5 Suppers I Cook When Money Runs Out (Under $2 a Plate)

Presenter / Channel

Brenda Cooks (brendacooks.com) — video: “5 Suppers I Cook When Money Runs Out (Under $2 a Plate)”.

---

Core Message (Non-Recipe)

• The creator frames these as full, hot meals for tight budgets, emphasizing you’re not a bad cook and families won’t go hungry.
• All five are described as under $2 per plate, with costs varying by what ingredients you already have.

---

#5: Egg Gravy Over Toast (Fastest; ~10 Minutes)

Ingredients (amounts given)

• Butter or bacon grease: “a good spoon” (and/or bacon grease if saved)
• Flour: “a couple spoons”
• Milk: poured in after the flour (quantity not specified)
• Salt, pepper
  • Emphasis: “Hard pepper”
• Eggs: “a couple,” either:
  • chopped from boiled eggs, or
  • cracked directly into the gravy

Method / Technique

1. Melt fat in a skillet (butter or bacon grease).
2. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute so it doesn’t taste like paste.
3. Pour in milk slowly while whisking continuously until it thickens into smooth white gravy.
4. Season with salt and lots of hard pepper.
5. Add eggs:
   • chop in boiled eggs, or
   • crack eggs into the gravy and let them cook through.
6. Spoon over toast.

Equipment

• Skillet, whisk, pot (only if boiling eggs), toaster/toast prep.

Tips / Cues

• Don’t rush the milk-thickening step: whisk the whole time.
• Filling because of milk + eggs (protein/fat).

Serving

• Serve hot over toast; described as ready in ~10 minutes.

---

#4: Fried Cabbage and Noodles (Feeds a Crowd; Make-Ahead Friendly)

Ingredients (amounts given)

• Cabbage: 1 head (cheap; makes 2 suppers if careful)
• Onion: 1, sliced
• Butter or bacon grease: 1 spoon/pat (used for sautéing and finishing)
• Salt, pepper
• Egg noodles: boiled from a bag (quantity not specified)

Method / Technique

1. Chop cabbage roughly (“don’t fuss”).
2. Slice onion.
3. Heat a big skillet until hot; add butter/grease.
4. Sauté onion first until soft and sweet.
5. Add cabbage (it will look like too much).
6. Salt and pepper cabbage.
7. Cook without stirring long enough to develop brown edges
   • Key cue: if you stir every 10 seconds, you won’t get browning.
8. While cabbage cooks, boil egg noodles and drain.
9. Stir noodles into cabbage with another pat of butter.
10. Serve.

Equipment

• Big skillet, pot for noodles, strainer/drain.

Tips / Storage Cue

• Let it sit for browning: patience for flavor.
• Cabbage is said to keep in the fridge for weeks.

Serving / Yield

• A whole skillet can feed ~5 people; described as 40 cents/plate and costing ~$2 total.

---

#3: Potato Soup (Winter Comfort; Don’t Drain the Water)

Ingredients (amounts given)

• Potatoes: ~5–6 big potatoes (from a 5-lb bag)
• Onion: 1, chopped
• Water: to cover potatoes
• Salt: “a good shake”
• Milk: poured in after mashing (quantity not specified)
• Butter: 1 spoon (quantity not specified beyond “a spoon of butter”)
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder: optional (“if you’ve got”)
• Optional cheese: “heel of cheese” (grated over top)

Method / Technique

1. Peel and chunk potatoes.
2. Put potatoes and chopped onion in a pot with water.
3. Add salt and boil until potatoes are soft enough that a fork goes through easily.
4. Do not drain the water.
5. Mash potatoes in the pot with a potato masher:
   • mash some for thickness,
   • leave some chunks for body.
6. Pour in milk and add butter; warm back up.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add garlic powder if available.
9. Serve; if using cheese, grate over top.

Equipment

• Pot, potato masher, grater (optional).

Tips / Technique Cues

• The “cheap into good” trick: keep the flavored water (don’t drain).
• Mash for texture: thick but chunky.

Serving / Yield

• A big pot feeds the family; described as ~$1.50 total (varies).
• Cheese helps stretch and upgrade flavor.

---

#2: Beans and Cornbread (Budget Protein + Soak Shortcut)

Ingredients (amounts given)

Beans

• Dried beans: 1-lb bag (pinto or cheapest)
• Water: for soaking/cooking (amount not specified)
• Salt: added near the end (amount not specified)
• Onion: cooked in beans (described as cut in half)
• Ham bone: if available (“ham bone in the freezer”)
• Substitute: a spoon of bacon grease (if no ham bone)
• Optional: beans-only variation (no add-ins)

Cornbread

• Cornmeal or flour (either is fine, per creator)
• Milk
• Egg
• Fat (“a spoon of fat”)
• Hot oven (temperature not specified)

Method / Technique

Beans

1. Soak beans the night before:
   • Put beans in a bowl, cover with a lot of water, soak overnight.
2. Next morning:
   • Beans cook in ~1 hour instead of 3.
3. If you forget to soak:
   • Cover beans with water in pot, boil hard for 1 minute, then turn off and let sit 1 hour with a lid.
4. Cook beans slowly:
   • add onion (cut in half),
   • add a little salt but salt near the end (not at start).
5. Add flavor:
   • ham bone if you have it; otherwise bacon grease, or cook plainly.
6. Cook until:
   • beans are soft,
   • liquid turns thick—“practically a gravy of its own.”

Cornbread

1. Make cornbread batter with cornmeal/flour + milk + egg + fat.
2. Bake in a hot oven (timing/temperature not specified).
3. Serve either:
   • crumble cornbread into beans, or
   • butter and eat it alongside,
   • either way, sop up everything.

Equipment

• Bowl (for soaking), pot (beans), baking pan/oven (cornbread).

Tips / Common Mistakes

• Don’t salt at the beginning or beans may stay tough.
• Soaking shortcut if time is missed.

Serving / Yield

• “Feed a family of six” with plenty for tomorrow.
• Described as:
  • under $3 total,
  • under 40 cents/plate,
  • can feed everybody twice.

---

#1: Baked Spaghetti (Looks Like Sunday Dinner; Optional Meat Stretch)

Ingredients (amounts given)

• Box of spaghetti: 1 box (about $1)
• Onion + garlic: (amount not specified)
• Crushed tomatoes: 1 big can (about $1.50)
• Sugar: “a pinch” (to reduce tomato sharpness)
• Dried herbs (optional but recommended): oregano, basil, or Italian seasoning
• Salt, pepper
• Cheese (optional): “tired end of a block” or “a handful”
• Egg (optional): 1 egg (“beat it” and stir through noodles)
• Optional ground beef: “half a pound” (to brown into the sauce)

Method / Technique

1. Boil spaghetti in salted water (time not specified).
2. Drain noodles.
3. Make the simplest sauce:
   • soften onion and garlic,
   • add crushed tomatoes,
   • add pinch of sugar,
   • add salt, pepper, and dried herbs,
   • simmer while noodles finish cooking.
4. Mix drained noodles into sauce so every strand is coated.
5. Pour into a baking dish.
6. Optional upgrades:
   • sprinkle cheese on top,
   • if using egg, beat and stir it through noodles before baking (for neat casserole-style squares),
   • if using meat, brown half a pound of ground beef and stretch it into sauce (optional).
7. Bake in a hot oven:
   • 20 minutes until top is browned and bubbling.

Equipment

• Pot (boil pasta), pan (sauce), baking dish, oven.

Tips / Technique Cues

• Make it look not-poor: bake until bubbled + browned top.
• Egg mixed in helps it set into neat squares.
• No jar sauce needed—the creator advises jar sauce is labeled and costs more.

Serving / Yield

• Described as under $2 for the whole thing and enough for lunch leftovers.
• With optional beef, can stretch meat across ~6 people.

---

Equipment List (Across All Recipes)

• Skillet(s)
• Pots (boiling noodles/beans/potatoes/spaghetti)
• Whisk (egg gravy)
• Potato masher
• Oven + baking dish/pan
• Strainer/drain tools
• Knife/board for chopping

---

Referenced Sources

• No external sources cited in subtitles.
• Cookbook referenced: Brenda Cooks at brendacooks.com (with links mentioned).