Easy-to-live meals on a low budget
Whether the food is poor or not, this dish is one of those memories that remains etched in my mind. It's been over 40 years since I last took it, and I can still taste it."
If you think about it, you can probably imagine (and maybe even taste) the "survival meal" you once relied on, whether it's something comfortable to turn to when times were tough or a cheap but satisfying recipe for those nights before payday payday. Well, a Reddit user recently sparked a nostalgic discussion when he said he revived a "poverty meal" from his childhood, so people rushed to share their survival meals – here are some of the best responses.
1. Pizza bread
This meal was simple: bread (toasted if we want to have a good taste) with a cheap tomato sauce, large cheese, and a few slices of pepperoni, and then grilled until the cheese melted. "Now that my father is gone, this is dinner on his birthday," one said.
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2. Barley, lentils and chopped residues
One reader said: "I am British and I was raised in the seventies by a Welsh mother who was not wasting anything. We had a meat grinder, we would grind anything we didn't eat for the grilled Sunday meal and add it to the pot with barley, lentils and any leftover vegetables, and shortly before serving the food my mother would add dumplings to it. It was amazing.
3. Chicken Parmesan
It is frozen chicken pieces on pasta with preju sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Mac with cheese and hot dog
One said: "My mom called this dish 'Penny & Cheese'! I didn't know others had already eaten the same meal!
5. Hamburger soup
This meal was basically a way to use the last vegetables in the fridge before they went bad. Brown some minced meat, add onions, garlic and any pieces of vegetables, then season to taste. Cover the soup with water or frozen chicken broth, and add herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Add a little barley or pasta at the end.
6. Papas Kon Chorizu
Dices of boiled potatoes, scrambled with eggs and chorizo.
7. Tomato sandwiches made with tomatoes, mayonnaise, peppers and white bread only
This is a delicious meal. It's unreasonably good for what it is. It is pepper that does the job.
8. Paulownia coils
When we were young, my brother and I used to make bologna rolls using fried bologna and scrambled eggs," one said. We would wrap the bologna around the eggs a few times and then eat them.
9. Pasta with canned tomatoes
Another said: "My mother finds it disgusting that my brother (who is over fifty now) and I still love eating a plate of regular pasta and canned stewed tomatoes from time to time. We used to eat these foods a lot growing up.
10. Red beans with rice
One of them says: "Red beans and rice. Cook bacon, some sausages, some beans, rice and spices, and you'll get a great deal of a good meal that can feed you for days.
11. Toast with butter and sugar
One said: "Mix a little sugar and cinnamon together. Then bring buttered toast and sprinkle with sugar mixture. It's good for satisfying your cravings for sweets when there's nothing else available at home.
12. Pasta with milk
The Bulgarian poverty meal that was a staple food in my house when I was a child was pasta cooked in warm milk sweetened with sugar (and vanilla if available), and then covered with some crumbly salted cheese," said one reader from Bulgaria. And the sweet and salty taste was really great. We would take any leftover pasta and put it in a baking dish with milk and sugar with an egg and bake it.
13. Salmon pancakes
One said: "Salmon pancakes. When we were young, my siblings and I didn't realize that salmon or tuna pies were a difficult meal to prepare. I still make it several times a month. In fact, my mother makes a quick amount of them when the family is at home during Christmas because they are so delicious.
14. Hot and open-faced turkey
Take a slice of toast, add a layer of leftover mashed potatoes, some turkey steaks, and a spoonful of simple sauce (chicken broth, water, cornstarch," one said. Serve hot with a side dish of canned green beans for added flavor.
15. Tuna Mix with Mac
Given the cost of everything, I would prioritize making sure the pantry was cleaned and not shopping unless absolutely necessary," one said. I decided to make some tuna and mac for lunch, and honestly, it was delicious. I've added some flavor more than my mom did, but it still gives me fond memories and success. It's literally tuna mixed with canned mac & cheese. There is no crispy topping, no need to bake it. It is a meal in one pot on the stove. This version on the fireplace generates a really great atmosphere.
16. Mexico sauce
I was making something similar to the seven-tier dish but I was baking it in a casserole dish. My kids used to call it "Mexico sauce." The bottom layer consists of marinated fried beans. The second layer is rice (I generally use leftover Spanish rice). Then comes any meat you have in the fridge already cooked (ground beef, leftover roast chicken, leftover beef, etc.) seasoned with spices, enchilada sauce or taco seasoning. The next layer is vegetables (such as: rutile, pico de gallo or canned diced tomatoes, chili). And the last layer is cheese. Bake at 350 ° F until the cheese starts browning and bubbles. Serve with tortilla chips to dip or wrap in corn tortillas.
17. Rice porridge and chicken
"Rice porridge and chicken. Bring some rice, cook it with cheap chicken pieces, and then boil it until it turns into porridge. Add salt and pepper, remove the chicken bones, and stir until the rice and chicken are combined. The dish looks terrible, but it's very convenient to eat in the winter.
18. Rice and egg dish
Finally, one commenter wrote: "My mother was cooking a dish called rice and eggs. I recently asked her for the recipe for this dish, and she laughed, wondering why I wanted to make sure the dish was good. She was only offering it because times were tough. I remember a frying pan and cooked rice and my mom mixing it with scrambled eggs. The dish was like creamy rice, almost like risotto but more cohesive. Whether the food is bad or not, this dish is one of those memories that took root in my mind. It's been over 40 years since I took it and I can still taste it.
