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A tip for what to do with fresh ginger. I put mine in my bullet blender with a little bit of water and make my own ginger paste. I freeze it in a zip lock bag similarly to how i store leftover tomato paste. Make a thin layer that you can break off a chunk when you need some ginger for a dish.
Something my roommates taught me is that the key to tofu is actually freezing it first. If you freeze and then defrost it changes the texture in a really good way since it causes a lot more of the water to be removed.
You can poke the sweet potato with a fork and microwave for 6-8 minutes. This is so much cheaper than running your oven for nearly an hour. Great recipes, thanks for sharing!
#1. Chopped cabbage, potato, onion & kielbasa in a greased 9x13. Add olive oil, salt & pepper. Add foil and bake an hour at 350 d f. #2. Mock tuna salad. Drain a can of chick peas, mash them. Add mayo, diced onion & diced celery (make like tuna salad).
I am married to a meat lover. Always has to have meat. And he used to hate tofu. Well I made my chili, no meat but tofu. He loved it. Then our grand daughter made a dessert tofu. Fried it in a little sugar then put it with fresh fruit. Loved it. He has no problem with tofu now.
Maria, you are a blessing, Girl ♥ A great collaboration would be you and Southern Frugal Mom. She is a mother of three boys, is about your age and also provides tasty, frugal meals. Perhaps, taking a list of the same items and seeing what recipes you two come up with would be interesting. Especially as she is in the South, and you the Northeast. Just a suggestion :)
Our locally owned grocery store recently had the 10# bag of leg quarters for $0.39#! I'm single retired & when they're that cheap I may buy 2 or 3 bags.....I cook one bag & debone & freeze nest in individual bags for chicken salad, quesdillas, tacos whatever...usually depending on sizes there are 12-14 quarters to a bag so for less that $15 I've got chicken for 6 months or more....end of December they had cabbage for $0.19#, so I bought 4 large head & it was less than $2.00....I made cabbage rolls, smothered cabbage, cabbage casseroles for the freezer.....best to take advantage when things on sale
I make a delicious peach dinner loaf from spam. I slice the spam into 4 slices almost all the way through. In between each slice, I put a slice of canned peach in its own juice and a half maraschino cherry if I have them. It is fine without. If you like cloves you can put a whole clove in each slice. It is fine without. Mix 2 tablespoons brown sugar with the reserved 1/2 the rest of the canned peach juice and pour over the loaf. Bake at 350’ for 20 to 30 minutes or until the edges of the spam are browned and delicious!
If you shop at Aldi, they sell frozen mussels in two different kinds of sauces. You cook them in the microwave and we have ours with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
Lol. My coworker recommended to add cottage cheese as a substitute for eggs for part of scrambled eggs. I was skeptical but I bought a very small container and tried it. It totally worked. What a great way to cut the cost of eggs 🥚 Now Im thinking what else can I do with cottage cheese. Lol Everybody should try the cottage cheese/ scrambled egg trick. Eggs are not so cheap anymore. Have a great day.
My mom used to fry spam and make scrambled eggs as well as fried potatoes for breakfast or dinner back in the 50’s and 60’s. She also loved “potted meat” and Vienna sausages as an inexpensive meal. Thanks for the video Maria!! You are an inspiration.
I grew up eating Spam (my dad is from MN where it was created). But unfortunately it is super expensive right now. Spam and eggs was a favorite camping dish for us.
Spam and eggs in a tortilla, spam & ramen (can also be a soup), spam and kimchi stew is awesome, budajiggae (a hearty Korean stew that is fast, easy, tasty. ) lots of recipes online but everyone makes it a bit differently. Fried spam on toast. The possibilities are endless because they have a variety of flavors. Our favorite is hot and spicy.
About lentils, there are more exotic types of lentils than the plain greenish brown ones. I found them at an Indian grocery store - red lentils and yellow lentils. They take less time to cook, especially the red ones, and they make a great thickener for dishes.
Love red lentils in Shorba (Arabic lentil soup). So comforting! 1 1/4 c. red lentils 1/2 each yellow onion, celery and carrots chopped 2 garlic cloves minced 4 c. Chicken stock 2 c. Water 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp tumeric Rinse and soak lentils 20 min. Heat oil in saucepan and cook vegetables. Add garlic then the rest of the ingredients. Cook until lentils are soft (20 min). Remove bay leaf and use immersion blender to get desired consistency. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
To make a cheap meal I take a can of spam and cut it into little cubes and brown it in a skillet in a little butter or oil. Meanwhile I make macaroni and cheese, box mix, homemade, whatever you like, and when you get it made, stir in your browned spam cubes. It makes a very kid friendly dish.
Game changer for me was a silicone microwave popcorn popper. I bought it on Amazon for less than $15. You can even add the butter and salt right in with the kernels and it is so easy my 4 year old niece can help make it
very simple homemade "naan" type flatbread, 1 cup ap flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 cup greek yogurt. mix, let sit on the counter for 30 mins, then divide in 3, roll out and heat a skillet and cook for 3 minutes on either side. Yum and very easy.
My husband and I eat a plant based diet so he thinks I am crazy for watching cooking channels that aren't vegan but I find you so enjoyable to watch. Plus, you have just introduced me to my new favorite soup! I generally struggle to eat green leafy vegetables and this lentil soup was fantastic even with kale in it! I even made it for my in laws (who eat a standard American diet) this past week and they could not stop raving about it. I can't wait to try more of the bean/lentil recipes you've shared.
Isn’t that soup just 😍😍😍 the perfect thing to serve guests for sure!!! I think vegetarians and vegans are very resourceful! I can see how you can just change out a few ingredients and it’s vegetarian! I’m so glad you enjoy the channel❤️❤️❤️
When my mom became a single mother and the older two moved out she had gone to work and needed quick meal ideas. She introduced me to Imitation Crab using it in crab sandwiches for picnics or dinners. Or we would eat it mixed with mayo and have sides of Cucumberr, Tomato, Lettuce salad, Potato Salad. It was good. I prefer real crab however when it is priced high ( fresh ) this is a good alternative. Also, I have found canned Crab meat to be very inexpensive at Hannaford [ NE grocery chain ] so I stocked up on it. I add it to Pasta, make Sandwiches, Crab Cakes or to top a Green Salad. I love Kippered Herrings, Potato and Green Beans - I share a little of the oil with my male cat who likes fish but I will down the 2 portion tin myself at a meal.
My local grocery store has the 5lb bags of potatoes for less than a dollar and chicken leg quarters in the 10lb bag for $3.70. That's been a lifesaver to my budget the past few weeks. One change I've made recently is using ground turkey in place of ground beef in spaghetti. I just add a bit of worcestershire sauce while it's browning to give it more of a ground beef flavor. My family hasn't noticed a difference.
Yes, ground turkey is cheaper. Especially if you get the frozen turkey in the rolls from Wal-Mart! No one ever notices. I use it in tacos, everything really.
Hi, Maria. Great content as usual. As someone who grew up in a multi-ethnic household, I would love to see more "fusion/multi-cultural" food from you! My Japanese grandmother made ketchup fried rice (instead of soy sauce, she used tomato ketchup)!
My kids always ask me to make javia crab I shreed the crab and cut up tomatoes onion cucumbers cilantro and mix it with limes or lemon juice and sometimes I add clamato and we eat it wit tostadas or chips so good I put hot sauce on mine 🤤🤤🤤🤤
I buy bags of onion and chop them all up. Put them in the freezer and use them any time you cook. I do the same with bell pepper, celery, and carrots. It is such a time and money saver!
I love your recipes 😋. My mom back in day would dice some potatoes, diced onion,boil them together, when almost done she'd drain almost all the water, pour it in a 11x7 baking pan. Then she'd pour some canned milk,a spoon of butter,and diced spam, cheese. Carefully stir it together and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. She didn't measure anything and year's later I still make it but back then we got commodities ,lots of different food my mama would throw together with them but the main one I remember is what she called Spam casserole. It was delicious. Oh, she did use salt and pepper. Now day's there are so many spices to choose from but I still make it like my mama did.
I saute imitation crab with onions, mushrooms, and garlic in butter add dry white wine and serve over wild or regular rice or sometimes noodles/pasta. Everyone I've made it for loves it.
Spam is highly underrated. A lot of ppl turn their nose up at it, presumably I think that's bc they haven't actually tried it. We sometimes just slice it and fry it in a skillet. Make some eggs and voila- breakfast. It's great in an omelette too. It's fantastic chopped small with onions and potatoes for a hash. Some ppl put it on pizza, can't see where you can go wrong with that. You can put bbq sauce on it as you fry it- yum. Put it in your baked beans for a salty Smoky flavor.
I have an excellent imitation crab recipe! I get packets of Knorr brand Creamy Garlic Shells and cook them according to package instructions. Then I add diced imitation crab at the end, served hot. The ratio is one package of the Creamy Garlic Shells to one 3 oz package of imitation crab. I have taken this to potlucks and I never have leftovers.
Baked beans with sliced hot dogs are a way my family will actually eat beans. You can also add fresh or chopped frozen onions and garlic for more flavor. Hot dogs are also super cheap and anytime you can use a meat/protein that is more of a flavoring you save money. If you cook the beans in an Instant Pot it’s a great money saver too.
I made a recipe with left over cooked potato dices. I froze and dehydrated a lot and had a pan of pots left. And added a can or two of my canned pinto beans . Taco or chili seasonings. Some Tom sauce . Meatless. I didn’t have hamburger . I made a delicious nice thick chili with chopped onion chopped green peppers, garlic, onion powder, which turned out to be the best tacoburgers , vegetarian. but not on purpose. The slow cooked pan full with pinto beans thickened so it stayed nicely on the bun. Add cheese too. I just didn’t have hamburger. I’m using this to tortillas for burritos or on Hamb buns, polish dogs. A kind of tamale pie with no meat. These were delicious. Not on purpose vegetarian Taco burgers, etc.
I’ve used imitation crab in a Louisiana Etoufee dish. Learned it at a cooking school in New Orleans. The instructor said to put a bit of eggshell into the dish, to fool people that it’s real crab!
I have an amazing Krab recipe. First off , I’m sorry I cook the little bit of this, a little bit of that kind of way 😊 Sauté a whole bunch of mushrooms Add chopped green onions and sauté as well Add a pkg of Krab ( you can also add any seafood along with this or change it to another kind and sauté) Add pkg of cream cheese till melted ( could use herb and garlic or other flavour as well) Add medium sized container of half and half (18%) cream Add salt and pepper to taste Stir until thickened , it will thicken even more as it cools Then make crepes Add filling to crepes Make a mild white cheese sauce to add when serving sprinkle with paprika and parsley It is heavenly, to the point where my uncle who owns a hotel in Croatia was visiting, and I made these , and they are now on his hotel’s dining menu 😮😊 Enjoy! *chef’s kiss*🤌😘
My favorite recipe with Spam is Spam fried rice. Cube spam up in small dices, fry in pan or wok. Then add day old cold rice, frozen peas and carrots. Fry with spam, add soy sauce and fry. Add scrambled egg if you like. As for the popcorn, you can pop your own microwave popcorn. Use a brown paper lunch bag, a teaspoon of oil to kernels. Poor into bag and fold over top of bag. Pop just like microwave popcorn bag. It works great.
My favorite tofu recipe: Sweet and Sour Tofu 14 to 16 oz. extra firm tofu, pressed ½ t salt ½ t garlic powder ground black pepper 1 T cornstarch 1 T EVOO ½ pkg. slaw mix 1 red onion, halved horizontally and then cut pole to pole-to-pole 1 c chopped pineapple (~ ½ a pineapple) 1 green pepper, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 2 pieces ginger, grated 4 cloves garlic, minced sesame oil 2 sticks green onion, sliced ¼ c brown sugar ¼ c ketchup 1.5 t kosher salt or 1 T soy sauce 1 c apple cider vinegar Sauté in a flat-bottomed wok in a bit of oil each in turn: red onion, slaw mix, pineapple, and peppers. Add ginger and garlic to wok with some sesame oil and sauté a bit. Cut tofu into small cubes. Toss to coat with a mix of with the ½ t salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add cornstarch and toss to coat. Add 1 T oil and toss to coat. Add to a parchment-lined baking sheet and put in the oven and turn to 375oF. After 10 min. at this temperature, toss and then bake another 10 min. Add brown sugar, ketchup, kosher salt, and cider vinegar to wok and bring to a boil. Return to wok the cooked pineapple, red onion, slaw mix, and peppers, as well as the green onion. Heat until bubbling and heated through. Stir in crisped tofu. Serve over rice,. Top with sesame seeds. This tofu recipe is also good: Tofu and Broccoli Stir-fry 15.5 oz. Trader Joe's organic sprouted extra firm tofu (or other firm tofu) 1 t sea salt ¼ t black pepper ½ t garlic powder 1 T cornstarch 1 T EVOO 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets and peeled stem pieces 3/4 c vegetable broth, divided 1 or 2 t sesame oil a few shakes of red pepper flakes 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 to 8 scallions, cut into 1/2” pieces on the diagonal 1 t grated ginger ¼ c soy sauce 1 T rice or apple cider vinegar 2 T maple syrup toasted sesame seeds Press tofu for 30 to 60 min. between paper towels and cut into bite-sized cubes. In a medium sized bowl, combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add tofu and toss. Add cornstarch and toss. Add EVOO and toss. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheet at 375oF until golden and crispy, turning once during cooking, about 20 to 30 min. total. Heat sesame oil in a flat-bottomed wok over medium heat. Add broccoli and ¼ c vegetable broth. Stir and then cover. Cook 3 to 5 min. and remove from the pan. Add to pan, red pepper flakes, EVOO, ginger, garlic, and scallions and saute until scallions are cooked. In a measuring cup with remaining broth, combine soy sauce, vinegar, and maple syrup. Add tofu and soy sauce mixture and cook until thickened. Add broccoli and cook until hot. Serve over rice and topped with sesame seeds and sriracha.
My son will eat tofu if I top it with a peanut sauce (easily made with pantry ingredients: PB, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic and warm water to thin out). I make a similar lentil soup, but I add barley to it, which makes it hearty and more stew like (DH is not a big broth fan). Barley is another low cost pantry ingredient.
Dry beans are soooo easy to pressure can! I make my own cowboy beans with pintos! My son loves them. I also jar and vacuum seal my own 15 beans soup mix. It's cheaper than the single bags. Open face Spam salad sandwiches. Toast hamburger buns. Chop spam with onions,sweet pickles, mayonnaise and shredded cheddar. Spoon onto toasted buns and pop under the broiler to melt the cheese
My mom used to put Spam in her macaroni salad. Make your salad however you usually would, and then cut the Spam in small cubes and stir it in. It's surprisingly good!
One of my favorite meals is to put a little oil in a pan ..dice up some potatoes and spam about the same size and cook till the potatoes start to soften..add a chopped onion and continue to cook until the potatoes and spam are browned..top with grated cheddar cheese and pop. A lid on until the cheese melts..oh add salt and pepper too . yummy
Great video so many good tips, I love lentils they make a good sloppy joe, for people who are not big fans of lentils. You can also add quinoa to any ground meats as a fill also to make meat stretch more.
Your meals reminded me of my Bucia’s on my Mom’s side, cooking and my Dad’s mother, my Grandmother of German decent. It was helpful and also heartwarming….. both lived and grew up during depression, and cook extremely well, but could also stretch a meal and funds…… ❤️
Slice your Spam and fry it up aittle crispy. With scrambled eggs and toast or biscuits its awesome. A great alternative to bacon or sausage. Its also good fried with pineapple and served over rice. We even fry it and make sandwiches with tomatoes and mayo. Yummy!
Thanks Maria! As far as Ramen Noodles, when our kids were little, they loved them with a couple of eggs mixed in and cooked, with most of the water drained before. Then each would add as much seasoning as they wanted. Now with eggs expensive... it's still a pretty cheap meal!
Ideas for KRAB ....seafood salad sandwich, in Ramen with frozen stir fry veg & some shredded cabbage, seafood Benedict, Buddha bowls with soy, dipped in cocktail sauce with cheese, crackers for a picky plate.
We like to throw tofu into soup, especially ramen soup. We throw in whatever veggies we have, leftover meat etc. Also, deep fried with a dipping sauce. I like it fried in hot chili oil and eggs.
I'm 50... Soon to be 51.. was basically a single mom..lived and learned, by the time you order take out.. or even order and pick it up... you can have it cooked and be eating at a fraction of the time and money
A slice of fried spam and eggs instead of bacon, chopped spam with mixed frozen veggies and rice all quick and inexpensive. I’ve made with imitation crab is a hot cheese and artichoke dip, and a crab salad with celery,Mayo, green chilies and served it with crackers
I do not care for Tuna fish but found a good price on it so it is in my prepping pantry. The cans mixed in water or just oil can feed me in a pinch or 1 can once I. A while split between my three cats is a treat when they have run out of canned food and are just left with dry. I also have several packages of Tuna either Lemon to make Tuna Cakes in addition to the other canned meats, PB, shelf stable Tofu, other canned fish in my " alternative protein drawer " in my prepping we piping pantry. Do not fear bags of lentils, all types of beans, quinoa are also in my pantry. We can not rely on just a t one food group for say protein but must look for less expensive options. I smiled as I love Cottage Cheese, Fruit, topped with Granola or Cottage Cheese, Avocado, Salsa and Banana for breakfast .
So my memory is fuzzy on the details, there are likely some spices or something I am missing because I was pretty young. But when I was in grade school and my parents were really skimping after building the house, we used to have imitation crab a LOT, and we'd have it in warm tortillas and I LOVED it. I always got excited when I'd see it on the table for dinner. 😊
With chick peas and sweet potatoes I make chili as well. It just a switch up of the dry spices. Ahhh and here we see you are topping your potato with chili.
Great cheap affordable staples to make meals and have extra leftovers too. For the lentils my favorite is making lentil burgers or black bean burgers in replacement of ground beef/turkey meat.
Thank you for new ideas of things I already use in some ways. The only ones I don't use are the seafood (I don't like most) and tofu because I can't due to severe hormone imbalances which soy products make worse. My kids prefer popcorn from the stovetop.
Don’t know if you’ve ever had pulled pork barbecue with coleslaw over a baked potato, it is so good. Everyone in my house loves Spam except my husband. Spam and rice, spam and eggs, a fried spam sandwich with mayo, tomato and cheese, yum!. The meals are endless with spam. I’d highly recommend the lower sodium spam. The original is so salty.
Great video. I just found your channel not too long ago and have been binge watching them. I love tofu too and since the price of eggs have gone up I have been making tofu scramble for breakfast. I just use firm or extra firm, drain the water and press some of it out and break it up to make it look like scrambled eggs, I add a little turmeric to give it that egg color and other spices like onion and garlic powder and black pepper and any salt you use. For this I bought what’s called black salt or kala namak salt. It’s pink looking when ground and has a sulfer like taste that gives you the egg flavor. I’ll also add in sautéed pepper, onions, mushrooms, spinach, potatoes…the sky is the limit. Even salsa. I’ll make breakfast burritos with it or eat with toast. Really anything you would like. You can add cheese too. Tofu is so bland that it takes on any flavor. ALDIs has for cheap. I think less than $2 or $3 in my town and it makes a huge skillet of scrambled “eggs”. You can’t the difference especially if you use the black salt with it. You can find that on Amazon or probably ethnic shops. A little goes along way. I have also come across people using chickpea flour to make a liquid egg type thing and make egg cups you bake in muffin tins. Where they add like cheese and broccoli or other veggies. I have not tried this yet but want too.
Check the ingredient list on imitation krab, they are not all created equal, some brands do taste better than others. Dried cilantro is a flavorful addition to ramen noodles. I also love to quarter the frozen chicken cilantro wontons from Costco (and I think Sam's Club), add them with the noodles when cooking your ramen.
Loved the video! Lentils are a big go-to for us. I usually put them in the crockpot and add sausage or pork rib cutlets. I love to use imitation crab in a pasta salad with tri-colored rotini. So pretty to look at and delicious. Keep up the great content.
Whipped cottage cheese makes a great sub for dips. We make a buffalo one and a garlic herb one, way cheaper than the cream cheese, sour cream, and other stuff that is normally mixed together. We use it was cut veggies, chips, and crackers. My husband typically eats spam and eggs, and spam ketchup fried rice. My idea on tofu is not to use it as a meat substitute but to allow it to be its own thing. There are tons of asian dishes that use it including desserts.
I was wondering what to have for dinner tonight and you appeared. Sweet potato/chili topper, with the fixers on top. I have it all so no money spent today. 💃💃💃💃
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For an extra 30% off CODE ： pass997
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I have a deconstructed stuffed cabbage recipe that is delicious and so much easier but tastes exactly like the cabbage rolls
You don't need anything to make you look adorable... already are
A tip for what to do with fresh ginger. I put mine in my bullet blender with a little bit of water and make my own ginger paste. I freeze it in a zip lock bag similarly to how i store leftover tomato paste. Make a thin layer that you can break off a chunk when you need some ginger for a dish.
Ohhh I like that idea a lot!!
What a great idea👍
Something my roommates taught me is that the key to tofu is actually freezing it first. If you freeze and then defrost it changes the texture in a really good way since it causes a lot more of the water to be removed.
You can poke the sweet potato with a fork and microwave for 6-8 minutes. This is so much cheaper than running your oven for nearly an hour. Great recipes, thanks for sharing!
#1. Chopped cabbage, potato, onion & kielbasa in a greased 9x13. Add olive oil, salt & pepper. Add foil and bake an hour at 350 d f. #2. Mock tuna salad. Drain a can of chick peas, mash them. Add mayo, diced onion & diced celery (make like tuna salad).
I am married to a meat lover. Always has to have meat. And he used to hate tofu. Well I made my chili, no meat but tofu. He loved it. Then our grand daughter made a dessert tofu. Fried it in a little sugar then put it with fresh fruit. Loved it. He has no problem with tofu now.
Maria, you are a blessing, Girl ♥ A great collaboration would be you and Southern Frugal Mom. She is a mother of three boys, is about your age and also provides tasty, frugal meals. Perhaps, taking a list of the same items and seeing what recipes you two come up with would be interesting. Especially as she is in the South, and you the Northeast. Just a suggestion :)
I think you are right! Good suggestion! They both come up with amazing frugal recipes.
I agree!!!
I'd love to see this!
Our locally owned grocery store recently had the 10# bag of leg quarters for $0.39#! I'm single retired & when they're that cheap I may buy 2 or 3 bags.....I cook one bag & debone & freeze nest in individual bags for chicken salad, quesdillas, tacos whatever...usually depending on sizes there are 12-14 quarters to a bag so for less that $15 I've got chicken for 6 months or more....end of December they had cabbage for $0.19#, so I bought 4 large head & it was less than $2.00....I made cabbage rolls, smothered cabbage, cabbage casseroles for the freezer.....best to take advantage when things on sale
Way to go!!! That’s a deal!!
Maria, you need to try Colcannon. It's potatoes, cabbage, bacon etc. Super easy and very delicious. 🤗
and a perfect Irish dish!💚🍀
Ohh that sounds delicious!!
@@margarethiggins8217 it's so good!
Hi Sarah, My mil who was from Ireland made this every Sunday! So yummy
I love that too!!!
I make a delicious peach dinner loaf from spam. I slice the spam into 4 slices almost all the way through. In between each slice, I put a slice of canned peach in its own juice and a half maraschino cherry if I have them. It is fine without. If you like cloves you can put a whole clove in each slice. It is fine without. Mix 2 tablespoons brown sugar with the reserved 1/2 the rest of the canned peach juice and pour over the loaf. Bake at 350’ for 20 to 30 minutes or until the edges of the spam are browned and delicious!
Kind of like a ham with pineapple
If you shop at Aldi, they sell frozen mussels in two different kinds of sauces. You cook them in the microwave and we have ours with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
Lol. My coworker recommended to add cottage cheese as a substitute for eggs for part of scrambled eggs.
I was skeptical but I bought a very small container and tried it.
It totally worked. What a great way to cut the cost of eggs 🥚
Now Im thinking what else can I do with cottage cheese. Lol
Everybody should try the cottage cheese/ scrambled egg trick.
Eggs are not so cheap anymore.
Have a great day.
This is a spectacular idea!
I have used a blender to smooth out cottage cheese with eggs and make copycat Starbucks egg bites. The texture is so good!
How much cottage cheese per egg?
@@Lexie32ar just under 1/4 cup per egg (the recipes I found say 1/2 cup per 3 eggs or 1 cup per 5 eggs)
My mom used to fry spam and make scrambled eggs as well as fried potatoes for breakfast or dinner back in the 50’s and 60’s. She also loved “potted meat” and Vienna sausages as an inexpensive meal. Thanks for the video Maria!! You are an inspiration.
I grew up eating Spam (my dad is from MN where it was created). But unfortunately it is super expensive right now. Spam and eggs was a favorite camping dish for us.
Spam and eggs in a tortilla, spam & ramen (can also be a soup), spam and kimchi stew is awesome, budajiggae (a hearty Korean stew that is fast, easy, tasty. ) lots of recipes online but everyone makes it a bit differently. Fried spam on toast. The possibilities are endless because they have a variety of flavors. Our favorite is hot and spicy.
Thank you for sharing!!! I am going to look into that Korean soup!!
About lentils, there are more exotic types of lentils than the plain greenish brown ones. I found them at an Indian grocery store - red lentils and yellow lentils. They take less time to cook, especially the red ones, and they make a great thickener for dishes.
Yes! I need to try some different kinds for sure!!
Red lentils are delicious!🤤
I need some good lentil recipes.
Love red lentils in Shorba (Arabic lentil soup). So comforting!
1 1/4 c. red lentils
1/2 each yellow onion, celery and carrots chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
4 c. Chicken stock
2 c. Water
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp tumeric
Rinse and soak lentils 20 min. Heat oil in saucepan and cook vegetables. Add garlic then the rest of the ingredients. Cook until lentils are soft (20 min). Remove bay leaf and use immersion blender to get desired consistency. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
@@alisongreene4586 thank you! Sounds good.
To make a cheap meal I take a can of spam and cut it into little cubes and brown it in a skillet in a little butter or oil. Meanwhile I make macaroni and cheese, box mix, homemade, whatever you like, and when you get it made, stir in your browned spam cubes. It makes a very kid friendly dish.
Ah kind of like hot dogs and Mac and cheese! That was a favorite of mine growing up!
Game changer for me was a silicone microwave popcorn popper. I bought it on Amazon for less than $15. You can even add the butter and salt right in with the kernels and it is so easy my 4 year old niece can help make it
I need to check that out!!
I pop popcorn in my Instant pot. Use saute, and I have a glass lid for it.
very simple homemade "naan" type flatbread, 1 cup ap flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 cup greek yogurt. mix, let sit on the counter for 30 mins, then divide in 3, roll out and heat a skillet and cook for 3 minutes on either side. Yum and very easy.
My husband and I eat a plant based diet so he thinks I am crazy for watching cooking channels that aren't vegan but I find you so enjoyable to watch. Plus, you have just introduced me to my new favorite soup! I generally struggle to eat green leafy vegetables and this lentil soup was fantastic even with kale in it! I even made it for my in laws (who eat a standard American diet) this past week and they could not stop raving about it. I can't wait to try more of the bean/lentil recipes you've shared.
Isn’t that soup just 😍😍😍 the perfect thing to serve guests for sure!!! I think vegetarians and vegans are very resourceful! I can see how you can just change out a few ingredients and it’s vegetarian! I’m so glad you enjoy the channel❤️❤️❤️
When my mom became a single mother and the older two moved out she had gone to work and needed quick meal ideas. She introduced me to Imitation Crab using it in crab sandwiches for picnics or dinners. Or we would eat it mixed with mayo and have sides of Cucumberr, Tomato, Lettuce salad, Potato Salad. It was good. I prefer real crab however when it is priced high ( fresh ) this is a good alternative. Also, I have found canned Crab meat to be very inexpensive at Hannaford [ NE grocery chain ] so I stocked up on it. I add it to Pasta, make Sandwiches, Crab Cakes or to top a Green Salad. I love Kippered Herrings, Potato and Green Beans - I share a little of the oil with my male cat who likes fish but I will down the 2 portion tin myself at a meal.
Enjoyed your video. First time viewer and have subscribed
I’m so glad you’re here Jackie! There is lots more to enjoy 😀
My local grocery store has the 5lb bags of potatoes for less than a dollar and chicken leg quarters in the 10lb bag for $3.70. That's been a lifesaver to my budget the past few weeks. One change I've made recently is using ground turkey in place of ground beef in spaghetti. I just add a bit of worcestershire sauce while it's browning to give it more of a ground beef flavor. My family hasn't noticed a difference.
Yes, ground turkey is cheaper. Especially if you get the frozen turkey in the rolls from Wal-Mart! No one ever notices. I use it in tacos, everything really.
Hi, Maria. Great content as usual. As someone who grew up in a multi-ethnic household, I would love to see more "fusion/multi-cultural" food from you! My Japanese grandmother made ketchup fried rice (instead of soy sauce, she used tomato ketchup)!
You an cook popcorn in the microwave. Just put 1/4 cup of popcorn in a brown paper lunch bag and cook in microwave for about 3-4 minutes.
@@twinnish Wow glad you were alright.
Just use a lunch bag they are very inexpensive
My kids always ask me to make javia crab I shreed the crab and cut up tomatoes onion cucumbers cilantro and mix it with limes or lemon juice and sometimes I add clamato and we eat it wit tostadas or chips so good I put hot sauce on mine 🤤🤤🤤🤤
That sounds delicious!
I buy bags of onion and chop them all up. Put them in the freezer and use them any time you cook. I do the same with bell pepper, celery, and carrots. It is such a time and money saver!
I love your recipes 😋. My mom back in day would dice some potatoes, diced onion,boil them together, when almost done she'd drain almost all the water, pour it in a 11x7 baking pan. Then she'd pour some canned milk,a spoon of butter,and diced spam, cheese. Carefully stir it together and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. She didn't measure anything and year's later I still make it but back then we got commodities ,lots of different food my mama would throw together with them but the main one I remember is what she called Spam casserole. It was delicious. Oh, she did use salt and pepper. Now day's there are so many spices to choose from but I still make it like my mama did.
I saute imitation crab with onions, mushrooms, and garlic in butter add dry white wine and serve over wild or regular rice or sometimes noodles/pasta. Everyone I've made it for loves it.
Spam is highly underrated. A lot of ppl turn their nose up at it, presumably I think that's bc they haven't actually tried it.
We sometimes just slice it and fry it in a skillet. Make some eggs and voila- breakfast. It's great in an omelette too. It's fantastic chopped small with onions and potatoes for a hash. Some ppl put it on pizza, can't see where you can go wrong with that.
You can put bbq sauce on it as you fry it- yum. Put it in your baked beans for a salty Smoky flavor.
Cajun crab dip,yummy
I do so much of what you suggest here! This video needs to go viral because it's so helpful!
Agree! Share share share 🤩🎉🎉🎉🎉
I have an excellent imitation crab recipe! I get packets of Knorr brand Creamy Garlic Shells and cook them according to package instructions. Then I add diced imitation crab at the end, served hot. The ratio is one package of the Creamy Garlic Shells to one 3 oz package of imitation crab. I have taken this to potlucks and I never have leftovers.
Baked beans with sliced hot dogs are a way my family will actually eat beans. You can also add fresh or chopped frozen onions and garlic for more flavor. Hot dogs are also super cheap and anytime you can use a meat/protein that is more of a flavoring you save money. If you cook the beans in an Instant Pot it’s a great money saver too.
You can get a popcorn maker for your microwave, then you can add your own toppings. It is wonderful we use it all the time.
I only eat turkey spam cuz I don’t eat pork but I love to slice it thin and fry it in a pan with an egg and throw it on bread with cheese
Pasta crab salad chop onion tomato green peppers mayo s&p really whatever you want in it it's amazing
I made a recipe with left over cooked potato dices. I froze and dehydrated a lot and had a pan of pots left. And added a can or two of my canned pinto beans . Taco or chili seasonings. Some Tom sauce . Meatless. I didn’t have hamburger . I made a delicious nice thick chili with chopped onion chopped green peppers, garlic, onion powder, which turned out to be the best tacoburgers , vegetarian. but not on purpose. The slow cooked pan full with pinto beans thickened so it stayed nicely on the bun. Add cheese too. I just didn’t have hamburger. I’m using this to tortillas for burritos or on Hamb buns, polish dogs. A kind of tamale pie with no meat. These were delicious. Not on purpose vegetarian Taco burgers, etc.
Fresh garlic makes such a wonderful difference in dishes.
Bet sardines would mix in well with sausage meat - for use in casseroles.
The sausage meat should cover up a lot of the sardine taste.
I do that with a can of chilli beans and put it in a burrito or put tater tots on top of chilli beans the kids love it!!
I’ve used imitation crab in a Louisiana Etoufee dish. Learned it at a cooking school in New Orleans. The instructor said to put a bit of eggshell into the dish, to fool people that it’s real crab!
I have an amazing Krab recipe.
First off , I’m sorry I cook the little bit of this, a little bit of that kind of way 😊
Sauté a whole bunch of mushrooms
Add chopped green onions and sauté as well
Add a pkg of Krab ( you can also add any seafood along with this or change it to another kind and sauté)
Add pkg of cream cheese till melted ( could use herb and garlic or other flavour as well)
Add medium sized container of half and half (18%) cream
Add salt and pepper to taste
Stir until thickened , it will thicken even more as it cools
Then make crepes
Add filling to crepes
Make a mild white cheese sauce to add when serving
sprinkle with paprika and parsley
It is heavenly, to the point where my uncle who owns a hotel in Croatia was visiting, and I made these , and they are now on his hotel’s dining menu 😮😊
Enjoy! *chef’s kiss*🤌😘
Crab salad. Just take the imitation crab dice it up add mayo and seasoning to taste. Eat on crackers or make sandwiches
Mm I like the idea of trying it on a ritz!
My favorite recipe with Spam is Spam fried rice. Cube spam up in small dices, fry in pan or wok. Then add day old cold rice, frozen peas and carrots. Fry with spam, add soy sauce and fry. Add scrambled egg if you like.
As for the popcorn, you can pop your own microwave popcorn. Use a brown paper lunch bag, a teaspoon of oil to kernels. Poor into bag and fold over top of bag. Pop just like microwave popcorn bag. It works great.
We've made it that way too! It's delicious
plain popcorn can be eaten like cereal with milk and honey or sugar
My favorite tofu recipe:
Sweet and Sour Tofu
14 to 16 oz. extra firm tofu, pressed
½ t salt
½ t garlic powder
ground black pepper
1 T cornstarch
1 T EVOO
½ pkg. slaw mix
1 red onion, halved horizontally and then cut pole to pole-to-pole
1 c chopped pineapple (~ ½ a pineapple)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 pieces ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
sesame oil
2 sticks green onion, sliced
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c ketchup
1.5 t kosher salt or 1 T soy sauce
1 c apple cider vinegar
Sauté in a flat-bottomed wok in a bit of oil each in turn: red onion, slaw mix, pineapple, and peppers.
Add ginger and garlic to wok with some sesame oil and sauté a bit.
Cut tofu into small cubes. Toss to coat with a mix of with the ½ t salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add cornstarch and toss to coat. Add 1 T oil and toss to coat. Add to a parchment-lined baking sheet and put in the oven and turn to 375oF. After 10 min. at this temperature, toss and then bake another 10 min.
Add brown sugar, ketchup, kosher salt, and cider vinegar to wok and bring to a boil.
Return to wok the cooked pineapple, red onion, slaw mix, and peppers, as well as the green onion. Heat until bubbling and heated through. Stir in crisped tofu.
Serve over rice,. Top with sesame seeds.
This tofu recipe is also good:
Tofu and Broccoli Stir-fry
15.5 oz. Trader Joe's organic sprouted extra firm tofu (or other firm tofu)
1 t sea salt
¼ t black pepper
½ t garlic powder
1 T cornstarch
1 T EVOO
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets and peeled stem pieces
3/4 c vegetable broth, divided
1 or 2 t sesame oil
a few shakes of red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 to 8 scallions, cut into 1/2” pieces on the diagonal
1 t grated ginger
¼ c soy sauce
1 T rice or apple cider vinegar
2 T maple syrup
toasted sesame seeds
Press tofu for 30 to 60 min. between paper towels and cut into bite-sized cubes.
In a medium sized bowl, combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add tofu and toss. Add cornstarch and toss. Add EVOO and toss.
Bake on parchment-lined baking sheet at 375oF until golden and crispy, turning once during cooking, about 20 to 30 min. total.
Heat sesame oil in a flat-bottomed wok over medium heat.
Add broccoli and ¼ c vegetable broth. Stir and then cover. Cook 3 to 5 min. and remove from the pan.
Add to pan, red pepper flakes, EVOO, ginger, garlic, and scallions and saute until scallions are cooked.
In a measuring cup with remaining broth, combine soy sauce, vinegar, and maple syrup.
Add tofu and soy sauce mixture and cook until thickened.
Add broccoli and cook until hot.
Serve over rice and topped with sesame seeds and sriracha.
Not a fan of Chinese based businesses. China is not our friend. On the other hand, I love your channel. Thank you
My son will eat tofu if I top it with a peanut sauce (easily made with pantry ingredients: PB, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic and warm water to thin out).
I make a similar lentil soup, but I add barley to it, which makes it hearty and more stew like (DH is not a big broth fan). Barley is another low cost pantry ingredient.
Dry beans are soooo easy to pressure can! I make my own cowboy beans with pintos! My son loves them.
I also jar and vacuum seal my own 15 beans soup mix. It's cheaper than the single bags.
Open face Spam salad sandwiches.
Toast hamburger buns.
Chop spam with onions,sweet pickles, mayonnaise and shredded cheddar. Spoon onto toasted buns and pop under the broiler to melt the cheese
My mom used to put Spam in her macaroni salad. Make your salad however you usually would, and then cut the Spam in small cubes and stir it in. It's surprisingly good!
I’m can see this!!!
My mom always put ground beef or ground turkey in baked beans. We had them over rice. Delish!!
One of my favorite meals is to put a little oil in a pan ..dice up some potatoes and spam about the same size and cook till the potatoes start to soften..add a chopped onion and continue to cook until the potatoes and spam are browned..top with grated cheddar cheese and pop. A lid on until the cheese melts..oh add salt and pepper too . yummy
Great video so many good tips, I love lentils they make a good sloppy joe, for people who are not big fans of lentils. You can also add quinoa to any ground meats as a fill also to make meat stretch more.
Your meals reminded me of my Bucia’s on my Mom’s side, cooking and my Dad’s mother, my Grandmother of German decent. It was helpful and also heartwarming….. both lived and grew up during depression, and cook extremely well, but could also stretch a meal and funds…… ❤️
Aw I love that this brings back those memories❤️ so special
Slice your Spam and fry it up aittle crispy. With scrambled eggs and toast or biscuits its awesome. A great alternative to bacon or sausage. Its also good fried with pineapple and served over rice. We even fry it and make sandwiches with tomatoes and mayo. Yummy!
Thanks Maria! As far as Ramen Noodles, when our kids were little, they loved them with a couple of eggs mixed in and cooked, with most of the water drained before. Then each would add as much seasoning as they wanted. Now with eggs expensive... it's still a pretty cheap meal!
You can use lentils and barley mix to mimicking ground beef
Make 7mares fish stew , that includes mussels and clams and lobster and shrimp 🦐 and scallops in a tomato and chicken broth,it also has leganza
We just made the Lentil Soup,and I added cubed cooked chicken because I all ready had it, and its fantastic. Ty.
Oh I do eat rotisserie chicken occasionally. Why have I never made broth from the carcass! Such good recipes! Glad I found you.
Yay! I’m glad I shared an idea you can use!
Ideas for KRAB ....seafood salad sandwich, in Ramen with frozen stir fry veg & some shredded cabbage, seafood Benedict, Buddha bowls with soy, dipped in cocktail sauce with cheese, crackers for a picky plate.
@MWM Off topic but that’s a gigantic bag of peppercorns you were pouring from into the temu grinder 🙋🏻♀️🙆🏻♀️✔️
😅 Amazon 🤷♀️
Imitation crab mixed with helmans Mayo and celery. It makes a good salad. Food City in TN makes in the deli. It’s fantastic
We like to throw tofu into soup, especially ramen soup. We throw in whatever veggies we have, leftover meat etc. Also, deep fried with a dipping sauce. I like it fried in hot chili oil and eggs.
A friend of mine made some deep fried tofu last weekend and it was amazing! Ben loved it too!!
🤤🤤
Homemade microwave popcorn. Buy kernels and put in a brown lunch bag with some oil and cook in the microwave
I'm 50... Soon to be 51.. was basically a single mom..lived and learned, by the time you order take out.. or even order and pick it up... you can have it cooked and be eating at a fraction of the time and money
I use an old-school stove top pressure cooker to cook dried beans, works great!
A slice of fried spam and eggs instead of bacon, chopped spam with mixed frozen veggies and rice all quick and inexpensive. I’ve made with imitation crab is a hot cheese and artichoke dip, and a crab salad with celery,Mayo, green chilies and served it with crackers
I do not care for Tuna fish but found a good price on it so it is in my prepping pantry. The cans mixed in water or just oil can feed me in a pinch or 1 can once I. A while split between my three cats is a treat when they have run out of canned food and are just left with dry.
I also have several packages of Tuna either Lemon to make Tuna Cakes in addition to the other canned meats, PB, shelf stable Tofu, other canned fish in my " alternative protein drawer " in my prepping we piping pantry. Do not fear bags of lentils, all types of beans, quinoa are also in my pantry. We can not rely on just a t one food group for say protein but must look for less expensive options.
I smiled as I love Cottage Cheese, Fruit, topped with Granola or Cottage Cheese, Avocado, Salsa and Banana for breakfast .
So my memory is fuzzy on the details, there are likely some spices or something I am missing because I was pretty young. But when I was in grade school and my parents were really skimping after building the house, we used to have imitation crab a LOT, and we'd have it in warm tortillas and I LOVED it. I always got excited when I'd see it on the table for dinner. 😊
With chick peas and sweet potatoes I make chili as well. It just a switch up of the dry spices. Ahhh and here we see you are topping your potato with chili.
Yahhh!!! Beans and potatoes in general are sooo versatile!
I got a silicone popcorn popper for microwave. We pop with coconut oil and use the flavors you mentioned.
Awesome recipes ideas, thanks
You’re welcome!
I love temu! Everything I got I have been satisfied with. I got a lot of stocking stuffers there for Christmas.
I’m gonna be getting lots of Easter stuff from them!
@@MealsWithMaria yes definitely!
Could you please do a challenge for this series showing different ways to cook brown lentils?
When I was growing up we used to eat baked beans on toast. So good!
Sounds like a delicious memory ❤️
Just wanted to say I made the curry only used white potatoes. So good! Thank you!
Yayyy!!
Great cheap affordable staples to make meals and have extra leftovers too. For the lentils my favorite is making lentil burgers or black bean burgers in replacement of ground beef/turkey meat.
We make spam salad. Very similar to ham salad. Found up spam, sweet relish, diced onion and mayo. It's very yummy served cold on rolls or crackers.
Yummm! I absolutely love ham salad!
Great tips, Maria! Thank you. Lots of good ideas for stretching meals that I haven't considered. I appreciate your efforts and work!
Thank you for new ideas of things I already use in some ways. The only ones I don't use are the seafood (I don't like most) and tofu because I can't due to severe hormone imbalances which soy products make worse. My kids prefer popcorn from the stovetop.
Me too! My mom and dad loved any kind of fresh or canned seafood and I can’t stand either. No soy products for me also due to hormone imbalance.
Thanks for another great video. I love making black bean and sweet potato chili.
Mmmm so delicious!!
Don’t know if you’ve ever had pulled pork barbecue with coleslaw over a baked potato, it is so good. Everyone in my house loves Spam except my husband. Spam and rice, spam and eggs, a fried spam sandwich with mayo, tomato and cheese, yum!. The meals are endless with spam. I’d highly recommend the lower sodium spam. The original is so salty.
Add pasta to the crab dip
Oh yum!
My mom always used cottage cheese in her lasagna. I had no idea ricotta even existed until I moved away from home (clearly we are not Italian LOL)
Mine too.
SO many fantastic ideas for meals not relying solely on beef.. Excellent! ♥
To keep cilantro for weeks, keep it upright in a glass of water in the fridge.
I need to remember to do that!!
My favorite use for imitation crab is in fried rice. Also good fried in butter and herbs as a salad topper.
Remember to use the yard plant some food freeze for the winter
Just made a cabbage slaw....
Great video. I just found your channel not too long ago and have been binge watching them. I love tofu too and since the price of eggs have gone up I have been making tofu scramble for breakfast. I just use firm or extra firm, drain the water and press some of it out and break it up to make it look like scrambled eggs, I add a little turmeric to give it that egg color and other spices like onion and garlic powder and black pepper and any salt you use. For this I bought what’s called black salt or kala namak salt. It’s pink looking when ground and has a sulfer like taste that gives you the egg flavor. I’ll also add in sautéed pepper, onions, mushrooms, spinach, potatoes…the sky is the limit. Even salsa. I’ll make breakfast burritos with it or eat with toast. Really anything you would like. You can add cheese too. Tofu is so bland that it takes on any flavor. ALDIs has for cheap. I think less than $2 or $3 in my town and it makes a huge skillet of scrambled “eggs”. You can’t the difference especially if you use the black salt with it. You can find that on Amazon or probably ethnic shops. A little goes along way. I have also come across people using chickpea flour to make a liquid egg type thing and make egg cups you bake in muffin tins. Where they add like cheese and broccoli or other veggies. I have not tried this yet but want too.
Check the ingredient list on imitation krab, they are not all created equal, some brands do taste better than others. Dried cilantro is a flavorful addition to ramen noodles. I also love to quarter the frozen chicken cilantro wontons from Costco (and I think Sam's Club), add them with the noodles when cooking your ramen.
Imitation crab mixed with coleslaw on a bun. Make sure coleslaw has shredded cabbage in it.
That sounds refreshing!
Shredded carrots to coleslaw😝
Loved the video! Lentils are a big go-to for us. I usually put them in the crockpot and add sausage or pork rib cutlets. I love to use imitation crab in a pasta salad with tri-colored rotini. So pretty to look at and delicious. Keep up the great content.
WOW lots of great ideas! 😊👏 Im now armed and ready to tackle the dreaded budget! 💥 Love your "you can do it, so get to it" approach! 💪 TY 💖
I made the sweet potato skillet dish for dinner tonight and it was delicious!
I'm going to give Temu a try based on your recommendation. 'll let you know how it goes. I love your easy and affordable recipes.
Awesome! It’s hard to stop adding stuff to your cart because it’s so cheap!!! I really liked what I got too 😀
Whipped cottage cheese makes a great sub for dips. We make a buffalo one and a garlic herb one, way cheaper than the cream cheese, sour cream, and other stuff that is normally mixed together. We use it was cut veggies, chips, and crackers. My husband typically eats spam and eggs, and spam ketchup fried rice. My idea on tofu is not to use it as a meat substitute but to allow it to be its own thing. There are tons of asian dishes that use it including desserts.
I was wondering what to have for dinner tonight and you appeared. Sweet potato/chili topper, with the fixers on top. I have it all so no money spent today. 💃💃💃💃
Yay! That is definitely one of my go to pantry meals!
@@MealsWithMaria forgot to mention that I went immediately to Temu and got the app and then proceeded to spend $75. Not sure to thank you or not. 😊🤔
I have been thinking of the oil spritzer! Does it spray easily?
It does, but I found it’s a direct stream vs a wide spray. I think just depends what you’re looking for!
@@MealsWithMaria ty!!! I appreciate your time!!!💙