Quick, Cheap, & Easy Meals for One

I promise you, there will be times when it will feel like all you are capable of making is something like hot dogs. You'll forget about your favorite meals, not have the energy to open up the pantry, and cave in and order out. The next time you're in your food rut, or seconds away from spending money you really don't have to be eating out, run though this list for inspiration. Hopefully, your pantry and fridge are stocked with some of these basic items so you can get dinner on the table in 10 minutes.

Goals for our quick, cheap, and easy meals:

• They are encompass everything the title says

• They are not heavily reliant on processed food

• They contain some pantry/fridge staples

• They are foundational in nature so over time and when your confidence increases, you can begin to customize them to your taste

Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese: such a simple and classic meal, great all year round. Get creative and try out various cheeses and breads, or add a sliced tomato or fresh basil. If you add dairy to your soup, use cream, keep the heat low, and bring to just a simmer. The fat and lower temperature will help keep it from curdling.

Black Bean Nachos: Spread out some tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, top with rinsed black beans and shredded cheese. Sprinkle on a little chili powder and bake in the oven at 350° until cheese starts to melt (watching closely! about 5-8 minutes). Turn the broiler on for 1-2 minutes until cheese gets bubbly, remove and top with a chopped tomato, green onions, sour cream, avocado, jalapeno slices, etc. Make your nachos heartier by cooking ¼lb ground beef, or a cooked chicken thigh, or adding shredded rotisserie chicken. You can also add refried beans, thinned with a little water, for more protein.

Tacos/Tex-Mex Bowls: Cook and drain ¼lb ground beef, or add a cooked chicken thigh or shredded rotisserie chicken for your protein. Garnish your tacos or bowls with rice, lettuce, tomato, green onion, shredded cheese, black olives, rinsed and drained black beans, Mexicorn, salsa, sour cream, avocados, guacamole, fresh cilantro, etc. Your taste buds are calling the shots here. Don't forget to season your meat with garlic powder, salt, chili powder, and the tiniest pinch of cumin.

Pasta Marinara: Cook up ⅓rd a box of spaghetti noodles according to package, drain, and mix in about ⅓-½ jar of marinara, cooking over low heat until sauce is warmed through. Serve with salad and you have a very cheap and tasty meal. Wanna dress up this simple classic? Cook ⅓rd penne noodles from a box until al dente, drain, and mix with ½ a jar of marinara sauce and ½c shredded mozzarella cheese. Place in a small casserole/oven-safe baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and place in a 350° oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. Finish off with the broiler for 1-2 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browned and you have a no-fuss baked ziti. Boost your flavors with the addition of cooked italian sausage, or saute some onions, garlic, and mushrooms to add to your jar of sauce. Budget permitting, fresh parsley or basil would be a beautiful garnish, and a sprinkle of parmesan on top would also elevate your flavors.

Loaded Baked Potato: Using a large russet baking potato (6-8 inches long), rinse and place in a 425° oven and cook for 60-80 minutes, or until a knife can be poked in the center with no resistance. Once completely baked, remove from the oven, cut open, and add your favorites: butter, sour cream, avocados, mexicorn, chopped tomatoes, green onions, bacon crumbles, ranch dressing, shredded cheese, BBQ pork, chili or other cream soup, you do you.

Beans & Rice: Take a can of drained and rinsed red (kidney) or black beans, place in a small pot with ½ a can of chicken broth and warm on stove top over medium high heat until broth simmers down and beans start to thicken up. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dash of oregano. Pour over cooked rice and enjoy. Take it up a notch and saute a small, chopped onion, ½ diced green pepper, a diced carrot, and a diced celery stalk in olive oil before adding your beans and broth to the pot. Get some andouille sausage, slice, and cook it to give this meal a cajun bent. Bonus: you may have leftovers for another meal.

Classic Salads: (Customize as you like.)

• Hard boiled egg, bacon crumbles, tomatoes, avocados, chicken breast, iceberg/Romaine, bleu cheese, and red wine vinaigrette make a classic Cobb salad.

• Chopped apples, celery, walnuts, lettuce, and grapes, lightly dressed with mayonnaise is the famous Waldorf salad.

• Serve tomatoes (cherry or chopped Roma), basil, and mozzarella pearls over a bed of spinach lightly dressed with olive oil, and you have a Caprese salad.

Sandwiches:

• Hard boil 2 eggs, peel, chop, and mix with a dollop of mayo, a squeeze of mustard, and pinch of sugar for egg salad.

• Open a can of tuna, drain, and add a dollop of mayo and 1-2T sweet pickle relish, salt and pepper for a tuna fish sandwich.

• Open a can of chicken, drain, and add a dollop of mayo, 1 diced green onion, 1 diced celery stalk, and a sprinkle of poultry seasoning and you have chicken salad. This is also a great and tasty way to use up rotisserie chicken!

• Hey! Any of the above options could be served on top of ½ an avocado, inside a scooped out tomato or red pepper, on a plate with crackers or dipping vegetables (carrot sticks, celery, cucumber slices, red or green pepper slices), over lettuce as a salad, with naan, in a pita, or rolled up in a tortilla. Remember, you are not confined to just bread when it comes to sandwiches.

• Grilled cheese. Did you know you can use mayonnaise in place of butter and still obtain that deliciously crunchy outside flavor?!

• Turkey, ham, roast beef, oven-roasted chicken, and pastrami. There are all sorts of pre-packaged meats out there to place between two pieces of bread for a satisfying meal. Get creative and add tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, pickles, cheese slices, etc. to your sandwich. Pre-cooked bacon slices are amazing here and you can quickly make a club sandwich with minimal effort.

Breakfast for Dinner:

• Eggs: Elevate them by cooking over-easy on stove top and placing over a piece of toast covered with arugula. Let the golden awesomeness of your egg yolk be the dressing for this humble masterpiece. Don't forget a pinch of salt and pepper to finish things off.

• Scramble up two eggs on the stove top, add in 2T bacon crumbles, and some shredded cheese and you have the innards for a breakfast burrito. You could substitute out the bacon for breakfast sausage links, add green chili sauce, or salsa, or even some drained and rinsed black beans for more protein. Don't want to use a tortilla, cook up some tater tots in the oven or air fryer according to package directions, then top with all the goodies you just cooked up in your skillet for an amazing breakfast bowl.

• Finely dice some of your favorite veggies such as: mushrooms, green peppers, spinach, onion, green onion, and/or tomatoes, and incorporate into three whisked eggs. Throw in some bacon or sausage link(s), or cut up a piece or two of ham sandwich meat, top with cheese and a sprinkle of salt and pepper for an omelet scramble.

• Follow the instructions to cook a serving of Cream of Wheat or Malt-O-Meal on the stovetop. And consider adding some of the following: 1t vanilla, a splash of cream or half-and-half, 2T brown sugar, a swirl of maple syrup, dash of cinnamon, a spoonful of raisins, fresh berries, chocolate chips, a sliced banana, or granola. Customize this stick-to-your-ribs dish the way you want!

• Use pancake mix from a box and customize your pancakes with the addition of fruit or chocolate chips!

• Pour about a ½c of milk into a shallow bowl, add 1-2t vanilla and stir, in a separate shallow bowl, crack and beat an egg with 1t of ground cinnamon. Take a piece or two of bread (brioche bread would be a delicious splurge here, but any plain bread will do), dip into the milk mixture, then egg mixture, and place onto a cooking spray-coated hot griddle or frying pan. Cook until browned, flip and cook the other side. Garnish with maple syrup, fruit, and/or powdered sugar for melt in your mouth "marshmallow" French toast.

• For simpler, lighter meals, consider: Cereal and milk, frozen waffles and fruit, and/or yogurt, granola, and fruit. Remember, there are no rules that state breakfast foods must be eaten between the hours of 4am-11am!

Popcorn: Yup. Sometimes you just don't want a lot for a meal or you need a simple snack. Stop buying expensive microwave popcorn and learn to cook it on the stove top. All you need is a pot with a lid and some peanut oil (or other high-temperature oil). Place enough oil in the pot to lightly cover the bottom. Don't go crazy here or your popcorn will be greasy. Sprinkle the popcorn kernels (we use yellow popcorn at home) over the oil just until the bottom of the pan is covered. Don't add another layer of kernels on top or the popcorn will overflow when cooking. Turn the heat up to medium high and put the lid on, leaving just a crack open. Make sure you have your oven-mitts on, because you're going to grab both the lid and the pot and swirl the uncooked kernels around about every 30 seconds until they start to pop. Once popping commences, close the lid completely and lift and swirl-shake about every 5-10 seconds until the popping stops to avoid burning. When it's done popping, dump into a bowl and season with salt. It's worth buying a little shaker of popcorn salt, as it's finer than table salt and sticks to more kernels. You can elevate your popcorn with other spices, cheese or powdered cheese, and of course, melted butter. You can also sprinkle a little sugar over the uncooked kernels at the beginning for a kettle corn flavor, but be sure to increase shaking the pot, as the sugar can burn quickly.