   The GameDev Cookbook - Or, how to boil a shoestring
  I've seen a few threads around here where people have posted recipes that have stood the test of time and collage, and have passed the slim-wallet test. I need some of these. I've just moved, am looking for work, and need to keep what little money I have saved tight. I could previously afford to eat lots of frozen pizza, frozen dinners and what not, but now I don't think I can. Not to mention it's not very good for you.I figure I'm on the right track. A gallon bucket of Buch's beans with Pork Chunks: $8.00. A super-large box of Bisquik, ~$12. If I live off of that alone I ought to be good for two weeks. But I need flavor!. I like hot food too, curry, wings, stuff like that.What say yee, oh wizened belt winchers?   
  * Roast chicken. Whole chickens can be bought incredibly cheaply, and will last you through several days of sandwiches and things. Roasting a chicken is not difficult.* Pasta, pasta, pasta. But here's the real key: quit it with the boring store-bought pasta sauce. Try tossing the pasta with butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese, and topping with steamed veggies and/or roast chicken.* Soup's not a particularly good deal, by and large.* Tuna sandwiches are cheap and tasty if you have a good tuna salad recipe. Using low-fat mayo will not alter the taste at all.* Hot dogs are cheap. If you don't want to feel like you're eating tubes of fat, get Hebrew Nationals reduced-fat hot dogs, which are "reduced fat" only in that they are made out of actual meat rather than odds n' ends.* Learn to love salads. Some lettuce, some tomato, some sliced up meat, a bit of dressing, and you're good to go. Don't be fooled by the hype: salads are for people who enjoy food.   ;Quote:* Learn to love salads. Some lettuce, some tomato, some sliced up meat, a bit of dressing, and you're good to go. Don't be fooled by the hype: salads are for people who enjoy food. Combine this with your chicken idea and you have a great idea! Salads can be expensive though, if your local lettuce is crap or you can't keep it fresh for more than a few days.   ;  That's true. One thing people get wrong about salads, though, is assuming it needs to be "lettuce and stuff". Lettuce in your town costs $5 for a head of Iceberg that tastes like grey snow? Shred (slice thinly) some red cabbage, toss with grated carrot and snap peas and peeled and sliced cucumber and a bit of drained kidney beans. A salad is what you make of it.   ;  I have no actual recipee but rice is incredibly cheap and can be mixed with many things to give it different flavour/texture (so it doesn't feel like you're always eating the same thing)And then you have dessert! (rice pudding) :P   ;Quote:Original post by SneftelA salad is what you make of it.Also what you make it of.You can get a huge bag of rice (several tens of pounds) for cheap, and there's no limit to those possibilities. Ramen in bulk is good in case you need a quick, cheap meal orrun out of food. With Bisquick remember that you can freeze most batter, if you have extra, and it will last several times longer than in the refrigerator.Here is an amazing meal:Can of stewed whole tomatoesGround beef (you can buy this in bulk 5 pound logs and then freeze it)Elbow macaroni (big boxes are cheaper per unit, obviously)Monterey Jack cheeseBrown the ground beef, boil the noodles and drain them, crumble the ground beef into the noodles and mix them together, drain the tomatoes crush them while mixing them with the ground beef+noodle mix. Slice the cheese to cover a bowl of the mixture you just made, then microwave it all until the cheese melts.Very good stuff. Relatively cheap. Lasts a few days in the fridge. You can make as much or as little as you want.   ;  I can't believe I forgot to mention: The HUGE thing which can save you money--as well as time--on food: tupperware. Never make dinner for one; make dinner for four, and save three serving-size containers in the freezer. Build up a library of food so you don't end up eating the same thing several nights in a row. Cooking four times as much food takes pretty much the same amount of time.   ;  Chillie Con Carne is good, easy to make and not particular expensive.  There's many ways to do it, here's what I generally do:Chop up some onions, some garlic (or press the garlic if you have a garlic press) and some chillies and brown in some oil on the hob (you can also add peppers and stuff if you want).  Shove in some mince beef and brown that up, add a can of chopped tomatoes and then some herbs/spices (I generally use Cumin, Paprika, Cayene Pepper, Basil and Oregano though you can put it whatever you want).  Leave that to simmer for 10 minutes ish, add in a can of kidney beans (remember to drain and wash them first) and simmer for a futher 5 minutes ish.  Then you can serve it with rice (it's also rather nice with tortillas, sour cream and lettuce though that's more expensive than rice).I second Sneftel's suggestion of Pasta.  For a very simple tomato sauce just chop up some onions and garlic, brown in some oil on the hob, add a can of chopped tomatoes along with some herbs/spices (I normally use basil and oregano) and then simmer for a little while.Risotto is good as well.   ;  Go check out the produce section in your grocery. Certain vegetables (especially carrots) are incredibly cheap. You can make a stirfry out of just about anything just by chopping and then cooking; I like to use carrots, green beans, snowsnap peas, onion, and celery in mine, though some of those are less cheap than others (and the carrots/green beans will need to be boiled for a few minutes before being added to the fry). Add some rice and you have a meal.You can also make pizzas from scratch for about $4 per large-equivalent pizza (depending on what you use for toppings, of course; I use tomato sauce, mozarella cheese, onion, garlic, and pepperoni). If you spread that over two meals it's pretty cheap; plus, you can make a double-batch of the dough, so you have another pizza ready to be made. It's a bit like two-staging the leftovers.   ;  stew is fairly cheap to make, and get short grain rice. long grain sucks   