Thank you so much, Rebecca. You have literally changed my life with these videos. I used to look at cooking as such a boring, daunting, task. I'm an empty nester...so I did not feel inspired to make meals for myself at the end of a long work day. I was also discouraged by the rising prices of groceries. You have helped me. I'm cooking now, eating healthier and saving money on groceries while sticking to my budget (less food waste, too) so...thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are an angel. Creative and resourceful! I'm so grateful.
I love cooking but as empty nester hate it bc I don’t want to eat same item 5 times to use it up. I love your make it ingredients like noodles/dumplings or gnocchi means not having tons to use up. I don’t have much freezer space so I can’t freeze for later. Thank you for interesting and innovative meals with flavor and repurposing ingredients and showing it to us. Sometimes you just can’t think in the moment!
I've been watching for a while now and I just love you ! My husband passed away 2 yrs ago and he was the cook of our family, he could take close to nothing and make a meal, I have struggled but you have given me so many ideas, thank you. I'm 62 and I have downsized and moved and learning to cook for 1 has been a new challenge, my daughter eats way different than I do, so things are different now. I can never think of anything to cook , then I watch your videos. Love you precious girl. I'm from Northeast Tn. who would've thought a southern girl couldn't cook,lol !
I can really relate to your message here. Setting up to retire soon, God willing.When my daughter comes home from college, she eats differently than me. These meals are a happy medium for both of us. I'm in the Northeast, too. Will downsize and move in the near future, too. Blessings to you! We are stronger than we think!
I am in the same boat too. My husband passed away 12 yrs ago, it's such a challenge to cook for yourself. Thanks to Rebecca, i have found numerous tips on making better choices at the Dollar Tree stores.
My wife passed away last January 30th after being married for 30 years. I'm on SSI disability and I'm always looking for ways to eat cheaper but smarter
I too lost my beloved hubby of 47 yrs married two yrs ago , I hardly cook just have can soups , salads , half sandwich anything since he passed I can't even eat half the time , I forget to at times , I'm going through a hard time missing him so much , n nothing is important anymore to me , I use to cook ,I've always been a good cook too , So I came across this channel n I'm leaning to cook for one now ... Ty fs ur ideas n tips ...❤
I'm Filipina on my mother's side, and a common easy fried rice we do is simply oil, garlic, salt, pepper, leftover rice, and egg - no soy sauce involved! So, no worries about not having soy sauce; it's just as authentic without as it is with.😊
How you manage to take the simplest ingredients and make them come out delicious is mind boggling! And you make sure there are vegetables,proteins,fats and carbs. What a help you are for people on a budget!
I really love your content altogether. I'm a retired call center operator and the first thing i do when I start my day is have my cup of coffee and your channel on right away. i get a lot of enjoyment out of watching you cook so many meals on a low budget.
Just a quick comment about fried rice: when I don’t have soy sauce to add in, I use lemon pepper!! Sometimes I add Worcestershire or steak sauce for that little extra kick.
This may sound a little weird, but hear me out. You can make Shepherd's Pie with the beans instead of ground beef. If you season it well, it's very tasty!
I would love a "If you have some extra cash, these are the pantry staples to get" kind of video. Your version/opinion of which spices/herbs/condiments/staples are best to keep on hand for budget cooking.
I am 1/3 Polish and my husband is from Poland, immigrated when he was pre-teen. I was so giddy when I saw you pull out a Polish cookbook and make pierogi! We have some amazing food and I love when it gets showcased.
I found myself smiling a lot with these videos. They seemed more real to what my life is like. IE... Makeup, no makeup, silent sandwich making in the morning, Different areas of the house while you enjoyed your meals, talking out what to make. .. Now one thing I really enjoy is mashed potatoes and soft, salty beans over them like a gravy. Have fun finding things to do with the beans. You just might learn to enjoy them 🙂
Beans over potatoes is definitely one I never would have thought of but I absolutely would try it! I'm so glad you are enjoying these videos! I like the vlog format, it's so nice to just be myself and not feel like it has to be too formal
These videos always give me a bit of nostalgia. I don't struggle with tight budgets or food scarcity now as much as I did in my childhood but sometimes nothing beats a simple, quick and low cost meal! These sort of recipes will stick with you for life ❤
You come up with filling meals that are simple to make. Your ingenuity is off the charts. I always keep a box of the Lipton noodle soup mix in my pantry. For a quick meal I will stir in an egg and add a bit of soy sauce. Scramble the egg up in a bowl then add slowly to the soup while gently stirring.
I've been on a super tight budget recently and I used to watch your videos just cuz I thought they were interesting but now they're really coming in clutch. Also last night I spooked myself and watching you helped me calm down enough to go back to bed.
Roadside Potato Bread Makes 3 loaves From the Kitchen of: Esther Alderson Ingredients: 3 1/2 cup milk 6 Tbls. sugar 2 tsp. salt 6 Tbls. shortening 1/4 cup instant mash potatoes Ingredients: 1/2 cup warm water 2 pkg. dry yeast 10 to 11 cups flour 3 Tbls. corn meal Recipe instructions: Scald milk, pour into large bowl. Stir in sugar, salt, shortening and potatoes. Let cool.. To luke warm water sprinkle yeast, stir to dissolve, add yeast & 4 cups flour to milk mixture. Beat 2 minutes with electric mixer on medium speed. Mix enough of the flour in with spoon & hands to make a dough that leaves the side of the bowl. Turn onto floured board & let rest 10 to 15 minutes. Then knead smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl & turn to grease top. Let rise in warm place till doubled. Punch down dough, cover & let rise again till double about 45 minutes. divide into 3 balls& let rest 10 minutes. Sprinkle corn meal on each loaf of bread. Place in three greased pans & let rise. Bake 50 to 60 minutes in 375 degree oven. POTATO DUMPLINGS: use Instant potatoes to make 2 cups of potatoes cook enough potatoes (about 3 medium) that when put through a Ricer to make 2 cups. 1 egg 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. white pepper, 1/4 tsp. MSG 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, not toasted Flour, Herb croûtons, 1/8 tsp. onion salt POTATO DUMPLINGS: After potatoes boiled, peeled and put through a ricer or course sieve. Add egg, bread crumbs, onion salt, pepper, MSG and garlic salt, mixing well. Add 3 to 4 Tbsp. flour to potato mixture until consistency is that of dough but not too sticky. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls, putting an Herb Croûton in center of each. Gently drop into rapidly boiling; salted water. Cook 8 minutes or until dumplings change in appearance and begin to look fluffy. I want to try it with a cube of cheese instead of the crouton in the middle!
Greetings Rebecca, Mike and my fellow Dinner-Clubbers, whenever I'm going to both boil and then fry a dumpling, gyoza, pierogi ravioli, tortellini etc I use the Chinese-Japanese method which is my standby. Put the seasoned liquid (half a cup) and the oil and/or butter in a FryingPan\skillet.That's just enough liquid to boil away in the 5 or 10 minute you need to cook the dumpling. when the liquid is boiling add the dumplings (and any veggie you want around it, in the pierogi dish it would be onions) Let the water boil away. taste to see if they are cooked enough if not a bit more liquid and then when all the liquid is gone fry the dumplings (and any veg) in the oil til browned to your liking. There's no liquid to drain away it's a one pot less to clean. Your pierogies looked great. Today is Hungarian Gulyas (Goulash) day at the old homestead. I can smell the process. as I type. hugs to all Jim Oaxaca Mexico.
the bolagna and egg would be good in a tortilla too. you can also put a cup of water beside the rice in the microwave. (in a microwave safe glass of course). Eye make up looks great when made the perogis day!
Rebecca, you are BY FAR my favorite RUclipsr. Your recipes are easy to follow, you use ingredients that most of us have, you explain the process, and your creativity blows my mind!! THANK YOU for posting such great content!
Thanks Rebecca!! Its now Lenten (until Easter Sunday), and I decided to give up meat for an additional day. So that's 3 days instead of Meatless Mondays & 1 other during the typical week. You just gave me another meal idea that I never thought of before: Veggie Noodle Soup. I always made Vegetable Soup with Beef or Chicken, but now you made it & it looks good!! However I think I'll throw some kinda of bean (Black, Pinto, etc) in it for the protein instead of the meat I'm used to. Or perhaps have a PB sandwich with it. Anyways, I just wanted to say Thanks for the great idea!! ☺️ ❤
Hi Rebecca, first of all you did great with your first go at Pierogi prep and they looked fine to me i.e. tasty :). Secondy your egg and Bologna sausage is a simple but effective breakfast idea. Love it. I would like to share few remarks re Pierogi preparation to improve them when you make them in the future: a. filling: there are many variations i.e. with meat, meatless, sweet (p.i.e. with berries and whatnot) but the most traditional ones are with dry cottage cheese (in PL we call it "twaróg" or "biały ser" (white cheese)) and potatoes, onions and spices. The proper name for this style is Potato and Cheese Pierogi (i.e "Pierogi Ruskie"). b. sealing the filling: you did great and it was done efficiently. The more traditional way to seal a Pieróg (singular noun) is to pinch the edges and fold them so they will reasemble a frill. Here is a short video that presents the technique: ruclips.net/video/IUNjD12c-Ys/видео.html c. you can make a type of bagel (i.e. obwarzanek) from the dough scraps. Just form it and cook it with other Pierogi. d. and lastly the finishing touches. It is a good idea to pan fry them (or grill) as you did if you like a little crunch. But it is not mandatory. You can garish them with sour cream, caramelized onions on butter, pan fried beacon cut in to cubes, chives or anyway you feel it will taste good 😄. Great work. 👍 Warm regards (Pozdrawiam serdecznie).
I hope you do a day 8. I love how adventurous you are and how you can so clearly see the components of meals, like that gnocchi dough is just pasta dough, or that granola is just oatmeal plus some additional flavouring.
Like your shows. Eating like this is how many people on tight budgets actually eat regularly. I congratulate your cooking abilities. Not too many young people know how to cook like you do. You are doing a real service teaching people to cook economical meals like this. Many of our parents cooked like this. Lots of soups, homemade dumpling and noodles, and vegetables that stretched the meat.
All great meals but the classic bolona and chip sandwich brought back memories!!!! 65 yrs old and didn’t think anyone still enjoyed them Great inspiration thank you
I just wanted to share. If you have a Walmart, an inexpensive meal I like to serve is stove top tuna and macaroni casserole. Following the directions, make up a package of the Great Value brand thick and creamy Macaroni and Cheese, but add an extra three quarter cup uncooked macaroni when you cook your macaroni. ( You can just buy an extra GV Mac and Cheese and use half now and half another time.) Add one can GV Cream of Mushroom soup, and one can drained tuna, pepper and a very light sprinkle of Season Salt. That's it. Serve along side a veggie of your choice. About $3.00 for the casserole and serves 5-6. You will have the extra cheese packet that you can add is you want it cheesier, or save it and use in a broccoli or cauliflower soup. Love your ideas. Hope you can use this recipe in a future video if you like it.
You're so amazing. I don't know if this is too old school but I think it would be crazy if the Food Network didn't notice you and approach you for a show about cooking on a budget.
Great video! I like to make a double batch of pierogies and freeze half of them. They freeze great on a cookie sheet and then pop into a bag or container. ❤
I started frugal cooking with you. you're one of my fav channels along with Lisa Dawn for saving on food. Wished I discovered yall earlier, could have been saving money all these years!
Seeing the fried rice without soy sauce broke my heart, but I've never tried it with bouillon and am inspired to try it! Soy sauce can be expensive, but I always have packets laying around. If we only eat out rarely, I still make sure to ask for extra sauce packets. Maybe not ranch or bbq, because places charge for that...but ketchup for fries and panda express gives sooo many packets of mandarin or soy sauce, jack in the box or taco bell will load you up with hot sauces....anyway, just an idea for that extra pantry fill for when you're in a pinch.
LOVE that ice trick! I HATE using the microwave and avoid it at all costs for most things because it dries food out so much. That ice trick could help me use it more THANKS!!!
Wow, just found your channel! Thanks for the simple and affordable meals ideas! There is a quote by Morgan Harper Nichols that says" I hope you meet a least a few people on this path whom you can share the experience of making one another feel seen" You are doing this and helping people with these meals ideas! Diane in Denmark on her RUclips channel for her videos on Fridays is providing 4 self-care assignments one can choose from and for her video from last week, one was to try a new ingredient or recipe. Also another self-care assignment was be creative and I also saw on Mariane Cresp boost your mood video about being creative. So these gives such wonderful and affordable ideas! Simple ideas like fried tortillas and a fried bologna sandwich!
I enjoy your videos so much! These meals are not only frugal but thoughtfully comprised to offer the best use of ingredients. Then your honest comments just take it over the top! I want you to create a cookbook! Please?😊
If anyone wants to reeeeally strech their rice you can make ramen noodle fried rice. It became pretty popular on tiktok. It's just smashed ramen noodles cooked like you normally do and then mixed up when you're making your fried rice. It's pretty good and I recommend you use a spicy type of noodle.
since Dollar Tree has those small jars of peanut butter & chicken broth in several kinds. this would be great: Peanut Soup North American Indian Serves: 4 From my cookbook: Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian cooking Ingredients: 2 cups dry-roasted peanuts finely chopped, or 1 cup chunky-style peanut butter Ingredients: 2 cups chicken broth 2 cups milk or cream 2 tsp. snipped fresh chives Salt and ground pepper Recipe instructions: In a heavy saucepan, combine peanuts, broth and milk, Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring. Simmer for 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with chives and season to taste with salt & pepper. Peanut soup (China) Serves: 4 From the Kitchen of: Foreign Foods cookbook Ingredients: 1 cup chunky peanut butter Ingredients: 1 cup water 2 cup milk Recipe instructions: Heat peanut butter in saucepan. Add water slowly, stirring frequently, until blended. Add milk; heat through. Do not boil.
I have never boiled my perogies, I have always fried them in a little butter & oil, browning them a bit, then adding a little water to the pan, and covering them, bring it to a quick boil, then remove from the heat, I add shredded cheese at this point and let the cheese melt, then serve with a veggie. I really enjoy your videos, thank you for sharing!❤
My grandma's pierogi are famous. Literally. She sold the recipe and they're in just about every grocery store now days. Anyway one of her secrets was to put a bit of cream cheese in the potato version. She also did plain cream cheese but those were more or less dessert pierogi. I know you didn't have cream cheese but this is just a suggestion to those who want to make them and do have cream cheese.
If you shopped at a regular grocery store, I think roasted chickens are a big bang for the money they cost. Both Sam's Club and Costco roasted chickens are large, and only cost $4.95. Those stores lose money on their roasted chickens, but they bring in shoppers, who wouldn't normally shop there, and I guarantee that 99% of those who go in to buy a roasted chicken, leave with other items; hence the term "loss leader"! One roasted chicken can make at least 2-3 meals, with leftovers, for two people. I always get 2 chickens and pull all the meat off, and put in sever cup portions, in ziplock freezer bags, for future meals, LIKE YOUR CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP. I use the legs to serve to my husband, with a couple of sides. You can even cook the bones and skin in a slow cooker, coveted with water for at least 24 hours, drain the chicken stop and use it to make gravy or a base to soups. I season to taste. You can also freeze stock in ice cube trays, and place frozen cubes in freezer bag, to use 1 or 2, to help flavor potatoes, soup, and even cook rice, adding several chicken stock cube, as part of the water, to flavor bland rice. I melt the cubes in a measuring cup, to see how much water is needed for the rice. I even can the chicken stock, but you need a pressure canner for that, and a lot of time. Freezing cubes of stock is easy, convenient, and takes none of your valuable time.Cold chicken meat is great to add to salads too. I make a chicken salad with 5 cups of chicken meat, cooked rice, just 2 T OJ, a can of mandarin orange slices, sliced grapes, oil, mayo (I like miracle whip the most), and seasonings, and sliced almonds, or another lightly flavored nut. I put it out, to be put on small croissants and/or crackers, for each of my 4 young adult's graduation open house! It's so refreshing and it makes a TON! (For just two people, I would use 3 cups of chicken)! Maybe do as many recipes as possible, from one or two roasted chickens!
For fried rice, yes we typically use soy sauce but in most Asian households it is a staple. You could easily use anything else you have on hand, hot sauce, ketchup etc... And it will work just as well. Another cheap meal could be fried egg over rice, the yolk left runny makes a great sauce with a bit of soy sauce, ketchup or mayo even mustard it would give more flavor. I also grew up with hot dog in scrambled egg, fried cut up hotdog with beaten egg, again left a bit runny can be eaten over rice or the flour tortilla
Mrs Rebecca, I have to tell that so much appreciate your videos. I wish that u would come out with a dollar tree cookbook or any cookbook for the matter. I watch all ur videos and like them also. I just recently found out that I diabetic and I have to tweek them a little bit but I love them anyway 😊❤❤
Beans and Eggs are one of my top 5 favorite breakfast combinations! If I have leftover beans, there is a 100% chance that I will be adding fried eggs on top of them for breakfast the next day.
That first breakfast of homemade tortillas and refried beans + eggs looks amazing. I wish your senior would enjoy this. It could be fun for them if you put together a bar of ingredients and let them put a customized burrito or taco themselves. It might be fun for them? It would be for me!
I make veggies and dumplings ALL THE TIME! I think a lot of people never think to do it because chicken and dumplings is so popular. I love that your meals aren’t the same ones you see everyone e else doing.
Pro tip: If you need seasoning/sauce for your rice, take some of your bouillon, add it to water in a sauce pot and on medium heat, bring it to a boil to reduce and thicken up the stock. The flavor of the bouillon will be rich and savory and a little really goes a long way. You could even use some of your instant potatoes to aid in the thickening process, but a simple reduction with perhaps a hint of margarine will serve you well. Fantastic series! Frugal life for the win!
It all looked so amazing. I would be glad for an extra day! My breakfasts tend to be lighter though I would certainly enjoy yours as lunch or dinner. Thank you for the video!
I’m so impressed with your age and cooking skills they don’t usually go together Thanks for all the good recipes you are a delight to watch love your upbeat attitude Keep up the goodwork
“Breakfast is just what you eat for you first meal of the day” THANK YOH for saying this!!! I’ve been saying this for years! Food is good no matter what time you eat it 🥰❤️ as usual all these recipes look incredibly tasty
Aesthetics are important when we do such things. So long as you are using 2 eggs in the fried rice, you could make a thing Koreans call Om rice, omelette rice. It is made by covering a bowl with a thin omelette then push it into the bowl with egg to spare over the top. Add the rice, (and whatever meat you might have added). Pull the edges of the egg over the rice. Put a plate upside down on top, flip the whole thing so you omelette ball rests nicely on the plate, squirt with a bit of catsup.
I love that you create great meals on a very tight budget. Agreed that you need to cook a lot but you can save a ton of money. I love your videos and appreciate your hard work especially when you want us to follow along with the week of meals. 😊
Scrambled eggs with hot dogs (huevos con salchicas) and a side of refried beans used to be one of my late husband's favorite breakfasts. He first had it at deer camp, prepared by the older Mexican gentleman that acted as camp cook.
These all look great! I added two (beef) ramen noodle seasoning packets to my fried rice when I was out of soy sauce and it was delicious but even without its good.
Parchment paper might be better than the wax but I’m totally doing this tomorrow as we had burrito night planned already and at 4.50 a pack of tortillas….this is hella cheaper
@@DollarTreeDinners My 15 year old made tikka masala for us last night..no jarred sauce just from scratch and I swear food prices going insane really has all of us even teenagers cooking more and that’s why I love your videos.We don’t have dollar trees with food here in Canada but these tips really give me recipe ideas because frankly the idea of what to make for dinner for four hungry teens is a daily chore I used to hate…but with RUclips at my finger tips it’s not as bad anymore but man did that egg and bean tortilla look so good! Hope you get to 250,000 subs pretty soon!
Homemade tortillas also freeze really ,really well! Cook them up a bit before cooling and storing in the freezer (in a stack, pieces of parchment or wax paper separating them).
17:26 Hi! Probably not spelling correctly but you see the time stamp. You could have had some mashed beans in the pirogies too, especially if you made them a little larger. 😊
You did great with your perogies for the first time! My trick is to stretch the sides over the filling, and I like using a wide mouth mason jar lid to cut them out. I find that's the perfect size for us. Again, awesome job!
Fry the bologna slice with the rind still on it. This will make the rim raise up, making a bowl shape. Flip once. Fill the bowl shaped bologna with scrambled egg or omelet mixture. Put the lid on and cook till the egg mixture is done. Remove the strip of red rind then serve. Very cute and tasty bowl of eggs.
Yay fried rice! I think a way to get more flavor in the rice would be to cook it in stock from the bouillon then use it for fried rice. Also, browning the hotdogs like you said. And given the flavors of it with no dou sauce hot sauce was a top-notch idea. Love it!
A restaurant I adored that has sadly retired had a breakfast sandwich I loved, and your bologna breakfast sandwich is reminding me of it. The sandwich was bread of your choice (white or sourdough are the best), toasted, with a fried egg, thinly sliced red onion, a slice of American cheese, and yellow mustard. I still make this sandwich at home. It's even good without cheese or with a different kind of cheese (I've personally used Swiss and cheddar, though not together).
Again these are great ideas for a variety of filling meals. I don't mean this as a criticism at all because you are so great at offering ideas for very limited budgets, but I do hope that anyone struggling has access to food pantries where they can get some veggies, fruit and dairy for a more balanced diet. Thank you for all your hard work researching a coming up with such great filling meals.
I haven't tried it yet, but I did see a video in which a vegan made a black bean burger using just black beans and instant potato flakes. I keep meaning to try that one since it's such a simple idea.
1. Pierogi are great to froze and store for the days u dont have energy to cook - their biggest advantage is that its not that hard to make portion for 3 days and just freeze what u do not plan on boiling 2.Pierogi with potato are ... Like offering burger with no meat- adding additionals like a bit of cheese or onion is important 3. If u want cheap pierogi- fruits - any fruits works but traditionaly we use mostly berries 4. Ur pierogi looks ok - i seen worse (and i m speaking with 5+ year experience as chief in poland) _________ I enjoy ur videos for good planning keep it up Cheers from poland
Rebecca, thank you for these. I know it's a lot of work, but I think daily and weekly calorie counts and a basic breakdown of the nutritional elements you would get with these meal plans would be helpful. Even if it's not from you, like if someone were to just break it down. The reason I'm saying this is that I know you do videos like this from a variety of places because you know that some stores are all people have access to. On that note, if someone is counting calories or needs to keep track of certain nutrients, knowing what a certain amount of money will get you from a certain place is what certain people need. Like me, I have to be protein forward for my nutritional needs. Just a thought because I don't watch you for just emergency budgets. I watch for integration of these concepts in my daily life
I just started watching your videos and I am so impressed with how you can do so much with so little. Your cooking skills are incredible. I truly look forward to watching more of your videos and how creative you can be. Thank you so much for all the work and effort you put into these videos.
The pierogis look good. I might give it a try. When i was a child i ate poultry and bologna. Now, i don't like them any more. Ha! But, I do love vegetables which i wasn't fond of as a child. Life is weird. Anyhow, I think I might try making your pierogis and noodles. I am already able to make flour tortillas.
Good job, Rebecca! I always smile when you fry bologna, because it ends up looking like a cute little Pac Man, lol! Really great options and I appreciate your candor when sharing what you might have done differently. I too, recall those packets of Lipton chicken noodle soup. I haven't had those since I was a teen. Great ideas you are sharing. It's very encouraging when we are struggling and I work really hard to make the best with what we can buy or grow. Sometimes I have to get very creative. Take care and looking forward to the next video.
peirogies are so good if you deep fry them until they float and/or the filling starts to come out. Frito Lay Jalapeno Cheese dip with them is the best choice! just dip in cheese and these are bangin!
Instant mashed potato flakes with beans mashed together will make a “burger” or patty. You can do black beans, instant mashed potato flakes, bell pepper or salsa or whatever spices :)
Thank you so much, Rebecca. You have literally changed my life with these videos. I used to look at cooking as such a boring, daunting, task. I'm an empty nester...so I did not feel inspired to make meals for myself at the end of a long work day. I was also discouraged by the rising prices of groceries. You have helped me. I'm cooking now, eating healthier and saving money on groceries while sticking to my budget (less food waste, too) so...thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are an angel. Creative and resourceful! I'm so grateful.
So am I
I take leftover mashed potatoes add a hotdog fry together and add an egg on top Great Breakfast 😊
awww I love this comment! You are doing great!
I love cooking but as empty nester hate it bc I don’t want to eat same item 5 times to use it up. I love your make it ingredients like noodles/dumplings or gnocchi means not having tons to use up. I don’t have much freezer space so I can’t freeze for later. Thank you for interesting and innovative meals with flavor and repurposing ingredients and showing it to us. Sometimes you just can’t think in the moment!
❤
I've been watching for a while now and I just love you ! My husband passed away 2 yrs ago and he was the cook of our family, he could take close to nothing and make a meal, I have struggled but you have given me so many ideas, thank you. I'm 62 and I have downsized and moved and learning to cook for 1 has been a new challenge, my daughter eats way different than I do, so things are different now. I can never think of anything to cook , then I watch your videos. Love you precious girl. I'm from Northeast Tn. who would've thought a southern girl couldn't cook,lol !
I'm sorry for your loss 😞💔
I can really relate to your message here. Setting up to retire soon, God willing.When my daughter comes home from college, she eats differently than me. These meals are a happy medium for both of us. I'm in the Northeast, too. Will downsize and move in the near future, too. Blessings to you! We are stronger than we think!
I am in the same boat too. My husband passed away 12 yrs ago, it's such a challenge to cook for yourself. Thanks to Rebecca, i have found numerous tips on making better choices at the Dollar Tree stores.
My wife passed away last January 30th after being married for 30 years. I'm on SSI disability and I'm always looking for ways to eat cheaper but smarter
I too lost my beloved hubby of 47 yrs married two yrs ago , I hardly cook just have can soups , salads , half sandwich anything since he passed I can't even eat half the time , I forget to at times , I'm going through a hard time missing him so much , n nothing is important anymore to me , I use to cook ,I've always been a good cook too , So I came across this channel n I'm leaning to cook for one now ... Ty fs ur ideas n tips ...❤
I'm Filipina on my mother's side, and a common easy fried rice we do is simply oil, garlic, salt, pepper, leftover rice, and egg - no soy sauce involved! So, no worries about not having soy sauce; it's just as authentic without as it is with.😊
Don’t eat second day rice it gives you good poisoning
Old rice causes food poisoning
@@datingandlifeadvicechannel7534
What a weird thing to say. Leftover rice can last up to 4 days in the fridge, just like most leftovers.
Thanks
How you manage to take the simplest ingredients and make them come out delicious is mind boggling! And you make sure there are vegetables,proteins,fats and carbs. What a help you are for people on a budget!
I really love your content altogether. I'm a retired call center operator and the first thing i do when I start my day is have my cup of coffee and your channel on right away. i get a lot of enjoyment out of watching you cook so many meals on a low budget.
Just a quick comment about fried rice: when I don’t have soy sauce to add in, I use lemon pepper!! Sometimes I add Worcestershire or steak sauce for that little extra kick.
This may sound a little weird, but hear me out. You can make Shepherd's Pie with the beans instead of ground beef. If you season it well, it's very tasty!
Good idea
Not weird to me!
I would love a "If you have some extra cash, these are the pantry staples to get" kind of video. Your version/opinion of which spices/herbs/condiments/staples are best to keep on hand for budget cooking.
True. I was thinking, if only she had peanut butter. Or a can of tuna.
I am 1/3 Polish and my husband is from Poland, immigrated when he was pre-teen. I was so giddy when I saw you pull out a Polish cookbook and make pierogi! We have some amazing food and I love when it gets showcased.
I found myself smiling a lot with these videos. They seemed more real to what my life is like. IE... Makeup, no makeup, silent sandwich making in the morning, Different areas of the house while you enjoyed your meals, talking out what to make. .. Now one thing I really enjoy is mashed potatoes and soft, salty beans over them like a gravy. Have fun finding things to do with the beans. You just might learn to enjoy them 🙂
Beans over potatoes is definitely one I never would have thought of but I absolutely would try it! I'm so glad you are enjoying these videos! I like the vlog format, it's so nice to just be myself and not feel like it has to be too formal
These videos always give me a bit of nostalgia. I don't struggle with tight budgets or food scarcity now as much as I did in my childhood but sometimes nothing beats a simple, quick and low cost meal! These sort of recipes will stick with you for life ❤
I agree. It doesn't matter how much money you have or don't have. Making a cheap meal is just comforting.
You come up with filling meals that are simple to make. Your ingenuity is off the charts. I always keep a box of the Lipton noodle soup mix in my pantry. For a quick meal I will stir in an egg and add a bit of soy sauce. Scramble the egg up in a bowl then add slowly to the soup while gently stirring.
Great idea!
You can do this with ramen, too. And maybe even able to find a soy flavor ramen.
Soy ramen is great, anytime I find it I buy some.
@@jerrieanderson2245 it is a bit more difficult to find over some of the other flavors.
You are certainly right about finding the soy ramen.
Hats off to you helping those who don't have much I remember spending 10 bucks a week 8 cans of beef stew and one loaf of bread to survive
You should do make-up tutorials....your eye treatment is simply gorgeous ❤
I've been on a super tight budget recently and I used to watch your videos just cuz I thought they were interesting but now they're really coming in clutch. Also last night I spooked myself and watching you helped me calm down enough to go back to bed.
Roadside Potato Bread Makes 3 loaves
From the Kitchen of: Esther Alderson
Ingredients: 3 1/2 cup milk
6 Tbls. sugar
2 tsp. salt
6 Tbls. shortening
1/4 cup instant mash potatoes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
2 pkg. dry yeast
10 to 11 cups flour
3 Tbls. corn meal
Recipe instructions: Scald milk, pour into large bowl. Stir in sugar, salt, shortening and potatoes. Let cool.. To luke warm water sprinkle yeast, stir to dissolve, add yeast & 4 cups flour to milk mixture. Beat 2 minutes with electric mixer on medium speed. Mix enough of the flour in with spoon & hands to make a dough that leaves the side of the bowl. Turn onto floured board & let rest 10 to 15 minutes. Then knead smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl & turn to grease top. Let rise in warm place till doubled. Punch down dough, cover & let rise again till double about 45 minutes. divide into 3 balls& let rest 10 minutes. Sprinkle corn meal on each loaf of bread. Place in three greased pans & let rise. Bake 50 to 60 minutes in 375 degree oven.
POTATO DUMPLINGS: use Instant potatoes to make 2 cups of potatoes
cook enough potatoes (about 3 medium) that when put through a Ricer to make 2 cups.
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. white pepper, 1/4 tsp. MSG
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, not toasted
Flour, Herb croûtons, 1/8 tsp. onion salt
POTATO DUMPLINGS: After potatoes boiled, peeled and put through a ricer or course sieve. Add egg, bread crumbs, onion salt, pepper, MSG and garlic salt, mixing well. Add 3 to 4 Tbsp. flour to potato mixture until consistency is that of dough but not too sticky. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls, putting an Herb Croûton in center of each. Gently drop into rapidly boiling; salted water. Cook 8 minutes or until dumplings change in appearance and begin to look fluffy.
I want to try it with a cube of cheese instead of the crouton in the middle!
To thicken up your chicken noodle soup, add some instant potato flakes.
I make potato salad from leftover instant potatoes. Add onion, pickle relish, mayo, mustard, boiled egg, just whatever you have on hand.
True she’s mentioned that in the earlier videos. It really helps!
Greetings Rebecca, Mike and my fellow Dinner-Clubbers, whenever I'm going to both boil and then fry a dumpling, gyoza, pierogi ravioli, tortellini etc I use the Chinese-Japanese method which is my standby. Put the seasoned liquid (half a cup) and the oil and/or butter in a FryingPan\skillet.That's just enough liquid to boil away in the 5 or 10 minute you need to cook the dumpling. when the liquid is boiling add the dumplings (and any veggie you want around it, in the pierogi dish it would be onions) Let the water boil away. taste to see if they are cooked enough if not a bit more liquid and then when all the liquid is gone fry the dumplings (and any veg) in the oil til browned to your liking. There's no liquid to drain away it's a one pot less to clean.
Your pierogies looked great.
Today is Hungarian Gulyas (Goulash) day at the old homestead. I can smell the process. as I type. hugs to all Jim Oaxaca Mexico.
the bolagna and egg would be good in a tortilla too.
you can also put a cup of water beside the rice in the microwave. (in a microwave safe glass of course).
Eye make up looks great when made the perogis day!
The ice sublimates directly from a solid to a vapor, hence the rice is steamed without getting soggy.
Rebecca, you are BY FAR my favorite RUclipsr. Your recipes are easy to follow, you use ingredients that most of us have, you explain the process, and your creativity blows my mind!! THANK YOU for posting such great content!
I’d never thought about making perigees but after watching you. I know I can do it too. thank you for always being “real”
It is always worth trying at least once! :)
Thanks Rebecca!! Its now Lenten (until Easter Sunday), and I decided to give up meat for an additional day. So that's 3 days instead of Meatless Mondays & 1 other during the typical week. You just gave me another meal idea that I never thought of before: Veggie Noodle Soup. I always made Vegetable Soup with Beef or Chicken, but now you made it & it looks good!! However I think I'll throw some kinda of bean (Black, Pinto, etc) in it for the protein instead of the meat I'm used to. Or perhaps have a PB sandwich with it. Anyways, I just wanted to say Thanks for the great idea!! ☺️ ❤
Hi Rebecca,
first of all you did great with your first go at Pierogi prep and they looked fine to me i.e. tasty :). Secondy your egg and Bologna sausage is a simple but effective breakfast idea. Love it.
I would like to share few remarks re Pierogi preparation to improve them when you make them in the future:
a. filling: there are many variations i.e. with meat, meatless, sweet (p.i.e. with berries and whatnot) but the most traditional ones are with dry cottage cheese (in PL we call it "twaróg" or "biały ser" (white cheese)) and potatoes, onions and spices. The proper name for this style is Potato and Cheese Pierogi (i.e "Pierogi Ruskie").
b. sealing the filling: you did great and it was done efficiently. The more traditional way to seal a Pieróg (singular noun) is to pinch the edges and fold them so they will reasemble a frill. Here is a short video that presents the technique: ruclips.net/video/IUNjD12c-Ys/видео.html
c. you can make a type of bagel (i.e. obwarzanek) from the dough scraps. Just form it and cook it with other Pierogi.
d. and lastly the finishing touches. It is a good idea to pan fry them (or grill) as you did if you like a little crunch. But it is not mandatory. You can garish them with sour cream, caramelized onions on butter, pan fried beacon cut in to cubes, chives or anyway you feel it will taste good 😄.
Great work. 👍
Warm regards (Pozdrawiam serdecznie).
I hope you do a day 8. I love how adventurous you are and how you can so clearly see the components of meals, like that gnocchi dough is just pasta dough, or that granola is just oatmeal plus some additional flavouring.
Like your shows. Eating like this is how many people on tight budgets actually eat regularly. I congratulate your cooking abilities. Not too many young people know how to cook like you do. You are doing a real service teaching people to cook economical meals like this. Many of our parents cooked like this. Lots of soups, homemade dumpling and noodles, and vegetables that stretched the meat.
All great meals but the classic bolona and chip sandwich brought back memories!!!! 65 yrs old and didn’t think anyone still enjoyed them Great inspiration thank you
When I was on a mission trip to Mexico. We were served black beans, tortillas and eggs at every breakfast ❤
It’s so good!
pinto beans and eggs are pretty common in south TX. Sausage or bacon and bread or torillias are the choices you get
"I don't need 40 pierogies..."
But, but, 40 pierogies.
Dip you fingertip in water to wet the edge, should help for a better seal.
Haha that’s fair, I didn’t need 40, but I certainly can eat 40
I just wanted to share. If you have a Walmart, an inexpensive meal I like to serve is stove top tuna and macaroni casserole. Following the directions, make up a package of the Great Value brand thick and creamy Macaroni and Cheese, but add an extra three quarter cup uncooked macaroni when you cook your macaroni. ( You can just buy an extra GV Mac and Cheese and use half now and half another time.) Add one can GV Cream of Mushroom soup, and one can drained tuna, pepper and a very light sprinkle of Season Salt. That's it. Serve along side a veggie of your choice. About $3.00 for the casserole and serves 5-6. You will have the extra cheese packet that you can add is you want it cheesier, or save it and use in a broccoli or cauliflower soup. Love your ideas. Hope you can use this recipe in a future video if you like it.
You're so amazing. I don't know if this is too old school but I think it would be crazy if the Food Network didn't notice you and approach you for a show about cooking on a budget.
I would watch that on a loop, much like I do this channel. Rebecca is so underrated :(
I’d definitely watch it
Great video! I like to make a double batch of pierogies and freeze half of them. They freeze great on a cookie sheet and then pop into a bag or container. ❤
I do the same with ravioli. 😊
I started frugal cooking with you. you're one of my fav channels along with Lisa Dawn for saving on food. Wished I discovered yall earlier, could have been saving money all these years!
I love her channel too!
@@DollarTreeDinnersyay! Perhaps maybe one day you can do a collab together? I would love that!
Have you seen Ardent Michelle? Her low cost cooking channel is excellent as well.
@@sonyavincent7450 I will check the channel out, thank you!
Seeing the fried rice without soy sauce broke my heart, but I've never tried it with bouillon and am inspired to try it! Soy sauce can be expensive, but I always have packets laying around. If we only eat out rarely, I still make sure to ask for extra sauce packets. Maybe not ranch or bbq, because places charge for that...but ketchup for fries and panda express gives sooo many packets of mandarin or soy sauce, jack in the box or taco bell will load you up with hot sauces....anyway, just an idea for that extra pantry fill for when you're in a pinch.
These videos are so great! Thanks, Rebecca! Also, we make homemade pierogies and bc they are a labor of love, we make extra to freeze. 😊
Might freeze some when I get better at making them haha
I'm always amazed at the great recipes that you create out of simple inexpensive items. And I love your upbeat personality and "can do" mentality 😊
LOVE that ice trick! I HATE using the microwave and avoid it at all costs for most things because it dries food out so much. That ice trick could help me use it more THANKS!!!
I am in my 50s and this is the first time even hearing that!
Wow, just found your channel! Thanks for the simple and affordable meals ideas! There is a quote by Morgan Harper Nichols that says" I hope you meet a least a few people on this path whom you can share the experience of making one another feel seen" You are doing this and helping people with these meals ideas! Diane in Denmark on her RUclips channel for her videos on Fridays is providing 4 self-care assignments one can choose from and for her video from last week, one was to try a new ingredient or recipe. Also another self-care assignment was be creative and I also saw on Mariane Cresp boost your mood video about being creative. So these gives such wonderful and affordable ideas! Simple ideas like fried tortillas and a fried bologna sandwich!
I enjoy your videos so much! These meals are not only frugal but thoughtfully comprised to offer the best use of ingredients. Then your honest comments just take it over the top! I want you to create a cookbook! Please?😊
If anyone wants to reeeeally strech their rice you can make ramen noodle fried rice. It became pretty popular on tiktok. It's just smashed ramen noodles cooked like you normally do and then mixed up when you're making your fried rice. It's pretty good and I recommend you use a spicy type of noodle.
❤💐 love all the things that you cook. you have helped me to cook with little ingredients
since Dollar Tree has those small jars of peanut butter & chicken broth in several kinds. this would be great: Peanut Soup North American Indian Serves: 4
From my cookbook: Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian cooking
Ingredients:
2 cups dry-roasted peanuts finely chopped, or 1 cup chunky-style peanut butter
Ingredients: 2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk or cream
2 tsp. snipped fresh chives
Salt and ground pepper
Recipe instructions: In a heavy saucepan, combine peanuts, broth and milk, Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring. Simmer for 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with chives and season to taste with salt & pepper.
Peanut soup (China) Serves: 4
From the Kitchen of: Foreign Foods cookbook
Ingredients: 1 cup chunky peanut butter
Ingredients: 1 cup water
2 cup milk
Recipe instructions: Heat peanut butter in saucepan. Add water slowly, stirring frequently, until blended. Add milk; heat through. Do not boil.
Rebecca, you are a beautiful lady inside and out. Thank you for taking the time out to really be so thoughtful and everything that you're doing. 👏👏🙏💕
You should try making Puerto Rican style beans very good flavorful and good with white rice and a fried egg or fried spam
With the Pierogies I bet the instant cheese/bacon potatoes would have been awesome
Yum!
I have never boiled my perogies, I have always fried them in a little butter & oil, browning them a bit, then adding a little water to the pan, and covering them, bring it to a quick boil, then remove from the heat, I add shredded cheese at this point and let the cheese melt, then serve with a veggie. I really enjoy your videos, thank you for sharing!❤
My grandma's pierogi are famous. Literally. She sold the recipe and they're in just about every grocery store now days. Anyway one of her secrets was to put a bit of cream cheese in the potato version. She also did plain cream cheese but those were more or less dessert pierogi. I know you didn't have cream cheese but this is just a suggestion to those who want to make them and do have cream cheese.
I hope you know how amazing you are and it’s so cool that you think of dire situations for people!!! You are so creative
Rebecca, I love the meal ideas! The hotdog fried rice gave me an easy idea to substitute with spam or ham, thank you for the inspiration!
I was thinking 🤔💭🤔 the same thing 😂
If you shopped at a regular grocery store, I think roasted chickens are a big bang for the money they cost. Both Sam's Club and Costco roasted chickens are large, and only cost $4.95. Those stores lose money on their roasted chickens, but they bring in shoppers, who wouldn't normally shop there, and I guarantee that 99% of those who go in to buy a roasted chicken, leave with other items; hence the term "loss leader"! One roasted chicken can make at least 2-3 meals, with leftovers, for two people. I always get 2 chickens and pull all the meat off, and put in sever cup portions, in ziplock freezer bags, for future meals, LIKE YOUR CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP. I use the legs to serve to my husband, with a couple of sides. You can even cook the bones and skin in a slow cooker, coveted with water for at least 24 hours, drain the chicken stop and use it to make gravy or a base to soups. I season to taste. You can also freeze stock in ice cube trays, and place frozen cubes in freezer bag, to use 1 or 2, to help flavor potatoes, soup, and even cook rice, adding several chicken stock cube, as part of the water, to flavor bland rice. I melt the cubes in a measuring cup, to see how much water is needed for the rice. I even can the chicken stock, but you need a pressure canner for that, and a lot of time. Freezing cubes of stock is easy, convenient, and takes none of your valuable time.Cold chicken meat is great to add to salads too. I make a chicken salad with 5 cups of chicken meat, cooked rice, just 2 T OJ, a can of mandarin orange slices, sliced grapes, oil, mayo (I like miracle whip the most), and seasonings, and sliced almonds, or another lightly flavored nut. I put it out, to be put on small croissants and/or crackers, for each of my 4 young adult's graduation open house! It's so refreshing and it makes a TON! (For just two people, I would use 3 cups of chicken)!
Maybe do as many recipes as possible, from one or two roasted chickens!
For fried rice, yes we typically use soy sauce but in most Asian households it is a staple. You could easily use anything else you have on hand, hot sauce, ketchup etc... And it will work just as well. Another cheap meal could be fried egg over rice, the yolk left runny makes a great sauce with a bit of soy sauce, ketchup or mayo even mustard it would give more flavor. I also grew up with hot dog in scrambled egg, fried cut up hotdog with beaten egg, again left a bit runny can be eaten over rice or the flour tortilla
You are so gorgeous and articulate, Rebecca! Your ideas for eating on a budget are incredible. I love this channel. 😍
Mrs Rebecca, I have to tell that so much appreciate your videos. I wish that u would come out with a dollar tree cookbook or any cookbook for the matter. I watch all ur videos and like them also. I just recently found out that I diabetic and I have to tweek them a little bit but I love them anyway 😊❤❤
Rebecca❤ thank you! You have helped so many people with your videos! What a blessing!!!! ❤
Love your content and I just have to say your makeup in this video is 🔥🔥🔥
Oh, never heard of putting the ice cubes in the rice to reheat in the microwave. a great idea
Definitely try it!
I’m polish and make pierogi all the time! You did great! Use a fork to seal them!
Beans and Eggs are one of my top 5 favorite breakfast combinations! If I have leftover beans, there is a 100% chance that I will be adding fried eggs on top of them for breakfast the next day.
That first breakfast of homemade tortillas and refried beans + eggs looks amazing. I wish your senior would enjoy this. It could be fun for them if you put together a bar of ingredients and let them put a customized burrito or taco themselves. It might be fun for them? It would be for me!
I make veggies and dumplings ALL THE TIME! I think a lot of people never think to do it because chicken and dumplings is so popular.
I love that your meals aren’t the same ones you see everyone e else doing.
Thank you! I try to be unique but realistically unique haha glad veggies and dumplings are a real thing!
Pro tip: If you need seasoning/sauce for your rice, take some of your bouillon, add it to water in a sauce pot and on medium heat, bring it to a boil to reduce and thicken up the stock. The flavor of the bouillon will be rich and savory and a little really goes a long way. You could even use some of your instant potatoes to aid in the thickening process, but a simple reduction with perhaps a hint of margarine will serve you well. Fantastic series! Frugal life for the win!
OMG…we used to put chips on our sandwiches, too. Love seeing this
and ketchup
It all looked so amazing. I would be glad for an extra day! My breakfasts tend to be lighter though I would certainly enjoy yours as lunch or dinner. Thank you for the video!
I’m so impressed with your age and cooking skills they don’t usually go together Thanks for all the good recipes you are a delight to watch love your upbeat attitude Keep up the goodwork
You are my favorite budget food RUclipsr! Keep going, you are helping many of us out there.
My favorite way to eat pierogi is with (on the side) pan fried hot dogs, caramelized onions, sour cream, and a fried egg!
“Breakfast is just what you eat for you first meal of the day” THANK YOH for saying this!!! I’ve been saying this for years! Food is good no matter what time you eat it 🥰❤️ as usual all these recipes look incredibly tasty
Aesthetics are important when we do such things. So long as you are using 2 eggs in the fried rice, you could make a thing Koreans call Om rice, omelette rice. It is made by covering a bowl with a thin omelette then push it into the bowl with egg to spare over the top. Add the rice, (and whatever meat you might have added). Pull the edges of the egg over the rice. Put a plate upside down on top, flip the whole thing so you omelette ball rests nicely on the plate, squirt with a bit of catsup.
You’ve inspired me to make my own pasta this weekend. I got a pasta maker that I have just stared at. Time to put that thing to work!
Definitely worth trying! I’m glad I did!
I love that you create great meals on a very tight budget. Agreed that you need to cook a lot but you can save a ton of money. I love your videos and appreciate your hard work especially when you want us to follow along with the week of meals. 😊
Your eye makeup looks soooo good ❤
Scrambled eggs with hot dogs (huevos con salchicas) and a side of refried beans used to be one of my late husband's favorite breakfasts. He first had it at deer camp, prepared by the older Mexican gentleman that acted as camp cook.
The ice cubes for rice is a new one for me! I usually cover a bowl with a moist paper towel when reheating. I will gave to give this a try! 🤔
Yay top 233 comments. Love this channel. Best to you and your family. Thanks for making this video. Happy holidays.
Everything looks so delicious especially being made with limited ingredients 💜 a lot of great ideas
These all look great! I added two (beef) ramen noodle seasoning packets to my fried rice when I was out of soy sauce and it was delicious but even without its good.
Parchment paper might be better than the wax but I’m totally doing this tomorrow as we had burrito night planned already and at 4.50 a pack of tortillas….this is hella cheaper
I agree! I will still buy tortillas, but in a pinch I love knowing how I can make them at home with a few simple ingredients
@@DollarTreeDinners My 15 year old made tikka masala for us last night..no jarred sauce just from scratch and I swear food prices going insane really has all of us even teenagers cooking more and that’s why I love your videos.We don’t have dollar trees with food here in Canada but these tips really give me recipe ideas because frankly the idea of what to make for dinner for four hungry teens is a daily chore I used to hate…but with RUclips at my finger tips it’s not as bad anymore but man did that egg and bean tortilla look so good! Hope you get to 250,000 subs pretty soon!
🥰@@MamaStyles
Homemade tortillas also freeze really ,really well! Cook them up a bit before cooling and storing in the freezer (in a stack, pieces of parchment or wax paper separating them).
Fascinating that the ice cube doesn’t melt yet adds moisture. I learn so much from your page. Keep up the good work.
17:26 Hi!
Probably not spelling correctly but you see the time stamp. You could have had some mashed beans in the pirogies too, especially if you made them a little larger. 😊
I literally cried out ‘oh nooo!’ When your beautiful egg broke open and leaked on the stove! I felt the heartbreak. Lol
Just LOVE your videos……and your makeup! ❤
You did great with your perogies for the first time! My trick is to stretch the sides over the filling, and I like using a wide mouth mason jar lid to cut them out. I find that's the perfect size for us. Again, awesome job!
Fry the bologna slice with the rind still on it. This will make the rim raise up, making a bowl shape. Flip once. Fill the bowl shaped bologna with scrambled egg or omelet mixture. Put the lid on and cook till the egg mixture is done. Remove the strip of red rind then serve. Very cute and tasty bowl of eggs.
Your eye makeup is STUNNING!!! ❤
Yay fried rice! I think a way to get more flavor in the rice would be to cook it in stock from the bouillon then use it for fried rice. Also, browning the hotdogs like you said. And given the flavors of it with no dou sauce hot sauce was a top-notch idea. Love it!
A restaurant I adored that has sadly retired had a breakfast sandwich I loved, and your bologna breakfast sandwich is reminding me of it. The sandwich was bread of your choice (white or sourdough are the best), toasted, with a fried egg, thinly sliced red onion, a slice of American cheese, and yellow mustard. I still make this sandwich at home. It's even good without cheese or with a different kind of cheese (I've personally used Swiss and cheddar, though not together).
Again these are great ideas for a variety of filling meals. I don't mean this as a criticism at all because you are so great at offering ideas for very limited budgets, but I do hope that anyone struggling has access to food pantries where they can get some veggies, fruit and dairy for a more balanced diet. Thank you for all your hard work researching a coming up with such great filling meals.
Definitely a good suggestion 🥰
I haven't tried it yet, but I did see a video in which a vegan made a black bean burger using just black beans and instant potato flakes. I keep meaning to try that one since it's such a simple idea.
1. Pierogi are great to froze and store for the days u dont have energy to cook - their biggest advantage is that its not that hard to make portion for 3 days and just freeze what u do not plan on boiling
2.Pierogi with potato are ... Like offering burger with no meat- adding additionals like a bit of cheese or onion is important
3. If u want cheap pierogi- fruits - any fruits works but traditionaly we use mostly berries
4. Ur pierogi looks ok - i seen worse (and i m speaking with 5+ year experience as chief in poland)
_________
I enjoy ur videos for good planning keep it up
Cheers from poland
Rebecca, thank you for these. I know it's a lot of work, but I think daily and weekly calorie counts and a basic breakdown of the nutritional elements you would get with these meal plans would be helpful. Even if it's not from you, like if someone were to just break it down. The reason I'm saying this is that I know you do videos like this from a variety of places because you know that some stores are all people have access to. On that note, if someone is counting calories or needs to keep track of certain nutrients, knowing what a certain amount of money will get you from a certain place is what certain people need. Like me, I have to be protein forward for my nutritional needs. Just a thought because I don't watch you for just emergency budgets. I watch for integration of these concepts in my daily life
I just started watching your videos and I am so impressed with how you can do so much with so little. Your cooking skills are incredible. I truly look forward to watching more of your videos and how creative you can be. Thank you so much for all the work and effort you put into these videos.
Cubed fried Spam also pairs well with fried rice. It is salty, so you probably don't need to add salt when cooking.
The pierogis look good. I might give it a try. When i was a child i ate poultry and bologna. Now, i don't like them any more. Ha! But, I do love vegetables which i wasn't fond of as a child. Life is weird. Anyhow, I think I might try making your pierogis and noodles. I am already able to make flour tortillas.
The Pierogis you made look delicious!
I was thinking potato flakes could have thickened the noodle soup up a bit, but it still looked yummy.
Good job, Rebecca! I always smile when you fry bologna, because it ends up looking like a cute little Pac Man, lol! Really great options and I appreciate your candor when sharing what you might have done differently. I too, recall those packets of Lipton chicken noodle soup. I haven't had those since I was a teen. Great ideas you are sharing. It's very encouraging when we are struggling and I work really hard to make the best with what we can buy or grow. Sometimes I have to get very creative. Take care and looking forward to the next video.
Refried beans with mashed potatoes and a fried egg or scrambled would be a hearty supper. Or with mixed veg.
I started watching because the video is actually fun and interesting. Totally off the subject you have the most beautiful red hair I have ever seen.
peirogies are so good if you deep fry them until they float and/or the filling starts to come out. Frito Lay Jalapeno Cheese dip with them is the best choice! just dip in cheese and these are bangin!
Instant mashed potato flakes with beans mashed together will make a “burger” or patty. You can do black beans, instant mashed potato flakes, bell pepper or salsa or whatever spices :)