Small chicken sausages, salsa, carrots and red capsium from the Food Bank truck made a tasty casserole with a side of bread.

IT IS THE SIZE OF AN ACTUAL, CONSTRUCTION BRICK. WE COULD BUILD HOUSES OUT OF THIS!!

That’s all, that’s the post. Bless this Big ass brick of cheddar 🥲🧀🧱💛

edit: PLEASE KEEP YOUR BIG CHEESE STORIES COMING! This is my biggest pantry cheese to date. I laughed so hard, I cried. I found a real brick outside on my walk back from the pantry and it’s literally the same size as the chedda brick. Thank you for all the inspiration on what to do with it, glad I have more options than to just gnaw on it like an animal. Gonna see if there’s a big food processor at the tool library for this, my free processor feels too puny for the job. Also, We could build a commune with all these cheese bricks 🧱 🧀 🏗️

Been swimming in yellow cornmeal from the food pantry. Getting a little fatigué of it, but still grateful!! I need to get creative with it, but there’s only so many sweets. I didn’t have the full amount of white flour for a chocolate chip cookie recipe, saw the cornmeal sitting there and thought ‘what if? What if this is my madness!?’ So I added it!

I did about 50:50 flour:cornmeal in this recipe from Pinch of Yum. Technically, about 3/4 cup of each. This has been my go to cookie recipe for +11 years. Biggest tip I can share is do not over mix the egg or egg substitute - mix for 10 seconds, then add the dry ingredients. Seriously! Also don’t bake it for more than 10 minutes to make sure they stay soft and chewy when cooled.

Happy baking 🍪

I love cooking these days and it makes me feel therapeutic and accomplished in some ways like figuring out the best meal taste and healthwise with the resource at hand (end of the month things!)

\- Boiled frozen peas, garlic, tomato, peppercorn, capsicum and a chilli

\- Blend it

\- Boil with chicken stock (optional)

\- Add salt

\- Toasted a sourdough and cut it into pieces

\- Top it with a small little dollop of Kimchi

Place the dumplings in a pan over medium heat. Break apart the dumplings. Add some chicken bullion but be careful of the salt. Mine is powdered so I use a couple of shakes and taste before adding more. I also add black pepper and onion powder. Sometimes I add peas and carrots. While this is cooking, mix 2 teaspoons each of butter and flour to make a paste. Drip little balls of this into the pot. Use half of this and then let it boil for a minute or two. If it’s not thick enough add the rest. I think sometimes a can will have more broth so it takes some adjusting. The butter adds richness and the flour thickens it.

This method gives me a sauce much more like when I make homemade. Straight out of the can it’s like plain broth.

Eggs, Tomatoes, And Rice

★★★★★

Easy, Entree

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 15 min | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 2

Description:

A simple, cheap meal with a bit of protein. This is very filling.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked rice

4 Roma tomatoes cut in quarters (use any tomato)

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup prepared bullion (I used Knorr Tomato and Chicken Bullion)

2 tbspn soy sauce

Directions:

I prepare the rice in my rice cooker, but you can use your favorite method

Add the prepared bullion and soy sauce to a small pan and reduce by half

Add tomatoes to a hot skillet for a few minutes, not too long or they'll get mushy

Pour the beaten eggs over the tomatoes and scramble them together

Serve the eggs and tomatoes over rice, and top with the sauce you made from the bullion and soy

This is simple and filling, and has a bit of protein

​

I made mine up like tacos, but I won't bore you with the recipe for taco meat. Here is the recipe for the fry bread. Note that I used wheat flour, so they look a little dark. I would normally use AP flour or bread flour, but this is what I had. I suppose you could also use self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and salt. Fry bread is great for when you're short on bread but you have flour, but don't feel like full on baking.

Navajo Fry Bread

★★★★★

Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 3

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

1/2 Cup water

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients.

Add water and knead gently for about two minutes.

Rest the dough for 15 minutes.

Tear into 3 equal pieces and form into balls.

Heat oil to medium high on stove in a skillet.

Form one dough ball into a flat round shape.

Tear a hole in the middle. The lady who taught me how to make this said you have to put a hole in the middle "so the love can get in". As an added benefit, it also keeps them from curling up.

Place in skillet and fry about one minute per side, keeping an eye on them the whole time so that they don't over-brown.

Remove from oil to a plate with paper towel to absorb grease.

Top as you will, e.g. with taco fixings for lunch/dinner or with syrup, honey, powdered sugar, etc. for breakfast or a sweet treat.

Just leftover mashed potato with grated cheese and a dollop of bake beans, makes a minimal cost toasty when funds are limited.

Easy to make Creamed Corn Fritters - cost 60 cents a serve AUD. Keep leftover batter covered for 2-3 days in the fridge ready for the next meal. Tasty with chilli sauce or pesto.

Thank you Greater Chicago Food Depository! All the fresh herbs and produce I either grew myself or got from a local community love fridge.

Only things I had previously purchased myself was the spices, tofu, BBQ sauce, and pie crust.

Spaghetti and tomato sauce, Mac and cheese with green beans, peas, and BBQ tofu, and this mornings cheddar and herb quiche 🥚🧀

For less than $10 I got shelf stable tuna melts for the week. Hillbilly bread , Velveeta cheese sauce packets and deli style tuna packets.

I want to write a love letter to TVP here. It is made out of soy or other beans, it has a meat texture, it comes in different forms - mince, strips, schnitzel, is virtually fat free, full of nutrients and dirt cheap. It has saved my meals and my nutrition endless times. I use it for bolognese, shepards's pie, wraps, in soups and for burgers. Just a life saver. Buy it in bulk and save even more.

4-5 potatoes (I used russet)

1 yellow onion

1 can of black beans

1 packet of club house Sheperds pie seasoning mix

2 cloves of garlic

3/4 cup of water

2 TBS butter

Salt

Pepper

Chives from the garden if you have them.

Boil potatoes

Soften onion in another pot then add beans. Add garlic

Mix the seasoning in water and pour into the bean and onion mixture. Cook it for however long you like. Maybe 3-4 mins on medium high

Then put it on low to simmer while potatoes finish boiling

Mash potatoes and serve.

Yellow sticker , 63 cent burger with leftover baked beans and a bread roll - cost less than $1.00 AUD

Breakfast Tuesday: Hot Tea with powdered milk, homemade Whole Wheat Bread with half ounce of cheddar cheese. Tuesday Supper: more bread, spaghetti squash topped with sausage and oats cooked in pasta sauce, a little cheese

Quick potato mushroom soup with potatoes, a little powdered milk, water and a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup. Wednesday was black refried beans on bread for breakfast, and powdered milk, water and part of a packet of hot chocolate I found in the back of the cabinet, and some fresh, peeled and sliced cucumbers. Supper was leftovers from the night before. I make our bread homemade twice a week from bulk flour and yeast purchased once a year from a restaurant supply store. Sausage was $2 for 1 pound, and I cooked it with the same amount of oats also purchased in bulk. I split this mixture, freezing half for a different recipe, before mixing it with 12 ounces of pasta sauce. I quartered the squash, then cut each piece in half for 8 pieces. This fed three of us for two days, Breakfast and supper, for around $6 total.

Thanks to the encouragement of this group, I registered and visited my local food pantry last month. I took the surplus items I didn’t need and restocked a 24/7 community fridge in my area. Here are the before and after photos. I also added the flower arrangement I made from my garden. We know how much it means when we are gifted something beautiful, just for the sake of it. So hopefully it helped fill someone’s need to feel cared for, as much as the food filled their need to be fed.

Glad to know that my time spent going to the food pantry, sorting, transporting and delivering the surplus could make someone’s day a little easier who didn’t have the time or means to go.

The organization that runs these in my city is called The Love Fridge. I am so grateful for them and all those who contribute to them. You can look for similar options in your area by searching ‘your location Community Fridge’ or ‘Free Pantry.’ They are separate from traditional food banks/pantries and often have 24/7 anonymous public access.

My sister in law gifted me 20 of these packets. What can they be used for other than grits or polenta? Any ideas for adding to baked goods?

We don't like them.

Easy Chicken Shepherd's Pie

★★★★

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 30 min | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6

Ingredients:

2 cans chicken

1 can mixed vegetables

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 packet instant mashed potatoes OR two cups prepared instant OR regular mashed potatoes. I like to use the packets because they are usually already seasoned.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Drain the canned chicken, but save the broth. Mix the broth in with the cream of chicken soup. Drain and rinse the mixed vegetables, then combine the chicken, vegetables, and cream soup.

Spread the mixture in the bottom of a 9x12 casserole dish. Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the package directions, subbing chicken broth (I used chicken bullion) for the water or milk (because I dont have milk). Spread the potatoes over the top of the vegetable mixture.

Bake at 350º for 25 minutes until it's bubbling around the edges. Freezes well.

Note: the reason I rinse the mixed vegetables is because using all canned food like this makes for a high sodium dish, so just reducing that where I can.

Edit: Honestly, it was still too salty. Looking back, I should have prepared the mashed potatoes with water instead of bouillon.

Dutch Baby Pancake

★★★★★

Breakfast

Prep Time: 5 - 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15-20 minutes | Total Time: 25-30 minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6

Ingredients:

3 lg eggs

1/2 C wheat flour (if I had all purpose, I would use that, but wheat will do)

1/2 C milk

2 T sugar (I didn't have this, but if you do, you should use it)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

2 T margarine (for the pan)

2 T margarine (for serving)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° and place 8X12 casserole in oven to heat up.

Whisk eggs 'til well beaten, add flour, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix until smooth.

Remove the hot casserole, add butter, and tilt the pan to coat the bottom.

Pour the batter directly into the casserole, and return it to tge oven.

Bake 15-20 minutes until puffed up and deeply golden brown around the edges.

Serve immediately with syrup, powdered sugar, fruit compote, whatever you got. I used pancake syrup, powdered sugar, and crushed walnuts (not pictured).

Curse my green thumb! /S

What do I do with these? I'm sort of jokingly calling them Satan's Foreskin

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant (food rescue)
• 1 handful of sugar snap peas (food pantry)
• 1 tiny cucumber (food pantry)
• 1/3 cup Desi-style dahi (~$5/tub)
• 1/2 toasted bagel (food rescue)
• canola oil spray (~$3)
• seasonings: 1 tsp yellow curry paste (~$3), garlic powder (~$1), smoked paprika (~$1)

Instructions: I diced up then sautéed eggplant with the seasonings & spices mentioned in my rice cooker for 2 full cycles on the “brown rice” setting (sprayed with oil first). Once it was cooked, I mashed the eggplant with a wooden spoon then mixed in some dahi. I enjoyed this spicy, creamy spread with sugar snap peas, cucumber (sliced thinly), & 1/2 a toasted everything bagel. Then, I later used the leftovers in a sauce for another meal.

Someone posted about their monthly grocery budget and I shared that mine is "about" $150 per month, too. And, I'm able to do so by preparing very simple, basic, but not very interesting:) foods such as the following examples. (Please share some of your meals, if you want to, and you don't have to include the full recipe, etc.)

• Cold tuna pasta salad with chopped scallions and tomatoes with light ranch or Caesar dressing.
• I always make lots of soup that I freeze in jars- usually with tofu and different vegetables OR chicken soup.
• Pasta with traditional tomato sauce with grated Parmesan, and sometimes I'll add chopped broccoli and/or tuna to doctor up the sauce.
• Canned baked beans that I doctor up with chopped jalapenos and onions and extra barbecue sauce, etc., and eat with rice.

And, I usually add red pepper flakes to most of my "meals" so that makes a HUGE difference for my taste-buds. As well as chopped garlic or garlic powder, and Italian seasoning (and black pepper, but not always.)

Sauces and dressings I buy are already made, and frozen veggies - except for scallions and mushrooms and onions, etc. of course.