Yesterday, I found myself watching numbers on the Dow plummet and silently wishing I knew anything about money.
Cindarella and I emailed back and forth, lamenting the state of the economy. “I am going to have to buy COVER GIRL”, I whined.
I am…not great with money. My bills are paid on time and in full, I sporadically throw some money in savings, and I have worked really hard to live without using a credit card. That, my friends, is about it. Budgets? What are those? I have no idea where my money goes, frankly. My economic philosophy goes something like this: I check my online account, see I have “x” amount of dollars until I get paid, and spend accordingly. Please feel free to add “money management”, alongside driving and tact, to the list of things in which I do not excel.
I am a very lucky girl. I know this. Though I may need to make some changes (for instance, figuring out what I spend my money on), I will never starve. I have a secure job and I am paid well. My bills will not pile up and tightening of the purse strings means buying more yellow beer and laying off the Nars.
Yet, that doesn’t mean we aren’t all feeling it…or will soon. (This the the point in this post where I ask everyone to refrain from political screeds, m’kay?) Looks like it time to revisit some recipes from the past; tried and true meals that are tasty and make a minimal dent in the wallet. Please feel free to mock my photos from the earlier days and poke fun at my unfocused writing. I was not always the Lemmonex you see today.
Here is Cooking on a Budget 101…
Breadline Beans: Beans are always cheap…and this one is also vegetarian and can be thrown together in about 20 minutes.
Frittata: Making a frittata is perfect as you can throw anything in there. Have a nub of cheese, some random vegetables festering in the crisper, and left over sausage from brunch the previous day? Use it all…
Pasta with Eggs and Asparagus: Pasta and eggs…you should always have those on hand. All you need to pick up is a bunch of asparagus.
Banana Bread Oatmeal: Oats are pennies and everyone always has some bananas around…this is a another way to use up those bananas that are looking a little black.
Chicken with Spicy Asian Black Bean Sauce: No special ingredients needed here; most stocked pantries have all these ingredients on hand and the final result is delicious.
Caramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Pizza: Pizza crust may be one of the most cost effective things to make; all you need is some flour, water, honey and a packet of yeast. I topped this pizza with caramelized onions and gorgonzola, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
Pesto Pea Soup: A bag of frozen peas and premade pesto? Simple, cheap, easy.
Stuffed Red Peppers: The lack of meat keeps this recipe cheap (and healthy). Whatever pepper is on sale can be used and almost all the vegetables in this recipe can be swapped out for whatever you have on hand/what is priced the best.
Asian Chicken Burgers: Ground chicken, natch, and a bunch of other pantry staples come together to make a flavorful burger.
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I will make you into a driver yet, dammit!
Do you really feel like taking your life in to your hands? I am really quite bad.
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Backroads first. Baby steps, dear.
I don’t like it though…and you cannot make me.
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You forgot PBJ, something even I can make (although typing the instructions would take longer than making the sandwich)! Or one of your favorites and a supreme comfort food in tough times, economic or otherwise, oatmeal.
And is it you don’t drive, or don’t drive with confidence? If the former then I believe a move to NYC is recommended as it is the one place where people don’t look at you funny if you don’t have a driver’s license.
There is oatmeal there, darling.
I have developed the line “I don’t drive”…I CAN drive, but I hate it. I suck behind the wheel and become a nervous wreck. it is better for all of us I am off the road.
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I can drive on the freeway with no problem, but city driving gives me meltdowns. Oh, and I can’t drive at night. Nightblindness has spared me from DD-hood on many occasions.
Freeways are a bit better…though I did slam my father’s finger in the car door on a road trip once. We were 45 minutes in to a 13 hour drive. That was one long freeway and I have never looked at one the same since.
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Oops – stopped reading at banana bread (see comment on earlier post). Mea culpa.
And I am beginning to believe you are yin to my yang. You love to cook, I love to eat. You hate to drive, I love to drive, even in places that are not driver friendly like Boston and New York. Were we separated at birth?
I love to cook and eat…I think possibly we could have been. Is your bday January 11?
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Lemmonex is alright,
Her commenters are alright,
They just seem a little weird.
I won’t give myself away.
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Yes. I hate to admit that instead of annual fall trip to Sephora, I went to CVS and stocked up on Almay. It’s no Benefit or Nars, but I’m pretty happy with what I bought. And Target has fancy hair stuff now.. which is a godsend. Oh right, this is about food, not products. Whatever. Food. Yum.
Almay? OK…I may have to try it though I fully admit I will cut down on a lot of other things–pricey beer, fancy wine–before I walk away from the Chanel lipgloss.
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Dude, if you’re considering Cover Girl, that means I might have to go back to Payless…
NEVER.
I hear it feels good to pay less, LiLu…
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No December 7 – that was one birth our mother will never forget!
Ah, my bro is December 18…the same year as me. She was busy that year.
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A better way to use up a slightly over-the-hill banana is to slice it without peeling it,* offer it to another person, and laugh at his or her utter astonishment when it falls into slices upon being peeled.
* = yes, it can be done
My brain hurts from trying to figure this out, Peter.
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As a cheap luxury may I suggest buying some Chanel soap scented with some of Chanel’s classic fragrances. They make great presents too.
I am wearing Mademoiselle right now…makes me feel very grown up. I got a sample and was surprised with how much I liked it.
And, there is one for the TMI files…
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Here’s the banana trick. It takes some practice.
I was VERY nervous to click on this–thanks for making it harmless.
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You can get the effects of the fragrances with the soaps, and at way cheaper prices! If you don’t want to cross the line from feeling very grown up to feeling downright dowdy and feel that No. 5 would do this, try Coco. In any event, it is a truth universally acknowledged that classic elegance never goes out of style.
God knows I personify classy elegance.
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Too bad you’re not Jewish.
I am in my heart.
Shana tova!
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You will get no argument from me on that point!
Smart man!
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I ate pancakes and leftover refried beans last night. Not exactly classy, but super cheap. Oh, and tasty.
I’m low on makeup and am going to go on a Mark Stevens run – maybe today. Thank goodness for that store.
Mark Stevens…oh, wow. Haven’t thought of that place in ages. It was always kind of dirty.
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what cheap green veggie can be would sub nicely for the asparagus in that egg/pasta dish when asparagus is out of season?
p.s. i wish i was eating cheesesteaks tonight…
I wish you were too, woman.
Well, frozen asparagus would work, but you are right…I would try peas.
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Bargain-price dinners
As my savings plummets, burns.
Thanks for thrifty tips.
You brighten my day with haikus, I save you some money. it is an even exchange, really.
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I’m just going to become a professional dinner whore and call it a day.
But I’m already a dinner whore, you say? Notice the addition of the word professional.
How much will you charge?
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Three courses, with wine pairings.
Nothing but the best, darling.
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I am still wanting to try the Asian Chicken Burger – I just keep forgetting to buy the ingredients!
Get it together, Phil!
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Frecks gives a whole new meaning to the term “Will work for food.”
Indeed she does–that’s our girl.
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I think folks better get used to eating tree bark and grass ’cause that’s what’s coming.
Although, I am a firm believer that the strength of my enemies becomes my own if I consume them so when the revolution comes, I’ve got a recipe for every last one of those mother fuckers that did me wrong.
Oh, I can think of a few people who I would love to cover in some Hoison sauce.
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Eat people I hate?
I can’t stand to look at them.
Keep them off my plate.
But isn’t eating them punishment?
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But isn’t eating them punishment?
For whom? Even with a nice bottle of chianti
I knew it wouldn’t be long before someone chimed in with this…
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If you ever need to keep a Jewish man from hitting on you, just tell him you’re casually bad with money. He’ll go flaccid before your very eyes, tormented by memories of his mother reminding him why shiksas are trouble.
Then again, any Jewish mother dreams of a daughter in law who can cook.
I, for one, acknowledge my expensive tastes. On one occasion as a child I drank the better part of a giant bottle of Chanel No. 5. Alas, my bourgeois aspirations only brought on the revolts of my proletariat stomach.
So you are saying I break even in the eyes of a Jewish mother? Jewish men love me, though I have found most of them to be more trouble than they are worth. I should play up the money thing.
I cannot believe you got past a sip of that perfume. That must have been terrible.
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Here’s my thought on (most) cheap meals.. they make you fat. Sorry, but it’s true. Tons of starch and/or grease. It’s hard to eat well on a budget. But I’d rather be thin, healthy and poor than fat and cushioned (both anatomically and financially).
See, I think you make a good point, but done well…it can be done in a healthy way. Those beans are healthy, so is the oatmeal, so are the stuffed peppers and the frittata. You just have to think a little harder and not just eat a huge bowl of pasta every night.
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