These meals may not be gourmet, but they are upgrades on some of the most common, easy-to-make foods known to man. What we have here is a minimum of chopping, washing and preparation of any kind. These meal ideas can come in handy when you’re crunched for time, low on energy or trying to save a few bucks.
Bacon, Bean, Broccoli Macaroni & Cheese
You are familiar, no doubt, with Easy Mac. You may not be quite as familiar with some of the variations out there on this super-easy, super-cheap dish. If you want to take your Easy Mac to a new level while still spending fewer than $5 and fewer than 10 minutes making it, you have options.
First buy some bacon bits and a can of your favorite beans, both of which will require no cooking. To add a bit more flavor and vitamins to the dish, add some (optional) broccoli to the dish. Now you’ve got the makings of a sudden casserole (probably the easiest, quickest and cheapest casserole ever conceived).
Boil the macaroni and broccoli in a pot. Strain the macaroni and broccoli then put them back into the pot. Add the beans to the pot and heat briefly on the stove top. Add the cheese and the bacon bits and stir.
Raman Noodles & Sausage
Sausage is one of the easiest types of meat to deal with in terms of cooking preparation, so it comes in handy when you are looking for a quick meal. Plus it’s good.
Pick the sausage you like best or whatever is on sale at the store. You should be able to buy enough sausage to feed two people or make two meals for less than $4.
This recipe is fairly self-explanatory. You get some Raman Noodles and a sausage. All you’ve got to do is cut the sausage into bite size pieces, cook it and cook the noodles. You can either boil the chopped sausage with the Raman Noodles or cook the sausage in a skillet while you boil water for the noodles. Cutting and cooking the sausage should take about five minutes.
A great way to add a vegetable to this dish is to get some frozen spinach and boil it in with the noodles.
Recommendation: Don’t use the seasoning packet that comes with the noodles. Just use black pepper. The sausage will be flavorful enough. And that way you don’t have to feel bad about all the MSG that usually goes with the Raman.
Soup & Pasta
This is potentially the easiest meal you can make.
Pick out a large can of soup; any kind you like. And buy a box of your favorite type of pasta/noodle. Heat the soup and the pasta in separate pots then mix them together.
It’s that easy. You get much more food than just eating soup. And you get more flavor than just eating pasta. Plus, depending on the soup you get, this can be a very healthy meal.