Frugal, Quick Dinner Ideas for Avoiding Delivery

I hate to cook. Plus, I’m single and lazy and busy at the same time. These characteristics can be obstacles to a frugal lifestyle. A couple of years ago, I became desperate to find a way to save money on meals without having to work too hard at it, of course.

Like many singles, I usually ordered delivery for dinner or hit fast food joints on the way home from work. Lunches were often eaten out or consisted of cardboard-encased, fatty, frozen heat ‘n eat slop.

After one of those “where does my money go” soul-searchings that we’ve all suffered, I realized that a huge chunk of my take-home went to take-out. It was obvious that I had to begin forcing myself to cook something more than frozen pizzas. If they weren’t easy to throw together, I knew I’d get discouraged and give up. And my culinary efforts had to be tasty, or I’d resort to buying the microwaveable boxes again. Plus, these make-it-yourself concoctions had to bring down my food bill.

I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a couple of very simple recipes that used just a few ingredients. Few ingredients = less expense. This chow cooks up fairly quickly, and usually requires you to dirty only one dish. This isn’t really “cooking from scratch” since the recipes use canned, frozen and convenience foods, but it has saved me a bundle.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) low fat condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can (15 ounces) mixed vegetables, drained
Plenty of chopped-up cooked chicken (or tuna, or meat substitute)
1 small tube of refrigerated biscuits, or your own biscuits

Mix undiluted soup, vegetables and chicken in a 9-inch pan baking dish until well blended. Add salt and pepper. Bake at 350 F until the mixture is good and hot (15 to 20 minutes). Top with the biscuits, and follow the can’s instructions, baking the entire potpie till the biscuits are lightly browned.

Pizza Bagels or Muffins

I’m sure you already know how to make this snack which works as a meal. Take a bagel or English muffin, spread a little pizza or spaghetti sauce over it, sprinkle low fat mozzarella or Parmesan cheese over it; top with pepperoni or sausage. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Cedric’s Casserole

I make lots of “comfort food” casseroles and split them into several containers for freezing. They make for a filling, balanced lunch. If I didn’t have access to a microwave at work, I’d heat my lunch in the morning and pack it in a wide-mouth thermos.

I think this recipe has been around for decades now.

1 chopped medium onion
1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 can tomato soup

Sauté onion and beef in butter and add in the salt and pepper. Place half the cabbage in a greased casserole dish. Spread the meat mixture on top of the cabbage in the casserole dish and then top it off with the remaining cabbage. Pour the tomato soup over the whole dish. Cover the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Related: Cheap and Easy Casserole Recipes: Reader Favorites

A Few Good Recipe Resources

You can find plenty of simple recipes online, but I also found two cookbooks extremely helpful in my search for easy meals. They were Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold and Cooking with Three Ingredients by Andrew Schloss. The following are a few recipes I adapted from these cookbooks.

Chicken With Molasses-Mustard Glaze

4 pounds chicken parts, rinsed and dried
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup spicy brown mustard

In a saucepan on low heat, mix the molasses (your sugar nuance) with the mustard (your spice nuance). Pour about two-thirds of the molasses mixture over the chicken and turn to coat. Bake the chicken at 350 F until done, basting with some of the sauce in the pan every 5 to 7 minutes. When you place the chicken on a plate, spoon a portion of the remaining sauce on each piece. 4 servings.

Pecan Chicken

4 pounds chicken parts, skinned
1 cup creamy garlic dressing
5 oz. ground-up pecans (or enough pecans to coat the chicken)

Roll the chicken in the garlic dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 1-24 hours. Now roll your marinated chicken in the pecans and arrange them in a single layer in a baking dish. Bake at 450 degrees F for 40-45 minutes.

To ensure juicy chicken, I usually bake it at a lower temperature for a longer period than printed above.

Honey-Garlic Glazed Carrots

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick diagonal slices
1 tablespoon minced garlic in oil
2 tablespoons honey

In a large nonstick skillet, toss the carrots and minced garlic in oil over medium-high heat until thoroughly mixed. Add 3/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Add the honey and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until all but a thin film of honey glaze is left, 7 to 10 minutes. Watch the carrots carefully, since as the glaze reduces, its tendency to burn increases. 4 servings.

Two-Ingredient Tomato Sauce

A cheap classic is pasta of your choice, flavored with a rich sauce. Never did so little produce so much intense taste! Easy on the butter or margarine, though — you might find this too rich.

6 ounces unsalted tomato paste
1/3 to 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine

Put the tomato paste in a heavy small saucepan and add 1/4 cup water. Heat gently. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the tomato mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon over low heat. Season with salt and pepper and other ingredients of your choice.

Ham and Swiss Pizza

Take this pizza as an hors d’oeuvre or entree to gatherings, and it’ll be the first plate to empty. It’s awesome at room temperature, but after I arrive at the party, I like to zap it in the microwave for a minute before serving.

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary OR 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
5-6 slices of Canadian bacon
Lots of shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and rosemary. Reduce the heat to low; sauté the onions until very soft, about 20 minutes. Put the bacon on the pizza shell, then spoon the onion mixture over the bacon. Top with the shredded cheese. Bake on pizza pan in preheated 450 F oven for 8 minutes until crust is golden, top bubbly.

If I have time, I stock up on pizza crusts by making them myself. When hungry and/or in a hurry, I use an inexpensive store-bought brand.

The beauty of these recipes is that when they come out just right, your family or guests will swear you spent the whole day slaving over their food. Fat chance. (Some people are even convinced I’m a gourmet.)

My favorites here are partly to serve as examples; with a little research, you’ll find it easy to come up with your own “desperation dinners” for busy people. When good food is this simple and this cheap, there is no reason to be desperate when it comes to stretching your food dollars.

Related:

• 4 Ways Casseroles Can Cut Food Costs
• Inexpensive Sauces To Perk Up Frugal Recipes
• Favorite Frugal One-Pot Meals
• On-the-Go Budget Friendly Breakfasts

Reviewed September 2023