Real cornbread taste is hard to find in that box you purchase.  With mixes toting real cornbread taste, you can easily see that white flour is admitted to the recipe.  But there is nothing more delicious that a true recipe made from cornmeal.  Corn meal is inexpensive and nutritious and is easily made into delicious bread as shown.  It doesn't matter if it is white or yellow corn meal as the results are truly worth the baking wait.  Serve this alongside your favorite dish, or use it with your favorite stew or soup.  You're gonna just love the texture.

I've had several readers ask for gluten-free recipes that are thrifty.  Since I am gluten free, I offer you one of my favorites.  Just because we have special dietary needs doesn't mean we have to shirk on taste while on a budget.

1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 cup gluten free baking mix
1/4 cup melted butter

Beat first five ingredients together.  Stir in corn meal and flour.  Add melted butter.  Mix well.  Pour batter into greased 8" square pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 min. or until golden brown.

Visit the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania and  indulge in a Pennsylvania Dutch original, the Shoofly Pie. Also know as Shoo-Fly  Pie, and Shoo Fly Pie. First time visitors to the area always comment on this  pie and are in awe of its strange name. Most of the area restaurants and bakeries stock this  favorite pie and find it difficult to keep on the shelves. The pie has a texture of coffee cake, with a gooey molasses bottom.

Pennsylvania Dutch were addicted to pies of all types and they ate them any time of day. The most famous of their pies was the  shoofly pie. As the very earliest settlers came to North America by boat, they  brought with them the staples of their diet - long-lasting nonperishable that  would survive a long boat trip. These staples were flour, brown sugar, molasses,  lard, salt, and spices. Arriving in the new land during late fall, they had to  live on ship staples until the next growing  season. The women, being master of the art of "making do," concocted a
pie from  the limited selection that could be found in the larder. This resourcefulness  led to the creation of shoofly pie.

 It is delicacies such as these that have become a lost art interrupted by such foes as Little Debbies' and TastyKakes.  But, getting back to true homemade fare makes a limited food budget easier to adhere to!

Topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup margarine (cut into pieces)

Filling:
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup boiling water
2/3 cup light corn syrup or pancake syrup
1/3 cup molasses

One 9-inch unbaked pastry pie shell
Whipped cream for topping or Cool Whip

Put topping ingredients into bowl.  Rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  In another bowl dissolve baking soda in boiling water.  Add corn syrup and molasses stirring to mix thoroughly.  Pour into pie shell and sprinkle with topping.  Bake at 350 degrees until filling is firm and doesn't jiggle when pie is shaken.  Serve at room temperature and top with whipped cream!

There are so many wonderful, simple ethnic foods that being on a tight food budget shouldn't make you feel unsatisfied.  With this ever growing culture of processed foods we have long left the true sense of soulful cooking that enabled our ancestors to eat abundantly and healthy on just pennies.  This blog is donated to those who are on such a budget and making ends meet at their local food banks.  But, there are times we must venture out and buy food at the local grocery to complete our daily menus for those we love.  On these occasions, you must stop here and view the ever growing cookbook of delicious, low-cost items that adorn our tables.  Your one stop place to always have enjoyable, thrifty meals at your fingertips.

2 cup dried chick peas
1 medium onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1 egg
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste
flour to bind
oil

Soak beans overnight.  Drain.  Cook until tender over medium/ low heat.  In a food processor or blender add remaining ingredients except flour and oil.  Pulse until all ingredients are smooth and processed.  Place in a bowl and add flour to just bind.  Let stand for 1/2 hour in refrigerator.  Make one inch balls with mixture and head in pan filled with 2 inches of oil  Cook a few balls at a time and let brown evenly on low/medium heat.  Allow to drain on paper towels.  Wrap with pita bread, lettuce, and tomatoes.  Usually served with Tahini Sauce.

This recipe comes from my good friend Channah.  She is a top food "frugalist" and understands how to combine spices to make thrifty meals taste  extravagant.  We often talk about the glories of feeding our families on pennies, yet not discounting good taste in the process. 

Did you know that lentils contain 18 grams of protein and 16 grams of dietary fiber in a one cup portion?  It also packs 37% of your daily intake of iron.  Lentils are wonderful and nutritionally low in fat, high in folate,
phosphorus, fiber and iron.  More importantly, the soluble fiber in lentils helps keep your cholesterol down and blood sugars under control.

1 cup dried lentils
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 small cloves fresh garlic or 1 tsp powdered garlic
2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups water

Soak lentils overnight.  Next day prep time - about 15 minutes, cooking time about 35  minutes to one hour depending on how soft you like your lentils.
 
Brown onion and fresh garlic in a dash of oil. Mix in soaked lentils and all other ingredients.  Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer until done.
 
Scoop into shells or tortillas and serve with shredded cheese, diced tomato, lettuce, and any other taco toppings your family enjoys.
 
This dinner cost me pennies to make - Lentils cost about  14 cents an ounce and I own a wealth of basic spices and I get water out of the tap.

Here's a great homemade "beefaroni" dish that can be made from scratch.  More delicious than its box counterpart, you can put this on the table after a long day in less than 30 min.  So, go right ahead and enjoy those last dog days of summer at the park or the beach and know that you can come home and spend less time in the kitchen.

1 pound ground beef
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 (7-ounce) can corn drained
3/4 cup elbow macaroni
1 cup cheddar cheese

In skillet brown ground beef and drain.  Add soup, water, tomato sauce, pepper, corn and uncooked macaroni.   Simmer with lid, stirring occasionally for 18 min.  Once macaroni is tender top with cheese and turn off stove.  Let stand covered until cheese melts.  Open up a can of biscuits and add a side salad.