Over the last decade I've lost every bit of patience I had for eating at restaurants. Our list is down to MAYBE 5 places in the entire city and most are quick service. Just fucking hate everything about it. Paying the same amount as a month of groceries to sit in a noisy room with loud talking douchebags who dine in groups of 8 somehow is no longer appealing. Couple that with the shit economy and impending trade war, we do 95% of our eating at home.

This thread is for those delicious, dollar stretching meals that you like to prepare. I've found that I get as much enjoyment out of a perfect steak taco as I do out of a fancy steak, so I rarely buy pricey cuts of meat anymore. I know it helps that I have a well appointed kitchen, but that's something you can build up over time. Definitely worth it.


Here goes:

Chicken drumsticks: You can usually get a big flat of these for 3 bucks. I immediately clean all of the meat off the bones, throw a little salt on it and put it in the fridge for later. Throw the bones and skin into the instant pot for 2 hours on high pressure (or slow cooker for a LONG time). A tray of leg bones will give you 1-1.5 liters of SUPER rich chicken stock. Don't add anything else to the pot at this stage, not even salt. Vegetables/herbs will infuse quickly later on, and not all add ins are appropriate for all cuisines. One of my favorite things to do with the meat is to make 'dim sum' meatballs. I have a meat grinder so I grind the leg meat fine with ginger, garlic, scallions and add salt and a bit of cornstarch to bind it better. You can poach them in the stock or just water and they're super delicious. Rice, chili oil and some steamed greens. Sometimes I use the stock to make congee. 6.5 parts liquid to 1 part rice, Grate in a clove of garlic and some ginger, into the instant pot for 20 minutes (I use the 'porridge' setting on mine. Throw in some fresh ginger and scallions right before serving. You can throw in some thin sliced strips of pork shoulder before cooking if you want to get fancy. Sometimes I mix an egg or two into it after it's done cooking but while it's still super hot. You can get 3-4 meals out of this for like 6 dollars!

Mexican pizzas: I generally find flour tortillas to be kinda gross unless they're fresh and homemade, so I make this corn tortilla thing. Oil the biggest frying pan you have and spread 6 to 8 corn tortillas around it in as close to a single layer as you can get. Fry one side (putting a weight on them helps bind them together. Flip the whole thing over in one piece and spread a layer of refried beans on it. Top with roasted (preferably on the grill) peppers. I like to use cubanelle, poblano, banana. Hatch would be the ideal if you can get them. Sprinkle a LITTLE bit of melting cheese on it and cover, turn heat down, fry till slightly crispy. Cut with a pizza cutter. This one is also good for getting rid of leftover cooked meat.

Fancified ramen: Obvious one here, but wanted to point out that "Momosan" by ichiban is the best instant ramen out there. They sell in at Mitsuwa if you're in Chicago. It really does come close to the real deal. I add sliced fish cake, hijiki seaweed, re-hydrated shiitakes, scallions, egg.

If you like breakfast potatoes, one thing I like to do is shred a full 5 pounds of potatoes in the food processor (I'd avoid the box grater- shreds too thin). Rinse the starch off, then blanch in slightly salty water for a minute. Drain and portion out in ziplock, flattened. Freeze.

I have a million of these

I tried to get down with those Japanese curry cubes for cheap/quick/easy meals for years, but the results usually had a muddy cafeteria food quality to it. Then I realized you could just buy the powder..
..add a TB or 2 to roughly half a can of coconut milk in a flat pan, some cut up dark meat chicken, salt/soy/fish sauce, + a little sweetener. Takes about 7-8 minutes to cook, lid off so it thickens up. Add some vegetables too, but I prefer to boil those on the side to not water down the sauce. Serve with rice or some flatbread and it’s at least as good as nearly any takeout place in the city.

I should probably hit up my asian grocer very soon.

One can Cream of Mushroom soup
One can Chicken Noodle soup
Curry powder
Garlic
Red pepper flakes

Delicious.

Chicken fried squirrel-

Clean and quarter squirrel. Poke it several times with a fork. Salt and pepper squirrel. Dip it in buttermilk. Dredge it in flour (add cayenne if you can find it). Fry the squirrel in whatever oil you can muster up. A tasty end times treat!

Open prepackaged ramen. Discard flavor packet

Boil salted water
Add edamame and roasted corn with whatever spices I feel like, let it come back to a boil, then let cook for a couple minutes
Crack two eggs into pot, being careful with yolks
After eggs have poached, add ramen noodles and reduce heat to low for about five minutes
Empty most of broth down the drain
Eat while crying in front of the T.V.

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Stroganoff using ground turkey, white corn, mushroom tips and stems, sour cream, 1/2 milk-1/2 water, bowtie pasta, and a store-bought stroganoff spice packet. I can put away over a pound of this.

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Four to six pieces of toast. I used to tend toward sourdough, but it's fucked up my stomach the last few years, so now it's usually potato bread or Oat Nut. Let them cool to room temperature, spread butter, enjoy.

Great thread. First one that comes to mind is vegetable rice. Not a groundbreaking concept but I make it as a side at least once a week. It's a good way to use vegetable trimmings that will go in the compost otherwise. I use stems from cilantro, broccoli, or kale, cabbage hearts, bendy old carrots, leafy wilty celery ends, stuff like that. I always use some garlic but that's my only constant. I never make it the same way twice but it seems to get better every time I make it.

Ratio is 1 part rice to 1 part water (or stock) to 1.5 parts vegetable. If you're using brown rice use 2 parts water instead.

Chop the vegetables fairly small and saute them on medium heat in the bottom of the pan in vegetable oil or butter till they start to soften. Use a fair amount of oil, like 2 tablespoons for every cup of rice. Add the dry rice and keep frying till the edges of the rice start to become translucent. Add a little salt and pepper at this point and other herbs/spices if you're adventurous, then add the water an give it a stir.

Cover and turn the heat down to a simmer for 15 minutes (25 for brown rice). Give it a stir then turn off the heat. Put the cover back on tight and let it steam for another 15 minutes. I know a lot of people are reluctant to cook rice on the stovetop, but the moisture in the vegetables keeps it from burning if you keep the heat low, and it's mostly vegetables. The rice might get a little crispy at the bottom but that is a good thing, I'm a little disappointed when it's not.

When's the last time you guys made plain old baked potatoes? So damn good. And they get better the longer you bake them. I like to speed up the process by first boiling them in salt water for a bit. I could probably eat 4. From now on, any time I'll be running the oven for a long time, like thanksgiving, I'm gonna also throw a pile of potatoes in there.

white rice, fried eggs, fish sauce, soy sauce, scallions, chili crisp, prickly ash.

I was going through a phase in college where I was trying to make foods as dirtbag as possible for some reason. Like guilty pleasure vagrant-style one pot cooking.

Here's where I peaked:

Egg noodles, navy beans, 1 can tuna, bbq sauce

It's good in a kind of "eat this on a dare" kind of way.

"Dragon Noodles"

Brown up some ground pork.
Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, and chili garlic sauce (the huy fong stuff)
Boil up some instant ramen like noodles.
Once the pork is cooked, add the sauce, some unsalted peanuts. Stir in together for like 5-7 min.
Add the noodles.
Stir it all together and top with some green onions or like me, habaneros.