Poor Man's Casserole

aNimAL

aNimAL

Contributor
Veteran XX
3 packages of beef or chicken ramen
quarter to half a bag of frozen peas
big chunk'o hamburger
lawry's (no msg)
fresh onion

-fry up the hamburger, chop into smaller bits/chunks
-boil ramen at same time
-while frying hamburger, throw in as many diced bits of onion as you want
-put completed packages of ramen into strainer to remove excess water, and then put into large bowl
-after ramen is completed, boil peas in remaining boiling water
-put cooked hamburger into strainer to remove excess grease, and then put into large bowl
-put cooked peas into strainer to remove excess water, and then into large bowl
-sprinkle *lightly* with lawry's(if desired) and also mix in whatever flavor packets came with the ramen you chose (beef and chicken both come out delicious)
-mix well, preferably trying to chop up longer noodles so they will blend better with bits of meat/peas
-???
-profit

depending on how much of the ingredients you use, you could potentially have a meal that will last you a whole week for very cheap

if you're poor or a college student or a poor college student or you're poor and ugly
 
Best "college student" food I made is satay ramen made simply using peanut butter, some curry powder, and a little hot water for the sauce, then mix that in with the ramen ... very filling.

I was poor once, I have 1001 ramen recipes. Hell I still make ramen meals now and then when I am feeling particularly lazy.

I also branched into making singapore noodles (when I found rice vermicelli at a asian grocer that was cheaper than egg noodle ramen) and I used lots of fresh spring onion and crap like that.

Now my "staple" when I am lazy is a laksa ramen made with chicken stock, coconut cream and laksa paste. Break up the noodles and pour the boiling laksa stock to come to the top of the ramen and cover allowing it to soften for 5 mins, then enjoy.

I also branch into things like salamis and egg as well ... the possibilities are endless, use your imagination. Shit I could write a book on all the various recipes I have made, in fact I bet it would be a college best seller.

"Stocking your pantry"
"Cooking Ramen"
"Spice Mixes"

... damn this is an idea, has anyone thought of it yet?
 
Ok, really poor college students need to stock up on two main things, tinned/powdered soups and ramen. When money permits, begin buying spices and keep them in stock, a "required" spice is a powdered curry mix, similarly stock powders.

UHT creams and milks (buy them in the hotel room bulk packs when you have the money) can also be used to make ramen dishes richer. A bit of UHT cream in a tomato soup with a little chicken stock makes an amazing ramen meal.

A staple for me when I was single, poor, had heaps of debts and struggled to make ends meet were cream of chicken soups, tomato soups and and beef soups. The rare times I did have money I bought salami in bulk and made friends with a neighbor with a chicken coop which I cleaned out for enough eggs each week (not easy for a college student I know).

Make soups and sauces in bulk, portion and freeze them, then heat them in the microwave, when liquid add the ramen so by the time the soup is hot, the ramen is soft. An egg is enough to make it richer and tastier, its also not hard to grow herbs (corriander/cilantro, etc on a window sill).

Cabbage ... NEVER underestimate cabbage, no matter how much you hate it. Shredded cabbage, egg and boiled ramen noodles can be fried in a multitude of ways, its a cheap and healthy variation.

Rice vermicelli can sometimes be bought cheaper in bulk than ramen, so if you are willing to experiment, it can often be rewarding if you have additional ingredients to add.

Onion, no matter where you are they should be cheap, and they last if stored in a fridge. Dice up half and fry it off then add to the ramen to sweeten up a dish, with a little beef stock you can make french onion ramen.

Potato, again cheap wherever you are. Use a knife to peel the skins off and roast them in an oven, boil the rest and add to the ramen for a bit of body, you can sprinkle chicken stock onto the mix for some zing.

Butter/margarine. Sometimes the easiest can be tastiest, if all else fails ... boil some ramen, drain it well, mix through some butter and if you have it that nasty powdered parmesean cheese ... alternatively a little chicken stock instead of parmesean can add the required flavour profiles.

All in all, with a bit of planning, learning to buy in bulk, and experimentation, its easy for a college student to survive a week with $20-$50 if he learns to shop in bulk and buy sensibly, while alcohol can be important sometimes a big salami sausage will last a month if used sparingly to make meals more interesting then a bottle of beer.
 
Cooking ramen is easy, but i have two main ways.

1: Boil it raw unseasoned then add flavours.
2: Make the soup/flavour stock and add it hot to the ramen, cover and wait.

From those two you can go far and wide.

Things that dont work.

Steaming, baking, and weird shit like that.

Deep frying yields interesting results sometimes, but its brand dependent, some brands turn to rock, others turn into crispy fried noodles (great with soy based soups/sauces).
 
Oh ... flour and yeast.

Seriously, yeast and flour are cheap as fuck, and with some salt and water you can make a range of doughs. Also, if your parents love you ask them to buy you a cheap manual pasta roller, you can then make your own egg noodles very easily (egg, salt and flour, one egg per cup of flour - thats it).

Learning to hand kneed doughs can save your life, at the worst you will at least have bread to eat, but it takes a little work.

Its half the reason I make so many tasty baked goods.
 
Rayn said:
why are you refrigerating onions? they need good air circulation for longest shelf life.
Click to expand...

They last longest in the fridge I have found. About 2-3 weeks in a well ventilated place versus up to 2 months in the fridge. I guess my fridge is good at its job.
 
Kiint said:
They last longest in the fridge I have found. About 2-3 weeks in a well ventilated place versus up to 2 months in the fridge. I guess my fridge is good at its job.
Click to expand...
do you have some kind of convection fridge? the onions I store in my garage (mature onions) will last 12-24 months.
 
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