PBR Streetgang German-Vietnamese Fusion Stew

Submitted by: Carie

Prep Time: 40 mins   Serves: 4   PerPerson: $1.60

Dietary: adventurous eater

Description: Okay, so this actually is weird. We wanted Phở, but the stores closed down before we could get all the ingredients we needed. So we made do by making shit up. And it turned out awesome.

Part I: Shrimp $1.99  1/2 lb shrimp, deveined $0.20  2 Tbsp olive oil $0.10  1 Tbsp honey $0.10  1 tsp hot sauce (e.g. Sriracha)   Directions: Stir fry shrimp in oil, honey, and hot sauce. This can also be eaten plain with rice or noodles for a super-fast, super-tasty, cheap meal.

Part II: Tofu $1.00  1 package chopped tofu       Directions: Brown tofu in a skillet until golden brown on all sides

Part III: Soup $0.20  2 stalks celery $0.20  2 carrots $0.20  1/2 purple cabbage $0.10  1 serrano chili $0.25  5 cloves garlic, chopped $0.10  1 onion, chopped $0.10  1 stick cinnamon $0.20  2 Tbsp cooking oil $0.20  2 Tbsp soy sauce $0.20  1 cube vegetable bullion $0.00  8 cups water $0.20  1 lime $0.20  1/4 c. cilantro

Directions: Roast the garlic, onions, carrots, and chili in the oil until onions are translucent, add the celery, cabbage, bullion cube, and cinnamon stick and stir for 2 minutes (breaking up the cube) until cabbage is slightly softened. Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil, then simmer soup on low. Chop the cilantro and quarter the limes for a garnish.

Part IV: Spätzle $0.10  1 c. flour $0.26  2 eggs $0.10  1/4 c. milk (we used rice milk) $0.05  2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro $0.02  1 tsp salt $0.02  1/2 tsp pepper

Directions: Gently beat eggs with milk, pour into flour and mix. Add flour or milk until the consistency is that of a thin dough (should drip in clumps from a spoon). Stir in cilantro, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil and press dough through a slotted spoon or colander (or a Spätzle press if you are lucky enough to have one) into the boiling soup. Alternately just make dumplings by dropping the dough into the soup by the teaspoonful. Dough will float to the top of the soup when it is finished cooking. In making normal Spätzle, the dough is dropped in plain salted water. Once the dough floats to the top, it is scooped out, strained, and fried in butter. But this way makes a superfast addition of noodles to a soup when you realize that you want soup with noodles but don't have noodles. Which is why we did it.


Part V: Garnish

$0.20  1 lime

$0.20  1/4 c. cilantro

$0.20  1/2 c. pea pods

$0.10  2 sprigs Thai basil

Final Directions
At this point, the soup is done. Now all you have to do is mix and match the parts you want (tofu? shrimp? plain?), garnish (with the stuff above, or add bean sprouts, chili peppers, or whatever else), and eat up! We served this with a side of baby bok choy and broccoli, stir fried with garlic and soy sauce ($0.55 for two people).


Total: $6.39


Notes: The units in this recipe can be mixed and matched with other things for endless delicious possibilities. Make spicy shrimp with noodles, tofu salad, beef Phở, Spätzle with goulash... oh god, so hungry.

Fridge Cleanout Lentil Soup

Submitted by: Vicky

Prep Time: 20 mins active, 1 hr passive   Serves: 8   PerPerson: $0.66

Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

Description: This is a great way to make use of a stockpile of slowly wilting vegetables. Just add lentils! It tastes amazing, is filling, and is insanely cheap.

Ingredients

$0.20  1 1/2 Onion, chopped
$0.25  5 cloves garlic, food processed or chopped
$0.60  6 medium carrots, chopped
$0.60  6 medium celery stalks, chopped
$0.40  1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
$2.00  1 pound/small bag lentils (brown, yellow, red, whatevs)
$0.20  1 vegetable bouillon cube (or chicken if you're into that)
$0.00  8 cups water
$0.65  1 potato, cubed
$0.05  salt
$0.05  pepper
$0.05  red pepper flakes
$0.20  2 tbsp oil or butter
$0.10  fresh cilantro for garnish                               
$5.35  Total ($0.66 per serving)
Directions

This one is pretty simple. These are the ingredients we had on hand, but pretty much any vegetable can go into this. Don't worry about chopping everything evenly, as it will be cooked down and blended in the end. Its classic must-go soup!

1. Soak the lentils, even if it says this is unnecessary on the label. It usually is a good idea to let them soak in cold water for at least an hour, just to clean them. If the label says to soak overnight, follow those directions.
2. Heat the oil or butter in a large pot. Like, the largest pot you have. There is going to be a lot of soup.
3. Throw in the onions, celery, and carrots and saute until the onions are clear. In fancy cooking terms, this is called a mirepoix (meer - pwah) and can serve as the basis for almost any soup.
   
4. Add the garlic and any other vegetables, but not the potato, and saute for about 5 minutes.
   
5. Add the 8 cups of water, bouillon cube, and lentils. Bring to a boil
6. Add the potato, and salt and pepper to taste
   
7. Reduce heat until the soup is simmering. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Throw in red pepper flakes if desired.
   
8. When lenils are mushy, use a hand blender (or transfer in batches to a counter top blender) and blend until smooth.
   
9. Top with fresh cilantro and serve

Notes:
You could top with sour cream as well, which is awesome, or add a bit of heavy whipping cream while blending, if, unlike Carie, you are not deathly allergic to dairy