Budget Bites: Delicious Meals That Won’t Break the Bank

In college, it has become crucial for me to learn how to cook my own meals each day. However, I have encountered a serious problem because of this: budgeting. With three roommates, it becomes a challenge when it comes to buying groceries and knowing what meals we should cook each day. We usually spend around 200 dollars on groceries every two weeks, which is about 50 dollars per person. 

We try to make a list based on what we think we’ll want for dinner that week, and by doing that, we’re able to buy what we actually need and what we’ll cook for the next few weeks. We focus on buying meat in bulk and freezing it if needed. 

Some of the meals we usually like to cook are alfredo. We either put chicken or shrimp in it, and we use milk and heavy cream for the sauce. This is typically our go-to meal because of how simple it is to make. We also bought a few different packs of noodles so that we’re able to switch up what pasta we may want. 

Now that it’s getting colder outside, my roommates and I have been obsessed with making different types of soups. Different soup recipes make for incredible leftovers, and they’re quite easy to make. We use a protein in our soup, and then chicken broth or beef broth, depending on the type of soup. 

Another meal that I have cooked and has been incredible is burgers. Burgers are very easy to make, and there’s a variety of condiments you can use on them. When making the burgers, I used ground beef, and before cooking them, I shaped the burgers. I first rolled the ground beef into a ball, and then I flattened the burgers. After doing this, I heated up a pan with oil and cooked them for about 5 minutes on both sides. I also toasted the buns and put cheese and condiments on them.

I have also made mac and cheese, and to do this, I used Colby Jack cheese and cheddar cheese, milk, heavy cream, elbow macaroni noodles, and crab. So, when making mac and cheese, I first began by boiling the noodles for about 8 minutes. It’s good to undercook them since we will bake them in the oven. We then make the cheese sauce by using milk and flour to create a roux, and then I gradually add in cheese and heavy cream. Once the cheese sauce is formed, I pour it onto the noodles, and then I mix them together. After that, I put cheese on top and I placed the dish into an oven for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then lastly, I put the oven on boil to form a crust on the mac and cheese. 

My roommates and I also made a chicken pot pie a few weeks ago. We first bought shredded chicken instead of cooking it. Then we used heavy cream and chicken broth to create a soup base for the pie, and we placed the chicken into this broth along with a series of frozen vegetables. We also used a store-bought pie crust and placed the filling in this.

I believe that planning out what you’d like to cook will allow for this new experience of cooking for yourself to be a lot easier overall.