Whenever I want to eat something cheap and filling, I make a dish of rice and beans. i also love frying an egg or two and dousing the dish in hot sauce. It's delicious –– and perfect for this time of year, actually. I've been making plenty of it, as you can imagine. It's total comfort food.
After Redditor unholyfire asked the online community, "What is your favorite poor person meal?" people told us about the cheap and creative dishes they love to make.
"My dad grew up very poor..."
Potato pancakes. My dad grew up very poor so he knew 1000 different things to make out of potatoes and these were my favorite.
"My mom used to cook..."
My mom used to cook my sister and me beenie weenies (baked beans and hotdogs) whenever we were on hard times. I still eat them til this day.
"Kept me moving..."
Daal.
Beyond cheap, super healthy, make it 100 different ways.
Kept me moving during the recession.
"It costs less..."
Million Dollar Spaghetti - a box of spaghetti, a pound of ground beef, a block of cream cheese, some cottage cheese, pasta sauce, and some cheddar. It costs less than $10 to make a huge tray of it and you can get 8 huge, insanely filling meals out of it. It's also greasy and rich and makes you feel like you're eating something special.
"You can buy two..."
Fried tacos from Jack in The Box.
You can buy two for $0.99. On the receipt, there's a link to a survey. Once done with the survey, you're given a code for two free tacos w/ purchase.
So, it works out to four tacos for $0.99. That's 624 calories per dollar!!
"The upfront investment..."
The upfront investment in spices can be slightly steep, but once you have them, vegetarian chilli using a mixture of red and green lentils instead of beef can really go a long way and doesn't cost much per dish to make.
"Take all the bones..."
Chicken scrap soups! Take all the bones and whatever leftovers from chicken (or any other meat for that matter) and boil it up with some garlic and some onion, strain it and then add some other vegetables/spices/herbs and maybe a potato or two.
"It's my comfort food."
Spaghetti with ketchup, a dab of butter, pepper, paprika, garlic, and a dash of cayenne and curry. I lived on that for months. Still eat it on occasion. It's my comfort food.
''If I'm feeling really fancy..."
Oatmeal with peanut butter. If I'm feeling really fancy I'll add honey/brown sugar, and some kind of cheep dried fruit.
"Take some cheap tortillas..."
White trash quesadillas. Take some cheap tortillas, slap some shredded cheese in there, pan fry in in a bit of butter or if you don't have the energy nuke them in the microwave until the cheese melt. Use whatever hot sauce is laying around normally the stock pile of single serving hot sauce packs from Taco Bell, dip those bad boys in it and enjoy.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
@VP/X
@nicquemarina/Instagram
@i.d0p/Instagram
@chan.directs/Instagram
@dravitsingh/Instagram
@giselle_barajas1234/Instagram
@pedrohcsi/Instagram
