With inflation at its highest level since the 1970's many Americans are feeling the pinch and some people on a fixed budget are even facing the choice of eating or not eating. I truly feel sorry for America's college kids or seniors who have nothing but social security to live on. While most of us are concerned mainly with eating well these people are sometimes left wondering if they will eat two or just one meal per day.
With that in mind I'm starting the eating cheap in America (or any where) thread to help people on tight budgets still eat and sometimes even eat well. The goal is to get everyone to post tips or recipes for meals so that people can eat, or even eat well, for as little money as possible. So let's kick it off with our cheap eats recipes!
How does $5 for a two person meal of carnitas tacos sound? You'll get about three tacos per person (maybe more) and you'll leave the table full. Hand made corn tortillas from a Mexican market $1 for three dozen, "country style pork shoulder" used to make mexican style shredded pork $1 for two pounds of pork if you buy the stuff which is about to expire and so is on special (even if you aren't lucky enough to get the stuff on special it's still only about $2 per pound full price), kosher salt (pounds of it for about $1 but most people have salt in their pantry so it doesn't cost anything), some fresh celantro & 1 onion & 1 cabbage & 1 garlic about $2 at any farmers market and you can probably get it cheaper. Lastly a can of refried beans for about $0.75.
Put the two pounds of pork shoulder in a pan with about 1/3 of a cup of kosher sea salt then add in enough water to cover the pork. Let the pork shoulder simmer until virtually all the water is gone then let it keep cooking so that the pork shoulder browns, turn the pork frequently so that it browns evenly. When you hear it sizzling then it is just about done. At that point the pork should be just about falling off the bone and it will flake into pieces easily using just a fork. Chop up your onions, garlic, and celantro and toss them in the pan. Mix things thoroughly and break up the pork shoulder so that it looks just like shredded pork; remove any bones. You may want to save the bones so that you can add it to any soup stock you would like to make later.
At this point things should be smelling very good with the onions, garlic, and cilantro all mixing in with the salted pork so push all of that to one side of the pan, open the can of beans, and heat the beans up in the pan. It should only take a minute or two. Turn off the stove and load up your tortillas to make some very nice tacos or if you want toast the tortillas on the stove then load them up. If you have any grease left in the pan it is nice to dip the tortillas in the grease and then toast them so that the tortilla gets infused with the flavors. Chops some of that cabbage up and use it as a garnish. Very good stuff. For about $0.50 extra you can buy 5 dried hot peppers which you can turn into a nice hot sauce (soak the peppers, boil them for 10 minutes, add some of your onion & garlic, a bit of olive oil, and then puree it all in a food processor. Maybe add a bit of the water you boiled the peppers in if the sauce is to thick).
All in all a great meal for two people for about $5.
With that in mind I'm starting the eating cheap in America (or any where) thread to help people on tight budgets still eat and sometimes even eat well. The goal is to get everyone to post tips or recipes for meals so that people can eat, or even eat well, for as little money as possible. So let's kick it off with our cheap eats recipes!
How does $5 for a two person meal of carnitas tacos sound? You'll get about three tacos per person (maybe more) and you'll leave the table full. Hand made corn tortillas from a Mexican market $1 for three dozen, "country style pork shoulder" used to make mexican style shredded pork $1 for two pounds of pork if you buy the stuff which is about to expire and so is on special (even if you aren't lucky enough to get the stuff on special it's still only about $2 per pound full price), kosher salt (pounds of it for about $1 but most people have salt in their pantry so it doesn't cost anything), some fresh celantro & 1 onion & 1 cabbage & 1 garlic about $2 at any farmers market and you can probably get it cheaper. Lastly a can of refried beans for about $0.75.
Put the two pounds of pork shoulder in a pan with about 1/3 of a cup of kosher sea salt then add in enough water to cover the pork. Let the pork shoulder simmer until virtually all the water is gone then let it keep cooking so that the pork shoulder browns, turn the pork frequently so that it browns evenly. When you hear it sizzling then it is just about done. At that point the pork should be just about falling off the bone and it will flake into pieces easily using just a fork. Chop up your onions, garlic, and celantro and toss them in the pan. Mix things thoroughly and break up the pork shoulder so that it looks just like shredded pork; remove any bones. You may want to save the bones so that you can add it to any soup stock you would like to make later.
At this point things should be smelling very good with the onions, garlic, and cilantro all mixing in with the salted pork so push all of that to one side of the pan, open the can of beans, and heat the beans up in the pan. It should only take a minute or two. Turn off the stove and load up your tortillas to make some very nice tacos or if you want toast the tortillas on the stove then load them up. If you have any grease left in the pan it is nice to dip the tortillas in the grease and then toast them so that the tortilla gets infused with the flavors. Chops some of that cabbage up and use it as a garnish. Very good stuff. For about $0.50 extra you can buy 5 dried hot peppers which you can turn into a nice hot sauce (soak the peppers, boil them for 10 minutes, add some of your onion & garlic, a bit of olive oil, and then puree it all in a food processor. Maybe add a bit of the water you boiled the peppers in if the sauce is to thick).
All in all a great meal for two people for about $5.
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