I ate ramen noodles for lunch.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
I ate ramen noodles for lunch.
15
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 12:59pm
Yesterday, I was wondering what $9 would get me at the grocery store. Usually, every thursday, I spend about $8 on stuff for my lunches to take to work. Yesterday, I spent nothing. I made corn fritters and mashed potatoes for dinner. Today, I will make spaghetti. I will hold on to at least $5 until tomorrow. I have to buy ice cream tonight because this is how I give my dd her medication. I want to see how cheaply i can survive by eating what is around. i am off this weekend and will rent a movie and go to a Christian music festival. Ramen noodles make me think back 10 years to when dh and I were dating (and broke). I kind of chuckled last night, because I am so picky when it comes to food. It would be awesome if $9 could get me through tomorrow too. : ) Everybody is pretty happy..no one cared that I didn't go shopping (not even me...too much.) My debt keeps going down and down...July, cc will be under $25,000. Anyhow,
just rambling. heather

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 1:51pm

Good for you! I know that I ate more than my share of Ramen noodles when I was 19-22 and in college (the first time), and can't stand to eat them even now, lol. My DD LOVES them, though.

That's the cool thing about this whole 'get out of debt' thing. All you have to do is look at what you consider 'normal' to see if there's someway you'll be able to save money to snowflake with!

Good job-
Lisa

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 2:28pm
Well for what it's worth, I have been known to dip slices of apple in peanut butter and call it dinner.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 2:37pm

I totally agree! I do the same thing. In fact, just last night I had popcorn for dinner! DBF is gone for a few days so I eat a lot of popcorn and cereal. Eggs are also a staple for me for dinner. Fast and easy! And even better, CHEAP!! :) I eat a lot of ramen noodles for lunch at work because not only are they cheap, but they can be quick and easy, and can be stored in my desk as opposed to the work refrigerator that everyone thinks is communal food! :)

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 4:30pm

Hi, I remember reading your first post asking for recipes using what you have on hand plus $9.

I would definitely use some of the $9 to buy eggs (1.39 or less), cheese (8 oz = 2.39 or less), beans (.89 or less), tuna (.79 or less), and canned tomato sauce (.89 or less).

Based on that, here are my thoughts:

Breakfast for supper (eggs to go w/ the pancakes)

Red beans to go with your rice

Use the beef cubes/ground beef & canned corn to make chili in a pot on the stove (throw in some beans, sauce, spices), which you could serve over the rice. And/or you could buy a cheap cornbread mix (Jiffy brand is usually 3/.99 cents).

You could crush up the corn chex or use the dry oatmeal to make meat loaf (mix 1 lb of the ground beef, 1 egg, enough crumbs/oats to bind, 1/4 cup milk, & dash of ketchup; bake at 325 for about an hour). Bake or mash your potatoes to go with. The carrots or corn would be good on the side too.

You could make a cold macaroni salad to go with hamburger patties made from the ground beef. Mix 1 cup any dry pasta (cooked & rinsed) w/ 1 can drained tuna & mayo

If you bake that bread, egg salad sandwiches are good for lunch (put an egg in cold water, bring to low boil & cook for 10 min. Rinse under cold water, peel, chop, and mix with tbsp mayo). Spread mayo on the bread slices, then the egg salad.

You could make shepard's pie with the ground beef, corn, and potatoes, but it will heat up the kitchen for a while. Let me know if you need a recipe. It's just ground beef & gravy topped with a layer of corn then a layer of mashed potatoes, baked in a casserole dish.

My all-time favorite cheapest meal: Heat oven to 425. Empty a large can (16 oz) of Dinty Moore-type beef stew (1.99) into a casserole dish. You could add some of your carrots if you cook them first. Bake for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix some Bisquick-type product with milk or water until it is a good dropping consistency. Open oven & drop dough onto hot stew. Continue to bake until biscuits are gold on top & cooked through (when a knife comes out clean). This will heat your oven too but it's sooo good!

Some other cheap recipes:

FRITTATA (mostly cooked on top of stove):

olive or cooking oil, appx 1/4 cup
6 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheese, any kind (canned parmesan, if you already have in the fridge, will work if you have nothing else)
any chopped veggies (baked potato chunks are good!)
------------------------------
Heat oven to 350. Heat olive oil to cover bottom of 8" *ovenproof* skillet over med-low heat. Saute any veggies you have. Beat eggs and cheese together; pour evenly into skillet and cook 3 min without stirring over med-low heat. Remove from burner and bake until eggs are set but not dry (about 10 min). Cut into wedges.

BAKED ZITI (also mostly cooked on top of stove):

8 oz ziti or other noodles (1/2 pkg)
about 1/2 lb ground beef
2 cups tomato sauce
any spice (ie oregano, basil) + salt
1 cup (1/2 pkg) shredded mozzarella; reserve 1/4 cup
---------------------------
Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet with high sides, brown ground beef over medium heat. Stir in tomato sauce, spices, and salt. Add the ziti and shredded cheese to the skillet and mix until well blended. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle reserved cheese over top; cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.

That's all I can think of for now. Hope it helps!





iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2005
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 4:34pm
Beem there, done that ourselves, many times!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Fri, 06-24-2005 - 5:20pm
Thanks for the recipe ideas. this is actually kinda fun. Back ten years ago when ramen noodles were the staple, I didn't have ANY money in savings and we always spent down to the penny before payday. Having credit available meant we weren't broke!! this is a little different, because I have money I can spend, i just don't want to : ) (granted, its not alot....) Anyway, food is a touchy issue for me because when I was growing up, nobody went grocery shopping. It wasn't because there was no money, just no time. i think I had peanut butter sandwiches a few too many times for dinner. Now, as an adult, I feel that everything is ok so long as we have an adequate supply of groceries. every time my husband has been out of work, I have gone grocery shopping first thing. It is just a hang-up of mine. I don't know anybody else who can go grocery shopping one day and insist there is no food in the house the next. Anyhow, watching the supplies dwindle is a challenge to me, even if there really is plenty of food we can eat. I actually waste a lot of food..I'm sure if I could adapt in this one area (which is really the most difficult for me) we could save at least $100/ month. Bear with me....somewhere beneath the insanity is a bit of common sense. Heather
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2003
Sat, 06-25-2005 - 7:53am

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Mon, 06-27-2005 - 3:07pm

Popcorn and a glass of wine is my usual Friday night dinner.

cheers,
slojuly

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Mon, 06-27-2005 - 3:13pm

I am laughing because my mom and I have popcorn every Thursday night, my step dad is busy with a group he belongs to and DBF works late on Thursdays, so we have girls night with a movie, popcorn and wine! I love it! :)

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Mon, 06-27-2005 - 3:14pm

Heather,
You can do a million different things with ramen noodles. I found a really good recipe for a spicy stirfry a la ramen noodles in a GH issue. Also, I have a family recipe for oriental cole slaw that involved ramen as well. You can really get creative with it just like mac and cheese.
Let me know if you'd like any of these recipes.

cheers,
slojuly

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