Preliminary tasting before nap.
Tortillas toasted on the comal in the juices of the carnitas.
Nothing fancy.

I made my first batch of gaspacho of the season last night, this time using last season's tomatoes from the freezer. Good thing is, they keep well, and it's just about as the fresh ones, come summertime. Peppers and cukes I got from the store, and I put 3 scapes in for the garlic flavor.
Making gaspacho in the Vitamix, with last year's tomatoes from the freezer. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished gazebo - still cold, since it started icy. Usually the blending warms it slightly. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Gaspacho, and a few toppings. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished gaspacho, before topping with the croutons. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I had an even bigger bowl for breakfast this morning.

I need to start clearing out my approaching 3 years old pressure canned pork. If I stopped posting you know what happens. Though I have no concern, I pressure cooked the whole cans again for 30mins before eating. Made tomato soup with my recent canned tomato. I guess I can add other soup vegetables next time. This is going to be a regular meal for this coming winter.

While waiting for the shade to get over the entire garden today, I made a batch of gazpacho, as I was planning to do, though it only put a dent in the tomatoes I had! And I was going to pick another 3 qts later. Here's the 4 qt bowl with the gazpacho, plus the diced cuke and red bell pepper, to chill for tomorrow.
Another batch of gazpacho, only thing I had to buy for it again was the bell peppers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

One can of Campbell's chunky clam chowder.
One package of ramen noodles.
One small can of chunk light tuna including water.
Black pepper.
Knorr shrimp bullion powder.
Heat up and mix in serving bowl.
Very tasty.

Can of cheap biscuits.
Chopped ham sandwich slices.
White gravy.

I've got a war time soup going on if you're lucky to have it.
It's green cabbage.
Potatoes.
Onion.
Celery.
Cooking with a couple of slices of bacon chopped in water seasoned with Knorr chicken bullion powder black pepper and nutmeg.
That's it nothing fancy but flavorful filling and cheap.

Not cooking so much as eating, LOL, a chilled deli rotisserie chicken for $2.97, apple slices, and corn.

More of the chicken will end up in a japanese curry with carrots, potatoes and onions, maybe some tofu added to it also (tofu too just made a funny sounding phrase). Some chicken will be recooked with sliced mushrooms and a light sauce made, served over toasted sourdough english muffins.

Danny wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 10:46 pm Not cooking so much as eating, LOL, a chilled deli rotisserie chicken for $2.97, apple slices, and corn.

More of the chicken will end up in a japanese curry with carrots, potatoes and onions, maybe some tofu added to it also (tofu too just made a funny sounding phrase). Some chicken will be recooked with sliced mushrooms and a light sauce made, served over toasted sourdough english muffins.

$2.97 for a rotisserie chicken? Holy moly that was a steal!

Yep, walmart wants you in the doors, they almost have to be using that as a loss leader item, but it is not a weekly sale price, but a "normal" everyday price. The chicken is tasty, no poor quality, so it is a really good deal. Using some in salads, and other dishes makes it very cheap fixings. Since it is asparagus season and a pound is down to $1,97, some lightly steamed asparagus, some of the chicken, and a green salad should do for supper on the cheap and tasty scale.

I've been cleaning my toilets more often since asparagus has been so cheap.

I have definitely eaten just an entire rotisserie chicken for dinner if the gf is out of town...

Due to increasing food cost... gonna have to get used to this. (I had to add the extra ingredients, it only come with the flavor package).

Well not much is actually cheap where I live but a thrifty meal is beef liver tossed in seasoned flour and pan fried with chopped onions , home made pork sausages and gravy.

I am making this today. Veggies to go with will probably be mashed spuds, Brussel sprouts carrots. Not very exciting but easy on the budget and pretty healthy...very English.

Tomorrow I plan on making Greek Plaki with the last of my Gigantes dry beans grown last year with homegrown frozen tomatoes too. Also very frugal but a favorite of mine.

I don't need to cook cheap but I happen to like the two above

Making food stretch Mum's way. Back when meat was heavily on ration during WW2 ,folks had to learn to make things out of very little. Now and again it was possible to get a can of US corn beef and it was very special.

We also had a home made soup , if we asked what type, she often answered "there is a war on" soup.. I make it still..AKA "bottom of the fridge soup"

A can of corn beef was very precious, my mother could really stretch that one can a long way. She served 2 adults and 2 children 3 meals with it using beans to add to the protein.

First meal it was sliced, half a can was used, dipped in batter and deep fried served with chips ( French fries) and cooked dried peas.

Second she would use about half of what was left to make sandwiches, mashed and seasoned with home made chutney ,on home made bread with salad veggies .

The remaining piece, would be used to make her Yorkshire Special mash. It was basically diced potatoes with at least half the same amount of chopped onion and the wee bit of corn beef crumbled in. Cooked is a small casserole dish layered. She would then mix pepper and salt with boiling water not much ,maybe about half a cup full and pour it in the pot. It went into the oven with a lid on, removed for a stir now and again , a tad more water added if needed. The potatoes gradually broke down and the fluid evaporated .The last 15 minutes with lid off. The end product was.. a sort of a soft, not sloppy, tasty lumpy mash which she would serve with baked beans to increase the protein . I actually make this and really like it, the secret to getting it bang on right is not too much water, lots of pepper and onions and stir it. If you use too much corn beef it simply does not taste right to me. When I make it now I do serve it with meat on the side and a veggie but truthfully I like the mash better than whatever else is on the plate. Leftovers if there ever is any can be made into patties and fried.

A bit older, my mother grew up during the depression and didn't like to waste much. One granny was worse or even better, she would put most anything in a soup and if one asked, the answer was "it's the soup you are eating, is what it is !". Usually a clean out the fridge sort of thing, always was pretty tasty, but we came to a table hungry and willing to eat.

Every so often, I still take the left over bits and bobs and it may be soup, a casserole or even turned into a meatloaf of dubious origins. Using stuff up was just what we learned growing up, along with the starving children in china would be grateful for this meal thing !!

Maybe Moms in China were saying the same sort of thing to their kids.