Favorite Gourmet Meal... for a dollar or less?

[Chowrin]

I'm thinking mine is buttered basmati rice, flavored with cardamom.

What's yours?

[natewrites]

A good, baked russet potato smothered in butter and topped with whatever cheese is in the fridge. Cottage cheese with chives is good, too.

[Jay F]

A cheese souffle that doesn't use the priciest cheddar (it should be sharp, though) is probably under $1 per serving.

[Emme]

breakfast:
crepes with grilled pineapple, crispy canadian bacon, and a maple balsamic drizzle
oatcakes

lunch/dinner
pastina cakes with garlic spinach
bangers and mash
lentil sloppy joes with cauliflower and carrot soup swirls
farro, mushroom and broccoli bake
individual meatloaf stackers
chicken with sweet potato dumplings

[lilmomma]

Recipe pleas for farro?, mushroom broccoli bake. Sounds good.

[Emme]

Cook some farro. Saute onions, carrots, and broccoli in butter or olive oil or a mix. add garlic, mushrooms. add some dried thyme, salt and pepper. (feel free to add parsley or rosemary as well). sprinkle on some flour or cornstarch or wondra. stir to mix well. then add some sherry or vermouth or even marsala. simmer. then stir in the cooked farro and turn into a casserole dish. sprinkle with panko mixed with parmesan cheese. bake at 350 til bubbly. then broil for 5 min til the top is golden.
**you can see that it's highly variable, based upon what's around or in season. pairs nicely with a nice omelette or scrambled eggs too :) good room temp or cold the next day as well.

[iluvcookies]

Steel cut oats cooked til creamy, with a drop of milk, a pinch of cinnamon, and a little vanilla sugar. Delicious on a winter morning.

[chefathome]

Great idea...als yummy with a splash of Scottish whisky!

[blackpointyboots]

Lentil soup with a ham bone thrown in, some fine chopped onion, celery and carrots and a bit of cajun seasoning. The ham bone is free left over from another meal, always have the veggies on hand and the amount needed is small so only a few cents there. A bag of lentils is still less than a buck at Target and the batch of soup feeds our house for days. So less than a buck per person for dinner.

Or, home grown lettuce for salad, tomatoes laced with olive oil & balsamic, and some free venison steaks on the grill. We had a friend give us a yearling this year and usually get at least some venison in trade every winter. We butchered the yearling ourselves in the garage. It was a learning experience but really was not that hard. We had a friend advise us on properly aging the meat and the most efficient dismantling procedure. Hmm. I need to go dig a venison roast out of the freezer now..

[lilgi]

Well, I didn't include my fave comfort food which is yeah, crusty warm Italian bread with Feta because I figured even a piece of feta would be well over a dollar. Me thinks we're stretching things a bit here...

[lulou23]

French rolled omelet with herbs de provence and pinch of fresh parm, with balsamic drizzled over it.

[alliegator]

Standard issue bisquik biscuits with rosemary and drizzled with a bit of cheapy grade olive oil.

[Veggo]

I think I can do a portion of chicken livers with bacon and a little gravy on toast with a side of squash for about a buck.

[chefathome]

Thought of something else; again, not gourmet but a delicious snack! Roasted bacon with maple glaze. But of course if you can't stop at a couple of pieces = $1, well...

[nomadchowwoman]

Made these last night for a snack for two of us after reading a tip from Canal House vol. 2 (great books, btw), cheater's deviled eggs, i guess you could call them.

Two large "soft" hard-boiled farm eggs (67 cents), peeled and cut in half, tops smeared w/ Duke's, drizzled w/a fruity EVOO, and topped w/minced preserved lemon rind (had a jar of homemade in the fridge), and snipped chives (from my own pot). Had to come in under $1.
But the possibilities are endless--whatever's in your fridge that you like w/egg.
They were delicious--and they looked surprisingly "gourmet."

[Johnny West]

I wish we had Duke's out here in the NW.

We have the restaurant, not the mayo.

[nomadchowwoman]

We love our Duke's--but I think Hellmann's (or is it Best where you are?) is pretty darned good too.

[Johnny West]

Yes, I buy Best. Duke's is special, though.

[LauraGrace]

I was very seriously warned before Christmas that, if I wanted to set foot in my parents' house, I would have to bring at least three jars of Duke's home with me from Kentucky. It worked, is all I'm sayin'. ;)

[HillJ]

Dollar store super deal:
one can of smoked oysters and a handy toothpick (which I keep in my car)

[Johnny West]

Exactly!

Sardines in mustard on white bread with extra mustard pack from McD's, et. al. JW

I carry a PSK in the car with lexan flatware for two.

[meatn3]

Chopped liver on rye.

[Beach Chick]

Vine ripe tomato sandwich on rye with tons of mayo and kettle jalapeno chips squished inside.
2 avocado and cheese tacos.
Roasted veggies in a pita pocket.

[katecm]

Stewed chickpeas and tomatoes with a poached egg.

[scarmoza]

Pinto beans, Mexican rice, and pico de gallo salsa - the cafeteria at work sells this for $1.50 and it's fresh and delicious.

At home, sourdough waffles and a fried egg. I splurge on coffee though.

[chefathome]

Hardly gourmet but fresh spaghetti squash from the garden roasted with butter and sage leaves and lots of freshly-grated black pepper and allspice berries.

The best $1 gourmet meal I've ever had in the past (not the question, I know) was lightly scrambled eggs (our $1 contribution) with shaved white truffle in Italy (truffle as a treat from a truffle hunter friend).

[Uncle Bob]

Grits and Eggs......
Greens and Cornbread.....
A big bowl of fresh out of the garden yellow squash....Cornbread
A fresh Tomato sandwich with Dukes mayonnaise dripping off my chin...
etc.......

[LauraGrace]

"A fresh Tomato sandwich with Dukes mayonnaise dripping off my chin..."

Oh hayull yes.

[Uncle Bob]

"Oh hayull yes".

I love it!!!

[lilgi]

Okay, that one made my mouth water and I've never had Duke's mayo. Does warm, crusty Italian bread count???

[HillJ]

How about a fresh picked vine tomato cut in half and smeared with some mustard grilled for a few seconds! Love that for lunch.

[nomadchowwoman]

Get some--and then put it on anything you want: warm, crusty Italian, white squishy, dense whole grain . . . if a ripe tomato is involved, you'll be shoutin' "hayull yes" and "OMG" and "more! more!"

[jvanderh]

Yup. I don't think I've ever eaten less than $1 worth of tomatoes in a sitting. Even if they're home grown and we're only talking about the pennies I spent growing them, I'm not sure :-P

[lilgi]

I just made a trip to the market and got some of that mayo to try among other things; Thanks, can't wait to try it!

[nomadchowwoman]

Uncle Bob, why'dya have to go mentioning fresh tomatoes in January? Makes me wanna cry . . .

[Uncle Bob]

Dry your tears my dear....It want be long, and you'll have Duke's and tomato juice in both corners of your mouth!!! ;)

[lilgi]

Me too! I got the mayo to try, just need to get everything else :)

[iheartcooking]

ramen with anything from the fridge/freezer

sardines with " "

[paprkutr]

Where do you get sardines for under a buck? My husband loves them but the price has gone up to almost 3 bucks a can in oil.

[ChefJune]

Spaghetti with sauteed Dandelion greens, garlic and grated Pecorino.

[fourunder]

How much cheese are you guys sprinkling for under a buck?

:0)

[escondido123]

Three cheese polenta

[bermudagourmetgoddess]

Grits with a poached egg

[jvanderh]

+1.

And if we're using store brand grits and a factory farm egg, I think I can sautee some onion in butter in the bottom.

[AdamD]

eggs with a green chile sauce and tortillas

[LauraGrace]

White beans and greens on homemade rustic whole wheat bread. Gorgeous. Might have that for supper tonight, now that I'm thinking about it! :)

[katecm]

Top with a poached egg!

[LauraGrace]

Yes, *everything* is better with poached eggs. Even poached eggs! :D