Conference turris::cooks

	Well, meat, fish and poultry are the most expensive items on most
	peoples grocery lists so use less of them!  I was depressed to
	see flounder at almost $5/lb last week!  I've decided that meat,
	fish, and poultry are going to be served less often in my household.
	The next trick is shopping... if the boneless chicken is on sale,
	buy a load of it.  If you are near the Hilltop butcher, you can
	usually beat most supermarket prices, even their sales.  Another
	thing you might consider is getting yourself a membership at
	PACE (in NH and RI) or BJ's (in MA and NH) to buy food in bulk
	at wholesale prices.  

	I would recommend means with pasta or rice as a filler.  Stir
	fry's are great because you can stretch 1 lb of meat a long
	way.  Soups are another good way to stretch the meat.  Jane
	Brody's Good Food Cookbook has alot of recipes that use less
	meat and more carbohydrates.

	Karen

    please also see note 2860, budget conscious recipes...

    One of our favorite recipes is Pasta Carbonara.  We had been
    making spaghetti with ground beef or ground turkey, but that
    was just too much meat for my husband's diet.  I tried several
    versions of this and we love it:
    
       Saute an onion with some garlic in very little oil.
       Cut up several very thin slices of ham into little
       squares or strips.  Chop up a ripe tomato and add,
       along with whatever seasoning you prefer (I add
       fresh basil and ground pepper).  Let the mixture
       simmer a few minutes until the tomato is softer and
       has released its juice (you now have a very light
       "sauce").
    
       Serve over cooked pasta.  Somehow the flavor of the
       ham permeates the whole dish and you get the same degree
       of flavor as if you had cooked a lot more meat with it.
       We think this is just great for a quick meal along with
       a green salad.
    
    Laura

    
    I couldn't help, but this is the right recepie for Spaghetti alla
    Carbonara
    
    Saute an onion with ham (like you said) or bacon (much better) in some
    olive oil. When the onion gets brown add some white wine (a little) to
    the mixture.
    
    In the meantime in a bowl (where you will put spaghetti later on) put
    two eggs (for 3 people) together with parmesan cheese (I put alot).
    
    When spaghetti are ready, strain them and put them in the bowl together
    with the mixture of onion and bacon. The eggs will cook with the hot
    pasta.
    
    Absolutely there is no tomato in the original recepie.
    
    Your recepie Laura makes me think of Amatriciana which is made almost
    in the way you mentionned.
    
    Just try top make things clear....
    
    Marinella
     

    Or, get together with a few neighbors and go to the
    farmers markets and buy bulk veggies and split the
    produce among you.  Most veggies can be processed
    and frozen easily and with no major problems.....

I thought the"original" Pasta Carbonara calls for Italian bacon, and there
should be two cheeses - Pecorino Romano as well as Parmesan....

But back to the subject - inexpensive recipes:

"Light" Pasta and Seafood Sauce

Cook 4 cloves garic and 1 tbs onion in olive oil. When done, add clam juice
reserve from 3 cans of minced clams. Add oregano, lemon juice, white wine, 
fresh ground pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes on medium flame. Then add the minced
clams. I like to add in some of Louis Kemp's Imitation Lobster.

Cook 4-5 minutes longer until seafood is tender.

Pour over 1 lb thick spaghetti. Cover generously with Romano cheese.

Cost:

3 cans clams @.79/each
1 lb spaghetti @.50
1 pk crabmeat @2.00
alll other ingrediants combined - 75 cents?

all together $5.00 for a tasty main course that serves 3-4 adults. Serve with
homemade garlic bread.....

Paul

    Just wait about 2 more weeks, leave your car windows open, and you will
    have all the free zucchini you can use from people who planted too much
    and can't get rid of it.  Can't get any more budget-conscious than
    "free"!  I sautee garlic and onions in olive oil, toss in a whole
    sliced zucchini, then add left-over pasta at the last minute.  Add a
    splash of chicken broth to the pan to deglaze, and there you are!
    Quick, cheap, and delicious.  To avoid boredom, add mushrooms one day,
    green peppers another, chicken-beef-pork, whatever you can get on sale,
    a couple of tomatoes, anything.  I buy cans of chicken broth on sale,
    then pour them into ice-cube trays to freeze in small amounts.  Much
    more economical than only using a few ounces from a can and tossing it
    out.
       

    
     Plant a garden and harvest the results (although sometimes it cost
    more to plant and care for a garden then to buy the produce). If you
    really want to get away cheap.. go wild. Go into the wild and collect
    food such as dandelion greens, cato'ninetail roots, wild onion, nuts
    and berries etc. Even mushrooms are available if you know what your
    doing; but only pick them if your 200% sure. It's amazing how much
    food is available in the wild. Think about it, there are a lot of birds
    and animals eating every day and they don't rely on grocery stores.  
    
       robin

    You can also derive protein from other things, they have pasta
    (Superoni) that has a lot of protein and is inexpensive.  You could
    also try beans, different kinds, different ways.

    RE: .5

    >>> Or, get together with a few neighbors and go to the farmers markets 
    >>> and buy bulk veggies and split the produce among you.  

    I do this every weekend with a bunch of friends representing 4 
    households.  It's a good idea, since usually the portions are very
    large and go bad before one person can use them up.

    Jack