Snack
Various snacks are traditionally served on the table: tartlets with tasty fillings (for example, cheese), sandwiches with processed cheese plus garlic, pita rolls, stuffed eggs (with liver, mushrooms, cheese, rice) or simply boiled eggs with mayonnaise.
Don't forget about conservation. Pre-prepared twists can complement and diversify your usual snacks.
Jellied
You need to cook the broth from any available parts of the chicken (but not the breast) - you can from the same soup set + (if possible) thigh or wings. Skim off any foam and any fat that appears.
For aspic:
- 1 sachet of gelatin per 400–500 ml of strained broth;
- chopped chicken meat (from the same broth);
- boiled carrots (stars or circles);
- boiled egg (chopped);
- canned peas (if available).
Dishes and decoration of the dish distinguish the festive version from the everyday one.
Fried zucchini
During the summer season, this miracle vegetable costs mere pennies. So why not make an original snack out of it.
It is enough to cut young zucchini into rings (the thickness of each slice is about 1 cm), salt it, and after 10 minutes roll in flour and fry in vegetable oil on both sides.
Serve with mayonnaise and garlic, passed through a mill.
If the spicy aroma of garlic confuses guests and home owners, you can use fried onions and fresh tomatoes instead of sauce.
Cauliflower in batter
Wash the cauliflower, separate into florets and dry on a paper towel.
For the batter you will need 1-2 eggs, flour, milk or water, salt and spices. Beat eggs with water, add salt and ground pepper. Then add flour in a thin stream, stirring the batter continuously. The final consistency should be like drinking yogurt or liquid sour cream.
Dip the inflorescences into the batter and then fry in a well-heated frying pan until golden brown. Serve with sour cream or mayonnaise. You can add garlic or chopped herbs to them.
You can cook crab sticks in batter in the same way. The taste of this snack is pleasant and unusual.
"Smoked" herring
The cost of an expensive dish can be reduced significantly by preparing it yourself.
You will need to buy fresh or frozen mackerel/herring. The fish must be cleaned of scales and entrails. Then rinse, remove the head and dry on a paper towel.
For 1 liter of marinade you will need:
- 5 tbsp. salt (without a slide);
- 2 tbsp. Sahara;
- 3 tbsp. black tea (high-quality without additives);
- 1 onion (medium).
Pour water into the pan and add all the ingredients of the marinade. You can add more tea (depending on the quality). It is necessary to give a beautiful “smoked” color. And the tannins contained in the tea leaves will make the fish dense and elastic. Boil the mixture for 5-7 minutes, then turn off and leave until completely cool.
Cut off the neck of a 1.5–2 liter plastic bottle. So that the fish can pass through the hole. Place the mackerel carcass (tail side up) into a container, pour over the cooled marinade and place in the refrigerator.
After a day or two (depending on the size of the herring), the finished dish can be served.
“Smoked” fish holds its shape better and is easier to cut if it is packed tightly in the bottle. A 1.5 liter container contains two carcasses, and a 2 liter container contains up to 4 pieces.
Salads
There are many families where they adhere to long-standing classic traditions when setting the table. We have known these dishes since childhood.
Olivie
Olivier is associated not only with the New Year, it is simply a delicious salad.
Let's take:
- chicken breast or boiled sausage - 300 grams;
- medium potatoes - 3 pcs.;
- carrot - 1 pc.;
- egg - 3 pcs.;
- pickled (or pickled) cucumbers - 2-3 pcs.;
- canned green peas - incomplete jar;
- onions - (to taste);
- salt;
- mayonnaise - 5 tbsp. (or whatever you like);
- sweet and sour apple (optional).
Boil the breast, potatoes, carrots, eggs until tender. Cut the ingredients into medium cubes, you can chop the eggs, and finely chop the onion. Salt, add mayonnaise, mix and add to the salad bowl.
Liver salad with mushrooms
This salad is very filling. The products, at first glance, are simple and ordinary, successfully complement each other - and the end result is original and appetizing.
For the liver salad you will need:
- onion;
- carrot;
- champignons (can be replaced with another variety of mushrooms);
- liver (preferably chicken);
- sunflower oil;
- salt, ground pepper and other spices as desired.
Prepare all ingredients: wash, peel, cut into cubes or strips.
Fry the onion in vegetable oil until transparent golden brown. Remove it with a slotted spoon, or place it in a colander (to drain the oil). Place the fried onions in a salad bowl.
Consistently repeat all steps, first for carrots, then for champignons and separately for liver. To save money, you can fry in the same oil, adding it as needed.
While frying the liver, add salt and spices.
Mix all salad ingredients. This dish can be eaten either warm or cold.
Herring “under a fur coat”
The set of products is quite traditional: herring, onions (preferably marinated), boiled potatoes, carrots, beets. Lay everything in layers, grease each layer with mayonnaise.
Korean carrots
Required Products:
- carrots - 500 g;
- sugar - 1 tbsp;
- salt - ½ tbsp. (or to taste);
- vinegar - 2 tbsp;
- coriander - 1 tsp. (or to your taste);
- ground black pepper - ½ tsp;
- sunflower oil - 60 ml;
- garlic - a couple of cloves.
Marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight in the refrigerator.
Fresh vegetable salads (summer option)
Depending on the season, you can mix any vegetables. Radishes, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, and greens go well with cucumbers. You can add bell peppers and basil to the tomatoes.
It’s a matter of minutes to make a salad of raw carrots with garlic and mayonnaise. But it's delicious.
A wonderful vegetable is cabbage. It is budget-friendly, voluminous and versatile. It gets along with almost everything: apples, cucumbers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, radishes and herbs. By replacing the usual white cabbage with red or Beijing cabbage, you can update your everyday dish.
Any combination can be seasoned with vegetable oil, vinegar, sour cream, natural yogurt or mayonnaise.
Refueling
To add some zest to everyday salads, you need to prepare an original dressing in advance.
To do this, pour vinegar or vegetable oil into a small glass bottle (200–300 ml) and add your favorite spices: black pepper, garlic, grain mustard, bay leaf, dill, parsley, star anise (anise), etc. An original combination: a spoonful of honey and a slice of lemon. The more flavorful the ingredients, the better. The main thing is not to take ground spices - only whole seeds or leaves.
Close the finished mixture tightly with a lid and place in a dark place for 2-3 months, and then add to salads instead of regular vinegar or oil.
Such a bright accent makes familiar dishes very piquant and unusual. Guests will definitely ask what secret ingredient is in the salad.
Herring under a Fur Coat
So, our task is to set the festive table cheaply and tasty. Then it is simply impossible to cross off such a simple and at the same time colorful dish as herring under a fur coat from the list. It is done simply.
We will need the following ingredients: 10 medium-sized potatoes; herring; bulb; carrot; beet; 3 eggs; mayonnaise and sour cream, as well as salt.
Boil vegetables and eggs, grate (grind in a blender). We clean the herring from bones. Now we lay out our dish in layers: a layer of chopped herring, a layer of potatoes, carrots, beets. The top layer is egg, sprinkled with herbs. Colorful, beautiful, tasty and healthy.
Garnish
Potatoes are the best option for a hot dish. Calculate so that the dish does not have time to cool before the start of the feast.
The simplest option is puree. It is suitable if you serve fish or some meat separately, for example, baked wings.
It is better to bake potatoes along with chicken in a way that suits you: simply in the oven with mayonnaise or sour cream, in pots, in a sleeve. If there is no meat, you can bake mashed potatoes with or without cheese.
If guests are with children, you can prepare healthy French fries. It is made not deep-fried, but in the oven.
The recipe is very simple and quick:
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into strips. Rinse thoroughly (if time allows, you can soak for several hours) and dry with a paper towel.
- Salt, pepper and add one tablespoon of sunflower oil (you can use less, just to grease the slices a little);
- Mix thoroughly and leave for 5-10 minutes.
- Cut a sheet of parchment and place it on the oven rack (not on a baking sheet!).
- Place potatoes on parchment in one layer. This is important because if there are several layers, you won’t get the French fries effect.
- Bake in the oven until golden brown (about 20 minutes at 200–220 degrees).
The finished dish is soft on the inside but crispy on the outside. The main thing when cooking in the oven is not to turn on the fan mode, otherwise the potatoes will have trouble keeping up with the parchment.
A side dish of rice can be a substitute for boring potatoes. But it is better to serve it not in its pure form, but with vegetables. It can be corn, peas, or a vegetarian version of pilaf: with fried carrots and onions.
Baked mackerel with lemon
You will need:
- Mackerel
- Lemon
- Green onions
- Salt, spices, pepper
- Basil
- Olive oil
Cooking method:
- Grease the mold with olive oil.
- We lay out the mackerel (removing the intestines, tail and head of course). Salt, pepper and spices on both sides to taste and desire.
- We put the onion inside.
- Top with lemon slices. Sprinkle with basil and drizzle with a little olive oil (just a little!).
- Cover with foil and place in the oven at 180°.
- After 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake until done. Bon appetit!
Hot
Of all the meat products, the most affordable option is chicken. You can take the wings, marinate them in your favorite sauce and bake them.
Or stop at a completely budget part - leather. In supermarkets, chicken skins are sold separately and are inexpensive. This part needs to be sewn and stuffed (there are many filling options).
The finished food will look presentable and even respectable.
If you need to serve a liquid dish, noodles may be the solution. For the dough, a couple of eggs, flour, salt and ground pepper are enough.
And for the broth - several chicken bones, budget vegetables and spices.
Basic products, favorite seasonings and a hearty, tasty dish are ready.
Stuffed cabbage rolls are another affordable dish option. There are many cooking options, the filling can be different: with mushrooms, with meat (reduce the amount of minced meat specified in the recipe). It takes patience and two hours. You can simplify your task by making lazy cabbage rolls.
Mono table
Why not invite guests to a specific dish that will become the main treat. For example, for chebureks, belyashi, khinkali or pilaf. In this case, budget salads from seasonal vegetables will suffice as a complement. True, you will have to tinker with the dough and preparation, but from 1 kg of minced meat you will get a huge dish of finished product.
For tea
I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine a table without tea.
Cookies, pancake cake (spread the pancakes with custard or semolina cream) or pie with jam - these are budget-friendly and quite tasty.
A simple and tasty dough recipe
Mix 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar (no need to beat). Pour in 200 g of melted margarine (you can use butter, but it will be more expensive). Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, slaked with vinegar, and two cups of flour (400–500 ml in total). Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 7 mm and cut out cookies with a cookie cutter or shot glass. Bake at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes.
You can bake a whole layer, and then cut it hot into rectangles until the cake has cooled.
Sausage in dough
This simple, but very tasty dish gives us the answer to the originally posed question: how to inexpensively set a festive table. In addition, this dish prepares very quickly.
To prepare we will need:
- A kilogram of sausages;
- Thin pita bread;
- Greenery;
- Peas;
- Cheese (can be processed).
Boil the sausages (you can fry them as you prefer) and put them aside for now, we will need them a little later.
Now take thin pita bread and cut one sheet into 6 equal parts. Make sure that the pita bread does not tear, it is very fragile, this is its only drawback.
Some people think that wrapping the sausage in pita bread will be enough, but it won't be as tasty as it could be. Now, with utmost attention, let’s reveal the secret of this snack.
Wrap the sausage in pita bread, add a teaspoon of peas, chopped herbs and a slice of cheese, and place the wrapped envelope on a hot frying pan. Fry the pita bread in vegetable oil until crispy. Now you know what to cook inexpensively for an idle table. But let's move on.
