College Student Meals
 

I am in college and on a college budget. What are some good meals for poor students like me? :D and please no more ramen noodles!!!!!!!!! lol

How about cheese omelet, spaghetti with garlic & olive oil, potatoes & eggs, grilled cheese sandwich, green salad with chicken, macaroni & cheese? If I think of anymore I'll let you know. Good luck!!!!!

My daughter keeps sandwich items in her fridge for a quick meal. Protein shakes, yogurt, and lettuce greens with chicken. Mac and Cheese, of course, all the frozen to microwave type foods. Individual pizzas, fruit cups, pudding, etc. I often cook and freeze individual meals for her so she can pop something in the microwave quickly. I really feel for college students. The food options are slim picking and not so healthy either. Good luck. ETA are you in the dorm, or do you have an apartment? My daughter can't have electric appliances except for her microwave.

When I was in college I lived on hashbrown casserole :D Mix a can of cream soup (I used cream of celery) with a cup of sour cream, a diced onion, grated cheese, some frozen hashbrowns, and salt and pepper. It would last me for a week! I know it's technically a side dish, but I'd warm up a square for lunch daily :)

I live in a duplex off campus, this is my third year but my job has gone downhill, I'm a server, and now I actually have to live like a college student lol :rolleyes:

Do you have any garden space? If you eat lots of vegetables, they're way cheaper if you grow your own :) Even without garden space you can grow things like tomatoes in flower pots (I do this every year). And with pots you don't need to worry about weeding all the time either, just water them every once in awhile :)

I tried that, even bought a fence to put around it, but my landlord took down the fence and mowed over them! He's not a very bright crayon and trying to talk to him about it just lands on deaf ears. But I'm moving in August so maybe I can then!

Weird, my oldest is a 3rd year student, server, living in a duplex off campus too. What's your name anyways? Ok, just kidding. I know she doesn't eat like she should and when we go out to dinner, she tells me college students eat the free side stuff and take the actual meal stuff home. "It's the desperate college student way....." Blah blah blah. I know she works a lot of double shifts, and when she does that she gets one meal free. She tries real hard to make it on her own without asking for help when I wish she would, especially with the rising costs of everything these days. Really, I understand where you are coming from.

This isn't a cheap meal idea (although I have those too ;) ) ....it's a cheap INGREDIENT idea.

Did you know that you can buy a bunch of green onions, use them down to about an inch above the roots then PLANT them?? They start to regrow within a few hours :D

Aww you sound like such a nice mom, my mother tries her best but she hasn't paid for a thing since I was in jr.high I had to babysit for my lunch money, clothes, shampoo you name it (and no not the pricey name brand stuff lol) :rolleyes: In the end I think it makes me more self sufficient but it also makes asking her for help out of the question, I have but she always finds a reason to say no.

That is so cool! I could even do that with a little window planter, I'm going to try that thanks!

Ham and Potato casserole
1/2 bag of tater tots or crowns, 1 cup chopped left over ham or ham slice, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 can cream of celery soup, salt / pepper to taste.

In small casserole dish mix tots, ham, cheese, stir in soup, add enough milk to thin to gravy consistency, sprinkle with salt / pepper (also like to use Sylvia's Secret Seasoning ) . Bake 375º until browned, about 45 minutes.

steam or saute fresh green beans or snap peas as a side.

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Calzones
Mix in pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, or preferred pizza toppings into a jar of pizza sauce. Unroll and lightly stretch crescent dough, seal diagonal perfs, separate into rectangles. Spoon 2 - 3 tablespoons sauce mix onto each rectangle, fold edges to seal, bake 350º until done, top with mozzerella. Serve with green salad

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Kielbasa stew

3 slices bacon, chopped
4 green onions chopped
15 oz can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
15 oz can tomatoes, drained
12oz - 16oz Kielbasa or polish sausage, sliced
3 cups water & 3 chicken bouillon cubes OR 3 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked small elbow macaroni

cook bacon until transluscent, add onions, continue cooking until the onions are transluscent and bacon is crisp. Add broth or water and cubes, macaroni and sausage. Bring to boil, simmer 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and beans. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve with biscuits or corn bread.

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Stuffed Green Peppers
Core and rinse 3 large green bell peppers, place in large pot, cover with water, bring to boil, simmer 15-20 minutes, drain, being careful to not break the peppers.

Meanwhile, saute 1# ground beef, drain. Stir in 1 can undiluted tomato soup, 1 cup uncooked minute rice. Spoon filling into peppers, top with tablespoon of tomato sauce. Add 1/2" water to bottom of baking dish to prevent scorching. Bake 350º 45-60 minutes.

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You can do a lot with a package of hot dogs:

Pigs in a blanket
Slit jumbo turkey or beef franks, insert small slice of favorite cheese. Wrap in Crescent or biscuit dough, bake 350º 15-20 min.

Chili / Cheese dogs

Sauerkraut & wieners

Beany Weenie - mix chopped hot dogs into can of baked beans

Do you have a crockpot? For me, it's one of the easiest ways to cook. But I have to admit.... I'm a lazy crockpot cook. Anything that requires too much prep before it goes into the crockpot isn't easy crockpot cooking for me. This has, by far, become a favorite recipe because it is so easy. I got it from another thread on a board about crockpot cooking. It literally involves opening cans.

Originally Posted by ekatiel

Crockpot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese:

Ingredients
4-5 frozen boneless chicken breasts

2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans black beans

2 (15 ounce) cans corn

1 (15 ounce) jar salsa, any kind

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

Directions
1)Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot.
2)Add 2 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 2 can of corn drained.
3)Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
4)Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. (I leave the crocpot on high during this time)
5)Mix up, all done and enjoy!

I've served it just like it is, over tortilla chips, over rice, or wrapped in a tortilla.

I tend to buy chicken breasts in bulk, so once I get them home, I just open them up and throw 4 or 5 (depending on size) into a quart size freezer bag and throw them in the freezer. Then one bag is perfect for this recipe.
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I'd like to commend you for being so responsible for your young age. You have grown up fast, and obviously you have learned many things that some young people never do, and you should be proud.

Kind of along the lines of crock pot meals, if you like to plan ahead, I make crock pot burritos, and freeze them.

1 small pork roast
1 can of pinto beans
1 can refried beans
1 jar salsa (any flavor or variety)

Dump it all into a crock pot and cook on low for 10-12 hours, stir to mix then pile into a tortilla with cheese and wrap. I wrap them in tin foil and freeze. It will make 15-18 burritos and they are very good.

Another thing I like to make a lot of is breakfast burritos, and freeze. Just cook some sausage, mix in a bag of the seasoned hashbrown frozen potatoes, cook till hot, then add eggs. Wrap up in tortilla shells with a slice of sandwich cheese in each one. Great breakfast or quick meal when in a time crunch. And they are cheap!!! One batch will make up 15-20 burritos, and you can make it how you like it, there are no rules!!

I can't spell bierochs, but do you know what they are? They are time consuming to make, so to make it easy I brown some ground beef and drain, add some salt, pepper, and garlic seasoning, some shredded cabbage, and cook it until the cabbage is how you like it (I like it a little crunchy, but it will cook all the way down if you like it that way), and I serve it in a pita pocket. Some like it with mustard. This is easy to make for 1 person too, just use 1/2lb. ground beef and you can add as much or as little cabbage as you like. Again, no rules :D

I used to live on Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and whatever I had to put in it and another cheap meal was soup poured over baked potato. And lots of pizza. I was never a cook so kept it very simple.

Froot Loops and cereal bars...:rolleyes: