# Really cheap, really easy, really good dishes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586 "2012-07-08T07:26:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/21 "2012-07-09T01:24:20Z")
If you have a little bit, of any kind, of left over meat, this dish is almost too easy! Boil water and add pasta of choice, (Penne is my fav!), when it’s almost done, but not quite, throw in some frozen green/yellow beans, (cut to same length as the pasta while still frozen!), and frozen carrots, dice up left over meat, dice any fresh herb or celery leaves. Drain, slather with garlic butter/spead, (buy premade, or make your own!), add a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese, share out the diced meat, over the top, (If the leftovers are too ‘refrigerator’ cold, I put them in a slotted spoon and dunk them, for a second, into the pasta water!), sprinkle with herbs and back pepper and dig in. Leftovers, (especially small amounts!) + dry pasta + frozen veg + garlic spread/some grated cheese/any herb. One pot, and it’s boiled, clean up couldn’t be easier. Need it to feed a lot more people? Add a salad and toast some bread for garlic bread, it’s that easy! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/22 "2012-07-09T03:13:09Z")
I find using flour tortillas in a casserole result in sticky, gummy, gooey tortillas. Ick. I’d rather use corn tortillas (fried in a little oil first, then drained) or easier, tortilla chips. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/23 "2012-07-09T03:58:28Z")
I’ve never had the flour tortillas turn gummy or gooey. I guess your mileage varies. However, I generally bake that dish for about half an hour, to get the cheese all melted. Tortilla chips are a great ingredient in this dish, though, especially if you want a bit of crunch. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/24 "2012-07-09T04:16:57Z")
**Fried rice** is super easy and tasty. Brown some salt-and-peppered ground beef, cubed pork, or meat of choice (ham works too) in your largest saute pan or wok and set aside. Crack an egg per person in to the frying pan with a good amount of oil. Stir it around a lot to get it in to little strands. Add leftover rice and fry, and also add whatever veggies you would like. Make sure they’re diced up really small. Peppers, onions, peas, carrots, zucchini, squash. There are probably some frozen mixes that will work well (defrost and drain first). I recommend habanero or jalapeño pepper as well. Stir every minute. When you think everything has about a minute left, add a chopped garlic clove per person to the fried rice and stir. Cook for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. Add soy sauce to the pan and stir. Cook for 30 more seconds, then serve. Top with sriracha sauce if you desire. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/25 "2012-07-09T05:40:43Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I find using flour tortillas in a casserole result in sticky, gummy, gooey tortillas. Ick. I’d rather use corn tortillas (fried in a little oil first, then drained) or easier, tortilla chips. My tortillas didn’t get gummy, but I did intentionally make the filling pretty dry so it wouldn’t be too messy. I had also intended to use tortilla chips somewhere in the casserole, but they somehow disappeared before I started prepping dinner… (That was Day 2 of a 3-day visit. Three teen boys can do more damage than a plague of locusts!) But if I take this sort of thing to a potluck, I’ll definitely try your corn tortilla trick. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/26 "2012-07-09T06:58:09Z")
I’ve found that grilling vegetables (and keeping them warm) will make meat servings look bigger. For instance, I usually use sliced onion and mushrooms, with bell pepper strips or sliced celery, and then after I cook the steak I put the veggies on top of each steak serving. It works well with chicken and burgers, as well. Plus it makes the house smell really, really good (assuming you like the smell of grilled onions). If I have leftover roast, I grill the veggies and then slice the roast thinly and toss it in the skillet to heat after the veggies are cooked. My husband generally works from 7-3 or 7-4, and gets home about ten minutes after he leaves work. He’s hungry, but if I feed him dinner at 3:30, then he’s gonna be hungry again about about 11 PM. Instead, I give him salad or soup or fruit. This will tide him over for a couple of hours, AND it’s a way to get another vegetable or fruit serving into him. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/27 "2012-07-09T13:06:27Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I’ve never had the flour tortillas turn gummy or gooey. I guess your mileage varies. However, I generally bake that dish for about half an hour, to get the cheese all melted. Tortilla chips are a great ingredient in this dish, though, especially if you want a bit of crunch. Maybe there is a difference in brands of flour tortillas? I only mentioned it because I once made a gigantic casserole with flour tortillas and the kids were fishing what looked like wet paper towels out of it! I had so much left over that the next day I cooked some rice and spooned the filling over that. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/28 "2012-07-09T13:10:39Z")
Quite a few in the [Mumper’s Blog](http://mumpersrecipes.blogspot.com.es/), but I’m not going to fish for them. Any of mine listed there (including several salads) is ridiculously easy. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/29 "2012-07-09T14:13:13Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Maybe there is a difference in brands of flour tortillas? I only mentioned it because I once made a gigantic casserole with flour tortillas and the kids were fishing what looked like wet paper towels out of it! I had so much left over that the next day I cooked some rice and spooned the filling over that. This might very well be the reason. And there’s nothing wrong with using rice as the starch instead of flour tortillas, I’d probably do that myself except that my husband doesn’t like plain rice. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/30 "2012-07-09T14:29:09Z")
1 box of Near East couscous (I like the pine nut or roasted garlic flavors) Steamed veggies of your choice Chicken (optional) ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586/31 "2012-07-09T17:36:50Z")
Meat of some sort (I like rabbit, and I can get it cheap.) A strong, malty beer (An imperial stout? Remember to buy more, so you have something to drink while cooking.) potatoes, carrots, tomatoes or any kind of veggies you want. Make a marinade of one bottle of beer, some salt, crushed garlic and some spices of your choice, and marinate the meat for an hour or two. While the meat marinates, go out to the pub and get funny. Slice potatoes and make a bed in a casserole dish(?), add carrots and what ever you want. Place the meat on top, and pour the marinade over it. Cook in the oven until meat is done (20 - 30 min. It doesn’t really matter, you should be half-way drunk already.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-really-easy-really-good-dishes/627586.md?page=1)