 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
$2 menus: a “greatest hits” collection
Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about the $2-a-serving anti-Wal Mart challenge for charity? A few of my blogger friends have taken me up on the challenge so far, but (cringes with embarrassment) I haven’t even been able to post any menus myself. Things have been very hectic with the band lately (lots of rehearsals and shows) and although I have been cooking a little, I haven’t been able to be organized about it enough to photograph and write up any blog posts.
So, I thought in the meantime the least I could do was visit the archives and post links to some of my past recipes that fall under the $2-or-less per serving category. Obviously I can’t give exact costs, but I’m only posting recipes that I am very sure would fall under the $2 maximum. I’ll even refrain from including any of the “takes hours to make” recipes (even though I have several that would qualify price-wise), since part of the point was that it would be accessible to the average working person.
If you’re interested in participating in the challenge, please do so! I am also excited to announce that I received word from Gleaners Food Bank that whatever I donate will be doubled, so please submit your links ASAP! I have set a deadline of Dec. 20 so I can send in the donation before Christmas. If you don’t have time to do a “new” recipe, I would accept a blog post similar to this one that mentions the challenge and gives links to some of your past recipes.
Ants on a Tree (stir-fried pork & bean thread noodle) from the book Hungry Monkey- the author touts this as his family’s favorite quick weeknight meal. For a green vegetable, whip up a quick batch of my Chinese-style Kale to go alongside.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad You could make a meal of this by wrapping it in a pita with a dollop of plain yogurt.
Pizza on the Grill The pre-made dough I get at Trader Joe’s is 99¢ and makes 2 “medium” pizzas. If you wanted, you could make your own dough and get the price down even more. If we generously call one pizza one serving, that leaves $1.50 per pizza to spend on toppings, which is plenty unless you’re being ultra chi-chi. You could even (and should) throw a green salad on the tab and still be under $2 a person. Plus, these cook up in minutes, making them the ultimate fast food.
Black-Eyed Pea & Collard Green Soup This soup is modeled after one at Russell Street Deli, a restaurant well known for their delicious soups. Add a side of cornbread or biscuits like I did, and you’ll still be under the $2-per-serving mark. While it’s not necessarily the fastest thing to make, it’s definitely very simple to throw together.
BLT Salad with Mayo Vinaigrette Perhaps I’ll have trouble convincing some of you that a salad can count as “dinner”, but if you make them big like I do, and have a nice hunk of baguette on the side, I don’t think you’ll go hungry. Even if you use high-end bacon from responsibly-raised pigs (which I implore you to do), this meal still rings up at less than $2.
Basque-Inspired Peasant Soup Like many of my recipes, this uses meat as more of a flavor component rather than the main attraction. Not only does this keep costs down, but it’s just a healthier way to eat overall. Don’t worry though; this soup is still plenty hearty. It also uses a few canned/jarred “pantry staples” so it’s doable for a weeknight supper.
Mujadara with Mushrooms This might be stretching the guidelines I set forth, since it’s not exactly super quick to make, but it’s too good a recipe to leave off the list. As with the chickpea salad, you can wrap it in a pita with some yogurt, or just eat a big scoop of it with some sautéed spinach alongside.
Italian Sausage & Pepper Pasta Sauce This is one of my decidedly less “glamorous” posts, but it probably fits the bill more than any of the other recipes for being affordable and very easy to throw together. (I made it in less than an hour total, and I am the world’s pokiest cook.)
Smoky Chorizo Chili We’re getting deep in the archives with this recipe- it was one of the first I posted, back when my photography standards were much lower than they are now! 
This is a great chili to throw together on a weeknight since it uses canned beans, tomatoes and chilis. In spite of it not being a long-simmered chili, it still packs a ton of flavor.
$2-a-serving anti-Wal Mart challenge for charity!
If you watch any TV at all, you’ve probably seen one of Wal Mart’s recent ads that feature a mom bragging about how she can feed her family on food from Wal Mart on less than $2 a serving. One of the ads is at breakfast time, and the products featured are a sugary yogurt targeted at kids, toaster pastry, and some soy milk (I’m guessing that has added sugar as well). The other ad takes place at dinnertime and the meal consists of frozen garlic bread, bagged salad, bottled Wal Mart brand salad dressing and what looks like frozen lasagna.
Every time I see these ads I get so riled up because I think to myself “I could easily make a meal for less than $2 a serving using food from the farmers’ market!!” I decided that instead of getting mad, I would get even, so I’m hosting an anti-Wal Mart protest challenge to all food bloggers to make the point that eating healthy delicious unprocessed food does not have to be expensive or a luxury!
I’m calling all bloggers to participate- now through Dec. 31, do a blog post using the guidelines below, and email me the link at mlle.noelle(at)gmail(dot)com. Non-bloggers can use Google Docs- just click “save as web page” and it will give you a url that I can use as the link. Please include a linkback to this post so people know where to go if they want to participate. I’ll update this post regularly with a running list of your contributions. Please spread the word via your blogs, Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. The more participation the better!
Unfortunately, there are those who cannot even afford $2.00 for a meal. So, to make it more interesting, for every qualifying link submitted, I will personally donate $2.00 to Gleaners Food Bank. [Update: I just found out my contribution will be doubled- yay!] Please feel free to do some sort of charity-related incentive of your own on your individual posts, although it is not required.
Here are the guidelines:
- “$2.00 per serving” means $2 a person for a whole meal, not $2 per individual dish. A “meal” would preferably have a few components, for example, “chili and cornbread” or, like in the commercial, “lasagna, salad and bread”.
- No processed ingredients allowed. Frozen or canned vegetables are allowed, but no boxed mixes, canned soup, jarred sauces or the like. I’m fine with things like dried pasta, bread from a bakery, etc, as long as there are no trans fats, preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup or other nasties.
- Try as best you can to estimate the cost of all ingredients used, and provide a per-serving cost for each menu item. If you make something that will have leftovers, just factor that in; we’re just going for the per-serving cost of each item for a particular meal, when added up, to be under $2. For example, “Lasagna @ $1.10/serving + salad & dressing @ 45¢/serving + bread @ 40¢/serving=<$2 per serving for a meal”
- Try to stay away from anything too “exotic”, and stick to ingredients and equipment that the average person would have on hand. The idea is to make the point that ”working families” like the one pictured in the commercial can make affordable food without resorting to processed crap!
- Most people are drawn to processed foods because of the “convenience factor”, so try to make a meal that could be prepared in under an hour and which would not require trips to multiple stores.
- BONUS LOCAVORE CHALLENGE: Use all or mostly local ingredients.
I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with! Several of my fellow Michigan Lady Food Bloggers have already agreed to participate, and I know they will come up with some great contributions. The more the merrier, so please spread the word, I’d love to get lots of participation on this, both to make a point and because hey, we can all use a few more budget friendly recipes!
Links:
Less than $2 a serving… take that, Wal Mart! (Crock Pot spaghetti sauce, homemade garlic bread & salad) Kudos to Mother’s Kitchen for being the first to submit!
Local Food Challenge: Crock Pot Collards & Cornbread also from Mother’s Kitchen
$1.00 Local Meal: Sweet Potato and Lentil with Feta courtesy of Chef Brian
Dinner on Less than $2 a Serving (homemade multigrain bread & minestrone soup) from Patti, posting on our MI Lady Food Bloggers blog
The Anti Wal-Mart Challenge (vegan chili & cornbread) from Kate at So Far from Interesting
$2 menus: a “greatest hits” collection a list of several of my under-$2 recipes
U.P.-style Pasties from Mother’s Kitchen
Stir-Fry Beef & Spinach from Mother’s Kitchen
2 meals for $2 or less (pork and beans; mac and cheese) from Lacey at Things I Do to Save Money
Garlic Shrimp Pasta (my own contribution)
