You can easily make brunch for $1 (or less) a person. I’ve been doing it all month long, and I’m happy to share with you how. I’ve made healthy and delicious entrees, baked goods, soups, salads, and more, for super cheap. Forget $10 meals for 4; you can do it for even less, if you need. A solid pantry is a key to making inexpensive meals on the fly; I build mine slowly with the budget I have, and I’ll show you that along the way, too. But that’s later–I bet you’re hungry now. It’s a lazy Sunday morning, and you’re looking for an easy fix. Here’s an example of a meal that you can do today with what’s in your pad. If you don’t have all the ingredients, rest assured, they’re inexpensive staples you can easily get nearby.
Frittatas (egg pies, said in Italian, which makes almost everything sound beautiful) are super simple to make. More forgiving than omelets because you don’t have to flip them or tend to them, they utilize almost any remnants in your fridge, making them cheap and eliminating throwing food away! (Any scrap used is one less in the landfill–or yard/compost bin for veg/fruit items, as we have here in Los Angeles).
The Basic Frittata Plan
*eggs or silken tofu (to make vegan)
*fillings (veggies are awesome to make it healthy; add in whatever else needs to be used)
*spices
*liquid, if worried about it drying out (milk or soy/rice milk, for vegan)
*an oven for baking, a pan on the stove, a toaster oven, or even a crockpot will work!
That’s it! All you need to make a basic frittata. The picture above shows my Havarti, Beef Sausage, and Veggie Frittata. Why? It’s what I had in my freezer and fridge that needed to be used. Frittatas can hold almost any combo of fillings, depending on your likes and haves. Use what you like and have on hand. This frittata go-around, I made a larger batch than usual, because I wanted to prep breakfast for a whole week for two people. Leftovers are easily stored sealed in the fridge, or separated into individual portions in the freezer to be reheated later. Frittatas are so forgiving!
My Cheese, Sausage, and Veggie Meal-Onto-Itself Frittata
*12 eggs (I had a dozen I got for $1 near date!)
*1/2 cup of milk (8 cents)
*1 cup beef sausage (free w/ coupon, any meat remnant will do)
*6 slices, about 4 ounces, Havarti cheese (near death in my freezer)
*1/2 cup diced onion
*handful ailing baby bella mushroms
*1/2 cup diced fresh fennel (free from my friend Jerry, thank you!)
*2 tsp minced garlic
*2 tsp Italian herbs blend or similar (Penzeys is my favorite, but use what you have)
*1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
*2 T veggie oil (I used olive/grapeseed blend, got a gallon for $8.99 on sale)
*salt and pepper, to taste
First, make sure the pan is large enough for your quantity of ingredients. For this particular recipe, I used a 5 quart oven-safe saucier (thanks for the gift, M&D!). If you’re not sure what cooking implement to use, throw all the raw ingredients (eggs in their casing, still) into it; if the pan is big enough for the raw food in this recipe, it’ll work when it’s cooked. You can use a pie pan, Pyrex baking item, or oven-safe pan/pot, or crockpot. Once that’s done, prep your cooking method. Here, I pre-heated my oven to 375 degrees F.
Saute the onions, fennel, mushrooms, garlic, and dried spices–for this recipe, the Italian herb blend, salt, and pepper–in veggie oil in a hot pan. Doing this step first brings out the wonderful flavors and aroma in the spices and infuses them into the oil and thus, the whole recipe. Add in beef sausage or any other protein item, if desired and brown to taste.
Next, you can be lazy like I do and just throw the eggs and milk in the pan and whip everything together. I found a whole yolk the other day in mine; so what? It was tasty. If you’re feeling fancy, use an extra bowl and beat the eggs and milk together first, then dump them in the pan and blend all the ingredients with a fork or whatever you’re using.
Top with cheese, if desired–here, my 6 slices of hardened, seen better days havarti that was not good for sandwiches anymore, but is fine baked!
Pop in the oven, now at 375, for 35-45 minutes, until, like most baked goods, a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Presto! It should look about like that top photo. Let it set a minute and then cut into pieces and serve. Figure 1-2 eggs per person, so 6-12 pieces in this case. Eat on its own or with bread and/or a salad.
Substitutions
*Less, Please: Average pie plates would use about half this amount–6 eggs, scale other ingredients to about 1/2 listed above. Cooking time about the same.
*Crockpot: Try 4-8 hours on low: times vary based on the strength of your pot. You just want the egg to be set/fully cooked.
*Vegan: Whip silken tofu and your favorite milk (soy, rice, almond, etc.) to desired consistency. Add other spices and mix-ins. Bake to desired doneness.
Any questions, please ask. This blog is to help all of us, and I welcome input/feedback.
Enjoy!
The Grocery Girl
If you do have any questions–or input–please comment. I’m here for all of us.
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