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[foodfor10orless]

#6 Pasta Salad

Hear me out this is gonna be great

Ingredients:

250 g of uncooked noodles(pick a fun shape)

1 medium carrot shredded( or a bag of shredded carrots)

1 green onion( ...just realized I used a regular onion in mine...oh well it tasted fine. you should probably use the right type though)

1 bell pepper

300 ml of coleslaw dressing ( don’t ask me how much 300 ml is, I just used the whole bottle)

3 tbsp of sour cream ( this worked out really well because I am making taco salad tomorrow and I can use the extra sour cream on that, I normally wouldn’t buy the entire container just to put one little dollop)

any extras you may like in pasta salad -> celery, grapes, tomatoes, peas

Directions:

1) Cook your pasta. then put it in some tupperware and put it in the fridge.

2) Chop/shred your veggies. Small chunks and/or thin stripes make the texture nicer

3) When your pasta is cool throw in all of your veggies and sauce. mix. refrigerate

This recipe was really easy to make and it tastes really good. It is also really nice for the long day of studying I had. I made this in the early afternoon and then when ever I got hungry I would just straight out of the bowl. It doesn’t have to be reheated which is great because a) time b) its too hot here to eat warm food. 

As far as feeding a bottom less pit, I would double the noodles or use as a side. I’ve eaten most of it today but I’ve also made 3 entire meals out of it. 

Prices:

noodles: $.65 AUD -> $1.00 USD

shredded carrots: $3.00 AUD -> $1.97 USD

green onion: $.48 AUD -> $.54 USD

bell pepper: $1.71 AUD -> $.58 USD

coleslaw dressing: $3.00 AUD -> $1.98 USD

sour cream: $1.19 AUD -> $.88 USD

Total at register: $10.03 AUD -> $6.95 USD

Now that I’ve added everything up in USD I think you could buy some cheap chicken breast ($1.99 USD/lb) and add it on top or shred it  to make this more of a meal. 

[foodfor10orless]

I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything new but I’m having a really hard time cooking here. It's like I left my cooking ability back in the states. I’ve tried to make two recipes ( one that I have made made many times at home) and neither one turned out correctly. I don’t understand what’s happening, maybe it’s the metric system. I’ll try and get a new recipe up as soon as possible. 

[foodfor10orless]

So... I had a really good recipe that I was planning to try and share with y’all but...I somehow bought a bag of chicken frames rather than thighs and wings so... yeah. I still made the recipe. Would definitely not feed a bottomless pit, barely feed me. Whoops 

[foodfor10orless]

Let Me Know What You Think...

You can just like this post to let me know you saw it and enjoy the recipes you see on my blog

You can send me dishes that you would like me to try or alter so that they are $10orless

You can tell me about your experience trying one of my recipes

constructive criticism, really anything is welcomed. It takes a lot of time and energy to put these recipes up so I would like some feed back. 

Thanks Y’all :)

[foodfor10orless]

the most important adult life-hack i can possibly share with you guys: roasting vegetables

so when i was a kid i hated vegetables because my parents used to boil them and boiled vegetables are disgusting but i recently discovered that roasting vegetables is the fuckin BOMB and i have a certain recipe that makes them even MORE bomb and it’s as follows

get yer vegetables (i like to use brussles sprouts, broccoli, sweet potato, squash, beets, and lots and lots of KALE but you can use whatever tf you want, like carrots, bell peppers, cauliflower, etc)

cut them into decently small pieces (like half an inch any which way at most. this will help them cook all the way through and become crispy af). also make sure you cut the broccoli or cauliflower (if you’re using it) into small florets. 

spread them out on a baking sheet (which you should spread aluminum foil onto for easy clean-up) 

make a mixture (depending on how many veggies you’re roasting) of coconut oil, smoked paprika, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. if you happen to have chipotle powder laying around, toss that in too. basically you want to stick it in the microwave and melt the coconut oil. you should have enough to lightly coat every single veggie. 

now you’re gonna put your veggies in the oven on a rack decently close to the top at 375 for about 40 minutes. after this time, your veggies should be cooked, but you want them crispy, so you’re going to turn it up to about 450 for 15 more minutes. by this time you’ll have BEAUTIFUL CRISPY DELICIOUS ROASTED VEGGIES

do not substitute the coconut oil. it’s the most important ingredient. unless you hate coconut then i guess you can. but trust me, it’s just… so fucking good. 

[foodfor10orless]

#5 Chicken Pot Pie

Pie Crust: 

I buy the already made pie crust and place it in my baking dish

Filling: 

2 1/2 C cooked, cubed chicken (boil it, it’s easiest). I season it with Uncle Chris Steak seasoning.-> or whatever you have on hand 

2 C Frozen peas and carrots (one small bag is what I use)

1/4 C of finely chopped onion

2 medium white potatoes. I chop them in cubes and cook them in the microwave-> the last time I made this I couldn’t find just frozen peas and carrots, it also had potatoes and some other things so if that’s all you can find don’t worry about these extra potatoes

Sauce: 

6 Tbsp butter

6 Tbsp all purpose Flour

2 C half-and -half -> AKA cooking cream

1 C chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper -> basically just salt and pepper to taste

Milk to brush on top of top layer crust-> optional, you can also use egg wash

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375F or 190C

2) In large bowl combine all filling ingredients; set aside

3) In large sauce pan melt the 6 Tbsp of butter; stir in 6 Tbsp of flour. Cook over medium to high heat. stirring occasionally, until hot and bubbly (3 to 4 min).

4) Whisk in half and half, chicken broth salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens (3 to 5 min) -> I screwed up the last time I made this and accidently switched the amounts for the chicken broth and half-and-half. It turned out fine. I didn’t add any extra salt because of all the chicken broth and the sauce was just as thick as it was supposed to be with less cream, so if you wanna try a lower fat but possibly higher sodium option go for it.

5) Stir hot sauce into bowl with filling. Stir until all veggies and chicken is covered in sauce. -> or you can dump the filling in the sauce pan if it big enough. Either way works just make sure your container is big enough 

6) Lay first layer of crust in Casserole dish.

7) Pour in the filling over crust.

8) Lay second layer of crust in Casserole over the filling.Flute edges to seal(aka squish edges together). I put three small slits in the crust with my knife.

9) Lightly brush top crust with milk.

10) Bake for 50 to 60 min. Or until golden brown.

This one sounds a lot harder than it is. I boiled the chicken for this recipe the night before to save time. 

pie crust: $2.36 USD -> I couldn’t find pie crust so I used puff pastry, it turned out OK but I would have prefered pie crust $3.50 AUD

chicken thighs: $2.32 USD -> $3.91 AUD

frozen veggies: $.98 USD -> $3.00 AUD

small onion: $.40 USD -> $.51 AUD

optional potatoes: $.78 USD -> I do not have a price is AUD as I did not have to purchase them.

butter: $1.88 USD -> $1.60 AUD

flour: $.99 USD -> $.75 AUD -> the USD price is for twice as much flour as the AUD price

half-and-half: $1.34 USD -> $2.00 AUD

chicken broth: $1.00 USD -> $2.29 AUD

salt and pepper: $1.48 USD -> $1.78 AUD

Total at Register: $11.27-$13.53 USD -> $15.84 AUD

Total Per person (4): $2.82-$3.38 USD -> $3.96 AUD

I apologize for this one going over $10. The reason for this is the premade component of the pie crust. This price break down also assumes that you do not have extra flour at home, or salt and pepper. If you wanted to try and make your own crust ( it’s pretty easy) a simple recipe is 

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup softened butter

5-7 tbsp cold water

1) combine butter and flour in a large bowl

2) add salt and water until it is the consistency of dough

p.s you may need to double this to make enough for a top and bottom crust

flour: $.99 USD -> $.75 AUD

butter: $1.88 USD -> $1.60 AUD

salt: $.50 USD -> $.89 AUD

Totals: $3.37 USD -> $3.24 AUD (you have already bought these ingredients anyway)

Total w/ homemade crust: $8.91-$11.17 USD -> $12.34 AUD

Making the pie crust wouldn’t actually cost you anything more and would save you about 3 dollars off of your register cost and you wouldn’t have so much left over flour. 

[foodfor10orless]

#4 Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

1 lb or ground beef or turkey

3-6 bell peppers-> depends on the size, I used three but they were huge!!

1 small onion chopped

1 box of spanish/mexican style rice

1 packet of fajita seasoning-> or a seasoning of your choice 

cheese topping -> i would suggest a “mexican blend” shredded cheese. I couldn’t find that so I used “tasty” cheese ( it honestly just said tasty, I have no idea)

1) cut the tops off of your bell peppers and remove the seeds, you can save the tops to cook and eat with the rest but, I like to snack on them while I cook

2) place the peppers in a pot of boiling water, you can skip this step if you like crunchier bell peppers (p.s don’t skip step 9 if you skip this one)

4) brown your ground meat in a large pan, you’re gonna put at a lot in this pan so make sure it’s big enough

5) add the chopped onion to the browned meat and sprinkle with fajita seasoning to your taste. cook for 3-5 minutes, don’t worry about your onions getting soft

6) cook your rice according to the box directions, note that you may need to start this before you brown your meat depending on the cook time of the rice that you purchased

7) combine rice and browned meat together, some people like to add a small can of tomato paste, or a small amount of water during this step.

8) fill you bell peppers with meat and rice mixture.

9) place your bell peppers in a casserole type dish and bake in the oven at 325 for 15-20 mins, this step further softens the onion and bell pepper and can allow all your flavors to marinate together but if you don’t want that and think your veggies are soft enough go ahead and eat up. 

10) top with cheese, I like to add the cheese during the last 2-3 mins of the baking process so that it melts into everything

ground meat : $2.76 USD  -> $5.99 AUD 

bell peppers : $.54 each = $1.62-$3.24 USD  -> $7.16 AUD

onion : $.50 USD  -> $.63 AUD

spanish rice : $.98 USD  -> $3.25 AUD

fajita seasoning: $.89 USD  -> $1.50 AUD

cheese: $2.50 USD  -> $3.50 AUD

Total at Register: $9.79-$11.41 USD  -> $22.03 AUD

Price per person: $3.26-$1.90 USD  -> $7.34

Notes:

My local grocery back home allows customers to shop online so the prices shown in USD are an accurate representation. I didn’t really pay attention to the price of the bell peppers and that is probably why the price that I actually paid in AUD is so much larger. The large price difference between the rices is probably due to the fact that the USD price is for a boxed rice and the AUD is for a name brand pre made microwavable type rice ( it was the only spanish rice I could find)

I suppose I am going to have to find some “Australian Friendly” recipes because this meal turned out to be much more expensive than I wanted it to. It should have cost around $13-14 AUD but obviously it did not. 

Tips:

If you only want to by 2-3 bell peppers the remaining meat mixture would make a great meat to mix with breakfast in the morning -> I would suggest throwing it in with scrambled eggs and eating it as a taco in a soft flour tortilla. 

P.s for some unknown reason I am not able to post this with a photo. I will try to edit the post tomorrow and see if tumblr will let me add it then 

[foodfor10orless]

Cooking here is going to be interesting. I have to ride the bus to get to the grocery store so I’m only able to buy what I can carry. Right now I’m just trying to think of the “meat and potatoes” so I will have a stocked pantry. I like to keep bread on hand, canned tuna is easily customizable (here in australia some of it comes “pre seasoned”), noodles and/or rice is a must, a go to seasoning( mine is fajita seasoning), and a few canned veggies for quick sides. With that I should be able to just buy the protein and fresh veggies for my meals two or so days at a time. I’ll keep yall posted, next recipe should be up buy Tuesday. 

[foodfor10orless]

Hey guys, I just arrived in Australia for my semester abroad. I will still be posting recipes while I’m here it just may take awhile to settle in and get recipes up.

[foodfor10orless]

#3 Chalupa/ Tostadas 1 can of refried beans 1 lb of ground turkey or beef 1 package of chalupa / tostadas shells 1 tomato 1 avocado 1 package garden salad mix 1 box of Spanish( or your flavor preference) rice

The toppings are optional and you can mix and match your favorites

1) start rice according to box instructions 2) brown meat over medium heat 3)heat up can of beans Optional: mix browned meat and beans together 4) chop toppings 5) spread bean or bean mixture on shells 6) top according to preference and serve with side of rice.

Ground Turkey: $2.99 Refried Beans: $.58 Tostada Shells: $1.50 Avocado: $.49 Tomato: $.70 Garden Salad: $.88 Rice: $1.76

Total at Register: $9.78 Price per person(4 people w/ 2 shells each): $2.44

This one has lots of room to adjust to your preference. Extra shells make great chips.

[foodfor10orless]

#2 Pigs in Blankets

1-package of cocktail sausages

3-8 count crescent roll dough tubes

Optional:

cheese, barbecue sauce, honey mustard sauce, cooked bacon

1) preheat your oven according to the directions on the crescent rolls

2) cover a cookie or baking sheet in foil. lay out the crescent roll dough flat and cut each triangle in half.

3) roll the sausage in the crescent dough. I used a spoon to spread a bit of barbecue sauce on my dough before rolling so that they were “pre dipped”. You can also add cheese, pre cooked bacon, or whatever suits your fancy.

4) bake for 10-15 min until golden brown. Note: adding sauce may cause your cooking time to increase

(As you can probably see these are not as golden brown as they should have been. I tried one and realized they were not quite done due to the barbecue sauce so back in the oven they went)

I brought these to a superbowl party but they work great as a meal as well, especially if you are feeding kids. This recipe makes about 45 pigs in blankets. You can eat them by themselves or make mac and cheese as a side, or a steamed veggie sprinkled with steak seasoning. The ingredients are pretty cheap so there is a bit of wiggle room for sides.

Cocktail Sausage: $2.98

Crescent rolls: $1.50 each x3 = $4.50

Barbecue sauce: $1.00

Total at Register: $8.48

Price per person (assume 10 rolls each): $1.88

I will be attempting to post more soon, this week has been a bit crazy.

[foodfor10orless]

Tips for your Muffin Pan

Your muffin pan doesn’t just have to be for muffins:

Breakfast:

-bacon bowls, fill’em with eggs. yum

-biscuit bowls, flip your muffin pan over, squish your canned biscuit dough a little and form them over the muffin bumps. Fill with eggs and cheese. 

-egg muffins, take your left overs and make breakfast for the whole week. Shred up leftover chicken breast, throw in that extra ground beef, or cook up a little breakfast sausage to throw in there. It doesn’t really matter, throw in what you think you would like. Add left over veggies from your side dished and scramble every thing together in a bowl. Add a little salt and pepper and then start filling up your muffin pan. Bake at 375 for about 15 mins, enjoy and keep extras in the fridge for the week. These are great for snacks or breakfast on the go, you can put them in the microwave or eat them cold. (You can also do similar things with shredded potatoes/hash browns, i’ve never tried but they look good) 

Dinner:

-meatloaf, seriously. Put your meat loaf in a muffin pan and cut your cook time from  an hr to about 20-25 min. Saves lots of time, makes nice portions, easy to pack for lunch the next day, and easy to heat up in the microwave. 

There are lots more things you can do with a muffin pan than muffins, you can google muffin pan recipes and find 100s but I think these are nice and simple, they don’t require too much time, or money( that the important part).

[foodfor10orless]

#1 Ramen Stir Fry

Ingredients: 

1 package of boneless skinless chicken - > can be breasts or chicken tenders, it doesn’t really matter. Get the cheapest package. 

3-4 Bell Peppers chopped -> get different colors to make it more fun and colorful or all the same color if one happens to be cheaper 

1-3 packages of Ramen noodles -> noodle to chicken ratio depends on the size of your bottomless pit

1) Season your chicken with steak or fajita seasoning, salt and pepper or one of ramen seasoning packages, whatever you have. Cook your chicken over medium high heat for 5-10 min( if you aren’t sure if you cooked it all the way through its okay)

2) Cut your chicken into bite sized pieces( if there are any uncooked pieces throw them back in the pan for a bit) 

3) Throw your cooked chicken and your chopped bell peppers into your pan over medium heat with 1 and 1/2 package of ramen seasoning and cook until your bell peppers are soft.

4) Boil water and cook ramen( or make it in the microwave if thats easier for you), drain water and add remaining seasoning packages

5) Serve a large portion of Ramen topped with chicken and bell peppers or throw them all together in your pan and mix them together for more of a stir fry

The last time I made this recipe I used about 6 of the 12 chicken tenders that can in the package and 3 packages of Ramen. This combo feed me and my bottomless pit but could probably feed 4 people.

Chicken Tenders : $5.06 I used half the package one night and then the other half the next for a different recipe.

Bell Peppers: $3?

Ramen Noodles : 5/1.00 so $.60

Total at Grocery Store: 9.06

Total For Meal : 6.13 or 3.07/person

Alternatives: 

*The chicken bell pepper mixture can also be added to rice if that is what you have on hand

*If you don’t mind spending more to save time you can by pre cooked chicken and steam you bell peppers for faster cooking

Tips: 

*Cook all your chicken at once and refrigerate to use during the week 

[foodfor10orless]

What is this All About

Hi there, I’m a college student from Texas and like most college students I have very little money and even less time. I wanted to share some of my cheap meal recipes that I use to feed myself and my boyfriend (aka The Bottomless Pit). My goal is to keep everything under $10 including spices. Some recipes may include “assumed ingredients” like butter and milk that are not factored into the cost but I will try and avoid those. If you try one of my recipes please submit a review of the recipe and the food. Thanks!