Cup Warm Water (110 Degrees)
1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 T. Yeast
3 T. Oil
Pinch of Salt
2 1/2 Cups Flour

Topping
1, 10.5 oz Can Cream of Chicken (or Mushroom)
16 oz Canned Chicken
1-2 Cups Cooked Broccoli
8 oz Cheddar Cheese

Directions

1.) Add sugar and yeast to warm water. Let yeast bubble for approx. 5 minutes.

2.) Add oil and flour. Mix into dough. Roll out and let rest for 10 minutes.

3.) Spread 1, 10.5 oz can of Cream of Chicken soup on pizza crust base. Cream of Mushroom can be used as substitute. Add chicken, broccoli, and cover in shredded cheese.

4.) Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

 

[Lost4words]

Juicy lip licking delight.

1. Buy juicy marrow bone
2. Dig hole in garden
3. Wait 3 months
4. Try and find said bone
5. Enjoy!

 

[Hazelelponi]

I think based on title you're wanting inexpensive meals, and this was originally invented based upon what soldiers had on hand ..

Carbonara

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons fresh grated parmesan cheese (plus extra for sprinkling)
• 3 large eggs (room temperature)
• 2/3 cup cubed pancetta or bacon
• 3 cups cooked pasta (long or short whichever you prefer)
• hot pepper flakes to taste if desired (pinch or two)

Instructions:

In a large frying pan add the oil , pancetta and hot pepper flakes (if using) cook on medium heat until the pancetta or bacon is cooked (but not too crispy). Stirring often so the pancetta or bacon doesn't burn.

While pancetta or bacon is cooking , boil a large pot of water, when the water has boiled add some salt and the pasta and cook until al dente*. (If the pancetta is done before the pasta is cooked then turn off the heat, you will reheat later).

While pasta is cooking, in a small bowl beat the 3 eggs, then add the parmesan and mix very well. When the pasta is cooked turn the heat back on the pancetta (to medium high), add the drained pasta toss together to combine well for about 20-30 seconds, then remove the pan from the heat add the egg mixture, constantly tossing together add a tablespoon or two of pasta water to make sure it is very creamy and continue to toss until well blended.

Top with parmesan cheese if desired. Serve immediately. Enjoy!


Classic Carbonara

 

[Trusting in Him]

Do any of you do anything interesting in bread machines? Bread machines are great for lazy people! Opps, now you know my secret! I like simple and easy type cooking and yes it's cooking for lazy people (You guessed it, like me).

If you are expecting anything gourmet. I'm the wrong guy. I'm one of those philistines who likes tinned stew, but I like a few dumplings in my stew. Making dumplings is easy with a bread machine using bread mix, it's also very cheap. Most bread machines have a basic program setting for making dough, so make some bread dough and add a few lumps of dough to the stew and heat for a few minuets in the microwave oven. Getting the amount of time in the microwave oven right, is pretty much trial and error, but it makes a tin of stew go a bit further. (I did warn you not to expect anything gourmet).

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Do any of you do anything interesting in bread machines? Bread machines are great for lazy people! Opps, now you know my secret! I like simple and easy type cooking and yes it's cooking for lazy people (You guessed it, like me).

Nah, I don't use bread machines. Besides the fact I don't like them, I like to plan as though I'll be living in 1800s without electricity, so if I can avoid machines that's better. I have a wood burning stove with an oven so cooking old-fashioned is no problem for me.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Here's a cool informative video

 

[SavedByGrace3]

My wife and I run a mom-and-pop publishing/transcription business. We have about 50 books, many of them reprints of out-of-print titles and large print Bible and classics.
One of the projects we have been pondering is a depression era cookbook. I think it sounds cool and would be of interest to preppers and non-preppers alike.
Most recipes are simple and cheap that were common during that time. I like this thread because it shows you can eat well and more highbrow .

 

[Hazelelponi]

My mother in-law makes a dish they call "cowboy beans", and they have it at every holiday dinner (Christmas, Thanksgiving) as well as most every large family gathering.

There's no written recipe, but it's 1lb ground beef, 1 onion diced and 1 green pepper diced, and cooked stovetop with the meat until the meat is done, then drain fat.

She uses a crock pot (low temperature), but I'm sure you can make it stovetop or oven.

So you put the drained meat mixture into the pot, and add 4 to 5 cans of beans (she uses an assortment of beans (northern, pinto, etc) but you can use any you like), and one bottle of barbecue sauce and some water, and let it simmer until it's got good flavor throughout.

She throws it into the crockpot in the morning and it's ready for dinner at 2pm.

It makes a good amount food.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

My mother has a similar recipe, Hazel. We soak our beans though and avoid canned beans (not because we dislike them, but save them for more hurried meals lol)

 

[Hazelelponi]

My mother has a similar recipe, Hazel. We soak our beans though and avoid canned beans (not because we dislike them, but save them for more hurried meals lol)

Do you make falafel? I love the stuff and it's inexpensive and healthy. I make my pita bread from scratch and make it sandwiches with tomato and lettuce.

Would you like me to write the recipe out?

 

[Trusting in Him]

My mother in-law makes a dish they call "cowboy beans", and they have it at every holiday dinner (Christmas, Thanksgiving) as well as most every large family gathering.

There's no written recipe, but it's 1lb ground beef, 1 onion diced and 1 green pepper diced, and cooked stovetop with the meat until the meat is done, then drain fat.

She uses a crock pot (low temperature), but I'm sure you can make it stovetop or oven.

So you put the drained meat mixture into the pot, and add 4 to 5 cans of beans (she uses an assortment of beans (northern, pinto, etc) but you can use any you like), and one bottle of barbecue sauce and some water, and let it simmer until it's got good flavor throughout.

She throws it into the crockpot in the morning and it's ready for dinner at 2pm.

It makes a good amount food.

That sound great! I'm sitting here licking my chops!

 

[Trusting in Him]

Both I and my wife have had strokes and we are both physically handicaped to some degree. We are not as capable as we used to be, or as capable as we would like to be. Tinned beans are a bit of a favorite with us, as we find then very useful for increasing the volume of other things to make them go further. Very often, a ready meal for one become a ready meal for two, if it something which we can stir a few beans into the meal, it easily makes it into a meal for two.

We have a friend who goes shopping for us once a week. My wife can't manage to go out, and I need to be near by to look after her, so we are more, or less living of frozen ready meals and tinned food. Much of this stuff is stews and stuff and I make basic stuff go a lot further by mixing other stuff into it and making something quite nice and tasty from it.

It's actually much better than you might be thinking and as time has gone by, I've become reasonably good at this and at knowing what makes a good combination.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Do you make falafel? I love the stuff and it's inexpensive and healthy. I make my pita bread from scratch and make it sandwiches with tomato and lettuce.

Would you like me to write the recipe out?

I would love if you wrote the recipe out

I have never done falafel but I think my dad experimented with it in the past. I think I was too young to appreciate it then (I vaguely remember something about it being fal-awful) and so it never became a dinner staple but I'd love to try it again. I forgot all about it, actually. We do have recipes for pita bread and a nice na'an bread, but we're always experimenting with new bread recipes and such here.

My mother was suppose to give me the 30 minute dinner roll recipe and she hasn't yet. Ha ha. Those are really good and easily convertible to cinnamon rolls.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

So I'll probably never make this only because it's described as 'gritty' and health-wise I can't eat such things, but I figured I'd share something cool with you all in my recipe-searching:

Ancient Egyptian Bread!

The Historical Cooking Project : Ancient Egyptian Bread, by Miguel Esquirol Rios

 

[Benjamin Müller]

These turned out well. I wanted to find a doughnut that wouldn't waste so much oil--as finances are getting a little tighter here for us. So being able to 'ration' oil seemed like a good idea. These were really good. If I could never eat a fried doughnut again, these are a perfect substitute. We made our own bavarian cream for ours though

Instead of using bread flour and all purpose flour, we just used all purpose and added 1 1/2 tsp of gluten. Which reminded me I need more gluten. Lol.