What's a good cheap meal for a college student living on his own?

Question

I make roughly $500 per month; rent is $450. I'm also no master cook, so I need something simple. I can't afford many ingredients, obviously, but I want to make something basic, like spaghetti, that won't wear out my wallet. Nothing fancy is needed here, just a simple meal. My example would be spaghetti and sauce: boil the water, put the spaghetti in, heat the sauce, boom, done. Any help?

Answer 1

Ok here is what you need to do. You need to set aside a couple hours one WEEKEND afternoon (don't skip class for this.) and do some freezer cooking. Ok here is my idea- Get about 10 bucks and go to the Grocery store.
Buy 1 pack of Tortillas
1 bag shredded cheese
Split chicken Breasts
Box of RIce Roni Spanish Rice.
SourCream
Green Salsa
Cook the chicken breasts. When cooled shred the chicken in pieces.
Cook the rice.
Mix Rice, shredded chicken, and cheese together.
In blender or by hand mix Salsa and Sour cream together and put in a pie pan.
Dip both sides of the tortilla in the salsa mix.
Put some of the filling in it. Roll up. Wrap individually with saran wrap and foil. When you are ready to eat one, put it in the oven for about 20 minutes.
You can get 10 meals out of this- it is cheap and SOOO YUM!!!
There are so many other things that you can do like this- just think outside the box! :-)
Hope this helps and good luck with school. Been there done that, and I sure do miss eating like a college student. I guess the grass is always greener.

Answer 2

Ramen.

Get some spices (ginger, cayenne, chinese five spice etc.) and soy sauce at the dollar store. Get a big bag of frozen peeled deveined shrimp for under $10 at the grocery. Get whatever veggies are cheapest. Get some eggs.

Scramble an egg. Make the ramen according to package directions, adding chopped veggies and a small handful of frozen shrimp along with the hot water. Stir in the scrambled egg after the noodles are soft, and voila! Shrimp are very protein and iron rich, having more iron than beef. Of course this would go with the shrimp or oriental flavor ramen noodles. You can vary this by getting a cheap cut of pork, slicing it thinly and frying it up, then freezing it in a ziploc bag so you can just grab a small handful to add to the pork flavor of ramen with the veggies and egg again. Same with chicken. You get your veggies, your protein, and your carbs all in one bowl, and it's yummmmy, and cheap!

Also, see if you can join your local food co-op. They usually let members work a couple hours a week in exchange for a substantial discount on groceries.

Buy things in bulk. Beans and rice especially...dress it up with salsa and cheese when you can. You can eat very nutritiously very cheaply. Be willing to try new combinations, check out the day old bins or produce that is about to be tossed bins. It still might be just fine to use that day or the next, and is marked way down.

Be sure to take a daily vitamin with a lot of C just to make sure you stay healthy! :-)

Answer 3

Well, you've got your recipe for spaghetti down! Add some veggies to your sauce to make it more nutritious. Some other cheap, yet nutritious meals would be black or red beans and rice (cook the rice according to bag, top or mix with beans, a little garlic powder, and tabasco if you wish). Canned soup (open can, heat). Eggs are cheap, and you can make omelettes, egg salad, etc. Or, if you have leftover rices, stir fry some veggies(inexpensive, i.e. julienned carrot, zuchinni, onion, green pepper, etc), scramble in some egg, then add the cooked rice, some soy sauce, ginger and garlic.

There's always pb&j sands if you're on the go, and oatmeal is both filling and cheap for the am.

Not the most gourmet foods, but cheap and easy.

Answer 4

Here are some of the things I did when I was laid off and out of work. I was living on unemployment with a pretty high mortgage payment.
Top Raman.
Kraft mac and cheese.
Spam can be added to the mac and cheese.
Grilled cheese sandwiches.
Iceberg lettuce, a few cherry tomatoes and salad dressing. As the veggie for most meals.
Fried egg sandwiches.
Use canned veggies, they are cheaper..
Hot dogs and beans.
Hamburger Helper.

Here is one that can provide two or three meals.

Two boxes of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup.
A head of fresh broccoli.
A precooked chicken.
Cutup the broccoli.
Strip the chicken from the bones.
Cook the soup, broccoli and chicken together.

Get whatever you can on sale and use coupons’.

I managed to survive a year till I found another job. Oh, there were of two of us, I raised my grandson

Answer 5

A good twist on a classic spaghetti is what I grew up knowing as goulash, even though that's not really what it is! Brown up a small chopped onion and 2 cloves garlic with a lb of ground beef until beef is browned. Drain grease. Add a big can of crushed tomatoes, plus some salt and pepper and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Toss in some cooked macaroni noodles and ta-da! super cheap and easy...it is really good cold too! Plus, if you wanna get fancy, add a can of kidney beans to it....yum!

Answer 6

Poultry is still the best bargain around, especially leg quarters, you can usually purchase a 10lb bag for under $5.00 , rather than get into recipes I would rather address your economic situation, you definitely qualify to hit the Food Pantry's, there is bound to be at least 2 or 3, Church based ones are usually best, USE Coupons, you can easily buy $50. - $100.00 worth of groceries for a few dollars......you must be very astute but it can easily be done, take advantage of double coupon days....it doubles the value of any coupon........you MUST ask the grocery stores to find one that does this. Shop the top and the bottom shelves, the cheaper priced goods are always place there, go to outlet stores...........amazing the price discounts you can get and it is Quality stuff. Ask around about any neighborhood gardeners, you may easily score free produce or pick your own for pennies. Shop VERY early or VERY late to take advantage of "mark downs". Ask around and find out if anyone works at a local grocery store, the bargains usually get grabbed by employees first, utilize the friendship. There are more ways to STRETCH you food dollars but these will get you started. Don't forget to ask for a discount on any dented tins......if you don't ask, you don't receive.

Answer 7

~Tuna noodle is cheap and easy. Boil the noodles, drain, add a can of tuna and a can of Campbell's cheese sauce. You got maybe $3 in it if you go store brand, and you have noodles for later too!
~Chicken Quessadillas with cheese, salsa and some canned chicken - about $5 total
~Crockpot meals are GREAT! Find them in the freezer section of your local supermarket. You pop the whole bag in the pot, let simmer til done, and you can eat that for a few nights, and they have TONS of varieties! - $3-$4 a bag
~Chicken and noodles-Use your noodles from the tuna noodle and add a can of chicken and a can of chicken broth. Whip of a serving of mashed potatoes in your microwave to go with it! - $3 or so

I have been teaching my brother how to cook since he moved out of my Dad's house! You can do it, good luck!

Answer 8

I am a college student too. I like making quesadillas. Cheese, pre-packaged chicken (or fry up some chicken breasts), and tortillas. Just microwave or fry in a frying pan.
Also, chicken alfredo. Noodles, alfredo sauce and chicken. Or you can leave out the chicken and just have alfredo sauce and noodles.
Lets see you can also look where the rice and noodles are. I like to get the Best choice alfredo noodles, and butter noodles. They're hecka cheap and they're good. (you just boil water and mix the package in it.
Also hamburger, chicken, and tuna helper is good too.

Answer 9

You need a roommate!

Buy chicken legs/thighs on sale and bake those.

Pasta is cheap. Boil some each meal; doctor up w/ butter, garlic, parmesan chz.

Hamburger Helper, but do it homemade to save money. Recipe below.


Skillet Lasagna (aka Hamburger Helper)

1 lb. lean ground beef
¼ cu p chopped onion
½ cup chopped carrots
1½ cups mafalda (mini-lasagna noodles or other pasta)
1½ cups water
½ tsp. Italian seasoning blend
2 cups marinara or other tomato-based pasta sauce
8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup or more shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook lean ground beef, chopped onion and chopped carrots in a Dutch oven on medium-high about 6 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in raw pasta, water, Italian seasoning, pasta sauce mushrooms. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and serve.

Answer 10

In college I lived on:
Ramen Noodles
Macaroni & Cheese
Spahgetti
Chicken Noodle soup
Grilled Cheese sand.
Papa Johns, Domino's, Pizza Hut (always shared with someone on the floor or a neighbor)

It's all pretty cheap...and by the time you get out of school, you'll no longer be a picky eater...I'll eat anything now that doesn't eat me first...