Single Guy? New to Cooking? Here are 5 Cheap, Bulk Dishes You Can Cook to Save Time
Life is full of… life. We’re all busy and have packed schedules, whether it’s school or work or friends. So why would we spend so much time doing things that aren’t related to our all-important? Especially when we have to do said things, like eating? Here are five simple, cheap dishes when cooked in bulk save you all that precious time, from start to finish. Plus, they’ll all make great leftovers.
Fried Rice
Ingredients:
Rice:1/2 cup (Long Grained or Minute)
Eggs: 2-4 large
Optional:
Seasoning
Vegetable of Choice
Soy Sauce
Preparation:
Cooking Rice (Optional)
This one might be the easiest of them all. If you want the best results, cook a lot of rice (2 cups) the night before and place it in the fridge. If you want to do long-grain rice, which is recommended, the prep time is worth it. (Follow this to cook rice well every time.) Place your cooked rice in a bowl and crack your eggs over top. Mix them well together and pour onto a hot pan. Cook the mixture on medium heat continually until the eggs are cooked. Season as you choose: salt and pepper are two that you can’t go wrong with. If you’re doing soy sauce or a vegetable, add enough for your mixture and cook with the rice and eggs.
Leftovers:
Cooking lots of this at once is key to leftovers. It’s best to only use the rice as leftovers and cook the dish with the eggs new each time.
Burger/Taco Mac and Cheese
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese: 2 Boxes
Margarine: 1 Stick
Milk
Ground Beef: 1 pound
Salt & Pepper
Optional:
Onion: 1/4 whole
Tomato: 1/2 whole
Preparation:
Thawing Beef (If necessary)
Chopping Vegetables (Optional)
Mixed with a staple of your childhood, this one takes the cake on “easy”. Follow the instructions on the box for the mac and cheese. After you’ve thawed your ground beef, place it in a pan on medium heat. Chop up your onions and place them in the pan with the beef. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Cook this mixture until the beef is cooked through. Once you’ve finished your mac and cheese, place the beef and onions in the pot with the macaroni. Chop up your tomato and place it in the pot as well. Stir and enjoy.
Leftovers:
Use Tupperware to store the dish. Microwave each dish for one minute and 30 seconds.
Beef and Beans Burritos
Ingredients
Ground Beef: 1 pound
Salt and Pepper
Tortillas: 6 burrito-sized
Refried Beans: 1 Can
Mexican Cheese Blend
Optional:
Taco Seasoning: One package of Old El Paso
Preparation:
Thawing Beef (If necessary)
Cook your refried beans along with the instructions on the can. To save the most time, place them in a bowl and in the microwave for roughly two minutes. Cook your ground beef in a pan on medium. Use the taco seasoning and salt and pepper to season the beef. Cook the beef until it is cooked through. Once your beef is cooked, start filling and wrapping your burritos with the beef and beans, adding cheese to each one as you go.
Leftovers:
These work best as leftovers when individually wrapped in foil. Reheating will take one minute in the microwave.
Additionally: The Right Way to Wrap a Burrito
Pasta
Ingredients
Pasta Sauce: 2 cans
Pasta: Full Box
Ground Beef: 1 Pound
Salt and Pepper
Preparation: Thawing Beef
This dish is by far the most flexible. You can use different sauces, add different vegetables, and do whatever other changes you think would work well. Start by boiling water and cooking your pasta on medium to high for 7–10 minutes until al dente. Just like with the other dishes, cook the ground beef on medium, using salt and pepper to season. Add the sauce in the pan after the beef is cooked and cook on low until the sauce is hot enough (usually it will start bubbling, or you can taste for yourself. Also, make sure your pan is big enough to contain everything.) Drain your pasta and add your sauce and beef to the pot that you cooked the pasta in.
Leftovers:
Grab your Tupperware! Reheating usually takes around one to two minutes in the microwave.
Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
Rice: 1/2 cup (Long Grained or Minute)
Chicken: 1 Breast
Seasoning (See Also)
Optional:
Vegetables
Extra Breasts
Preparation:
Thawing Chicken (If necessary)
Seasoning Chicken
Chicken and Rice? Are we on a diet? No, we’re on a double budget of time and money. Cook your rice as mentioned in our first dish for fried rice. Again, think about how much rice leftover you want. For the chicken, start with placing as many breasts as you’d like into a mixing bowl, choose a seasoning (it might even be just salt and pepper) and pour it in the bowl. (Make sure the breasts are thin enough. If they are too thick, they will take a long time to cook in a pan.) Mix the chicken and seasoning together well with your hands. Heat a pan on medium to high and place the breasts in the pan. Cook for five to seven minutes on one side, then flip them over and do the same for the other side.
A note on vegetables: Steaming vegetables is a great way to cook them. For tips on that, go here. Otherwise, ready to microwave vegetables (especially by Birds Eye) are an awesome, speedy alternative.
Leftovers: Place a breast and the desired amount of rice in a container. Re-heat time is one to two minutes.
