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I do something like this all the time. I substitute broth for the water. And I'll also add in half a teaspoon of sesame oil or a dollop of butter. Sambal oelek on the top for the spiciness. When I re-heat, I don't add water. I usually cover with a paper towel or warm up in a covered microwaveable dish as the steam from the meat and veggies tends to keep the rice moist.

Fried rice is also very easy to make with any leftover rice you have. I typically mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, a bit of oil, garlic, Chinese 5 spice and red pepper flakes (don't ask for measurements, I always go with taste). Scramble an egg, saute diced onion of your choice, add in the veggies, throw in the rice, mix it up, pour over the soy sauce mixture, mix well, let it sit for about 5 minutes and then eat.

Pasta or noodles are another cheap easy dinner option. I usually slice up Italian sausages, tomatoes and other vegetables. Fry them all together and toss with angel hair pasta, spaghetti or linguine. Pasta carbonara is another easy recipe: Boil up spaghetti to al dente and drain, saving about half a cup of the pasta water. Fry some bacon (I use pancetta but you're looking for cheap and easy so bacon is a good substitute). Add some garlic and saute for another minute. Add the drained spaghetti to the pan and toss to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat a couple of eggs and Parmesan or mozzarella cheese (I use Parmesan and you can even use the dried stuff that comes out of the bottle) together in a mixing bowl. Mix well so you don't have lumps. Remove the pan that has the bacon and spaghetti from the heat and drizzle the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, and toss the pasta quickly and thoroughly. This coats the pasta and the eggs get cooked from the warmth of the bacon and spaghetti. Thin out the sauce with a bit of the pasta water. Add pepper (and salt if you're inclined but the bacon usually has enough). I top with parsley.

Asian noodle dishes: I do the same thing as fried rice. While I'm sauteing the eggs, protein, veggies, I'll boil up the noodles (you can even use ramen noodles that all college students use). Same seasonings, but you could substitute the Chinese 5 spice for whatever spice packet you get with the ramen noodles. Use a tiny amount of soy sauce since those spice packets are loaded with sodium to begin with. Toss and serve.

Casseroles are another easy way to have cheap food. I usually make a noodle or rice casserole: Chicken and rice, tuna noodle, lasagna.

Also, get a crock pot. Big hunks of cheap meat can be tenderized and softened in a slow cooker. Easy thing is take a pot roast and half a bottle of of BBQ sauce, throw in the pot and slow cook for about 6 hours. You'll have meat for days.

As hypocritical as this may sound given my earlier posts about rice cookers, I have to second this. I don't think it's necessary for "starving college student" cooking, but it sure does allow for a bunch of easy and delicious (and cheap) meals.



Or do the same thing with pork loin.

Yeah. I was thinking (in both cases) in terms of cost. Both devices can be replaced with normal cookware. They make certain dishes easier to manage (in some cases much easier), but are not strictly speaking necessary. So for someone with limited finances and/or space, it's a luxury.

Huh. Wasn't thinking specifically of dorm rooms. In that case, yeah. Anything electric that allows you to cook will work. Of course, you'd have to also have a mini fridge to store left overs (or any fresh stuff you're using in the first place), or a lot of the cost savings wont work. The whole scenario gets a bit tricky I suppose.

Go to a friends house, raid fridge,

I am not a good sheaf and i don't know how can i make any dish so anyone can tell me that how can we make any dish only vegetarian but..?

Canned tuna is foul.

how i mine for fish?

Alfredo and Penne alla Vodka are pretty easy to make. Just make the appropriate pasta, very slightly less cooked than what you want, and throw it in a pan with the sauce. And unlike Marinara/Tomato sauce, canned versions of the sauce aren't some horrible travesty.

Also, both of them go very well with some simple pan fried chicken cutlets. Just toss some salt, pepper, and garlic on 'em before or as you're cooking them.

Edited, Sep 29th 2012 11:07pm by Deadgye

The refrigerator section Buitoni alfredo sauce isn't horible if you are pressed for time.

I like to make my marinara when I have a day off, since it's typically around four hours or so. I usually make a huge pot of it, and freeze the excess. I guess I could make a quick sauce if needed. If I couldn't make my regular sauce, I'd probably just sauté some crushed tomatoes (usually with a pinch of sugar if using canned) with some garlic and basil in olive oil and toss the pasta in that. Maybe throw some baby bella mushrooms in there, too.

I love growing Roma tomatoes for sauce. The yield per plant is typically very good, and the tomatoes themselves are very meaty. Homegrown tomatoes, I usually parboil my excess and then freeze for use in the winter.

Edited, Sep 30th 2012 12:02pm by Spoonless

I thought of another good, cheap, easy meal solution to offer as well. Hashbrowns. If you have a cheese grater (or find one for prob 99 cents), you can get a giant bag of potatoes and make it into a hundred meals. You can always jazz it up with some onion, since onions are nice and cheap and can go a long way, but really, I just crave hashbrowns with ketchup. You can variate how you prepare the potatoes before you cook them, like cubing them, but fried potatoes are easy and quick. Might take a bit of time (~30 mins), but that's with very little attention. You can always just boil the potatoes first so you can quick fry them in the pan.

Another option is cubed potatoes on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with olive oil and lowry's or some other seasoning. Roast on 350 for like 30 minutes. Little attention required, cheap, filling.