National Dollar Day

The Dollar ain't what it used to be. But being the cheap$kate that I am, I can still stretch a buck even today August 8th on National Dollar Day. Well, I guess I should call it a Dollar and 25 Cents Day. 

So read on to see recipes that use foodstuff that cost about a Dollar. And you know the deal, just click on a highlighted recipe name to see all the tasty details from my extensive collection of cheap and tasty blog postings.

Yay, Dollar Tree!!

You can't get more basic than a Sandwich and I don't mean a boring Fried Baloney Sandwich, although I do crave one every once in a while. 

Let's start with a Philly Hoagie Sandwich. My wife, Linda, was raised just outside of Philadelphia and when we visit her kin and friends I always make a stop for a local Hoagie Sandwich. It's really just an Italian Sandwich filled with deli cuts of meat, usually salami, pepperoni, ham, and provolone cheese, and topped with lettuce, onion, and tomato. 

The above sandwich is from Dale's Deli in Levittown, Pennsylvania and this is where I get the best local Hoagies. They use salami and ham for theirs.

You want a bread roll with some crunch on the outside and soft on the inside. Instead of the usual mayo and mustard, a  Hoagie has a dressing of oil, vinegar, and dried Italian herbs. Check out my video below to see how I make mine.

The way I keep my sandwiches cheap is to buy "day old" bread from my local supermarket bargain bin. If you toast bread that's been out a little too long, I bet you cannot tell the difference from fresh-toasted bread, at least I can't. I even get croissants on sale that cost less than a dollar apiece when you break the package down.

I can still find tomatoes for about a dollar per pound, especially Roma tomatoes. Lettuce is cheap when you break it down even if it costs a couple bucks per.

Two easy side dishes are Easy Coleslaw and Potato Salad, again I can keep the ingredients at a buck each including the condiments mustard, pickle relish, and mayo. 

My Homemade Potato Salad is the bomb, just check it out below and rock your next patio party with it.

How about Dollar Tree cereal and Toast 'em breakfast? And that includes coffee.

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I like fruit with my yogurt, especially when yogurt is still pretty cheap. Bananas, peaches, and even mangos can be found on the cheap at my nearby ethnic market. The container of yogurt can be small but it's enough for a snack or light breakfast when you add fresh fruit.

The same goes for Pancakes. I also like mine with fruit. You can still find pancake mixes in the box for a buck twenty-five at Dollar Tree. While the syrup there is not pure maple, you can always splurge for the real thing elsewhere - don't tell, but that's what I do these days. 

You can't get much cheaper than an Egg Sandwich. Egg prices have at least doubled, but you only need one fried egg for my recipe. 

I add lettuce, tomato, and mayo to mine. I like my egg fried with a slightly runny yolk. You can scramble an egg as well. I use toasted bread. Get fancy and use a Pretzel Roll or Croissant. I often start my day with a Fried Egg Sandwich using days-old bread.

I get many breakfast ingredients for around a buck each and here are just some of the deals I've found.

My Old School Country Breakfast is made with some of the above ingredients. Check out my recipe below, which my dad made for me as a kid.

Pasta is still a steal and I have a few recipes up my tattered sleeves. Let's start with a fresh Fresh Veggie Pasta Salad. Just purchase the cheapest veggies on sale like carrots, onions, celery, cabbage, and spinach. You could just use a package of fresh-frozen veggies, too. Steam the chopped veggies for a couple of minutes and mix them into cooked pasta. Serve warm or cold.

And since the late, great, 99c only Stores shut down I get the cheapest veggies at my local Latin grocer, Superior. This bottom feeder cannot survive just on Dollar Tree ingredients!

I get packages of penne, macaroni, and spaghetti for around a buck. And I have a lot of recipes that take advantage of cheap pasta, including Pasta Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Veggies in Cream with Pasta,  Chicken Stroganoff (with egg noodles,) Creamy Mushrooms & Pasta, etc. Again just type and enter the word "pasta" in the Search window located at the top-right side of this blog.

I even find enough ingredients for a quick Homemade Pizza. Dollar Tree sometimes sells cooked pizza crusts. So all you have to do is top them with pasta sauce and anything else you like, then heat the pizza in the oven until bubbly.

Canned pasta sauce is still cheap and so are small tins of fish. Hey, that's a meal right there. Just cook the pasta and mix in some tomato sauce then add a can of fish at the last minute to heat through. Some tinned fish has tomato sauce added, so that's even cheaper to make. Click here to see my Sardines in Tomato Sauce & Pasta.

A simple pasta dish is a Bolognese that uses cans or jars of tomato sauce and a small package of ground beef or turkey. Add some garlic and dried Italian herbs and simmer. It's a small serving but hearty enough. Cooked bags of meatballs show up, too that are good in a pasta sauce or pizza topping.

In my bachelor days, I even used grated cheese from those plastic shakers on my pasta dishes. If my wife did not object I would still be using it, but go ahead and shave it if you got it, a block of parmesan, that is. And most pasta benefits from garlic, which I still find fresh and in jars.

When I watch sports on TV I will invite my rowdy buddies over for hot dogs. Now, this is a meal for cheap$kates, especially when they bring the beer!

Plus, it's so easy to make hot dogs my way. I set out the condiments of mustard, pickle relish, chopped onion, and cheese. Believe it or not, I get all of that for about $1.25each.

I like a Stir Fry because you can make it cheap and fast. Rice is always a bargain along with chicken, my favorite protein to use. I also find frozen veggies and typical Chinese condiments easily.

The cheapest Stir Fry I've come up with is Chicken, Carrot & Cabbage. Serve over rice.

Here in Los Angeles, you can get Mexican food everywhere and I do.

I have mucho recipes from Carnitas made from Pork or Turkey, to my Mom's Homemade Tex-Mex Enchiladas. To see a complete roundup of Latin recipes, just click here. 

I make a damn good Huevos Rancheros and I sometimes use canned beans and a jar of salsa with a fried egg, all on the cheap. I make this recipe all the time and I courted my wife with this recipe - she loves it. Try it with Tortilla Chips instead of corn tortillas sometimes.

Love or hate them, canned Tamales are a bargain and plentiful. I barely remember the taste from my bachelor days, but I used to have a can or two in my pantry as a late-night meal of last resort.

The first frozen meals I had were made by Banquet and Swanson. Old habits die hard...I do like their Salisberry Steak - there is something about the mushy sides that have stayed with me and that I crave. I have a sadly funny post on frozen Banquet Turkey Dinners.

l admit to having a sweet tooth. When I make my own sweets I usually keep the sugar amounts to half what a typical recipe calls for. I have recipes for Cobblers and Fruit Pies with fresh or canned fruit. The ingredients list is small and if you use canned fruit look for unsweetened or low sugar. Click here to see Mom's Cherry Pie and my Pineapple and Peach Cobblers.

I love my Mom's Cherry Pie and it's the best, so do check out my video below.

You will want to bookmark her Pumpkin Pie recipe, especially now that organic pumpkin puree is out there.

I get sweets that are ready to eat at my local dollar stores. Sometimes it's a good call and other times not. Cordial or Chocolate Covered Cherries are a success and I still have a Moon Pie on occasion.

I went to a garden party and brought some Dollar Tree Cream Puffs. Check out what my neighbors thought of my edible (?) gift -- oh boy!

I find enough ingredients for a luscious Egg Salad, a pungent Tuna Salad, and even a creamy Tuna Melt.

Canned Meat? Every once in a while it brings a flashback to my childhood school lunch dazes. 

Be sure to check out my Vienna Sausage Corndog Party and see how lowdown I can go!

My wife calls me her "Louisiana Man" so you can be sure I'm all over Cajun dollar deals that show up on the shelves.

Don't know how long dollar days will last in this economy, but keep checking back to see how to ride out any economic earthquakes, tornados, or hurricanes, and still have a full belly.