Hard Times
This section is devoted to the lowest priced, most affordable ideas, meals and recipes. Everyone goes through hard times. Sometimes they last a week or two. Sometimes they last a year or two. Sometimes they last longer. Everyone has to live through them now and then. This section is a collection of ideas, meals and recipes to get you through. For the most part, these recipes and ideas are gluten free and dairy free.
Ideas
- Tips & Tricks for When You’re Rock Bottom Broke–These are my ideas. Leave a comment to share yours.
- Good Food For Hard Times–Includes my Rock Bottom Broke Gluten Free Casein Free Shopping List–a list of extremely economical foods that are useful when you’re trying to eat for as little cash as possible.
- Best Buys GFCF Convenience Foods
- Ground Beef–What’s the Best Buy?
- How To Beat The High Cost Of Beef
- Reader Requested Shopping List–This one is NOT gluten-free or casein-free.
- Best Budget-Friendly Gluten Free Dairy Free Flavor Boosters
- Quality VS. Quantity
- Poor, Sick, Fat, Exhausted: How To Fix It – Part 1
- How To Get The Most Nutrition For The Least Cash!
Recipes
Beverages
- Saving Money on Beverages
- Sun Tea
- Fresh Brewed Iced Tea
- Lemon Water
- Lemon Slushy
- Old-Fashioned Lemonade
- Instant Iced Tea
- Natural Fruit Tea
- Citrus Refresher
- Instant Fruit Flavored Tea
- Almost Instant Chocolate Milk
- Fruit Smoothies
- Orange Jubilee
- Tomato Juice From Tomato Paste
- Vegetable Juice Smoothy
Breakfast
- Fruit Smoothies
- Orange Jubilee
- Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Smoothy
- Healthy Honey Granola
- Honey Granola
- Brown Sugar Granola
- My Best Granola
- Hot Cinnamon Rice Cereal From Leftover Rice
- Scrambled Rice
- Grits with Ham
- Maple Flavored Syrup
- Banana Pancakes
- Rice Flour Waffles
- Oatmeal Pancakes
- Spider Cakes
- Basic Cornmeal Pancakes
- Cornmeal Mush & Cornmeal Cutlets
- Country Fried Potatoes & Bacon
- Breakfast Beef Steaks
- Baking Bacon or Sausage
Breads
- Gluten Free Baking For Hard Times
- Cornbread & Variations
- Yankee Cornbread
- Extra Tender Cornmeal Muffins
- Cornmeal & Rice Muffins
- Cornmeal Mashed Potato Muffins
- Rice Flour Muffins
- Southern Spoon Bread or Batter Bread
- Gluten Free Cream Puffs
- Oatmeal Scones
- Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
- Multi-Grain Skillet Bread
- Things to do with Corn Tortillas
- Triple Corn Bread Casserole
- Cornmeal Mush & Cornmeal Cutlets
- Hoecakes or Corn Pone
- Rice Flour Popovers
- Italian Polenta
Beans, Peas & Lentils
- Jamaican Blackeyed Peas
- Cold Lentil & Rice Salad
- Italian Style Lentils & Rice
- Curried Lentils & Rice
- Taco Style Lentils & Rice
- Garlic & Herb Lentils & Rice
- Split Pea & Potato Soup
- Split Pea & Tomato Curry
- Not Campbell’s Bean & Bacon Soup
- Lentil & Vegetable Soup
- Curried Lentils & Potatoes
- Blackeyed Pea Gumbo
- Lentil Chili
- Gussied Up Canned Refried Beans
- Cajun Style Red Beans & Rice with Sausage
- Chickpea Hummus
- Creamy White Bean Soup
- Country Cottage Sausage & Bean Stew
- Easy Chili Beans
- Simple Black Beans & Potatoes
- Almost Instant Split Pea Soup
Chicken
- Thrifty Homemade Chicken Broth
- Boiled Chicken
- How to Roast a Whole Chicken or Turkey
- Steam Roasted Chicken
- Snake Bites
- Simple Baked Chicken
- Oven Fried Chicken
- Shaky Bake
- Seasoned Rice For Chicken–Chicken, Broccoli Rice Skillet, variation
- African Chicken & Peanut Butter Stew
- Teriyaki Stirfry
- Classic Chicken Salad (variation Cranberry Chicken Salad)
Cookies & Bars
Dairy-Free Alternatives
- Homemade Coconut Milk
- Tofu Yogurt or Togurt
- Tofu Sour Cream
- Tofu Cottage Cheese
- Non-Dairy Whipped Topping
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Fish & Seafood
- Fish Chowder
- Teriyaki Stirfry (frozen baby shrimp)
Frosting, Icings & Toppings
Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
- Ground Beef–What’s the Best Buy?
- Ground Meat & Rice Skillet Meal
- Chunky Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce
- Ground Meat & Veggie Skillet
- Family Style Pizza, Not!
- Dirty Rice
- Basic Extended Burgers & A Rant About The High Cost of Beef
- Mock Pot Roast
- Breakfast Beef Steaks
- Meatloaf Manifesto
- Hamburger Gravy
- Beef Enchiladas
- Homemade Gluten Free Taco Seasoning Mix
- Homemade Gluten Free Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix
- Salisbury Steak
- Southern Style Goulash
- Porcupine Meatballs
- Meatball Master Recipe
- Cowgirl Beef & Bean Skillet
Ham, Hot Dogs & Sausage
- Country Cottage Sausage & Bean Stew
- Cajun Style Red Beans & Rice with Sausage
- Basic Fried Rice & Hot Dogs
Pasta
Pies, Pastry, Crisps, Cobblers & Crumbles
Potatoes
- Potatoes, Naturally Gluten Free and Budget Friendly
- Homemade Classic Potato Salad
- Oven Fried Potato Wedges
- Roasted Garlic & Onion Potatoes
- Scalloped & Au Gratin Potatoes
- Real Mashed Potatoes
- Basic Baked Potatoes
- Praline Sweet Potato Casserole
Rice & Other Grains
- Which type of Rice is the Best Buy?
- Perfect Cooked Rice
- Easy Fried Rice
- Army Man Rice or Taco Rice
- Yellow Rice
- Buttery Garlic Seasoned Rice
- Onion Rice
- Creamy Garden Vegetables & Rice
- Coconut Rice
- Tomato Rice Pilaff
- Seasoned Rice For Chicken
- Scrambled Rice
- Golden Oats Primer, Part 1
- Golden Oats Primer, Part 2
- Basic Fried Rice & Hot Dogs
Salads & Dressings
- Budget Friendly Faux-Lettuce
- Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing
- Thousand Island Salad Dressing
- Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing
- Classic Chicken Salad (variation Cranberry Chicken Salad)
Sauces
- Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce for Noodles
- Pantry Pesto
- Super Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
- Superior Gluten Free Brown Gravy
Snacks
- Peanut Butter Rollup
- Fruit Smoothies
- Orange Jubilee
- Vegetable Juice Smoothy
- Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Smoothy
- Banana Bread Snack Squares
- Veggie Sticks
- Deviled Eggs
- Chickpea Hummus
- Gluten Free Chex Mix
Soups & Stews
- Not Campbell’s Chicken and Rice Soup
- Not Campbell’s Bean & Bacon Soup
- Not Campbell’s Instant Tomato Soup
- Not Campbell’s Vegetable Soup
- Lentil & Vegetable Soup
- Split Pea & Potato Soup
- Almost Instant Split Pea Soup
Vegetables
11 Responses to “Hard Times”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I am trying to make my own version of Crystal Light. I purchased Kool Aid with a coupon and have eons of no-sugar sweetner packets. Any idea of the proper mix. LOL I’M WASTING A LOT OF KOOL AID AND SPLENDA. Thank you.
You could also just mix with no sweetener in your pitcher. Then use however many packets you normally use for a cup…try what you’d do for tea?? I’d say 2 maybe 3 pks. Coolaid is more bitter than tea cuz of the citric acid.
Hi Wendy, I would go with 12 to 16 packets of sweetener, depending on how sweet you like it. When I use Sweet N Low to sweeten Kool-Aid I use 12 packets, because of the aftertaste. This makes it sweet, but keeps the aftertaste of saccharine down. With granular Splenda I use 2/3-cup. So I think 12 to 16 packets should do it. If you like it /very/ sweet, you could go with 20 packets of Sucralose (Splenda). It’s really a matter of trying it one way and then adding more if it’s not sweet enough. Good luck with it. If you get the time, let me know what you decide upon.
Thank you Miss Maggie for the reply. I appreciate this. I used 8 packets splenda. I guess I wasn’t using enough of it. When Kool Aide is free again (with coupon), I’ll use your ratio. I think Kool Aide is leftover powder, from their jello factory. Again, TYVM.
Happy to help Wendy.:)
My sainted great grandmother used to always say, “tough times don’t last, but tough people do”. She was about the toughest person I’ve ever known. Had 2 daughters and one died at 16 months with a combination of measles and whooping cough. Then her older daughter married a jerk (my grandfather!) and have 7 children in 12 years. And she had a serious heart problem to boot. She opted to have a hysterectomy in 1925 and developed an infection and of course they had no way of fighting it and she died within 4 days after the surgery. And from what I’ve heard it wasn’t a very pleasant death. My great grandmother stayed with her son-in-law to help raise the 7 children and he remarried almost immediately, but that lasted all of 6 weeks. Then his next marriage lasted for a long, long time, and how she did it I have no idea. My great grandmother and her daughter’s replacement worked so hard just to keep the family functioning. Then the 1929 crash and my grandfather, who was a welder for the railroad, was laid off indefinitely and moved the entire family from Alabama to Missouri and started over. There were no frills. Just lots and lots of backbreaking work, but my great grandmother never lost her determination to come out on top when was all said and done. When I was little we used to talk frequently about how hard life could be and I always marveled at how she still had this little twinkle in her eye and and crooked little smile.
If I could say that I had a role model, then it would have to be my mother’s grandmother. One of the strongest women I’ve ever known and for her family, she would do anything to pull them through tough times.
What a woman Willi Bertha Nance was. When I remember her I’m proud of her and the fact that I had the privilege of knowing her.
Frankie
What an inspirational story. I am often reminded of just how good we have things today, and how easy it is for us, as a society, to overlook the luxuries and abundance we live with. The amazing health care available today, even as expensive as it is, is one of the biggest luxuries of our modern age. Thanks for sharing this story. Your family had some really amazing women, including you. 🙂
My great grandmother had a lot of sayings that didn’t sound so great when I heard them as a kid, but now that I’m old, those sayings are pure platinum. One of her favorites was, “Tough times don’t last but tough people do.”
Hey Frankie, that’s a great one. I’m putting that one up on my refrigerator, ASAP!
Miss Maggie, I just want you to know how much I appreciate your work over the years onine. My husband and I are in a lot of debt and, to pay it off, I have committed to a small grocery budget. I also shared this site with my daughter who receives WIC and food pantry foods. Thank you for teaching a new generation how to live within their means!
Thank you Jodi. I know about debt and it is a struggle to overcome. You and your husband deserve a lot of credit for admitting to yourselves that there is a problem and that you have to take steps to solve it. So many people are still living in denial about their debt. I know Fred and I did for several years. It was so scary we just pretended it didn’t exist. Taking the bull by the horns and doing what you have to do to overcome it is a courageous choice. I’m happy you’re finding my website helpful. It wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t been in your exact same situation myself. Every little bit helps. Hope your daughter finds it helpful too :-).