Budget cookin'

A thread for foods you can make when on a shitty budget.
friendly for college kids and nen.
Feel free to add your own (cuz i'm always up for options too @_@ )

---

Table of Contents for page 1

• Ramen and it's options
  
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
  
• Grilled Cheese
  
• Melts
  
• egg and avacado
  
• chicken rice with egg
  
• egg and rice
  
• Salad
  
• Guacamole
  
• Omelette
  
• Cheesy Rice
  
• More Ramen Options
  
  

---

Ramen and it's Options
Okay this is PROBABLY the most obvious of college kid food options, but in all honestly its probably the most versitle too.
now to list of some of the things you can throw into ramen

• Hot dogs
  
• Egg
  
• can of corn
  
• can of pretty much any vegetable
  
• cut up breakfast ham
  
• dandelion heads from your front yard
  
• onions, green peppers, etc
  

So basically, you do it like this.

1. Boil 2 cups of water
   
2. throw in the ramen noodles, but also throw in whatever else youre cooking
   
3. if you're cooking an egg, try wisking it into the boiling water immediately so it becomes creamy instead of chunky.
   
4. mix in the powder after 3 minutes and eat~

pretty fucking easy, but also makes the Ramen more filling and alot tastier.

Another option i found you can do is "Chow Mein"

1. in a skillet, boil 1 cup of water
   
2. place in the block of noodles and cook for 1 minutes
   
3. flip noodles and cook for another minute, breaking apart the noodles.
   
4. at this point add any extras you wish to, while stirring the noodles every so often
   
5. when the noodles are cooked and the water is absorbed, stir in the ramen powder packet and enjoy.
   

---

Easy 2 make Tuna noodle casserole
This is an easy thing my parents would make alot as I was growing up. While not technically a casserole, it's easy to make and makes alot of food, while being relatively inexpensive.

What you'll need

• 1 can of Cream of Mushroom
  
• 1 can of Cream of chicken
  
• 2 tbsp of velveeta cheese
  
• 2 slices of american cheese
  
• 1 bag of egg noodles
  
• 1 can of tuna (in water)
  
• 1 can of peas or peas and carrots
  
• 3/4th cup milk (more or less to prefrence)
  

Begin boiling the water for the eggnoodles. While doing that, in a small saucepan, combine the 2 cans of cream soupand the milk, and warm them up. when smooth, throw in the cheeses until melted, stirring constantly,

Once all combined, add the can of peas, and tuna. before adding the tuna, make sure it's flaked and not chunked. If it is chunked, just take a fork and flake it up first. Once this mixture is hot, set aside. Salt and pepper to taste.

When the egg noodles are cooked, to the instructions on the bag, in a large bowl, combine the noodles and the sauce using a layering method. 1/3rd of the Sauce on the bottom of the bowl, pour in half the noodles, throw in the second 1/3rd of the sauce the rest of the noodles, then the last of the saice. stir until all the noodles are coated, and enjoy!

to store, cover and throw in fridge.
This food is also great as a leftover. if the mixture seems too chunky, try adding a splash of milk before microwaving it to redeem some of its creaminess.

---

Grilled cheeses
Now this is a pretty obvious option, but sometimes people seem to forget it.

What you need:

• 1-2 slices of Cheese
  
• 2 slices of bread
  
• 1 tbsp butter
  

heat up a skillet, preferrably non-stick, until it sizzles when you splash water on it. (if youre not sure, spray it with some nonstick spray)
Melt the butter all around the pan and lay a slice of bread in the center of the pan. while the bread toasts, lay your cheese in the center of the bread and top with the other slice of bread. when the cheese begins to melt, and the very edges of the bead against the pan begin to brown, flip the sandwich. if it isnt brown enough to your liking, just toast it again when your other side is done.

If youre feeling up to it, you can throw in some different kinds of cheeses. shredded cheddar, meunster, colby jack and many other cheeses make for a great grilled cheese.
However if you choose to add these, make sure youre careful in flipping your sandwich.

A good accompaniment to grilled cheese is tomato soup.
How jingle makes tomato soup
What you need:

• 1 can of tomato soup
  
• milk
  
• salt and pepper
  
• cayenne pepper
  
• cumin
  

In a small saucepan, over low-medium heat pour in the can of tomato soup. Fill the can about 4/5ths the way with milk, and mix that in with the tomato soup.
Stir frequently, until the soup becomes smooth.
Personally, i cake tomato soup in lots of pepper, but for the spices add to taste. Beware with cayenne though because a little goes a long way.

To serve, take your grilled cheese and dip it in the tomato soup.
or if youre like my roomate you can eat the grilled cheese dipped in ketchup. up to you.

---

Another option into grilling your cheese, is to bake it. This doesn't taste as good, however it is ideal if you have to feed more than 3 people (assuming it takes 2 sandwiches per to fill up)

the ingrediants are ultimately the same as the original grilled cheese.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Take all your slices of bread, and butter one side. when assembling your sandwiches, make sure the buttered side is facing outward. (if you really want you can butter the inside too)
place your cheeses in between all the slices of bread. once again make sure BUTTERED SIDE OUT.

arrange on a cookie sheet, and bake for 7 minutes. Flip the sandwiches and bake for an additional 7 minutes.

---

if you have any, you can put lunch meats in your grilled cheeses before cooking. Ham and turkey go especially well in between the american cheese.

---

Tuna Melts
These are like fancified grilled cheeses, but are quite a bit more filling, and tasiter in my opinion.
What you need:

• bread slices
  
• 1 can of tuna
  
• 2 tablespoons of velveeta, in small cubes.
  
• 2 slices of american cheese, cut up into half inch squares
  
• some mayo
  
• butter
  optional:
  
• some mustard
  
• pickles
  
• diced onions

in a small bowl, combine the cheeses and the flaked tuna. throw in a big spoonful of mayonaise to help adhere everything, and if you want add in some diced onions and a bit of mustard for flavor and a little color.

heat up the pan on medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan. (if you feel the sandwich will stick, back up the butter with some nonstick spray...i always do this jsut because it makes life easier) Spread your tuna mixture onto one slice of bread until the bread is covered. you can make this mix as thick as you want but the more you put on, the harder of a time youll have both eating and flipping the melt.
put the coated slice of bread in the pan, and top with a second slice of bread.

When the bread on the skillet becomes slightly browned around the edges, and the tuna mixture begins to melt, flip the sandwich. if the sandwich isnt golden brown, you may want to cook it again.
repeat for the other side.
This sandwich goes amazing with pickles.. pretty much any kind fo pickle. lol;

When i make this, i normally have enough for 2 super stuffed sandwiches or 3 pretty decently sized ones.
It's easy to make, a little messy but really good if you want a heavy meal.

More from jingle

Egg and avacado

pretty good and pretty healthy.

What you need:

• 2 eggs
  
• 1 Avacado, ripe.
  
• 2 slices of bread
  
• shredded cheddar, or american cheese (depending on both budget and if you like cheese with your eggs)

Set a medium pan 3/4ths full of water to a boil. meanwhile, slice your avacado in half (id reccomend looking up how to cut an avacado first. it is pretty weird) and mash the contents as smoothly as you can.
Toast your bread, then Generously spread avacado on both slices.

once your water is on a soft boil, (meaning the bubbles arent too vigorous) crack one egg into the water. yes, litterally just...drop the egg in. This is called pouched eggs.
After 3-4 minutes of the egg cooking, depending if you like your yolks a bit runny or not, fish the egg out, carefully with a slotted spoon. lay the egg on top of one of the slices of toast, and top with a dash of salt, pepper and cheese.
repeat with the second egg.
This is a great breakfast option. Also if you want, you can sautee some red onions and throw those under the egg as well.

---

Chicken rice with egg
pretty recent thing of mine. was pretty damn good.

what you need

• box of chicken flavored rice vermiecelli (ykow like riceoroni..can be generic brand)
  
• 1 egg (2 if you really like eggs)
  
• can of mixxed veggies, or real diced veggies if you want
  optional:
  
• diced Chicken.
  

Begin to cook your rice as directed. If you bought the right kind, itll ask you to brown the rice in a skillet with butter. During this stage, crag in your egg(s) and throw in your veggies. if its the canned veggies make sure that you drained the can well. You could also add in some cooked chicken cutletts if you can afford it.

after this stage you litterally cook to boxed directions. Boil rice in pan for 11 minutes or something.

Egg and rice
not really my recipie but it looks good

What you need:
[list][*] 1 egg
[*] short grain or sushi rice
[*] soysauce
Optional
[*] veggies
[*]meats
[*] anything else you put in rice

Cook however much rice you want in a rice cooker (or on the stove if you dont have one). when done, top with a raw egg and some soysauce.
You can sautee whatever youd wish on a skillet to add to this too. The rice will steam the egg.

Okay, so this is now a list that is a must, since it isnt that much costy and is pretty darn versatile:

-Eggs
-Onions
-Lemon/lime
-Bread (ALWAYS have fcking bread/baguette/tortillas, they are fcking cheap and they fill a ton)
-KETCHUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Any other cheap item

Salad


Ok, so first off, for some cheap salad, you might be picky with the vinegar u want to add, or they might actually be somewhat expensive, a nice alternative is to condiment your salad with lemon and salt. Add the salt first, then the lemon last. Adding the lemon first could hide the salt, then you could end up having to add tons of salt in ur salad. To my surprise, this is something almost no one ever head about when i talk about it to them, yet it is so very good.

Guacamole:

Also, with the same combo, some cheap guacamole:
Buy an avocado, mash it with a fork, add the salt and some chopped onions first, then add some lemon. I personally like it with a minimum of onions, but it depends on the tatste. Guacamole is also great with any kind of left over meat. Just add it in small pieces and voila! some meat with the guacamole. Also, its pretty obvious you eat the guacamole with tortillas, or at the very least like a spread in your bread. And if ur a fanatic of spicy, add some spicy sauce or whatever.


Omelette

Im just going to mention that here, since its pretty obvious how to make, but them omelettes. Dont need to be super fancy, but those eggs, they are a very versatile tool.
Take out a frying pan, and add any kind of legumes in it: green/red peppers, tomatoes, wieners, mushrooms, hell, even pieces of tortillas (which can make the final result a bit crunchy which is nice). Always add them first and fry them in a frying pan. When they are somewhat cooked/golden, you can add the eggs, then mix everything. You dont need to pre-batter the eggs, you can do it there. Some people add milk to the egg to make it a lil bit more mushy, but i dont like it. Some do. Your choice. EAT IT WITH KETCHUP!!! Nah im joking, im just a ketchup fanatic, and i beleive eggs go well with ketchup. Try it! Goes to say you eat it with toasts, even if it already has pieces of tortillas. jk, but thats me to fill me up more

heh heh if you get hungry but dont have much to use try this

all you need is some:

Rice
A bit of Milk
Cheese
Seasoning (your preference)

Cook Rice
When melting the cheese (I prefer Velveeta) mix a little milk in so it isnt so thick after it melts
mix said cheese into the rice.
Add a bit of seasoning, not to much though or it covers up the cheesy goodness

Beleive it or not its cheap and very good.


You can also add some ground meat to it as well (Preferably Ground Chuck due to it being less greasy)

I sometimes make this when we havent gone shopping in a while.

Can make enough to serve... maybe 4-5 people.

nice little thing i found on tumblr.
-Source-

 Cheesy potato and egg
feeds 1

Ingredients needed:
- 1 large potato (or two small/red potatoes)
- Cheddar cheese (shredded)
- Colby Jack cheese (shredded)
- 1 Egg
- Various spices, such as Cumin, Cayenne pepper, Paprika, Onion powder, Pepper, Salt, and Adobo. highly Recommended spices in bold.

Start off by cutting the potatoes so they're bite size, and consistent in size. Cube them if you can, but i personally cut them into medallions then chop the medallions in half. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle on all the spices. Be pretty generous with the spices! Then toss around the potatoes unil they're evenly coated.
Put potatoes in a small frying pan over medium heat, with either olive oil or at least 2 tbsp of butter, and cover. Let potatoes steam for 5 minutes, then put in about 1-2 tbsp of water and cover again for another 5 minutes.
Check potatoes by poking them with a fork. If soft / tender, the potatoes should be cooked all the way. Remove the lid, and cook them for another minute or two until the edges of the potatoes are crisp.
Place in bowl and cover with the colby jack and cheddar. Place a plate on top of the bowl so the head of the potatoes melts the cheese.
Cook the egg how you like. I prefer to cook it with runny yolk so the yolk flavors the potatoes a little bit, but scrambled is fine! Make sure to season the egg with at least salt and pepper, but don't add too much!
Once egg is done, place on potatoes, mix together and enjoy~

I had that cheesy potato and egg and omfg