Photo by MadelineTosh via Flickr.comToday we are kicking off the frugal food series. Each week I will highlight a frugal food, and then invite readers to post their own recipes and link back here. Hopefully this will provide us all with a nice repertoire of recipes to use during these lean times!
We are starting with the “Incredible, Edible Egg”. (what add genius came up with that one eh?) Eggs are fairly inexpensive in most parts of the country. Here in the Binghamton area I can buy organic eggs for $2.35 a dozen straight from the farm, about $1.69 at Aldi’s and $1.99 at our small local grocery store. Taking the middle price of $1.99 that’s approximately $.17 per egg.
So lets talk about some options for using eggs to make an entree.
#1-Breakfast for Dinner. I’ve been known on an occasion to whip up some scrambled eggs for dinner. It’s quick and it’s easy, but it isn’t Yankee Bill’s favorite. The kiddos however think it’s pretty cool. This is a great option to avoid the drive through on a hectic night. I mean really-how long does it take to scramble or fry a couple of eggs.
#2-Egg Salad. This can be used in egg salad sandwiches or in a green salad. Granted, it isn’t exactly hearty fare, but sometimes when it’s hot and sticky out you just want something lighter and cooler anyway.
#3-Fried Rice. I love to make homemade fried rice to take all sorts of odds and ends leftovers and turn it into a one dish meal. Frequently I’ll have a little bit of meat left over from a meal during the week that will get tossed in there, but if not (or if there isn’t much of it) then it is eggs to the rescue. You simply crack a raw egg (or two) into the fried rice and scramble it right into the dish-cooking and mixing at the same time.
#4-Quiche. I love making quiche for dinner. It is one of those fabulous meals that you can make ahead, then serve cold, reheat and serve hot, or even freeze. You can use up lots of little things from the fridge in it, and it is just plain yummy! Oh-and it doesn’t have to take all that many eggs either. My favorite way to make quiche is with a rice crust and about 3 or 4 eggs. Quiche is also a great meal for potlucks (make in a 9X13 pan and cut into little squares) or to give away (you know those occasions where you want to send someone a dinner-new baby, sickness or injury, new neighbors moving in-that sort of thing)
Now it’s your turn. What ways do you use eggs? Have any fabulous family recipes? Just post them* (with a short description in parentheses) and then link directly to the post** in Mr. Linky below. Don’t have a blog? Just email me the recipe and any pertinent comments and I’ll post it here. Oh–and don’t forget to mention the series to all your friends, the more recipes and ideas we have the better a resource this is for everyone.
Don’t worry, I’ll be posting some recipes and linking them back here as well. Let the recipes begin!
Coming up next week-Canned Tuna
*Note: It’s fine to dig up recipes from your archives-but you may want to consider reposting them as a “best of” and then linking. My understanding is that does good things for your page rank and google searches etc.
**Note: If you link to your main page, after a week or so the egg post will be buried behind anything new and folks won’t be able to find it.
Holy Moly! You gals must have been waiting for this. I put the post up and came back 30 min later and there were already 4 links. GREAT!
I know, sorry tho, I kind of mucked up the first one. I’m still getting used to everything and I only started blogging last week so I’m still a bit of a eager beaver until I settle down and get into the swing of things. Can’t wait to see all the other recipes.
leanne-fixed it for you! and welcome to the blogosphere š
I would leave a recipe this week, but I’m allergic to eggs š I’ll join ya’ll next week.
Jenn your a star. Thanks.
I’m suprised no one’s mentioned bread pudding yet! Not only does it use eggs, but it also helps use up stale bread that the kids won’t touch. Here’s mine for applesauce bread pudding.
10 slices bread (it seems white bread is best. Try sourdough for a neat tang!)
1 jar (24oz.) cinnamon Apple Sauce (or use regular applesauce and a little bit of cinnamon)
nutmeg (I usually grate mine, and do it to taste)
4 eggs
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 F. Cube your bread, put about half in a greased 9×13 pan. Spread the applesauce over the bread, and sprinkle nutmeg. Put other half of bread cubes on top.
Whisk together remaining ingredients. Carefully pour over the bread in the pan so you don’t disturb the applesauce layer, and let soak for 15-20 minutes. Bake uncovered for around an hour or until you can insert a knife and the blade comes out clean. Supposed to make around 8-10 servings. You can top it with whipped cream, ice cream, or just serve as is.
Thanks for doing this! I’m really looking forward to everyone’s recipes.
How do you make a rice crust? I see your mention of it in the section on quiches, and I’m interested!
Ann-if you go to the recipe I linked to above (#4) there is a recipe and directions for the rice crust.
Since I have the “cooking for one” mentality, its easier for me.
Deviled eggs is the egg dish I have been craving. Yum!
I also make a microwave egg quiche type dish. I scramble one egg in a ramekin, add cheese (you can also add turkey, ham, sausage, or leftovers), and microwave. I dont remember how long I microwaved it for, but it turned out really well.
Thanks, Jenn! sorry I missed that link earlier.
One of my favorite dishes is to take a poached egg and some leftover rice, combine them with a bit of salt and pepper, a little garlic, and a shot of milk. It makes a great breakfast AND uses up leftovers! Woot woot!
Another favorite is to boil eggs, add them, rice or cooked noodles, mayo to an egg-salad consistency, any green veggies in the fridge or leftover side dishes, basil, oregano and parsley or (my fave) pesto seasoning, give it a good stir and let it chill overnight. (It still tastes good right away, but it tastes BETTER if it’s really cold) This was a “leftovers” meal that my mother used to cook for eight children in the summer when it was too hot to cook.
I know you already mentioned quiche but I love it with a potato crust.
Middle of the road eggs (non-organic, but pasteurized) run about 0.42 each. Yikes! 5 bucks a carton. The organics are about 7 bucks a carton, making them nearly 0.60 each!
Never thought about how much they each cost.
I like to scramble an egg with torn up kale, Italian sausage insides, red bell pepper, onion, and potatoes.
Hi Jenn! I am super-excited about this feature. Now I’m off to read the other entries. š
I’m new to your site (found it through Like Merchant Ships), but I am thrilled with this idea! Frugal meals that use frugal ingredients – go figure! I just posted this morning, before I had read your blog, my recipe/concept for Breakfast Burritos. This recipe is easy, cheap, and kid-friendly (a big deal in my house!). Great site, keep up the good work!
Jill
This is one of those dishes my mom would throw together when she needed to go shopping.
Eggs Vienna
1 package hot dogs cut into narrow strips (you could substitute bologna or other lunch meat)
Ā½ cup water
6 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Ā¼ cup chopped onion
2 Ā½ cups bean sprouts (canned or fresh)
3 tablespoons margarine, butter, or oil
HEAT hot dogs in water
MIX together eggs, milk, soy sauce, and onion
MELT margarine in skillet, add all of the ingredients and scramble gently over medium heat. Cook until creamy, moist and set.
Serves 6
Lots of great ideas here – eggs are so versatile!
I just left a link for one of our family favourites – Western Omelette wraps. They are super fast and super delicious! You can throw whatever veggie or meat bits you have on hand in the omelette. I stock up on flour tortillas when they go on sale and freeze them.
Whoops! I didn’t put any details in my link title. Oh well! they are Swedish Pancakes, or Dutch Babies, and they are great fun to make. thanks for a great topic!
First time linking to my blog, so I hope I did it right! Thanks for doing this.
This is my first time to your blog and I’m VERY excited about this series! I’m trying to reduce our already-slim grocery budget and look forward to what you have to share. THANKS!
Thanks everyone for the great comments-I’m glad that this series is helpful to so many folks (and I have a feeling that as the year winds on and prices increase, even more folks will come back and look through these lists for help)
Jenn, thanks for you nice comment on my blog. Also, I’m new to this whole posting links thing and I posted a link to my homepage and you’re right, the egg recipe is now buried! I posted a new link to the actual recipe so now there are two. You might want to delete the first one. Can you do that? See how new I am? Sheesh, I’ll learn eventually, right?
Another egg recipe we use a lot is one-eyed egyptians. Some people call them bird in the nest or toad in a hole. You butter one side of a slice of bread, cut a hole in the middle of it, put it butter side down in a pan, crack an egg in the hole and salt and pepper it. Cook til done. Don’t forget to cook the part you cut out of the hole (my kids favorite part!) We have tons of egg recipes because he have chickens in our backyard so we have an endless supply of eggs!
I’m ready for the tuna challenge! Bring it on!
Jill
Don’t worry Jill, I fixed it! It takes time to figure all this stuff out.
I like the deviled egg recipes that you linked to back on March 5, 2007. They are from recipezaar. The easy one is at http://www.recipezaar.com/7728 and the fancier one at http://www.recipezaar.com/26932. There are also tips for making deviled eggs in your post from back then. Newer readers would probably find it useful if you put up a link to that part of your blog as part of Eggs Week. – Mac
Thanks Mac-I’ll link back to that. Great idea.
You know, when you’ve been blogging for a few years sometimes it’s easy to forget what you’ve already written about!