Fast, easy and cheap (foods)

A friend pointed out to me recently that I tend to eat a lot of the same foods. This is true because I tend to only make things that take less than 15 minutes, are very simple and don't require a ton of cleanup.

A few of my favorites:

• Chili dogs: I make two cans of Hormel chili gussied up with hot sauce, mustard and various extra spices, then just keep the chili for reheating whenever I want a hot dog. Two cans usually last me at least a full pack of hot dogs.
• Stovetop stuffing: This stuff is so easy and underrated. I prefer it to most of those easy rice or pasta bags with the flavoring.
• Canned soup
• Fried bologna
• Eggs, mostly scrambled
• Velveeta mac and cheese: The Velveeta shells are immeasurably better than Kraft, even the Kraft with the real cheese instead of the powder. Yes, it's worth that extra dollar or whatever. And it reheats much better, too.

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But I think my friend is right. I eat those things for probably 80 percent of meals I eat at home. Yes, I realize none of those things are healthy in the least. I also eat sandwiches, but I don't consider putting ham and mustard on wheat bread to be cooking.

So I bring this to you, assuming other sports journalists might just be looking for fast, easy and cheap food that actually tastes good. What works best for you?

 

Mmmm... Fried Bologna...

 

I love Home Run Inn brand small frozen pizzas. They taste amazing. They are only 630 calories. And they are all-natural. No preservatives or additives. All natural ingredients.

I'm not someone just saying that something all-natural tastes "amazing!!!111organic!!!11," and then when you eat it, it tastes like cardboard. These things put most of the pizzas you order from delivery to shame. They are that good.

 

Shells and cheese have been a staple in my house for years.

Frozen pizzas never fail. On the cheap end of the spectrum, I'm a big Tony's fan.

And yes, I'll admit it, I like Hot Pockets.

 

It takes less than 10 minutes to make pretty much any simple pasta as long as you're not making your own ravioli or something. Sometimes I eat a can of beans with salsa and cheese on it. I also like baked Gigante beans, just put them in a cassarolle dish, pour in tomato sauce, add some oregano and that's it. All fast, easy, reasonably healthy (plenty of protein) and not much prep or cleanup.

 

I get a can of Hormel Turkey chili, heat it up, pour it in a bowl and dip chips in it.

Also, lots of frozen foods. And sandwiches. Grilled cheese and pb&j especially.

 

I've lived for months on Top Ramen and Chef Boyardee Ravioli and the occasional Totino's pizza.

I had an internship in SoCal where my rent was so expensive (place set up by paper, I had no choice but to live there...) and I made so little that I had $20-$30 a week put aside for food. That doesn't sound too bad, but my liquor budget was also my food budget.

 

You can get those frozen Bertolli's dinners for like $8 and have it serve as dinner and a lunch for the next day. They're pretty solid. Along the same lines, if you don't mind eating the same thing for two meals (dinner, lunch), you can buy an $8 pork loin and some bbq sauce, throw it in the crock and make some good bbq. Buy some cheap hamburger buns and tortilla chips for variety.

Also, if you have ketchup, mustard, vinegar and brown sugar, you can make some kick-ass sloppy joes. All you need is the ground beef.

And I know it's not the healthiest thing ever, but goddamn, I could live off Sweet Tea and Southern Chicken Sammich/Biscuit from McDonalds.

 

The dollar menu can be tough to beat, albeit not the most healthy.

If you don't get drinks, a family of four can eat for less than $10.

 

For about $25-30, you can buy a pack of boneless pork chops and chicken breasts and a box of shake and bake for each. Each usually comes with 8-10 chops or breasts in a package, so depending on if you eat one or two at a time, that's as few as 10 nights worth of dinner. Just throw them in the shake and bake bag, and 20 minutes in the oven, during which time you can make your Stove Top.

But I'm the same way. It's either sandwiches, pork chops or chicken, beef cubes and rice, or fetuccini with chicken and alfredo sauce for me. Occasionally I'll pick up a couple steaks for football on Sunday.

 

Every week, I buy a package of Chicken thighs at Wal-Mart. I dip them into Frank's Buffalo Sauce and then roll them in bread crumbs. I bake them in the oven and I have lunch for the week at work for about $8 total.

 

Some supermarkets will sell with their rotisserie chickens, a package of four legs/thighs (from multiple chickens I hope). These are cheaper and two is enough for a dinner and then you have some for lunch (and I don't even reheat them). The sell for about four bucks.