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Recipes

Budget Recipes from Standing on Your Own

The following are some quick, easy recipes that are kind to a budget. Rotating how you make them helps with food fatigue. Some of you might already know your way around a kitchen — others might only have washing the pan as their experience with it. Either way, these are here for you.

Note: All of these recipes use ingredients from the same budget grocery list. The hamburger goes into the spaghetti, the goulash, the tacos, the stroganoff, the tater tot casserole, the potato soup. The eggs work for any meal. One grocery trip feeds you all week with variety.

1. Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

The classic. Fast, filling, feeds you twice if you make enough.

  1. Brown 1/2 lb hamburger in a pan over medium-high heat. Break it up as it cooks.
  2. Drain the grease — tilt the pan and spoon it out, or carefully pour into a heat-safe container.
  3. Add one can of spaghetti sauce directly to the meat. Stir and let it simmer on low.
  4. In a separate pot, boil water with a pinch of salt. Add thin spaghetti noodles (or any pasta — even elbow macaroni works for a goulash-style version).
  5. Cook noodles until tender (follow the box — usually 8–10 minutes). Drain.
  6. Combine noodles and meat sauce. Serve.

Budget tip: Make a full pound of hamburger and use half for spaghetti tonight, half for something else tomorrow.

2. Goulash

Same as spaghetti, different noodle. Heartier, stretches further.

  1. Brown 1/2 lb hamburger, drain the grease.
  2. Add one can of spaghetti sauce to the meat and stir.
  3. Cook elbow macaroni separately according to the box. Drain.
  4. Combine everything in one pot. Stir together and serve.

Why it works: Elbow macaroni is cheaper and more filling than spaghetti noodles. This is the same meal with a different texture — and it feels different enough that you won't feel like you're eating leftovers.

3. Tacos or Taco Salad

One bag of corn chips stretches this into a meal all week.

  1. Brown hamburger in a pan, drain the grease.
  2. Add taco seasoning (follow the packet directions — usually a little water and the whole packet for 1 lb of meat).
  3. Stir and let simmer for a few minutes until the liquid reduces.
  4. For tacos: Serve in taco shells or flour tortillas. Add cheese, lettuce, whatever you have.
  5. For taco salad: Pile corn chips on a plate, top with the seasoned meat, then add shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream if you have it, salsa if you have it.

Why corn chips instead of shells: A bag of corn chips costs less than a box of taco shells, goes further, and you can eat the leftovers as a snack. Taco salad also works as a meal all week — just keep the ingredients separate until you're ready to eat.

4. Chili Mac

Five minutes. One pot. Done.

  1. Brown 1/2 lb hamburger in a pot, drain the grease.
  2. Add one can of chili (with or without beans — your call).
  3. Add one cup of dry elbow macaroni or shell pasta directly to the pot.
  4. Add enough water to just cover everything (about 1–1.5 cups).
  5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked through (about 10 minutes).
  6. Add shredded cheese on top if you have it. Serve straight from the pot.

One-pot rule: Less dishes. That matters when you're tired.

5. Beef Stroganoff

Sounds fancy. It's not. It's cream of mushroom soup over noodles.

  1. Brown hamburger in a pan, drain the grease.
  2. Add one can of cream of mushroom soup. Add about half a can of water or milk and stir to combine.
  3. Let it simmer on low heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Cook egg noodles in a separate pot according to the box. Drain.
  5. Serve the meat and sauce over the egg noodles.
  6. Optional: Throw a can of green beans in with the meat sauce for color and nutrition. It fits the flavor and costs almost nothing.

If you have sour cream: Stir a spoonful into the sauce before serving. That's the "real" stroganoff. But it's good without it too.

6. Tater Tot Casserole

Same as stroganoff, but you bake it. Comfort food on a budget.

  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
  2. Brown hamburger in a pan, drain the grease.
  3. Mix the browned meat with one can of cream of mushroom soup (and half a can of milk if you want it creamier). Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Pour the meat mixture into a baking dish and spread it out evenly.
  5. Layer frozen tater tots on top in a single layer.
  6. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the tater tots are golden and crispy on top.
  7. Add shredded cheese on top for the last 5 minutes if you have it.

Feeds 2–3 people or one person for two days. Reheats well.

7. Potato Soup (Basic)

This one takes a little more time, but it's worth it. Filling, cheap, and real food.

Ingredients: 1 lb hamburger, 1 medium onion, 6–8 medium potatoes, butter, milk, salt and pepper.

  1. Brown the hamburger in a large pot. Add the diced onion and cook until the onion turns translucent (soft and slightly see-through). Drain the oil.
  2. Peel the potatoes. Cut each potato in half, then cut each half lengthwise, then make 4 more equal cuts — you should end up with about 16 bite-size cubes per potato.
  3. Rinse the potato cubes. Add them to the pot and fill with water just enough to cover everything.
  4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a steady boil. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender — a fork should slide in easily with no resistance (about 15–20 minutes).
  5. Add a couple teaspoons of butter and a splash of milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Add the hamburger and onion mixture back in. Stir and let everything simmer together for a few minutes.
  7. Serve as-is. It's a full meal in a bowl.

8. Potato Soup (Upgraded)

When you have a little extra. Same base, but richer.

Start with the Basic Potato Soup recipe above, then add:

  • Bacon bits mixed into the hamburger mixture
  • Use chicken stock instead of plain water
  • Add shredded carrots to the pot with the potatoes
  • Smoked cheddar or any shredded cheese stirred in at the end

Make a roux for extra richness:

  1. In a separate small pan, melt a couple teaspoons of butter over low heat.
  2. Add an equal amount of flour and stir it into a paste.
  3. Slowly add 1/2 to 1 cup of milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly on low heat. Don't rush this — keep stirring until it's smooth.
  4. Add 1–2 cups of shredded cheese and stir until thick and melted.
  5. Slowly pour the roux into your finished potato soup, stirring as you go.
  6. Let everything simmer together on low for 10–15 minutes. The soup will thicken up and taste like something from a restaurant.

9. Scrambled Eggs & Quick Egg Sandwich

Works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. No judgment.

Scrambled Eggs:

  1. Crack 2–3 eggs into a bowl. Add a splash of milk if you have it. Beat with a fork until the yolks and whites are fully combined.
  2. Melt a small pat of butter in a pan over medium-low heat.
  3. Pour in the eggs. Let them sit for a few seconds, then gently push them around the pan with a spatula.
  4. Keep moving them slowly — don't stir constantly, just fold them over themselves every 20–30 seconds.
  5. Pull them off the heat when they look almost done — they'll finish cooking from the residual heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Quick Egg Sandwich:

  1. Toast two slices of bread.
  2. Make scrambled or fried eggs (see fried egg guide below).
  3. Put the egg on the toast. Add a slice of cheese if you have it — the heat from the egg will melt it.
  4. Add hot sauce, salt, pepper — whatever you like.

This is a full meal. Don't let anyone tell you eggs are just for breakfast.

10. Egg Salad

Boil eggs once, eat for days.

  1. Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by about an inch.
  2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook for 10–12 minutes.
  3. Drain the hot water and immediately run cold water over the eggs (or put them in a bowl of ice water) for at least 5 minutes. This stops the cooking and makes them easier to peel.
  4. Peel the eggs — tap them on the counter to crack the shell, then peel under a trickle of cold water.
  5. Chop the peeled eggs into small pieces.
  6. Add mayonnaise (start with 1–2 tablespoons per 4 eggs), a squirt of mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix together.
  7. Taste and adjust — more mayo for creamier, more mustard for tang.
  8. Serve on bread or crackers.

Keeps in the fridge for 3–4 days. Make a batch on Sunday, eat it all week.

11. Fried Eggs — The Full Breakdown

Nobody taught most of us the difference. Here it is.

All fried eggs start the same way: melt butter (or a little oil) in a pan over medium heat. Crack the egg gently on the edge of the pan and drop it in. Then:

  • Sunny Side Up: Don't flip it. Cook until the white is set but the yolk is still runny and bright yellow on top. The yolk will be liquid when you cut into it. Great for dipping toast.
  • Over Easy: Let the white set, then flip it gently and cook for just 15–20 seconds. The yolk is still runny but the top is sealed. Slightly less messy than sunny side up.
  • Over Medium: Flip and cook for about 45–60 seconds. The yolk is partially set — jammy in the middle, not fully liquid. This is the middle ground most people end up preferring.
  • Over Hard: Flip and cook until the yolk is fully set and solid all the way through. No runniness at all. If runny yolks aren't your thing, this is your egg.

The flip: Use a thin spatula and be decisive — slide it fully under the egg and flip in one smooth motion. Hesitating is what breaks the yolk.

Season with salt and pepper right after you crack it into the pan.

These recipes all use the same ingredients from the budget grocery list in Standing on Your Own. One shopping trip. One week of real food. That's the whole point.

More recipes added regularly. Check back.

— Eccentric Perspectives