The purpose of this menu

The goal of this menu is to prove that you can live very well and healthy on a $50 a week budget for two people. Sure, $25 per person (or $100 for 4 people), isn't as cheap as you could possibly go, many people survive on much less than that. But with this menu we are not trying to eat rice and beans every day (even if that is served a couple of times) - we are trying to enjoy a varied diet with legumes, vegetables as well as meat and fish. And yes, it can be done, the key here is planning your meals in advance and actually cooking/preparing all your meals in the kitchen, no take-out or restaurant visits.

Meals Breakdown

For breakfast in this menu we feature filling meals that keep you full for a long period of time. We alternate between oatmeal with milk, and eggs and toast for breakfast, with the Saturday pancake exception. If you don't like regular oatmeal, you could easily substitute old fashioned oats for steel cut oats. They take a little longer to cook, but if you have the time (most of us don't), then they provide an even tastier and healthier alternative.

For lunch, we try to prepare food that is easy to bring along whether to work or school. Sandwiches play an important part here, as do beans and rice. Another important aspect of lunch is ease of preparation. You don't really want to be cooking when lunch comes around, that's impractical for most of us.

For dinner, we try to provide a varied diet that includes budget alternatives such as lentils and polenta and garbanzo bean soup. But when you're eating on $50 a week, you can actually afford meats as well as the occasional fish. For meats, we use chicken thighs which provide excellent flavor for a good price, as well as sausage and bacon. On Friday, we feast on salmon.

We have not accounted for drinks in this menu, other than a glass of orange juice each morning for breakfast.

We have attempted to make a practical menu. For example, we allocate a pack of bacon over two days: pasta carbonara one day, and BLT sandwiches for lunch the next. We make a double batch of soup, so that the other half can be enjoyed for lunch the next day.

Cost Calculation

All of these meals are priced with the accrual method. That means, that we only calculate the cost of as much as you need. In other words, if a recipe calls for 1/2 pound of bacon - we only calculate the cost of 1/2 a pound, even though you might need to buy a one pound package. That means, that it might cost more than $50 to purchase the ingredients for these recipes, however if you already have staples, it might cost less. Overall, the difference in price averages out over time: the price calculated for these dishes is exact.

Many of the recipes listed, calls for making more than 2 servings. Either scale down the recipe to fit your needs, or make a larger batch and freeze for another day. If you have leftover sausage for example or if you need to buy a larger pack of salmon - then freeze the individual filets or sausage links and use at another time. Sure, the price will be slightly higher one week, but next week it might be lower.

The prices of these ingredients reflect an average across the country. Sure, some people in some areas of the United States will be able to make this food at a lower cost.

$50 Weekly Menue (2 people)

Each meal is priced for two servings (two bowls of oatmeal, two sandwiches, two servings of each dish...)

Total cost for the whole week: $50.02

This cheese sauce is based on a Béchamel Sauce. We utilize sharp cheddar cheese for this recipe, but any good, flavorful melting cheese can be used, or a combination of various cheeses. Good choices include Emmental, Gouda and Monterey Jack.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon of dry vermouth (or white wine)
• 2 cups of sharp, grated cheddar cheese
• salt, pepper

	Method: Start out with a saute pan on medium heat. Melt the butter, then add the flour and whisk vigorously until a paste forms.
	By letting a paste form and continuing to whisk the flour begins to cook and smell nutty. Once this occurs, add the milk. Once you begin to whisk the milk in the mixture will thicken fast. It will be at its most thick when it is at or near a boil. Add the lemon juice and lower the heat to low. Take off the pan and start to add the cheese slowly.
	First off, add about 2 tablespoons of cheese, then stir and whisk until it’s absolutely incorporated – this may take a minute or two. If your sauce gets a little too cold, place it back on low heat until it’s warm again and stir continuously. Once your cheese is completely integrated, add some more and do the same process over again.
	It’s very important that your sauce doesn’t get too hot, and that you never stop stirring, Don’t add too much cheese at once and always take your time so that each batch is completely melted before you add more cheese.
Once all the cheese is incorporated, add the vermouth and some salt and pepper. Stir and possibly add some more liquid (milk/vermouth/lemon juice depending on the taste) if your sauce is too thick and taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. If you need to keep your sauce warm, then simply keep it on low heat and continue to stir. Another alternative is to pour into a warm thermos and keep on hand. Once the cheese sauce cools off, its consistency might become slightly grainier – so serve this sauce immediately while it’s warm.

For those of us who aren't blessed with a fancy espresso maker, we can utilize the Italian “Moka Express” to make a decent cup of strong coffee or relatively weak espresso without spending a lot of money. These pots are quite inexpensive and can be found in most kitchen stores.

The coffee is actually quite good and the mechanism is simple: The aluminum pot utilizes pressure to force steam to build up inside the lower section, forcing the surrounding boiling water up the funnel through the coffee powder and into the upper chamber.

We have a smaller model that holds one cup of water resulting in one larger serving, or two smaller ones.

To make coffee:

1. Fill the lower chamber with just below one cup of water, or just below the limit

2. Fill the coffee basket with about 2 tablespoons of finely ground coffee, or to the top and press down lightly.

3. Assemble the pot and put on medium-high heat and leave for a few minutes. Soon you will hear a “gurgling” noise as the steam bubbles mix with the upstreaming water.

4. Remove from the heat and let all the coffee collect.

Either drink straight, or make a nice cappuccino or latte.

This pugliese, is an adaptation on Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “Brinna’s Pugliese” from her book “The Bread Bible” and it turned out quite nice. The small amount of rye in the recipe gave it wonderful underlying hint and flavor, do not leave it out! This bread has a nice, earthy flavor without being too dense or heavy. A perfect bread to either have on the side with cheese, with soup or just with olive oil.

This makes a very wet dough so it’s best to use a mixer.

Makes one bread (feel free to double the recipe to make two breads)

Dough Starter – Biga

1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
3 fluid ounces water, room temperature
½ cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup dark rye flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Dough

¾ cups water, room temperature
1 ½ cup plus 1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
¾ teaspoons instant yeast
dough starter (about ¾ cup)
¾ teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Make the biga by mixing together yeast, water, all purpose flour, rye flour and salt in a small bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes until it is very smooth. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let sit in room temperature for about 6 hours until it has doubled and filled with bubbled. Now you can either use it right away, or refrigerate it up to 3 days.

2. Make the dough by combining water, all purpose flour, yeast and the dough starter. Using a mixer, mix on low speed for about a minute until the floured is moistened. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes. Now, sprinkle the salt on the dough and knead it on medium speed for about 7 minutes – it will be quite sticky. Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ hours, ideally in 75 – 80 degrees. (If your kitchen is colder than that, you can put your oven on warm for a minute, then shut it off and leave the dough inside the oven for the rising period).

3. Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface (it will be very sticky) and round it into a ball. Try not to dust it with too much flour in order to keep it from sticking, and try to keep as much air inside the dough as possible. Either set the dough ball into an 8 inch banneton (or use a colander with a floured towel) bottom side up, or just put the ball directly on parchment paper, either on a baker's peel or sheet pan. Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees at least 30 minutes before baking. On the lowest shelf in the oven, place a cast-iron pan or a sheet pan. Above, place a baking stone or a sheet pan.

5. Remove the plastic wrap and carefully invert the dough onto a lined baking sheet, alternatively use the bakers peel and place the dough on parchment directly on the stone. Slash the bread with a serrated knife a couple of times before putting in the oven.

6. Now bake, place the dough in the oven. Toss ½ cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath and shut the door immediately. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking for 15 minutes or until an instant read thermometer in the center reads about 204 degrees.

7. Let cool on a cooling rack.