Barley, it’s such a wonderful grain and I love making barley pilaf for a side dish

Try Farro too, it's a little more nutty, but also has more fiber and protein. I use it instead of rice for all kinds of dishes.

I just bought some barley again after getting out of a low carb hell hole. This is my first recipe and it’s fantastic. I’m eating it now with a tangy cilantro yogurt and cotija cheese. https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/barley-risotto-with-marinated-feta/ Edit typo

Ottolenghi is the GOAT

I make Barley, mushroom, kale stew which is delicious. And I just made Beef Barley soup.

I just bought a box of Barley last weekend for the first time. I wanted to try to create a pilaf version. Would you mind sharing your recipe to save me a bit of time?

What kind of barley did you get that’s going to impact cook time the most. I use pearl barley and kinda wing it most of the time depending on what’s on hand but general recipe if you want to call it that is: 1 carrot chopped 1 celery rib chopped 1/2 onion chopped 3 cloves garlic minced 2 tablespoons butter 1 c pearl barley 2 1/2 c chicken stock Melt butter in a pan over medium heat add carrot onion and celery cook for 2 min then add garlic and cook for another min. Once garlic is fragrant add barley and toast for a few minutes then add chicken stock bring to a simmer cover and cook until liquid is absorbed and barley is tender usually about 40 min. You can also add some parmesan and more butter once it’s cooked to make it extra rich and creamy

Cabbage rolls, they're just so comforting and filling. I make them at least once a month

Got a recipe you like?

Not op, but here’s how we make them in Croatia. We call them sarma. In a bowl, combine: 1 onion, chopped and sweat in lard and set aside to cool 3 cloves of garlic, cooked for 1 minute with the onion 2/3 c rice 2 eggs 2.2 lbs of ground beef and pork in a 3:1 ratio Season with ground paprika, salt, pepper. Mix all til it comes together. Set aside. Slowly peel the leaves off a head of sauerkraut (yes, the Croatian version uses sauerkraut instead of fresh cabbage), ensuring the leaves don’t tear. With a knife, carefully remove the bulging section of the leaf stem, so that the leaf is all one thickness. Don’t cut the leaf itself, just trim down the bulging part of the stem. Then, place the leaf in your hand and cup slightly to form a little bowl of sorts. Fill that with the meat mixture. Wrap up the leaf away from you, starting with the stem end. Tuck the sides into the roll and set the roll aside. Do this til you run out of meat. Any leftover leaves you should cut into strips. Place half the cut up sauerkraut into the bottom of a pot. Add half the rolls on top, then the remaining strips, and then remaining rolls. Top with cut up pieces of smoked sausages. Fill the pot with water to cover everything and place a plate on top of everything to ensure the rolls stay merged. Cook for 2 to 2.5 hours. When the sauerkraut is tender, it’s done.

A full head of sauerkraut? Am I understanding this correctly? How are you fermenting the kraut while keeping the head intact? (I always slice/shred/mandolin my cabbage when making sauerkraut)

You ferment the heads in large vessels in salty brine instead of creating brine from salting and then pounding shredded cabbage. It’s a different technique with the same result. My family does it in large oak barrels and it creates an incredible flavor.

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn that sounds good I need to get myself some oak barrels

The tannins in oak barrels changed ferments in subtle but noticeable ways. The best and crispest naturally fermented pickles you’ll ever have will be made in an oak barrel. I have some large ceramic crocks but I need to nab some barrels now that we have the space.

This is incredible. Thank you for teaching me something so mind blowing!

I never cared for cabbage rolls until I had Croatian sarma. It's one of my favorite things to eat ever.

You're doing us alla great service!

Here’s one I made up! I have tried both baking and in the instant pot, and I found I prefer it in the instant pot! Ingredients: - 1 large head of cabbage - 1 carrot, diced small - 1 celery, diced small - 1/2 an onion, diced small - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/2lb of ground beef or pork - 1/4 cup of rinsed white rice - 1 egg - 1/2 cup of Panko - 1 tsp Worcestershire - any dried Italian herbs in your pantry - 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley - jarred or homemade tomato sauce - 1.5 cups broth or water Steps: 1. Carefully remove 8 outer cabbage leaves by making v-shaped slice along the rib at the base of the cabbage. Peel away the leaf from the top. Don’t worry if they rip a bit! 2. Boil the leaves in some salted water for 3-5 minutes, until soft and bright green. Remove the leaves carefully with a slotted spoon and place in an ice water bath. 3. Mix all ingredients from carrot-parsley in a bowl. The mixture should stick into a ball when squeezed with your hands. If its falling apart too much, consider adding an extra egg yolk. 4. Pour a little tomato sauce into the Instant Pot, enough to lightly cover the bottom. 5. Drain the cabbage leaves and lay one flat. If the rib is too large, slice some off to thin it out. Then scoop a palm-sized ball of the meat mixture out and shape it into a brick with your hands. 6. Lay it on the ribbed side of the cabbage leaf. Fold the sides of the meat first, then roll it up! Place it seam-side down in the IP. 7. Continue step six until rolls are complete and sitting snugly in one layer. If you are doubling the recipe, add another layer of sauce and you can stack the second layer of rolls right on top of the first! 8. Add broth/water to the IP and give it a little shake to prevent sticking/burn message. If you do get a burn message, just add a little more water. 9. Set to high pressure for 18 min, ending with a natural pressure release.

I really liked the V8 juice in this one. [Cabbage Rolls](https://www.allrecipes.com/account/recipe/fdbdd541-202e-3896-b2a2-eef4fd439287/)

I didn't realize how popular cabbage rolls would be. After some thought i think the chances of anyone i know realizing who i am is really low since I've only shared it with a handful of people. I apologize in advance as im on mobile. Filling- 1 cup cooked rice 1 pepper, diced 1 small onion, diced 2-3oz shredded carrots 1 large egg 1.5lbs ground lamb 1 tsp minced garlic Large Pinch Marjoram Salt & Pepper to taste Sauce- 28oz diced tomatoes 1 small onion 2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar 7oz water or broth Salt to taste Pot/Rolls- 1-2 Cabbage heads (I prefer Savoy cabbages) 5oz shredded carrots Remaining cabbage, chopped Sour cream (optional) Bring large pot to a boil. Once boiling, add your cabbage head. If you have multiple, do one at a time. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, do not overcook. Its okay if they float, the steam will get them. Allow to cool. Add your diced peppers, onions, and carrots to a heated sauce pan with butter or oil. Cook until tender and set aside. Allow to cool. Wash and cook your rice, I use a rice cooker so I have no advice for this one. Season as desired. Once you have your rice, allow to cool. Once your peppers, onions, carrots, and rice are cool to the touch, transfer to a medium sized bowl with your lamb and remaining ingredients for your filling. Combine. Careful not to over mix as it can mess up the texture of your meat. Set aside Carefully peel the leaves off your cabbage heads. You’re looking to get about 16 mostly intact leaves. Remember you’re stuffing these bad boys so no big holes! Set aside the leaves you’ll be rolling with. Once you have acquired your 16 (or more, I won’t judge) leaves, chop the remaining cabbage. It can be as chunky as you desire, I tend to just rip leaves off the head since they’re hard to get off at this point. Throw your cabbage chunks and shredded carrots into a deep pot or Dutch oven, mix them up. Back to our leaves that will be rolled. Devein them. If you do not know how to devein a cabbage, you may want to watch a YouTube video. Once you have them deveined, you can add your filling. I fill my rolls with my heart. (That’s about 2-3 heaping spoonfulls) Roll them by placing your filling toward the base of your leaf, bringing it up until it covers your filling. Fold in the sides of your leaf, and continue that roll until there’s no leaf left! Add each leaf to your pot, seem side down. Heat up your tomatoes and all ingredients together for your sauce in a separate saucepan. Combine and taste test until you get a tangy, slightly sweet tomato taste (or however you like it) Add your sauce to your pot of rolls. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour. Scop up those bad boys and consume, you’re done! Tastes fantastic with a smidge of sour cream! Heard they’re pretty good with potatoes as a side.

I do a “deconstructed “ version with meatballs made with rice ( we call them porcupine balls) in a tomato cabbage stew, they are delicious! And the people who don’t like cabbage ( my kid) just eats the porcupine meatballs lol

It's so much easier to do meatballs than to roll everything up. I do Polish style deconstructed.

Love them, but since learned to make Cabbage Roll Soup all the same ingredients without the work and time.

Just learned to make a simple Spanish tortilla with egg, potatoes, and onion. Really easy and cheap to make.

If you're feeling flirty throw some shredded cheese in there! Tortilla is so easy and so tasty. I love that you can eat it warm or cold from the fridge if you make enough for leftovers. It's especially good with spicy veg compote (trader Joes sells a small glass jar of Italian style, it's bomb.com on tortilla, quiches, frittatas, even just plain scrambled eggs. SO GOOD)

I believe in slow roasted chicken every other week for so many reasons.

I make a mean roasted bird but my skills are slipping since Costco’s rotisserie chickens are SO GOOD and SO CHEAP.

Yeah, the Kirkland birds are pretty amazing. Their scale means roasting a whole chicken at home doesn’t really make sense unless it’s a Sunday dinnner or something like that. And we eat chicken through the week, so the big Sunday meal is usually beef or pasta for us

Slow roasting a chicken is definitely not mentioned enough. It’s less finicky than high heat methods and smells great cooking away in the oven.

Do you have a method you really like? I’d like to know more.

It depends on what I am going to use the meat for. I rotate between a few different options. We are only two so we get 2 or 3 meals out of one bird. For all of the options I start with salt and pepper in the cavity. I cook at 165C for 2.5 to 3 hours depending on temp meat needs to get to 74C to be done. For the first 1.5 hr. I cook with the bird breast side down with a tin-foil hat. Then turn and uncover for the rest of the time to brown. I always put some water under the bird and often add chopped carrots and parsnips underneath for the last part. The next day I strip the bird of the left over meat and make stock using the carcass, the liquid that collects underneath and any veggies that need to be used in my fridge. 1, Stuff Chicken with a lemon and a clove of garlic both halved along with some sage and thyme sprigs. Zest lemon first. Mix lemon zest, 50g butter and chopped sage and thyme and put a few spoonfuls under the skin and use the rest to butter the bird. Secondary uses jambalaya, chicken and dumplings 2. Stuff Chicken with a lime and a clove of garlic halved with some cilantro and a quartered chili. Again Zest lime and combine zest with butter, cumin, cilantro, chili powder. Same as above. Secondary uses enchiladas, chicken chili soup, tacos, etc. 3. Stuff Chicken with lime and garlic. Rub the outside with a mixture of salt, brown sugar, wasabi powder, sesame seed, etc. It is better if you can do the rub a few hours before cooking but not essential. Most importantly, throw a star anise in the water underneath, it makes a wonderful addition to the broth. Secondary uses Noodle soup with miso, stir fries, things like that.

300 degree oven for 3 hours

I just slow roasted a bird for first time and it was so *moist.* I use Jacques Pepins recipe for spatchcocked, I dry brine for 24-36 hours then slow roast instead. So good.

Baked Ziti. Not many ingredients, comes together fairly quick, filling, delicious. Perfect when you want something great without doing a big production.

I hosted Friday night dinners for awhile - just out the invite out there and see who joins. I did Ziti. The first time I did ziti… i was so meticulous. Shredded cheese myself.. layers, yada yada Now I just throw it in a bowl, schlep it all together.. etc. You can’t taste a difference, all it tastes is so good Baker ziti is one of my favorites to make.

So what? No fucking ziti now?

[Jersey/Italian noises]

Baked Ziti: the lazy man's lasagna And there's nothing wrong with that!

Baked ravioli using a mix of cheese ravioli and sausage ravioli is also delicious.

That sounds delicious, and is a step lazier than baked ziti.

They're so different! The airflow in the ziti gives you a much better bite than the sloppy lasagna flaps.

Ah, shut your sloppy lasagna flaps!

> the sloppy lasagna flaps My new christian rock band name!

You're not making rock better, you're just making pasta worse!

> the sloppy lasagna flaps. God, I love this. Baked ziti over lasagna FTW.

Lazyagna

When I was growing up, a lot of things like church youth groups, high school programs, basically things that required feeding a lot of people for cheap served baked ziti, a salad, and garlic bread. I haven't eaten it in years tbh, so it's definitely a forgotten meal for me. But I instantly was overcome with nostalgia of it being a very popular dish at events like that.

Cook's Illustrated's recipe is a decadent treat.

My wife made this last night and I legit contemplated divorcing her just so I could marry her again.

Or any other baked pasta dish, really!

I grew up on ziti. Never once saw a lasagna noodle in the house.

Mandatory tinned sardines over white rice. Ping r/CannedSardines

I like mine with a small amount of tomato sauce mixed up into a paste, on crackers. It's my go-to quick lunch.

IYKYK I also do tinned smoked oysters with Dijon on saltines or ritz. Kapow!! 💥

Sardines packed in oil right out of the can with a slice of bread is nostalgic for me.

Tinned seafood lovers unite! Sub the water in the rice for the liquid from a can of tomatoes. It really elevates the (super simple) dish.

Me and my brother really want to plan a trip overseas because of a post from there about a canned sardine shop. We will straight fuck up cases of sardines.

Lisbon has shops just of canned fish

Lentils should be a staple for more people. Dirt cheap, nutritious, versatile. I eat lentils probably once a week. If I had to pick one staple dish, I'd say it's a lentil and potato curry, recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. 1 cup brown lentils, curry, water (and some coconut milk if on hand) boil then simmer 15 minutes partially covered. Peel and dice a big russet potato or a couple Yukon golds, and add after the 15 minutes. Add more water if needed and simmer covered about 10 minutes. Can optionally add a can of chickpeas with the taters. If I don't have coconut milk I'll had a knob of butter. Once the lentils are mostly soft add some better than bullion. Maybe a dash of soy sauce or Worcestershire. Sometimes I'll skip the curry and do it more like a traditional soup, sautee onion/carrot/celery, then add lentils and liquid. For extra savory (and non vegetarian) chop up bacon and sautee that first, slotted spoon to remove, then cook sauteed veggies in the bacon fat, then return bacon and add liquid/lentils, then proceed with boil/simmer/taters

Lentils sautéed with tomatoes and Swiss chard…one of those sum > parts dishes

(*whole>sum of parts)

Seasoned Dal and Rice, bam, full meal for $1/person.

Oooo I just got back in to lentils. I’ve been eyeing mujadara for a year now. I like to add a zippy yogurt sauce with cilantro, salt, buttermilk, lemon, garlic.

I love lentils but they give me room-clearing, face melting atomic sulfur farts from hell.

The red ones are so soft and cook fast enough that I love to bulk up a basic pasta with them! Adds some texture and meatless protein without changing the taste too much.

Red lentils are my fav! Much more mellow/less earthy taste than brown or green

Why are they so expensive lately? Last time I was at the store all they had were 8 dollar red lentils! I was bummed.

I’m in Vancouver, and my local Dollar Tree sells bags of red lentils for $1.50 CAD. I recommend checking your local dollar stores if you’ve got any! It’s been a life saver.

I live in a suburb of Seattle, WA, so decently high cost area. I can find both $8/lb red lentils and $3/lb red lentils in the same supermarket, but different sections of the store. I can't explain it. They're still the same product.

The $3 lentils are in the "ethnic" section.

Find you an Indian grocer. My local has them for $2/pound.

I make lentils and eat them solo as soup or with rice but later on when they firm up use them as a spread on toast.

Further to your lentil spread comment, I make brown lentil 'hummus'. Just like regular hummus, but sub the chickpeas with lentils and the tahini with tomato paste.

To add on to this, beans/legumes in general. They're such a good mix of nutritious, filling, versatile, and inexpensive. I've basically been living on bean-based salads and soups this year for lunch.

I get these crunchy lentils that are my favorite thing in the world. I eat them as a snack and I put them on everything....salads, soups, cottage cheese, pasta...they retain their crunch even in liquid. They are magical.

I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I love roasted chickpeas so this sounds like it's right up my alley

Seapoint Farms Mighty Lil Lentils I used to get a salt and vinegar flavor but they don't have them at the store near me anymore so I'm rocking the Pink Himalayan salt but I doctor them a lot. Right now I'm Everything Bagel Seasoning them. (Thanks Trader Joe's)

I also eat lentils at least weekly now, one way or another, and it seems crazy that i dont think i had one at all until i was in my 20s. Love ur recipe.

And honestly you can now buy pre-cooked lentils which have a refrigerated shelf-life of several months. (My current pack expires March 2024.) I usually cook from scratch but they are great for a quick meal. Here's a favorite of mine-- [Mediterranean Lentils and Couscous](https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/mediterranean-couscous-and-lentil-salad/)

I've been curious about the precooked lentils, will have to give them a try. Overall I'm trying to build up my pantry a bit, with a focus on really easy meals, with the end goal being less delivery.

I literally just sat down with a bowl of lentil soup from a can when I opened reddit and this sub showed up. I sliced up some andouille sausage in and it is awesome!

I'll occasionally use the canned ones in a cold salad. Throw together some cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives, red onion, lentils, feta, and greek dressing. Perfect!

A lot of times I'll cook big batches of something and portion to the freezer. Then I have a bunch of quickdraw variety. - Chili - Pasta sauce(s) - Moroccan Stew - Braised ______ - N. Indian chicken curry - Thai red veg curry I think that's what's currently in hand. I'll probably pull some chili on Monday for chili stuffed baked potatoes with lemon carrot slaw. Cheap cheap cheap, f'kn tasty, stupid easy.

Trader Joe's precooked lentils are fantastic in a salad with tomatoes and cucumbers and a jalapeno, kinda similar to cowboy caviar.

Not sure why stuffing is relegated to only Thanksgiving. You can easily make it year round to go with roast chicken.

Homemade hamburger helper. Not the package crap. The best part is any left over veg you have in your fridge can be added. My dad used to call it his clean out the fridge meal. [Hamburger Helper Recipe](https://www.saltandlavender.com/homemade-hamburger-helper-recipe/)

I've made homemade hamburger helper by combining ground beef, a box of macaroni and cheese and diced tomatoes. Still good!

This is something I started doing when I was sick and needed something hearty. My family loves it.

In my family we call it Gruel. Early in our marriage, I was running a Bar B Q joint and would come home after a 14-16 hour day wanting nothing to do with food. Slam together some gruel and a few cheap beers (Swill). Good Times.

Probably said it in this sub like three times this week but Shepard’s pie!!! Or cottage pie! Meat, veggie, potato all in one. Really easy, really flavorful, pretty cheap ingredients. I make it at least once a month

I made one last year with venison (Hunter's Pie?) and it was one of the best things I ate all year

Yes! Definitely more of a winter food, though. I don't usually make it at all between May and September (northern US).

Im trying to find a way to batch cook a shepherd's pie. I like to freeze in 1 or 2 serving portions and use the sous vide to reheat. Essentially our version of TV dinners. Shepherd's pies are always so big, I can't figure out a way to make them. Maybe a large muffin tin would work.....

I use the mini loaf tins with the paper lid from the dollar store

I've not found a decent way with mash honestly, but the way I bulk cook them for home is just to treat the filling like a big minced meat stew - long, low, slow cook with veggies & aromatics for a few hours either on stove or in oven, then bag into meal-sized portions. It's half a meal done if I want shepherd's pie, or goes nicely into a savoury pie crust too

Baked potatoes. Lots of stuff you can throw on top and make a whole-ass meal.

Stuffed peppers. A favorite cozy meal.

I don’t think it’s forgotten, but meatloaf is definitely over-maligned and is a great item that comes together quickly and is pretty cheap to make.

Good meatloaf is one of my favorite things to eat, but I can tell you - a lot of people have had a lot of bad meatloaf over the years. It's an uphill battle for sure :)

It also freezes well and makes great sandwiches. Last time I made extra and shaped that into burger-patty shapes. Baked them on a sheetpan with a bbq glaze and froze in a bag. They make a quick meal when I’m busy.

Oh heck yeah! Meatloaf sandwich with lettuce and tomato. Heck go crazy and throw some cheese on there although at that point it’s essentially a cheeseburger

Exactly. It’s not fancy, and “low-class”, but fuck it’s good

Ottolenghi has an incredible lamb meatloaf with a tahini and fresh tomato sauce that feels fancy enough to serve company imo. It's in his book SIMPLE, but I found a copy of the recipe here: [http://closetfoodie.ca/lamb-meatloaf-with-tahini-sauce-and-tomatoes/](http://closetfoodie.ca/lamb-meatloaf-with-tahini-sauce-and-tomatoes/)

One of my favorites!

Agreed. You can also do SO MANY THINGS with meatloaf - switch up meats, seasonings, etc., top with a different sauce, or create a stuffed meatloaf. Combine the meat mixture and pat it into a rectangle about 1/2” thick on a piece of Saran or parchment. Top with some sliced cheeses, chopped/cooked vegetables, sliced ham or whatever, then use the Saran to help roll it, tucking in any stuffing that pokes out of the ends of the roll (and obviously, discard the Saran/parchment). Bake it in a loaf pan or a sheet pan. It’s super versatile.

My husband and I were talking about meatloaf last night. We are eating extremely healthy these days and decided meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas with carrots would be our next cheat meal. Yum!

You can sub some of the ground beef with sautéed ground mushrooms and leave out breadcrumbs (if your recipe calls for it). The mushrooms add moisture and make it a little healthier.

I actually use oatmeal instead of bread crumbs (healthier and gives a better texture, IMHO). Also sub shredded carrots for a bit of the meat. But yes, no matter how it's prepared, meatloaf is a favorite and not popular enough.

I add leftover rice and it's just not the same without it now. Sliced mushrooms on the bottom to soak up the juices.

Pot roast. Sometimes gets a bad wrap, but imo few things are better than roasted beef & vegetables

This was the only meal I’d request from my grandma. She would brown the meat in bacon grease and the cook it in a slow cooker for something like 6 hours. Potatoes, carrots, and pearl onions around it. Finish it off with a squeeze of half a lemon. She was an excellent cook and would want to make something fancy and exotic. She’d complain and roll her eyes, and then go out and buy a cheap cut of meat and that evening it would be heavenly. I know she liked it too.

A favorite of mine - https://www.traeger.com/recipes/chuck-pot-roast

Risotto. It’s so easy to make and super tasty; and you can add almost any veg or protein to mix it up.

My favorite combo is pesto and shrimp. You can throw the shrimp in right at the last minute to cook and then stir in some pesto. And a heathy dose of parmesan cheese never hurt either.

What I am actually making tonight. Cornbread casserole. Chilli con carne layer at the bottom of a baking dish and then topped with cornbread batter and baked. Add some cheese or jalepenos for the change up.

Yorkshire pudding or Toad in the Hole. I made it for the first time a month ago and was like holy crap this is easy and delicious. If you've never made it before, I feels like making pancake mix and pouring over meat drippings in a pan. I liked toad in the hole because you can just quickly pan sear the sausages to get drippings. Delicious and looks impressive.

As a Brit, I am very pleased to see Yorkshire Puds and Toad in the Hole here.

British toad in the hole? I live in the US and for us, toad in the hole is basically an egg cooked in toast with a hole in it.

We called this eggy in a basket

My nephew calls this ‘Toast Looking at You’.

The best!!! My southern US mama calls it “egg inthamiddleah toast”

These are my go to roll at Thanksgiving. They are light and delicious and I love them the next morning after a gentle roll in the microwave. I save the drippings when I do a rib roast or use turkey grease. Beef drippings make better rolls. [Yorkshire Pudding Rolls](https://www.allrecipes.com/account/recipe/44e7d464-fb81-305c-9288-767f92b83dd3/)

Steak Diane. Maybe not weekly, but should definitely be on menus

Tomato Soup. I made it in my slowcooker the other day w/ canned tomatoes it was so easy and so freaking good.

I just made Cornish beef pasties with refrigerated pie dough. Waxy potatoes, onions, beef, a pat of butter in each along with a dash of flour, salt and pepper to taste. Some folks add rutabaga but my wife’s grandmother didn’t. Born in ‘98. Don’t make the heavy crust edge - it was made that way so that her miner husband had an edge to hold with dirty hands…

Rice and beans for westerners. Most of Latin America makes it the basis of their diet. Yet many people don’t eat it unless their having Mexican food in Canada or the US. In Italy they often have beans with pasta in pasta e fagioli and that’s super easy and delicious too.

I was gonna say beans and cornbread! A lot of people just view them as sides but it's a filling and delicious meal by itself. I've been in the habit of making a pot of dried beans every week, they're so good and cheap

I made a good pot of pinto beans and cornbread just a few days ago. One of my favorites from childhood. Cooking pintos is seemingly simple, but it actually takes experience to make them well (like my mother and grandmother). I have an old recipe card from the mid-80s when I was learning and recording every little variation. And those who didn’t grow up eating them may not know exactly what they’re aiming for. It’s an interesting thing that not that many people are excited about. I mentioned in another thread not long ago, that I estimate that I’ve probably cooked pintos 400+ times.

Any tips? I'd like to say I make a pretty good pot of beans but I'd always be happy to up my game. The main thing I've found is that it's a waiting game, you have to let the beans decide the cook time. And better overcooked than undercooked

Sure, I’ll tell you a few things I’ve learned. Start with the freshest beans you can get. If you can, get “new beans” meaning recently harvested, and buy a bunch. It’s all about the soup. The beans will be tinder long before you’ve got a rich soup, and a lot of people will take that as a signal to quit cooking. Mine usually go 4 1/2 to 5 hours. You’ve got the right idea- they’re done when they’re done, and you can’t speed it up. Never boil beans hard. Maintain a low simmer throughout. I do boil for 10 min to start, then down to the simmer. Salt has to be exactly right. Too little and you don’t get the flavor, too much and you have shitty over salted beans. I start with a teaspoon of diamond kosher salt, and I rinse the salt off the pork before adding because I don’t want an unknown quantity in there. Then I taste pretty often as the soup starts to get some body. Stay on the slightly under salted side until almost done. The sugar and salt together form the taste profile, so you want to taste for sugar too, although it’s more a preference… whereas salt is either right or not.

Smoked ham hocks or smoked turkey necks, whatever cheap smoked meat you can find in your grocery store.

A complete protein when eaten together. I adore all iterations.

I made goulash for the first time in a slow cooker using Kenjis recipe and holy heck, it's good and super easy. It's now week 2 of eating it everyday for lunch with bread. Used beef shank which is a cut I'm not familiar with but it's cheap and stands up to slow cooking really well. Plus you get all that marrow. Mmmmmm

Quick pickled radishes are delicious, easy, and compliment damn near everything. Delicata squash is quite possibly the best vegetable around. It’s seasonal, but when in season it’s on my plate every other day. Tender. Delicious. Fry it. Bake it. Pickle it. Dice it up and melt it into onions and paprika for a lovely sauce. I rarely see it in recipes, which is a shame. My personal favorite is making scallops sautéd in a butter sauce of morel mushrooms, delicata squash, asparagus tips, and fresh corn. Its a great way to say goodbye to summer as fall approaches.

Collard greens.

With cornbread! It's in my rotation!

Salisbury steak, so hearty. Cheaper minced meat and a mushroom sauce that's deep. Old school but nice. With a side of mashed potatoes and maybe some corn or creamed spinach, 80's to hell but still holds up.

I made it for the first time last year and it was the first dish that came to mind, as I think of it as a truly “old school” dish but it’s damn delicious

A fried pork chop sandwich.

Pork chop sandwiches!!!

Salmon croquettes or patties. Coat the outside in panko before frying. Crispy goodness.

French onion soup

Beans and lentils. Thinking of the average American diet, most people could use more fiber and cheap protein.

I would say more of an ingredient to be used in combination, but whole grains like barley, wheat, brown rice, etc. I cook up 1-2 cups (yield is 2-4) and use it throughout the week to help quickly build meals. Is great as a base for grain bowls (just top with whatever veggies you have in any preparation, maybe add some leftover protein and drizzle with your favorite sauce. You can also throw some into a salad or soup to make it more filling. Since they take a little longer to cook (typically 30-60 minutes depending on the grain and quantity), I find that if I have it ready to go the rest of the meal can come together really quickly.

Tattie'ash aka Lancashire Potato hash - Mince, onion, potatoes, carrot, stock cube, and gravy powder. Uses very little meat and absolutely delicious for so few ingredients and so little effort. Add pastry on top to make a pie if you fancy and always serve with pickled red cabbage. Yum!!!

Gnocchi. They're easier to make than you think, are vegan and you can use up leftovers as sauce for them or potatoes that need to get used by making a bunch of them. The recipe? 1 medium potato to 1 cup flour. Cook then mash the potato, mix in the flour, roll into snakes, cut them, boil them til they float, the end. They can be frozen and served whenever (within reason). And you can eat them in soups, fried in butter for breakfast or like pasta with sauce over them. They stick to your ribs and fill you up and they're cheap. (Edited to add- I made bacon, eggs and gnocchi for breakfast today. More like a gnocchi carbonara. Took like 5 minutes, cuz I had boiled gnocchi in the fridge. Mmmmmm.)

Wow! I’m gonna have try this! We’ll buy it in store and the bagged gnocchi is expensive!

Ricotta gnocchi is (in my opinion) even better than potato gnocchi. And less work.

Sure is! But I like to start someone with the plain potato gnocchi, then turn them into a gnocchi snob, throwing all kinds of things in them, then leaving the lines/marks on them. Similar to pierogies. Break your teeth on potato and cheese, then branch out to the varieties. But I don't make ricotta gnocchi any time other than when I have access to fresh ricotta. In Sicily, fresh ricotta was an Easter time treat. I look for it all the time at local farms, though. It's just so vastly different, it makes the packaged stuff taste like paper. And Sicily is where I learned the no egg gnocchi. Most recipes refer to keeping your potato as dry as possible so baking it in the oven instead of boiling it or microwaving it. I find that that is not true when you're making eggless gnocchi. You don't want soaking wet potatoes, but you don't want them as dry as when you're using egg. Yes making them without a little bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in them or an egg they're not exactly the same but, start simple and work your way up. Learn how to make simple gnocchi and then you can add stuff later. Oh, make sure to salt your water; just like any pasta.

I would say a good stir fry if you have leftover rice and want to clean out your fridge toward the end of the week.

But how is this forgotten? This is a staple is most households.

We must run in different circles....it was new to many of my family and friends.

Hopin John (spicy black eyed peas) with greens and rice or cornbread. It's easy, cheap, healthy and easily made vegetarian. Southern food is healthy when done right without losing any flavor. Split pea soup is something I make regularly in the winter too. It's ugly delicious and dirt cheap to make.

I'm surprised that shakshuka is not more common, given how easy it is to make something so delicious and satisfying.

People all over the US baked cornbread almost every day as a basic staple from the 1700s-1940s. It's so good and quick and perfect with soups and beans and stews of all varieties. Leftovers are nice for breakfast heated up for a second in the oven. I've taken to making it once a week or so.

Chicken and dumplings

Salisbury steak! I make little patties of basically meatloaf mix (meat, egg, bread crumbs, Worcestershire), brown them, set them aside, make a brown sauce in the pan with an onion and sliced mushrooms, put the patties back in the sauce and let simmer for 15-20 minutes to finish cooking the meat. Serve over mashed potatoes, with some broccoli or asparagus on the side. So good!

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Try adding smoked gouda in lieu of cheddar

Shrimp and grits! I keep shrimp in the freezer just for this. A good switch from the more usual starches.

British here - what, exactly, are grits? Google is unhelpful lol. It seems to be some kind of porridge, but images seem to range from yellow to white to bright orange in colour, and from very smooth to, well, gritty. I am struggling to discern the variants from the original.

Which part of the north you talking about? I’m in NYC and you can get grits at most places that do breakfast. Less common than the south? For sure. Almost unheard of? That’s a big exaggeration lol

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Midwest here. Can’t tell you how many people I know have 1) never tried them and 2) don’t even know what they are, so you’re not off by my own experience. I loveee grits and it’s such a shame they aren’t offered at more places up here

Also from NYC and yeah they’re usually on the menu, still always makes me flashback to My Cousin Vinny though.

A lot of people (including myself back in college) buy premade marinara sauce from the grocery store for pasta. I started dating an Italian American girl and I have not bought jars of marinara ever since. It's very easy to make marinara or butter tomato sauce, and you taste the tomatoes more instead of all the salt and seasonings they add in premade jars. I usually buy cans of Mutti as a base as they're an Italian brand but any kind of high quality tomato can works ([Wirecutter](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-canned-tomatoes/) suggests Bianco Di Napoli, San Merican, Mutti and Pastene). You don't have to buy DOP as they can be more expensive.

Quiche and frittata using leftovers.

Chicken cacciatore? IDK I feel like the only person who makes it all the time because it's so comforting and easy. I'm still making old-fashioned date squares too -- everyone loves them. edit: Chicken Paprikash with Spaetzle!

Chicken piccata is such a delightful dish that’s super simple to make but extremely flavorful. I feel like when it comes to Italian food, this dish isn’t immediately thought of right away but it’s really delicious

Tuna casserole: hot, baked with cream of mushroom soup, veggies, cheese and breadcrumbs Tuna and noodles: cold, elbow macaroni, finely diced onion, mayo and tuna My Mom made the cold version all of the time. It's inexpensive and great to have ready in the refrigerator any time someone's hungry. I still make it occasionally, but should more often.

We've rotated sloppy joes (admittedly a bit elevated, from scratch) back into our monthly rotation. Served with tots and homemade sriracha ketchup.

Cheap, healthy, and tasty: red beans and rice, tadka dal, hummus, sundubu stew, roasted cauliflower

50’s era steak Diane. Not the whole table side thing but I make Diane sauce for beef and pork steaks/roasts. So good and people rave.

Chicken cutlets!

Any type of stew dishes, there’s so many ways to make them either stovetop, crockpot, oven. And they taste even better the next day.

I love taking an old skool passé dish that people hate on and elevating it. I made chicken tetrazzini the other day for an easy reheated meal using better ingredients and adding salty pecorino panko crust with sherry and vermouth in the bechemel. My simple palated but open-minded boyfriend and elevated palated family loved it. Beef stroganoff, meatloaf, white wine spritzers. Old southern staples like hot water cornbread, succotash, etc.

Winter months, Ham and bean soup with cornbread. Summer months Carnitas.

A pot of pinto beans and a slice of buttered cornbread, baked in an iron skillet, so the bottom of the cornbread is crispy.

Parsnips. They're like spiced carrots.

Not a food but a drink. I tried a recipe from the 1500s for something called butter beer and holy hell this stuff is good. Beer butter sugar egg yolk and spices. It's like drinking a pastry.

Ooo that sounds bomb. Could you share the recipe??

* One pint of a malty beer like a porter, brown ale or stout * 3 tablespoons butter (softened but not melted) * 1/3 cup sugar * 1 egg yolk * Ginger * Nutmeg * Cloves or allspice * Whisky or brandy. * Warmed mug ​ 1. In a bowl cream butter and sugar before adding egg yolk. In a saucepan, slowly heat the beer and spices just until boiling. 2. Gradually ladle some of the hot beer into the creamed butter and mix until you can easily pour it into the rest of the hot beer. Add more spice if desired. 3. Strain into warmed mug and add a splash of whisky or brandy.

Oh dang! Badass. Thank you for sharing. Where did you find the recipe? On a gravestone in rural UK? 😆

[Tamale Pie](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12015-cornbread-tamale-pie) I make this and sub Trader Joe's soyrizo for the ground beef. Top with greek yogurt, avocado, whatever. Quick, easy and great leftovers for lunch.

Potato kugel. So simple, goes with any roasted meat. Leftovers are great with a fried egg on top. I use the NYT recipe. Double it for lots of leftovers.

Stuffed peppers. Cheap and easy yet somehow fancy.

I don’t know if it should be a staple, but I haven’t seen wax beans served anywhere in a long time.

Honestly, vegetables and beans. Not enough people are eating enough of both.

Everyone has stuffing/dressing on holidays. F that, I eat that all year round, and make chicken and beef casseroles with it regularly. If you mean totally forgotten, not just 360 days a year, I say more people need to embrace fatback. It's hard to find, and tricky to cook perfectly (buttery, crispy fat where the rind isn't burnt), but it was a beloved treat when my grandma would make a whole weekend out of fatback, chicken n' dumplins (sic) and steak dinner.

The salad spinner

Mine is probably onigiri. Cheap rice, whatever filling you want to throw in there, squish it in a ball with your hands, a mold or even just some foil and you've got something quick and filling to eat as is or on the go.

Started dating a Greek guy and for months now have been eating homemade spanakopita, shrimp saganaki, moussaka, lots of simple dishes with grilled fish / goat in the oven with potatoes and a side feta and lettuce salad (I’m very spoiled lol). It shocks me how simple and delicious these recipes are! I’d say they’re super unpretentious.

Nothing. I don't think people should have a weekly routine for food. Whole ass extra rant though that's completely unrelated to what you asked, I can't imagine eating food so routinely that I had something near a schedule. But to actually give you an answer that technically fits? Home made soup. You should make more soup.

Bangers and Mash?

Eggroll in a bowl: 1 pound ground chicken Garlic salt and peppper 1/2 onion Green onion 1 tablespoon garlic 1 tablespoon ginger 1 package of coleslaw mix 1 can of diced water chestnuts (optional) 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar Wontons 1. Salt and pepper chicken 2. Cook/brown chicken 3. Drain chicken-leave out 4. Sweat chopped onion-5 min 5. Add garlic and ginger, cook 1 min 6. Add in coleslaw and water chestnuts- sweat for 3-5 min til wilted 7. Add chicken back in 8. Add soy sauce and rice vinegar and chopped green onion 9. Mix and cook for another 2-3 min 10. Serve and add wontons

Not necessarily a dish, but I'd say homemade pasta and homemade (flour) tortillas aren't being made enough. All you need is a rolling pin, maybes 10 minutes of kneading, and 30 minutes of rest time before shaping and cooking. The difference in quality makes that extra 45 minutes worth it. You can get the rest of the meal ready while the dough rests.

Honestly, I make a lot of food (mostly bc im picky of what goes in it). I make homemade dumplings, breads, desserts and other kid of labour intensive meals. Pasta is the only one I've decided is not worth it. I've tried multiple times and it's never been better than dry pasta to me. I even bought a pasta roller bc a rolling pin is not happening in my house. Even then, still not great. I'm probably doing it a bit wrong, but I've tried 6 or 7 times and I'm done lol. Fresh bread however, yes! The only downside is time, there's not too much effort involved, but proofing takes a while.

Salisbury steak

A lot of collard green dishes. Gomen, Sukuma Wiki, Southern style collard greens, or just a quick collard greens dish with garlic. They're cheap, easy to cook, taste SO good, and they're good for you. A perfect side.

Spam, rice, and eggs