Difficult moments happen in the life of every family. We will not consider conflicts or problems with raising children - this is from another section. However, financial difficulties overtake many, and women begin to remember or look for recipes for which you can cook economical dishes for every day. It’s a pity to feed the family constantly with empty noodles or buckwheat porridge , and the household will rebel sooner or later. So our article is for those who are temporarily deprived of the opportunity to buy diverse and expensive products, and they appreciate and wish to preserve peace and good mood in the house.
Basic Savings
Those people who still remember their turbulent student years (especially if they were spent in a hostel) know how to save money.
So, before you start collecting frugal recipes, review your shopping schedule. It has long been noticed that one who purchases food on the way from work spends much more money than one who does it once a week. People bought at random spend more money (often on unnecessary ones) than strictly following the list.
And finally, the store near the house will ruin you more than a supermarket. So if you are interested in economical cuisine for every day, start by compiling a list of the most necessary. Don't give up your weekend shopping trip. And in no case be tempted by anything that is not included in the compiled list.
Saving on meat
Most people can’t do without meat dishes . However, spending the same pork can be done in different ways. Thrifty meat dishes for every day involve the use of the purchased piece in several dishes. For example, chicken wings or legs are boiled, soup is made from the broth, and they themselves are fried in the second or cut into a salad. It is better not to let the pork slice on the chops - tasty, but at one time.
There are simple recipes for every day, as a result of which the dishes will be much larger in volume: make minced meat, and cutlets from it. Even better - meatballs: from mixing with rice, their number will double. And the ideal option is to stick dumplings on your own.
How to replace sausage in sandwiches
Without sandwiches, life sometimes becomes sad. Children take them with them to school, and adults take them to work. In this case, there are also recipes for the thrifty housewife. If the family has not yet completely tightened the belt and you can buy a piece of meat, bake it and cut it cold into bread. If this product is in trouble, pay attention to another alternative: soak the most common bagels (it would be nice in milk, but the water will come off), put them on a greased oven sheet and put some filling in each hole (for example, mashed potatoes, which is grated a little cheese, and a little mayonnaise is put on top). After 10 minutes of baking in the oven, the pseudo-sandwiches are ready.
The first benefit for the budget
Your economical daily recipes must include soups. In addition to the fact that they are recommended by all doctors for the stomach, the benefit will be for the wallet. As already noted, broth meat can be processed for use in the second, and in extreme cases, prepare a decoction of either very cheap bones (or chicken paws), or just vegetables. Soup pots last two days.
Casseroles - the choice of a lean hostess
The simplest example is the need to feed the baby with cottage cheese. When baking cheese cakes, it will take much more than if you use economical recipes.
Alternatively - mix the cottage cheese with an equal amount of semolina and egg and bake the mass in the oven. An alternative recipe is to cook pasta, add cottage cheese with an egg, chopped apples and sugar. For adults, you can make a dish that completely replaces dinner: lay on the baking sheet between layers of mashed potatoes fried mushrooms or the mentioned minced broth meat.
Casseroles are very economical dishes. For each day, you can come up with something new from what you find in the refrigerator.
Meatless cutlets
Cooking cutlets is much more profitable than chops. But even here, a reasonable housewife can save a certain amount of money. Take on board the following recipes for every day dishes in which cutlets are made from vegetables:
- Slaw cabbage is quickly stewed with the addition of semolina (about two tablespoons per head). When the mass has cooled, an egg is driven in, cutlets are molded and fried in vegetable oil. They are especially good with sour cream.
- Three onions are chopped very finely (neither a meat grinder nor a blender will work - you get a lot of juice), combine with four tablespoons of Herculean grits and two eggs. Stuffing is mixed, from which meatballs like fritters are fried.
Potato fantasies
The most satisfying, and at the same time economical recipes of dishes for every day most often include this beloved by many tuber. Simple mashed potatoes look quite lonely on the table, so the following ideas can be realized:
1. Potatoes of about the same size are selected, peeled (not with a knife, but with a stiff brush), laid out on a greased sheet and cut with a cross. The baking sheet goes to the oven for half an hour. During this time, each tuber will unfold with a flower and brown. “Roses” are laid out on a dish, a small piece of butter is placed in the middle, everything is sprinkled with dill on top. If there are pleasant additions (cheese, bacon, mushrooms, ham), very good. No - and so delicious.
2. Cut the potatoes into circles, put in the form, salt, pepper, season, pour in milk and lightly crush with cheese. After half an hour spent in the oven, potatoes will delight the whole family.
3. A kilo of potato rubs on a coarse grater, mixed with three raw eggs, salt and pepper. It is laid out exactly in a frying pan with heated oil, covered with a lid. When the potato is fried from below, it is cut into quarters and turned over. Turns red and on the second hand - it’s time to eat.
What to make from pasta
Everyone knows the recipe "in the navy", we will not dwell on it. We already talked about pasta casserole, let’s skip it too. Simple recipes for every day are not limited to these two. You can make pasta "in Afghan": cook them, separately prepare the frying from onions. When the latter turns brown, grate the tomatoes onion, stew, squeeze the garlic. The most interesting thing is the presentation: the plate is smeared with mayonnaise, pasta is placed on it, and on top is a spoon of dressing. Tasty, cheap and cheerful!
Another way to diversify your pasta menu is to combine noodles with toasted vegetables. It will turn out almost a Chinese dish. And you can take almost any vegetables - add Bulgarian pepper, cauliflower, mushrooms, green beans, peas, corn to the usual frying ... Of course, such a dish will be cheaper, most likely, in the summer and autumn, but it’s worth taking a note.
Salads - on the table!
Economical dishes for every day can be successfully supplemented with a variety of salads. And you won’t need expensive ingredients! Zealous housewives highly recommend a recipe called “Anti-Crisis”: a pack of “quick” noodles is steamed. After softening, it is filtered off and crushed. Two chopped boiled eggs, one onion and grated carrot are added to it. All this is seasoned with mayonnaise and serves as a pleasant addition to the same potatoes or casserole. You can modify the recipe: add grated cheese to the same noodles (if you really save money, take processed), mayonnaise and garlic.
You can make a fish salad. If you buy the cheapest that is on the shelves - pollock, then the food will quite fall into the category of "Recipes for thrifty housewives." In addition to fish, you also need a head of cabbage. It must be finely chopped, salted and quickly boiled so that it crunches and does not spill. In another pan of water, a spoonful of salt is poured without a slide, 1 tsp. sugar, 0.5 tbsp vinegar, parsley, spices and a few drops of vegetable oil. When everything boils, pollock is laid and cooked until cooked. Dismantled fish pieces are combined with cabbage, seasoned with mayonnaise and herbs. It tastes like squid salad, but much cheaper.
In winter, you can also cook such a salad: cut into cubes five cooked potatoes, chop the onion, add sauerkraut, season and pour everything with sunflower oil. If you indulge in billets, you can add a pickle. With rye bread and potatoes, even meat is not required.
These are recipes that can be used at any time of the year. And in the season it is necessary to lean on vegetables especially actively - they are inexpensive, there are many options for combinations, and they bring benefits, as everyone knows.
A variety of pancakes
In recipes for main dishes for every day, which are still inexpensive, you can include those described below.
Liver pancakes are prepared by many, and their analog can be prepared from the cheapest fish. To do this, 400 g of boneless fillet is finely chopped or passed through a meat grinder. A chopped large onion, an egg, half a glass of flour and half a tube of mayonnaise (about 100 g) are laid there. The mass is salted and pepper at discretion. Stir to a pasty state. Pancakes are fried, as usual.
Oatmeal pancakes are also good: a glass of cereal is poured with the same volume of milk; how it swells - introduce two yolks, salt and finely grated carrots (its amount depends on your attitude to this root crop). Then flour is poured - how much dough will take to get the right consistency. Last of all, whipped squirrels are kneaded - and with a spoon in a frying pan.
Draniki are well known to many. Much less housewives have heard about buckwheat, which makes life easier during the financial crisis. They are prepared simply: cereals are boiled, combined with eggs, herbs and a small amount of flour. The dish bakes in the same way as any other pancakes, and is eaten quickly and with pleasure!