Healthy Cheap Food

One of my favorite economical meals, which is also a comfort food, is a home made chicken (or turkey) and noodle dish. The ingredients used in the recipe are basic and are usually contained in most home pantries.

When I roast a turkey I always boil the bones (carcass). After boiling the bones, skin or whatever from carving, I strain the broth through a strainer and then either refrigerate or freeze the broth for use at a later time.

The noodles are quite simple to make. First have your broth and chicken heated in a good size pan or Dutch oven pan. The ingredients called for are eggs, flour, salt and water. I put 3 eggs in a medium sized bowl; whip the eggs to blend well. Then I add about I cup of water and blend well again.

At this point add enough flour/salt to the egg mixture to make a very stiff dough. Flour a pastry cloth or dish towel very well (this process can take flour) and using a rolling pin, take a small ball (about fist size) and flatten out very thin with a rolling pin. Sprinkle flour on the rolled dough, roll up into a roll. Use a knife to then slice off ½ inch slices from the roll. Unroll the slices and immediately put into boiling broth. Continue this process for the entire dough.

Stir the noodles in the broth after placing each into broth. Boil the broth and noodles for about 20 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper to taste. Very good served over mashed potatoes. Canned broth and chicken can also be used.

This tastes great! Try it and let me know how you like it!

I spent a lot of time in Thailand, more than 6 years living and working, enjoying and hating Thai food. I have come to love certain dishes and loathe others. One dish I like is Phad Thai, sometimes called Pad Thai. It’s a very basic fried noodle recipe. In its native form, it’s not that healthy and in the west it’s not that cheap, but Phad Thai Farang is.

Phad Thai Farang is a special noodle that is cheap and relatively healthy. It’s basic ingredients are ramen noodles, lean ground beef(amount depends on your budget), shredded fresh carrots, shredded fresh cabbage, a couple of diced green chilis and a can of green beans.

First off, you need to buy 4 packages of ramen noodles. Take them out of the packaging, discard the flavoring and put the noodles in boiling water. Cook the noodles until they are soft, then drain and put them in a bowl for later use.

Second, begin browning the ground beef in a skillet or wok. As it starts to brown, add the diced green chilis. Add oil sparingly if you must. Once the beef is browned, add the drained can of green beans, the shredded carrots and the shredded cabbage. You shouldn’t put in too much carrots or cabbage, just a handful should do it. Continue cooking for several minutes. While cooking, use your spatula to continually mix things up. You want to ensure the beef is well cooked. You may also add soy sauce or any other herbs or sauces to spice it up.

Ok now is the expensive option part, adding a half a can of unsweetened coconut cream would make this taste very delicious, but it’s expensive and we aren’t gonna put it in.

Now add the previously cooked ramen noodles and continually mix things up for 2 minutes. Now you are finished. You have a great tasting healthy meal and a cheap meal.

You can do the math on the cost, but it is affordable. It should only cost two to three dollars for a dish that feeds four people.

What do you think?