Moving into your first apartment is great until you realize you have to start cooking for yourself or suffer the consequences of eating out 24/7. If you already know how to cook, this is an easy transition for you; but, for those of us who never really cooked at home, this can be a challenge. Here's a list of five easy dinners you can make that won't break the bank and won't destroy your body.
1. Chicken and rice
This meal is a staple meal for my roommates and me. We have it at least once a week, if not more. It's so simple because you only need a box of rice (generally pretty cheap) and a couple of chicken breasts (I prefer boneless and skinless). Follow the directions on the box for the rice and for the chicken all you need to do is put some oil in a pan, put it on the stove top at a medium heat, and make sure that chicken is white. For added flavor, you can make chicken rice!
2. Tacos
Luckily for me, my roommate's family has deer meat out the wazoo, so we always use that for our tacos, but you can use any kind of ground meat like beef or turkey. Grab some shells and your favorite taco toppings along with some spices - which you should buy separately instead of packaged taco seasoning, it's better for the bank because you can keep using those spices for other things. For the spices, I would advise grabbing seasoned salt, garlic powder, ground cumin, red cayenne pepper powder, and chili powder.
3. Chicken Alfredo
This is probably the easiest because all you need is pasta, chicken breasts, and Alfredo sauce. You can even get premade chicken breasts that just need to be thawed and heated up. For the Alfredo, I suggest Newman's Own Alfredo sauce, it's cheaper and all natural and all of the proceeds go to charity!
4. Hamburgers
In case you didn't know, you can make burgers on the stove - you don’t even need a grill. If you have a grill, lucky you! If not, cook them in a pan on the stove until they are as red or not red as you want them. Season and dress them however you want, it's a burger! A healthy alternative would be to use turkey (it's actually really good, trust me).
5. Potatoes and other veggies
Potatoes are my favorite food because you can do so many things with them. One of my favorite things to do is to chop them up, coat them in olive oil and garlic salt, and throw them in the oven until they are soft. You can throw in some other veggies, like corn, peas, or green beans on the stove and have a somewhat healthier meal. Grab a bag of potatoes, or just a couple if you want, and some frozen veggies and you're good to go!
