I'm sure each one of us has those moments when you just want to eat something fast without spending too much time or money. For example when you just get back from doing sports, you want something easy and simple to fill you up. I have two favourites. First one is pasta. It's so fast to cook the pasta itself, and then all you need to do is add a sauce. If you use a premade sauce it's super fast but you can also make your own sauce if you feel like it. Another option here is to make large amounts of your favourite sauce and then freeze it, that way you always have some available. Another great one is an omelette. Takes less than 10 minutes to make, it's very filling and doesn't cost much. I usually add onion and some meat into my omelette, but everyone has their own varieties which they enjoy. In any case you're probably looking at less than $2 per meal and it's healthy and fills you up quite nicely. Please do list some of your favourites and if they are a bit more complicated feel free to add the recipe you prefer using.
I'm with you on eggs and pasta! I often cook some onions and tomato sauce, put some water and boil the pasta and at the end I mix some tuna, it's great. Other simple and economical meal is scrambled eggs with sausages and rice, 20 minutes and you're ready to eat.
Pasta is my go-to quick and easy meal. If you have your cupboards stocked with pasta and keep some pesto around it's a super easy meal to make. Stir fry is another quick dinner option and a great way to use leftovers.
If I'm in a hurry, I'd usually just cook something canned like Spam or get something from the freezer that doesn't require hours of defrosting and in this case, my go-to product is usually sausages. I like cooking sausages because I only really have to cut them at the width and then cook them for a few minutes then I can either put them on bread or even place them in a plastic container with some rice. The best thing about this is that I only cut them them up and leave them to cook either in an oven or on stove top while I get dressed or take a bath and by the time I return it's already done!
Sausages are something really handy, I don't even cook them! I just take them out of the can or jar, put them inside a bread with some ketchup and chips to go with and dinner is served. I can't do this often of course! What's Spam Ripley?
If I don't feel like cooking much, pancakes or french toast is always something that doesn't take long to throw together and doesn't cost much. I buy all my baking supplies in bulk so I always have flour, baking soda, egss, etc. I also keep a few of the frozen delissio pizzas in the freezer. I stock up when they go on sale for $3.99 and then we have a meal in 20 minutes. I do the same when the large lasagnas go on sale for $7.99. At times, I have also prepared sauces and things like shepherds pie in advance and frozen it so on a night when I am in a rush or not feeling up to cooking, I have a quick go to.
I'm always cooking ahead, now that I've entered my cutting phase. I cook off chicken for a tandoori chicken salad, make a few soups, and grill up a steak for dinner all at the same time---I drop carbs after my winter gain cycle, so I need quick options, and there is little that competes with pasta or bread for quick eats, but it's the wrong dietary choice for me.
Definitely pasta! Actually, it's specifically spaghetti that I think of as my go-to quick meal, although there are plenty of other pastas that I could cook instead. I like how with spaghetti, I can turn it into slightly higher/better meal with just a couple other quick fixes like toasting some garlic bread or quickly adding some sausage.
A cheap and fast meal that we always cook up at home is scrambled eggs. It's not so complex, it's not even so classy, but it's cheap, it's fast, and it's extremely easy. I can't deny that it's yummy too. It's delicious especially if you have a special sauce to eat it with. One time my friend and I made a tuna omelet, and it was surprisingly delicious since we paired it up with some Japanese sesame dressing. We also ate it with brown rice, so it became a healthy meal. Not only was the food good, but it was a fun experience experimenting with my best friend.
Soup! There's so many varieties you can create, and it's a great way to use up what's in the fridge. As long as you have onions, carrots, garlic and celery (or even three of the four), you can make a nice vegetable stock. Once the stock is made you can throw whatever you like in from rice to chicken to pasta.
