Easy/Cheap Recipes

[Abbyka]

I thought this would be a great idea to post in light of the Cooking poll thread. Not everyone has amazing cooking skills so I thought I'd post some easy recipes that are so easy you'd be hard pressed to mess them up. Plus some of these are affordable, so if you're a poor college student then heads up. Go ahead and also share your own recipes, just try to keep them simple.

First one I'll post sounds weird/gross, but trust me it's delicious. I make these and freeze them for my toddler all the time. He loves them so much he rejects store bought pancakes/waffles.

Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 ripe bananas(it'll come out better if they're yellow)
1 egg
3/4 cup milk(whole milk tastes way better)
2 tbsp oil

In one bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together. In another bowl mash the bananas then add the egg and oil. Beat until mixed thoroughly. Slowly mix the banana mixture into the dry ingredients bowl. If you find it difficult to mix them together due to it being dry and clumpy then it's time to start adding the milk. Don't dump it in all at once, do it a little at a time until it's all mixed in. You can either put butter or PAM on the frying pan before frying. Pour about 1/4 of a cup of batter into the pan at a time on medium heat. Wait for bubbles to start showing up in the center of the pancake before carefully flipping to the other side. Make sure each side is golden brown before taking it off the heat to switch to the next pancake. Repeat process.

Since this doesn't have sugar in it you may want to add maple syrup, otherwise it has a mild banana flavor only. Seems to be enough for my toddler but an adult might find it bland without syrup.

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

A nice, simple one that I like to make every so often: Chicken Barley Soup

8 cups chicken broth
2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into cubes
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2/3 cup of barley
1/3 cup of rice
salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and let simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes or until the rice and barley are cooked to preference. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Now, in all honesty, I add 6 diced cloves of garlic and an 8 ounce package of fresh mushrooms, chopped to my version. But the original is quite tasty as-is.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

I like making Protein powder pancakes. A couple of eggs mixed with some Greek yoghurt and a cup of oats plus a scoop or two of whey protein powder, using whatever flavour the protein powder is to flavour the pancakes. Works a treat. If I don't feel like cooking it I can put it in the fridge and let it set and eat it as a pudding.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Chicken With Awesomesauce

Ingredients:
- Any number of frozen, skinless chicken breasts
- Soda (flavor of your choosing)
- Barbecue sauce (same)

Into a pot, pour equal parts hot water and soda (pouring the water first helps keep the soda from fizzing too much) until the mixture is deep enough to submerge the chicken breasts. Add a generous helping of barbecue sauce; 1/3rd of an 8-ounce bottle will suffice. Bring mixture to a low boil on just over medium heat on the stove; once sure that the mixture won't bubble over, add two to three pieces of chicken (spaced out so that none is covering another), cover pot and leave to boil for 25-30 minutes.

The chicken will absorb the flavor of the soda and barbecue sauce, and in my opinion it's a great taste. Goes great with rice or potatoes and a vegetable. The chicken can be cooked en masse and refrigerated for later microwaving. Cost: $9 to $12 (depending on where you shop).

 

[Abbyka]

This is something I make that is really cheap but satisfying.

Ground Beef(or Turkey) with rice and veggies

Ingredients:

1 package of ground beef or ground turkey
Rice(I use the boil in a bag stuff which is easier, but you can use any rice)
2 cans of Mixed Veggies(Or 1 bag of the microwave steamable mixed vegetables)
Whatever seasoning appeals to you, I only use season salt and garlic salt to taste

Fry the beef until somewhat brown before you put on the rice to boil in a pot. In a separate pot heat up the veggies. Continue frying the beef as the rice boils and veggies cook. When it's all done mix it all together in a bowl and season to taste. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated! I find it helps to add a little butter when reheating so it isn't dry.

 

[viscomica]

Quesadillas are pretty easy to make. You only need two tortillas, grilled cheese and the filling of your choice (I personally recommend previously cooked shredded chicken or tuna). The procedure is also simple: butter up a pan, heat it up, put one tortilla on the pan, place the chicken (or whatever) in the center of the tortilla and lots of grilled cheese around the edges and almost immediately place the other tortilla on top. With the help of one (or two if you're not daring enough) spatulas, press the tortillas together and then flip the quesadilla so that it's cooked on both sides. All this should take you about then minutes to make and it tastes good. I think it's also quite cheap.

 

[You Can't Take the Sky From Me]

Easy Chicken Stir-fry:
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Cup white Rice
1 Head Broccoli OR approx. 2 Cups Frozen Broccoli Florets
2-3 Large Garlic Cloves
1/4 Cup Soya Sauce
2 Large Eggs
Oil For Stir-frying

Cook rice according to package instructions (typically 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 Tbsp butter/margarine and a pinch of salt brought to the boil, cover reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.)

Thinly slice chicken breasts with a sharp knife (the thinner the better), set to one side.

Remove broccoli florets from the stem (if using fresh), or thaw frozen broccoli.

Peel garlic by cutting off root end and swiftly rubbing the clove between both hands then slice thinly.

Crack eggs into small bowl and lightly beat with a fork.

Preheat a large frying pan or wok until a drop of water placed onto the surface of the pan instantly boils away, allow fie to ten minutes for this over the highest possible heat.

Add oil to the pan and heat until it just begins to smoke.

Add chicken and stir rapidly until thoroughly browned.

Add garlic and broccoli, continue stirring until broccoli is just cooked through and lightly charred.

Add soya sauce and mix together. Cook until any excess liquid cooks out of the pan.

Push all ingredients to the outside edge of the pan creating a well in the middle.

Add an extra splash of oil to the well if needed and add the eggs, scrambling lightly.

Add rice to the eggs and stir to combine.

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and taste for seasoning, adjusting accordingly.

This recipe is a good way to use up leftover rice and can be made with chicken or pork. Hot sauce or chili peppers can also be used if spice is desired. If using chilies add with the broccoli and garlic.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Probably the cheapest dish I know is a spaghetti dish, as the entire thing - which serves four people - can be rustled up for around £6.

240g cherry tomatoes, halved and deseeded
3 small green peppers, finely sliced
1 small celery stick, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely sliced or grated
1 tsp capers
10 basil leaves, torn any old how
1 pinch dried oregano
125ml extra virgin olive oil

Prep all that lot into a bowl and cover with cling-film. Stick bowl in the fridge for a couple of hours (I tend to make the sauce at lunchtime so the pasta can be served for dinner). When you're ready to cook the pasta take sauce out of the fridge and season with salt and pepper if needed. In a pan of salted water cook 400g spaghetti and when just cooked drain the spaghetti and mix with the marinated sauce, serving immediately.

 

[Phlap]

Pot Noodle

Ingredients:

1 Pot Noodle
250ml Water

While boiling the water in a kettle, open the lid of the pot noodle and retrieve the sachet of soy sauce.
Add the contents of the sachet to the pot, before using a fork to break the noodles into small pieces, to reduce the risk of flicking noodles on the table.
Once the kettle has boiled, add water to the pot, up to the line indicated on the outside of the pot.

Stir the pot with a fork, before leaving the noodles to cool for approximately 1min.

 

[thoughtwrangler]

Cream of Chicken with Rice - No Seriously. Try it.
(No measurements. I make some fairly complex recipes, but this ain't one. It's less of a recipe and more of a "thing".)

Ingredients:
* 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast. Maybe about a pound or so.
* 2-3 small cans of Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (I recommend starting with 3 to see how it goes)
* Rice, cooked.* Preferably white, but if you like brown rice, knock yourself out. No specific amount since it depends on how you like it. Better to make too much than too little since you can always refrigerate leftovers.
* Frozen Vegetables (whichever you like. But feel free to try peas and carrots, baby spinach, etc.)
(You can do the whole thing with one two-quart saucepan, but it will take much longer than if you can set three different cooking vessels to do the work simultaneously.)


1) Set the rice to cook first since it will take a while to steam and you can do the rest while waiting (unless you cheat and buy pre-cooked.) See package for directions. An electric rice cooker will make this super easy, and is pretty cheap.
2) Cook the chicken. Easiest way is to just boil it until it's cooked through in a small or medium saucepan. Again, you can set it and let it go while you do the rest.
3) In a medium saucepan, pour in the cream of chicken soup. Since it's condensed, you'll need to add water. You can use one can of water for each can of soup.
4) Heat over medium heat, and put in the frozen vegetables, if using.
5) When the chicken is done, cut the chicken into small pieces. If you boiled it, you could also try shredding it by pulling it apart with two forks. Hey, it's your chicken.
6) Put as much rice as you want in a bowl, and pour the soup into it, mixing. If you want more rice, then add it. Geez, what am I, your dad?
7) Save leftovers. They're good the next day too.

This is an anti-recipe. You'll probably think "Hey, I think I'll try... next time." That's good. Next time, try that thing.

 

[ceyan]

Buy a crockpot and look for slow cooking recipes. You can make a ton of food for cheap and since you're slow cooking you can buy the cheap meats. You can even buy the liners so you don't have to do any clean up.

 

[Abbyka]

This recipe is really easy and quick. You can find the off brand corn chips and it'll work just as well, though fritos are fairly cheap here.

http://www.fritolay.com/recipes/recipe-detail/fritos-chili-pie