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COMMON BUDGET MEAL FAILS & HOW TO FIX THEM
by Rachel | Rachel Resets (IC: vlogger)
I often make up my recipes as I go, and lately, I've had some meal fails. In the
last couple of weeks, my recipes haven't turned out as I would like them to. I
want to share how you can transform a meal that didn't turn out as well as you
would like, so you can still enjoy it without throwing it out.
When I make a meal, I need to be able to eat it at the end because that's what
our budget allows, and I can't just be wasting food. I want to show you ways
that you can transform meals that may have turned out a little bit differently
than you would like. You can still make meal fails still taste good.
I've learned some of the different tips and tricks along the way, and I hope
they can help you all if you are making a budget meal and it doesn't quite turn
out as you would like.
HOW TO CORRECT TOO MUCH SALT
I started with a good amount of delicious ingredients that are great building
blocks for recipes usually. I was planning on making some roasted chicken
packets, which are chicken and vegetable packets that you'd put in tin foil and
stick in the oven.
How to correct too much salt
Everything was going according to plan except that I added too much salt.
Now if you add too much salt into something, it can make the whole thing kind of
inedible, but you can salvage the whole recipe if you add something else that
could soak up the extra seasoning or the extra salt. Potatoes are a great way to
do that.
Using rice to combat saltiness
Rice is what I ended up using.
I ended up cutting up the chicken into small pieces, adding a bunch of rice, and
mixing it all together, which helped absorb all that extra salt. So if you add a
little bit too much salt or another seasoning, a lot of times adding in a
neutral starch like potato or rice is going to really help that recipe be
salvageable. It will help to disperse the amount of seasoning in it and
neutralize some of the excess seasonings.
HOW TO CORRECT TEXTURE
What if it's more of a texture thing? I was making these flatbreads that were
supposed to be nice, airy, and fluffy, and they turned out a lot doughier, a lot
thicker, and even a little tough in the end because the baking powder was a
little old. The baking soda that I used in the next try of the recipe didn't
quite work out either.
How to correct the texture of food
So texturally just not what I was looking for.
Instead, when you have something that's texturally a little off, you can put it
into something a little more forgiving. A soup tends to be very texturally
forgiving. Cutting up these hard little hockey pucks that I made and putting
them into a soup helped soften them and made them a little more like dumplings.
I put them into potato soup, which was delicious and softened up nicely. So if
you have something that's texturally a little bit off, depending on the texture,
putting it into something like a soup can help to soften the thing or change the
texture slightly so that it is more edible and tastes a lot better.
Also, don't be afraid to experiment with the thickness, thinness, or texture of
something.
Changing flatbreads into tortillas
I rolled the failed flatbreads out, and they turned out much better as tortillas
than they ever did as flatbreads.
So definitely feel free to experiment as you go along when you see that a recipe
is just not turning out as you would like.
IF YOU NEED TO IMPROVE THE FLAVOR
Now, what if you make something and it tastes okay? It just doesn't taste great.
It's not a wow meal. I think there's often this idea that all our meals need to
be amazing, and that's just not the case.
How to improve the flavor of cheap food
Sometimes you're going to make food, and it's going to be okay, but it's just
not going to be great.
It's not going to be a meal you want to repeat, or it's just not going to be
something that everybody loves.
Not every meal will be a repeat meal or something you want to have over and over
again. That's okay. Food can taste delicious, but it doesn't always have to
taste absolutely amazing in order to fill our bellies or for us to get nutrition
from it.
So if you make something and it's slightly off, but it's still palatable, and
you still are going to eat it because you have no money for other food, it is
okay.
Budget meal fails & how to fix them
It is still a win because you still have food, and you are still able to eat
it.
Now, is it a huge plus if the food tastes delicious, and can you eat a delicious
meal on a tight budget? Yes. But will every meal you make when you are on a
tight budget be a win? No. It's hard to make meals that are absolute, without a
doubt, going to be foolproof sometimes.
BUDGET MEAL FAILS & HOW TO FIX THEM
You're going to have some things that you add into a recipe, and it just doesn't
turn out as you like, and that is okay.
Give yourself a lot of grace. When you're cooking on a tight budget, that can be
a huge challenge for anybody, even a well-seasoned chef. How do you fix meal
fails? Share your tips in the comments below.
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Published April 13th, 2023 9:30 AM
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2 comments
* Rebecca 4 days ago
If a meal is just okay, I tend to add one(or more) of 3 things, bacon,
cheese, or a fat like butter or bacon grease.
Like Reply
*
* Cso51108026 3 days ago
If I know I'm doing a "clean out the fridge" meal (all the soft veggies,
etc., etc.,) like a soup, sauce, or stew? I make it "neutral" first. Then, as
I make it as "leftovers," I can change the flavor profile! So, case in point:
I made a huge batch of split pea soup, pureeing in all my softened carrots,
celery, that last 1/3 onion, my sole red potato, etc. It was delicious. BUT,
for leftover meal #1, I added cumin and a fresh-minced jalapeno. It was also
delicious. BUT THEN, for leftover meal #2, I added Indian spices (I keep them
on hand, but curry powder would be perfectly fine!!); the Indian layered with
the cumin/jalapeno (they lend themselves to Indian cooking all the time!),
and brightened it with a splash of lemon juice. So, it started as 1 thing and
became 3 different meals, just by playing with spices to mix it up.
Spaghetti sauce is another great way to do this: traditional marinara, then
add some basil and a splash of balsamic (pomodoro/bruschetta), THEN add some
crushed red pepper, capers, olives, a little more garlic, maybe a splash of
wine (puttanesca). As long as each flavor can build on the next one, it keeps
it interesting, tasty, and from being too repetitive!!
Love YOUR suggestions about playing with texture, rolling thinner, attempting
in an alternate format (like dumplings!). Thanks so much for posting!!
~Chrissie
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