Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter
1 carrot, julliened
1 stalk celerey, julliened
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pinch fennel seeds
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pinch saffron (buy at Trader Joes, if you got one)
1.5 cups dry white wine (chardonnay)
2 lbs. mussels ($4/lb at whole foods)
Some parsley, chopped
Get a big pot. Melt that butter over med. heat. Toss in everything but the wine and mussels and let 'em sautee for 5 min. While thats going, clean those mussels, picking off their beards and rinsing 'em in water. Then toss them in the pot w/the white wine, and cover, letting it cook for 10-15 min, letting those mussels open up (and maybe 2 more Tbs of butter).
Serve in a big bowl (add chopped parsley for visuals), and let everyone else have their own bowl for shells. Pair w/some nice crusty french bread, and the rest of that wine.
Rice is cheap, so I cook up 2 cups when I make it and then put the left overs in the fridge. I get those vegetable saute mixes out of the freezer section (corn, zuchini, broc, carrots, etc) at ~$1.75, and they’ve got about 300 calories in the entire bag. I’ll cook up the entire bag, then mix in some of the rice and eat it in a big bowl. Total cost ~$2, can’t be beat. If you want to splurge, boil a frozen chicken breast, then cut it up and throw it in with the vegetable mix.
Thanks for the good ideas, I’m definitely planning on giving them a try.
Dawn to answer your question, I’m willing to work on making something good if I can toss it in the fridge and reheat it for some easy meals for the next couple of days (like soup).
If you want cheap, go with bean soup. You’ll have dinner for a week on ~$7.
Get a package of dried mixed beans.
Add whatever ingredients you think you’ll want. They offer suggestions on the package. I prefer cabage, carrots, and potatoes. Add beef cubes or chicken for a little extra $ but a little extra flavor and filling. The flavor packets aren’t bad. I prefer adding chili powder to spice it up, but pepper works well too.
Fiber One cereal (.75 cup/meal) - it’ll last you a whole week, keep you full, and keep you regular. Use skim milk. Total cost: $5.50/week
Egg/cheese/muffin - will last a whole week; scramble 2 eggs, form into a round, toast a muffin, add a half-slice of Kraft singles. Total cost: $9.50/week
Slow-cooker oatmeal - get a package of Irish/Steel Cut Oats, add some half-and-half, throw in slow cooker for 2-3 hours. Makes enough for a week. Total cost: $6/week
Lunch
Turkey wraps: Flatout wrap, a few slices of good deli-meat turkey, some lettuce, a tomato slice, and the other half of your cheese from the breakfast. Total cost: $14/week (using good turkey)
Peanut butter tortillas: take two flour tortillas, spread on some PB, roll and enjoy. Total cost: $8/week (two packages of Mission tortillas, jar of PB)
Tortillas with cheese: same as above, but use spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese, heat in microwave. Total cost: $11/week
Left-overs from dinner
Dinner
Grilled (or baked) pork tenderloin w/Garbonzo’s (or chick peas). Tyson boneless tenderloin grilled or baked. Typical package is around $8 and is about 1.5lbs. Good enough for 2-3 meals. Portion out beans - .5 to .75 cups per meal will fill you up. Total cost: $5/meal
Mac mix-up - make a box of Mac & Cheese (any kind will do), add-in Ore-Ida Potatoes O’Brien, some of your left-over pork, or whatever scraps you have. Heat evenly, and enjoy. It’s extra tasty with Tostitos. Total cost: $3 - $6/meal, depending on what you add-in
Grilled portobellas - get some portobella caps, season with salt and pepper. Grill them. Toast an english muffin. Slice a tomato. Grab a slice of swiss cheese and assemble the works. Super tasty. Total cost: $3/meal or less.
-cut 3 chicken breasts (or thighs, its cheaper) into one inch pieces and brown and frying pan (10 minutes)
-move chicken to a plate
-finely chop one onion and fry in the same pan with 2 cloves of garlic
-pour in 3/4 cup of chicken broth and 1tsp of thyme
-add one can of evaporated 2% milk and 1 tbsp of flour (whisk)
-add 2 tbsp of pesto
-put back chicken and simmer for 10 minutes
can serve it with pasta or rice. the whole things costs less then $15 and you can get 3-4 dinners out of it.
I’m also a starving graduate student and I use the Canadian Living cookbook “Everyday Favourites”. There is some really great stuff in there.