Keeping canned meats in the pantry is a must for me here in the midwest, especially in the winter. When the snow and ice builds up I am still eating with style and it's versatile
Agreed. I learned to can my own meat, which I have found very economical. I'm in the Midwest too, way far north, fully prepared for power downs for a couple weeks. Have to be, right?
I always have some canned fish, some tuna, some Salmon, sometimes some crab meat if I can find it on sale I love salmon salad and I make a salmon mixed with cream cheese spread for bagels or crackers. If I’m having company everybody seems to love it I just make salmon with a block of cream cheese and then add whatever toppings I normally add to a bagel like some chopped up onions, paprika , and some capers, if I have them it’s great on crackers or toast or even in celery
I got caught in the 2021 Texas freeze grid failure without any ready made foods. Now every winter I stock up because I don't trust we won't lose power.
Your biscuits are beautiful. You made them! No one else could make them just like you. It includes your personal story and the purpose of feeding the family that you love. I am sorry about your recipe book.
Ardent Michelle's RU-vid channel could be (should be) recommended watching and learning for everyone receiving SNAP benefits and it's indispensable for all of us wanting to save money, whether on a budget or not. ❤ *Knowing how to cook is invaluable. The icing on the cake is seeing how she presents the meals to prove we don't have to feel like we're dining on a budget!* I loved that my grandparents and my parents cooked and I learned from them. And THEN I was thrilled that we had Home Economics in 8th grade for more cooking! That should also be required for every student regardless of sex. Boys should know how to cook for themselves, too. Ardent Michelle consistently shows us how much can be done for so little money. I know that grocery opportunities aren't as available in all areas of the country (or world), but what she does isn't unlike magic with food items that are available to everyone. Absolutely amazing! I'm no longer on a tight budget, but I am soooo hooked on this channel, her meals and her recipes. *I love that she proves **-in real life-** how she does this by showing us how she shops and what she's paying.*
Oh, man! I just noticed that when I used dashes to emphasize the phrase "in real life" - it resulted as a strikethrough. 🤔 Ugh, that wasn't my intention. ❤
I remember in high school that my friends were so excited to take Home Ec classes. I had been cooking, cleaning and ironing since I was 12 so I didn't understand the attraction. Lol I was excited to take typing and shorthand....
Hi Michelle - I was thinking since we are in the Fall season, will you be making recipes with pumpkin and other winter squash/root vegetables? I would enjoy seeing your creativity with these ingredients. Thank you.
Well done! I really get a lot out of your videos. I live in the country so I grow some and get seasonal produce and can it up for the winter. I live too far from the store to do what you do, but I must say it looks fun and kinda satisfying. Once my pantry and freezer is stocked and the ten thousand feet of snow arrives, I am tucked in and use videos like this to make fun things to eat. I’m finally done with all the processing. Hallelujah 😂
For the hash browns, I have found that if you don’t want to bother dirtying a strainer or a cheesecloth you can just take handfuls and easily squeeze the liquid out. Takes a bit more time but then you save some cleaning time lol
I have to say, I look forward to your video so much. I literally went and got myself a fresh drink, my lunch, and made sure no one was going to need anything for the 30 minutes I was gonna watch this video. Another option to slice beef on the open faced sandwiches would be to make lentils and mix them in with that gravy. I’m sure that would be delicious. Thanks for sharing with people that they can eat. Delicious food on a budget. See you next week. Have a good one.
You're always so thoughtful! And your voice is so calming. Things are pretty tight this week, but after watching this and getting some inspiration, it feels like things are going to be okay. 😊
Little tip for biscuits. If you like fluffier biscuits roll the dough into a log and cut it into slices. Learned about this because my Memaw used to do it.
I don't know if you have ever had Red-Eye gravy, but it is delicious. It's basically a pan gravy made with coffee. It's usually served with fried ham steaks, but when I saw your hash made with spam, I immediately thought Red-Eye would be delicious with that dish!! Everything looked so good! You really are very creative!! Thank you, Michelle!
Absolutely love the fact that you did incorporate canned meat into your video! I just went back to his standardize diet when it comes to having meat was a Vegan for 26 years. It was a vegetarian for roughly about six months maybe eight months and I’ve gone back to a standard meat-based diet now not heavy meat just a little bit of chicken, ground turkey, and a few other ends and pieces of some meats! Being able to use canned meat is really a money saver for sure! I definitely prefer the corn beef hash. If you have that with eggs it’s so good and a piece of toast. The corn beef hash is only a couple of bucks but I used that in three portions of roughly around 4 ounces each time and it has meat and those potatoes in it 12:58
I didn't mention it, but I spent all day Sunday planning a completely different menu that was vegetarian. It had lots of Mexican and Latin influences and required a lot of cooking. I decided that since I had just done a vegetarian menu that featured that type of cuisine that I should do something different, so this is what you got 😂 I like to mix it up since I have viewers of all types. I'll have to try the corned beef hash.
@@ArdentMichelle I think your channel is absolutely wonderful and it helps a lot of people stretch their ideas and budgets even if they’re not on a low budget if they’re on a no budget for spending then they can incorporate different ideas that you give them to make their budget stretch for the small amounts that they spend! I absolutely love all of your videos whether it’s vegan or vegetarian or even meat-based! You’re doing an absolutely fantastic job
@@ArdentMichelleWooden spoon, barely mixed, it will look kinda like just pieces of dough, but smash it into a pile and then roll out. It will come together once it’s rolled with a rolling pin. I hope that makes sense. Kinda hard to explain.
@@sydneyalisonbaker the recipe called for kneading it for 2 minutes which I thought was way off so I only did a few seconds. I'll try your method next time.
I've never thought to add Cavendars Greek seasoning....and I love that stuff. But then, what is it not good on?!?!? 😂 Thanks for sharing this. I'm adding it to my milk gravy next time! 👩🍳
Another great menu and video, Michelle! I've probably told you this before, but here goes: when our sons were teenagers, they were both vegetarians. My husband is the family gravy-chef (he learned from my Kentucky-born mother) and the way he came up with an acceptable gravy for them was browning the flour, as you did, then using soy sauce for flavoring. He still makes it like this sometimes. It's very good. Also, the beans in chili thing is personal preference, We also live in the Lone Star state (my husband is a native) and I won't eat chili without beans......Carla
Hi Carla 😁 Yes I remember the soy sauce in the gravy now, but thank you for reminding me because I want to try that sometime. I love soy sauce, I just never thought to add it into my gravy. I agree with you on the chili thing 😂
Michelle - it amazes me so much each video how you give all these alternate ways of preparing. Thank you so much for your videos. These look amazing. I hope to try some of these. BLESSINGS!
Awesome budget meals. For me, with a celiac kid, we use a lot of rice and dried legumes. Peanuts, eggs, stuff like that. Cornmeal for breads and cereals. Our favorite cheap meal is polenta with pasta sauce and Parmesan cheese.
I was thinking about something different to do with the spaghetti noodles in my pantry and today you suggest a frittata. Lol. And that's another reason to watch, you think outside the box. So many creative meal ideas. 😋 Thank you...
Hi Michelle, we pretty much like the same foods (I don't like tofu 👎) there is one difference 😕 anyway I make hash with Walmarts version of spam too. I like to make sweet and sour spam with bell peppers and onions over rice. I love biscuits and gravy, so these recipes i really make quite often. Yesterday I made an Irish recipe and was going to make Irish soda bread but didn't really want it, so I made buttermilk biscuits with dried cranberries and rosemary and decided to add a little caraway seed, they were delicious. One thing I have not done is revive carrots in water, now I will start doing that with any sad looking ones. Have a great week. Your faithful subscriber, Charlotte
Hi Charlotte 😁 Wow....those biscuits do sound amazing! I've never tried that before. That spam was so good, I also like the idea of using it with bell peppers and onions over rice. I'm going to try that on my channel. I can see why it would be good because the flavor kind of mimics a spicy sausage and would help to balance the sweet and sour sauce. Thanks for sharing these awesome tips with us! 😁👩🍳 Have a great week.
Place your bunch of kale in a vase or glass of water (just like you would a bouquet), then put it in the frig to keep it happy (not limp) until you use it. Or, if you don't have room for a vase, you can soak a paper towel (make it very wet), place it bunched up around the ends of the kale stems, wrap the paper towel and stems securely with foil to keep the water from evaporating and dripping...then put the kale in your vegetable bin. Results...happy kale and chef.
Great job! I appreciate the work you do. It’s good to learn the variety of possible meals that can be made with basic simple ingredients. I also enjoy reading the comments and ideas of your viewers.
I love making biscuits! But I don’t have a proper cutter so I always cut the biscuits out with a wine glass I find it makes the perfect little size plus the bottom can be used to squish the extra dough biscuit at the end to make it look more uniform lol
Great haul! I use the buddig honey ham in white gravy. I shred up the ham and add to the gravy, then pour it over biscuits and scrambled eggs. Makes enough gravy for two-three servings.
These are some great budget meal ideas. I grew up with a southern mom and we had biscuits with every meal. I make them at least once a week myself. Funny, but I love scrambled eggs the opposite of fluffy. I just break them into a hot pan with melted butter and stir them up enough to break the yokes and mix them into the egg whites. We call them diner style eggs. Thanks!!
In order for me to get the most out of my shopping it's the reasonable Spanish grocery store, where you can weigh the jasmine rice not always buy 10lbs bag. I frequently get carrots and other fresh vegetables in mark downs and buying small amounts of fish and frozen lamb and goat meat low as $4.60 each I have cornbread mix always and drink fresh grated ginger root also try keep habernero peppers for smoky spice.
I parboil the potatoes because they fry up into hashbrowns or home fries or any kind of fried potatoes better that way. Shredding them when they’re already nearly cooked is super fast and easy and then they cook super fast and easy so it’s great if you can do that ahead of time like when you’re preparing dinner and you can have it or another meal..
Michelle that’s so funny I can’t see a speck of brown on my eggs ..I have to remove it…. But I also have to beat up my eggs in the blender because I also can’t see a speck of white in my scrambled eggs, but doing them in the blender with a little water makes them very very fluffy.
Two things, the frittata recipe is behind a pay wall at NYT. Could you add the oven temp and time in the notes for the Kentucky biscuits? The recipe at Allrecipes uses buttermilk not water and vinegar. A tad confusing. I really love your videos and the notes are great! I also am glad you don't repeat recipes in videos and so much variety. While I have dietary restrictions, it is easy to make a few changes to the meals because there is such variety to keep things fresh. Thank you!
I frequently modify recipes to make them fit into my budget which is why I mentioned the original recipes. People with larger budgets may want to use the original recipe. The butter, water, and vinegar was a sub for the buttermilk. The Kentucky biscuits are cooked at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Here is the NYT Recipe for Frittata ¼ pound spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine or other long pasta Salt and pepper to taste 4 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup minced pancetta, bacon or prosciutto 6 eggs 1cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese Cook pasta until barely tender. Drain, and toss it in a bowl with half the butter or oil. Let cool. Preheat oven to 350. Add remaining butter or oil in a large nonstick ovenproof skillet, and turn heat to medium-high. If you are using meat, add it, and cook, stirring occasionally until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes Combine pasta with ingredients. Pour into skillet, and turn heat to medium-low. Use a spoon if necessary to even out top of frittata. Cook undisturbed until mixture firms up on bottom, then transfer to oven. Bake until top is set, about 10 minutes. Glad you're enjoying my channel 😁
I always eat fresh corn on the cob when I find it (*usually at end of summer, when watermelons and peaches are also in)...a couple of tips: only buy what you will use in a day or two; do not shuck them until you are ready to use them (they will lose water overnight and look pruney/wrinkled if you shuck them early)...do not leave them soaking in water for very long before boiling, or a lot of the flavor goes out of them, eat whatever you have cooked--leftovers are not super good--the freshness is gone...do not be bothered by a dark or black spot on the cob, simply cut it off and proceed with boiling (then, of course, do not eat that spot where you cut)...also very good in recipes (like creamed corn; corn muffins; corn bread; fritters, salads, etc--you have to cook and cut off the cob with a knife before proceeding with recipe)...dts/usa
Thank you very much for many creative and exciting ideas! You are really good at cooking with a new twist! Well done. What I haven't seen are suggestions for picking up free herbs, mushrooms, fruit and berries in the nearest park or forest. After all, most of us are out for a walk in the afternoon, either with the dog, pram, toddler or just ourselves for fresh air. So why not take home something completely free? I picked 2 liters of blackberries yesterday after work. Half has been frozen to be used in a smoothie, while the other half has been made into jam. I freeze the jam to avoid having so much sugar in it for preservation. My husband has picked several types of mushrooms that hang to dry in the sun wall and there is a lot! Just avoid harvesting the food where there is too much car traffic, go where there are mostly pedestrians and cyclists. The new electric cars generate a lot of particulate matter because they are so heavy and tear up particles from the asphalt. Another tip is to go to the market at the end of the day when the market traders are packing up. Then you often get vegetables and fruit at a greatly reduced price. Last week I got five cauliflowers that I paid about $1 for, they usually cost between $2 and $3 for 1 cauliflower. I have blanched them and they are ready in the freezer for use. I saw a film you made that you drove for 15 minutes to get there, it's a long trip and there are extra fuel costs when you drive that far. I am 60 years old now, but I have never in my life driven as far as 15 minutes to reach the grocery store. Now you wanted to show us other shops in your film, but otherwise it can hardly pay when you have to be aware of what every dollar is used for. It will be cheaper to shop in shops close to where you live, then you can walk or cycle. I must also remember to thank you for daring to use foreign and unknown ingredients, I find that both exciting and instructive. Many greetings from Scandinavia.
Great tips for foraging. 👍 The only thing I've been able to find in my city are mushrooms and I wouldn't want to use them due to the amount of pesticides used here. That is so awesome that you were able to pick 2 liters of blackberries. I used to pick huckleberries in the mountains many years ago and then freeze them for winter use, but that was in another state. You have to be careful when making assumptions about things I do on my channel. The decisions I make as a content creator aren't necessarily the ones I would make on my own. For example, I frequently buy in small quantities on my channel. In real life, I buy staples in bulk, but many of my viewers cannot afford to buy in such quantities. Also, for those that drive gas powered vehicles, I'm sure they take distance into consideration in their budget and choice of stores to shop at. It's easy to plan on stopping by a particular store if you have to be in that area anyway. I've found that organization and planning are the biggest key to saving at the stores and I ALWAYS plan my grocery outings around other errands. If you've never driven more than 15 minutes to get to a store you must be VERY close to one. I can't afford to shop at the nearest regular grocery store to me. It's just too expensive. My local Walmart is only a couple miles from where I live but it takes me at least 10 minutes to get there. We have a lot of freeways in California and you can frequently get somewhere further away faster than you can somewhere closer to you. I try to venture out to stores not just for my own entertainment value, but for that of my viewers also. By doing so, I've been able to discover many new foods and discount stores. I would be so bored shopping at the same place all the time. I'm always excited about the chance to drive somewhere 😂 I'm so glad you are enjoying my videos. 😁 Thanks for the comment. Have a great rest of your week.
@@ArdentMichelle I understand that you adapt your channel to many people who really need your tips and recipes. You do an amazing job and I am very impressed with your creativity. Being able to vary your meals means greater well-being. I got a lot of ideas to thank you for! Too bad there are a lot of pesticides in your environment, here we don't have any particular agriculture near us, but we have parks and forests around our town and there everyone is welcome to harvest what nature provides. In the autumn, keen mushroom connoisseurs put their knowledge on display where you can get help so you don't go home with poisonous mushrooms. It's free and a great deal. The municipality also has an area where the local garden team grows and cares for herbs for the city's citizens. There we can pick up known and unknown herbs completely free of charge. I usually water there for a couple of weeks in the summer. It is a great measure that many people are happy about. We're a little proud that we've been making it work for over 20 years now. We have four large supermarkets where it take 10 minutes to walk to and then we have two supermarkets where it takes about 7-8 minutes to cycle to. We never use a car when we shop as the shops are so close and we enjoy moving around 🙂 It hurts to read that there are so many people who are struggling with the economy, we tend to say that it is expensive to be poor, since the best offers are often in larger packages and that many people then cannot afford the best offers. I wish and hope for better times for all of us!
@@maidsua4208 Wow that sounds like an amazing set up where you don't need a car. That must be nice! 😁 and so much better for the environment too. Thanks for sharing this with me. It sounds so lovely there. 🌸🌱
I am from Kentucky and make biscuits a lot but never put sugar or vinegar in it. I just use whole milk. I do use real butter in the biscuits….. Enjoy your video’s.
yeah...I'm not sure why they call them Kentucky biscuits, although I have seen a lot of those with buttermilk as an ingredient, but then again there are plenty of biscuit recipes that call for buttermilk that are not labeled as Kentucky biscuits. 😂 I think it's that highly debatable thing I talked about. 😂😂
You provide so many resources that many families will be able to survive any form of hard times. I just love your common sense ideas and food plans. Thank you for all you share!♥ BTW, the kale looks fabulous on the plate...with great nutrition too!
You can also use sour cream or Mexican crema in your biscuits if you don't have buttermilk and if you grew up in the south your grannys biscuit recipe very well could've came from the fanny farmer cook book and if you find one you might have your recipe it could also been a old king Arthur flour recipe especially if it was the deep south but try the sour cream or creama also if she was a product of the depression like my granny then powdered milk and lard also made good biscuits lol
@@ArdentMichelle ok and I understand being a partial vegetarian you probably don't feel good using lard or it could also be the cost hog fat is just so high and you can only save up so much bacon grease it takes almost a half a cup of bacon grease to make good biscuits and I'd rather save the bacon.grease for pinto beans or eggs but yes try the sour cream and if it's too heavy regular old club soda mixed with it will help..you can also use I think parmesan cheese the grated stuff not the good quality.kind .but the grated kind is supposed to make up for milk and make a mock sour cream taste too but I know here where I live some times crema is a sour cream option friends of mine use plain yogurt..too hope it helps 😏take care and God bless and have a great day...
It blows me away how inexpensive flour is in the United States---well, groceries in general (although I did find a 10 pound bag of potatoes this week for 1.94 which was amazing). I love breakfast for dinner!
I think your choice for the beef and not corned beef was a good use of intuition. Corned beef, in my experience is exclusively used for deli sandwiches with mustard and pickles. It might also go well alongside a creamy potato salad.
Thank you for sharing this info.😁 I looked up the difference of the beef with corned beef on google while at the store and it said the corned beef had more sodium, but they were the same content on the package. It wasn't my favorite meal, but some of my viewers really like that meal with the Buddig slices so I just think it's a matter of preferences.
Hi Michelle, This was a great video! I live in Australia and did a price comparison of exactly what you bought in the U.S. My total in AUD (Australian Dollars) was $37.39 shopping at one of our major grocery stores Woolworths which is Australia wide. I worked out $18 U.S as of May 2024 equals $27.22 AUD. See below for the breakdown of what items cost over here in Australia. 2 x ears of corn $3, 1 x can evaporated milk $2, 1 x carrot 35 cents, 1 x brown onion 59 cents, 1 bunch of green kale $3, 250 grams butter $3.70, 500 grams spaghetti 90 cents, 420 grams tomato soup $1.10, 85grams tinned chicken $1.40, Woolworths tinned ham 340 grams $3.50, 2 dozen free range eggs $10.40, 2kg of potatoes on special $5, 1kg of flour $1.40. All items were either generic or the cheapest that was available! Its amazing the price difference between our 2 countries!
I like to make a big batch of biscuits and then line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the biscuits on the cookie sheet and freeze them. Once they are frozen I put the frozen biscuits in a zippy bag. Its just me who eats biscuits so I take out what i need and defrost them and bake as normal. Saves time and a mess at later dates. Lol
Thank you so much. 🥰 Here is the link to the eggs Benedict recipe I wanted to try but I might have modified it to make it more budget friendly 😂 downshiftology.com/recipes/hollandaise-sauce/
we had a mobile fresh veggie pantry truck this week. gave away free bananas. it was perfect for breakfast on the way to school or have for afternoon snack. i freeze all my onions and peppers, always have those on stand by. love the potato shredder
Awesome video, Michelle! Those scrambled eggs are perfection. I love when they come out perfect like that. And the spam was an excellent idea. I just tried spam for the first time yesterday in the form of musubi. Delicious. I'll be cooking with it for sure now. Thanks for another really inventive week of low cost meals.
The recipe for American biscuits is very similar to the recipe for Australian damper, but it's cooked very differently. We wrap it in alfoil and cook it in the oven, more traditionally cooked over hot coals. I should try American biscuits one day, though.
I used to work for Human Services, our immigrants bought healthier food and stretched the SNAP dollar farther than anyone. They did not buy the stuff with preservatives. It made their kids sick. True story. Look in their grocery baskets, then look in ours.
If you can travel EASILY to your local Walmart (or Walmarts if you're lucky enough to live between several), know when they put meat and even produce on clearance.... If you can get to a WinCo, get your dried beans/rice/lentils because it's so much cheaper. (I get it if you can't). I don't buy veg or fruit at WinCo. They rot within a couple of days.
You did great with $15 to feed a family with no rice and beans. I’d like everything you made except I’d substitute spinach for the kale which isn’t my favorite. I like you used canned meat which I’ve always liked (don’t know why some turn their nose up at Spam luncheon meat). They don’t know how good it can taste. In the past I’ve always just fried it, but next I’m going to make a hash with it.
Couldn't agree with you more about Spam. I like to poach it in pineapple juice with a pineapple slice on the top. Tastes like ham and is pretty sitting on a plate with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.
Thank you so much 😁 yeah...as someone who doesn't eat very much meat, I was shocked at how tasty that spam was 😂 I could easily eat this on a weekly basis. Plus it's so flavorful that a little goes a long way in a stir fry.
Try heating the biscuits in the oven for just a few minutes they taste better than the microwave to me . I tried the peppered gravy homemade and it was delicious on mashed potatoes. I'm gonna try the hash browns your way . These meals are great and filling.
You could also make a spam gravy, or egg gravy. A restaurant i like makes their gravy for biscuits with ham, bacon, sausage and eggs. You definitely don't need all of that but it gave me the idea if using hard boiled eggs in gravy and it's actually very good.
