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Cheap Meals for College Kids

Piobaire

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Nice breakdown Hunts. Yup, chicken is your friend! Also cheap cuts of meat for braising. Soups are great, as you can make one on a Sunday and just reheat for a few days. No prep during the week needed that way.
 

Septavius

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On the weekends, sometimes I'll cook a lot of something, then I'll have leftovers to eat for a few days and not have to worry about it.

Something one of my friends did was to find a Chinese buffet that charged by filling a box rather than by weight of the box, got all sorts of stuff, but no rice. He just made his own rice at home.

Around where I live, the sale days at the supermarkets are reliably Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I get their mailers all the time, so I can see what's cheap, then I get that if it's something I'll eat. They often include coupons too. If you don't get the mailers, check inside the store, as they'll often have those.
 

Connemara

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Don't do that Chinese thing. You will die within a month from all of the sodium.
 

Dakota rube

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I second the frozen chicken breasts suggestion. In addition to that, I buy boneless pork tenderloin when it is on sale and have the butcher cut it into 3/4" thick "chops" and wrap them two to a package. I'll pull a pack out of the freezer and throw them in a baggie full of a marinade into the fridge for a day. Then I toss them on a crummy little Geo Foreman thingy I have (no deck or patio, so no grill
frown.gif
). Sometimes I'll have the butcher make little pork roasts about the size of a softball instead of chops. That and some spuds. The pork I buy has so little fat to it that making gravy is pretty tough
frown.gif
 

kwilkinson

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^^That adds to the list of things I need to get. George Foreman and a decent mixer. Plus, since pigs are being bred to be longer and leaner compared to the days of old when they were short and rotund, I think most people are getitng pigs with little fat. Sad!

Originally Posted by Huntsman
...

Good stuff, thanks a lot.

H & P-- Where are you guys finding such cheap cuts? If I buy chicken at a Whole Foods (my normal shopping place) or another grocery store, I find I'm paying pretty heavily. The little roaster/broiler chickens are about $9.00. Would I be better off going to an actual meat market/butcher place? This place is incredibly close to me.
 

Piobaire

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Originally Posted by kwilkinson
^^That adds to the list of things I need to get. George Foreman and a decent mixer.



Good stuff, thanks a lot.

H & P-- Where are you guys finding such cheap cuts? If I buy chicken at a Whole Foods (my normal shopping place) or another grocery store, I find I'm paying pretty heavily. The little roaster/broiler chickens are about $9.00. Would I be better off going to an actual meat market/butcher place? This place is incredibly close to me.


We have a chest freezer. It's more for just having on hand what we want, when the mood strikes us than anything else. But when we see whole chickens on sale, we buy four or so at a time. You'll see whole, frozen birds for like $3. Cruise the meat section of your local high-line grocery store. There's always something on sale cheap. Just be versatile.

Also, don't buy the colossal crab claws at $25/pound, the way I usually end up doing
tounge.gif
 

Dakota rube

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A freezer is your friend; even a small chest model. Buy in bulk when the stuff is on sale. I buy boneless chicken breasts for about 50 cents each on sale. The pork tenderloins run about 70 cents each. That's a pretty cheap entree.
 

Piobaire

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Don't buy a Foreman, or similar product, unless you are ready to clean up the splatter area around it and clean a non-stick surface that gets all kind of stick on it.

I'd put my money into a good, double size toaster/convection oven first.
 

Huntsman

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I was in a Whole Foods in Houston once -- honestly, it seemed like a pretty yuppie/uppity market, lots of organic things, wonderful cheeses, a bakery and a coffee bar. I realize you have transportation issues, but someplace else might help. Lack of the coffee bar is a good sign. I would try the meat market if it's close! Markets are friggen awesome! I'm in love with the Westside Market in Cleveland. But some are cheap and some are not. You have to try it out.

Re chickens: If you're talking roasters, those are not the birds I'm talking about. At least in my parts, the chickens are classified by weight as Fryers, Broilers, Roasters in ascending order of weight and price. The fryers I usually buy are about 3.5 pounds to a max of four lbs and from $0.79-$1.49/lb, so that's like a max of $6/bird (though these days I often pay $1.89/lb for the, admittedly better, high end bird at my yuppie supermarket). It may be the cost of living in the city on the lake making the differential. But if you can't get a Perdue fryer for under $1.49/lb I'd be really surprised (though not disbelieving).

~H

Another vote not for the GF grill, too. A cast iron pan would be a more versatile and better choice, or get one with the grill lines if you're after that.
 

kwilkinson

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Originally Posted by Huntsman
I was in a Whole Foods in Houston once -- honestly, it seemed like a pretty yuppie/uppity market, lots of organic things, wonderful cheeses, a bakery and a coffee bar. I realize you have transportation issues, but someplace else might help. Lack of the coffee bar is a good sign. I would try the meat market if it's close! Markets are friggen awesome! I'm in love with the Westside Market in Cleveland. But some are cheap and some are not. You have to try it out.

Re chickens: If you're talking roasters, those are not the birds I'm talking about. At least in my parts, the chickens are classified by weight as Fryers, Broilers, Roasters in ascending order of weight and price. The fryers I usually buy are about 3.5 pounds to a max of four lbs and from $0.79-$1.49/lb, so that's like a max of $6/bird (though these days I often pay $1.89/lb for the, admittedly better, high end bird at my yuppie supermarket). It may be the cost of living in the city on the lake making the differential. But if you can't get a Perdue fryer for under $1.49/lb I'd be really surprised (though not disbelieving).

~H

Another vote not for the GF grill, too. A cast iron pan would be a more versatile and better choice, or get one with the grill lines if you're after that.



Sounds like my problem has been in not being willing to shop around, etc. I found the Whole Foods closest to me and just go there every Friday as the money comes in for the week. I'm going to check out this Paulina Market tomorrow. I know one chef instructor had mentioned it at some point during class.

Good point on the cast iron. A seasoned cast iron pan is like the staple of a kitchen.
 

BPerm

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Although Whole Foods is a very nice place to shop... I don't think it is appropriate for a college kid with a limited amount of money. Unless you are Vegan (Whole Foods is very Vegan friendly btw) or you want to check out Hot moms then that would be the place to be.

Just look for your closest market or hit up a Trader Joe type of store.
 

kwilkinson

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Originally Posted by BPerm
or you want to check out Hot moms then that would be the place to be.

At the Whole Foods off the Addison stop in Chitown, there are milfs a plenty. Izza very nice!
 

ama

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In Chicago looks for Jewels and Dominicks to a lesser extent, significantly cheaper then Whole Foods, even if you have to spring for the L to get there. Also, plan your menus by what is in the circular on Sunday. Again, buying the Sunday paper to get the supermarket ads will save you much more then the cost of the paper itself.
 

Quatsch

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First off, I try to make stuff that will have leftovers I want to eat. For meats, sausage is really versatile. I buy kielbasa and spicy italian sausage on sale often. I also buy whole chickens sometimes, cut them up, and freeze what I don't use immediately. As mentioned previously, beans are great for the cook with little time. But here are some of the dinners I've had in rotation.

Pasta (farfalle or other short, fun shapes) with garlic, spicy sausage, broccoli (broccoli rabe if you can get it), and parmesan.

Homemade hummus - chickpeas, tahini, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, + seasoning. Usually either cumin or lemon+oregano.

Alternative next step: hummus chicken. Take chicken breasts (or other meat), cut into strips, slice onions and peppers, add to bowl with chicken. Add oil, oregano, salt, pepper, cumin, put on foil on baking sheet, bake. Use pita chips or pita bread, then top with hummus, then with chicken/goodies.

Chicken salad/curry chicken salad (my curry chicken salad is mayo/plain joghurt, cumin, chicken, red onion, cashews/almonds, pineapple, raisins, cumin powder, lime juice, honey, ginger, cilantro optional. Its great if you stuff it in pita pockets.

Red beans & Rice/Black beans & rice w/kielbasa. I usually just use zatarain's mixes, and spice them up a bit with fresh herbs, onions, & sausage.

Frozen pot-stickers. They're cheap, have little caloric content, and are tasty. Boil them, and then fry them. The package said each serving of 4 has like 20 calories before being fried.

carbonara - pancetta, eggs, pecorino or parm, & pasta. Don't use cream!!

Fried/grilled brats, onions, good mustard, potato salad or gratin and good german beer.

Mexican is easy to do, but the mexican food here is so good and so cheap I don't bother cooking it.

Chili!

Don't underestimate the power of some good herbed fried pork steaks and a veggie side dish, such as some oven roasted potatoes or fried green beans.
 

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