6 More Easy Recipes For Hungry College Students

If you’re a Hungry College Student looking for some easy recipes to make on a budget, look no further. These six meals should serve you well, and many can even be modified. 

1. Sloppy Joes.

The first of our easy recipes is for the classic, if mess sandwich known as sloppy joes, this recipe makes enough for six, so you can make the beef and have enough leftovers to keep you fed for a full week. You can add other ingredients like hot peppers to the beef if you want it spicier.

• Ingredients
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
  • ¾ cup ketchup, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 6 hamburger buns, split
• Directions:
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir lean ground beef in the hot skillet until some of the fat starts to render, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper; continue to cook until vegetables have softened and beef is cooked through, 3 to 5 more minutes.
  • Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and garlic powder; season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Divide meat mixture evenly among hamburger buns.

2. Buttered Noodles.

The next of our easy recipes is a timeless one, and while you may think it’s odd that you need a recipe for noodles with butter, here it is. A great aspect of this recipe is its simplicity, which opens it up to a host of modifications depending on what you have available. It’s also extremely easy to make. 

• Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning, divided
  • 8 ounces egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Directions:
  • Heat 2 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon kosher salt in a large pot on high heat until boiling. Add the egg noodles. Cook for 5 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and drain the noodles.
  • Place the drained hot noodles in a large bowl. Add the butter and Parmesan and stir until the butter has melted. Stir in a tablespoon or two of the pasta cooking water. Stir in the chopped parsley. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

3.Upgraded Instant Ramen.

Okay, I’m gonna admit that the next of our “easy recipes” is a bit of an odd one, in that it’s less of an individual recipe and more a bunch of ways to improve an instant meal. We’ve all been forced to rely on instant ramen a few times, but there are a few ways to upgrade both its nutrition and its flavor. One of the easiest is simply to replace the water used to prepare the ramen with store-bought broth. Chicken broth is pretty cheap and creates a notably better flavor when used instead of water. You can also flavor up your noodles with chopped green onions, fried eggs, fried SPAM, or whatever else you think might be good additions. There are a lot of possibilities. And speaking of SPAM… 

4. SPAM One Skillet Mac And Cheese.

Number Four on the list of easy recipes uses that most timeless of processed meats: Spam. Despite its reputation, Spam actually has a few advantages if you want protein on a budget, in that it’s cheap, doesn’t go bad, and can be used in a variety of ways. This particular recipe is for a skillet-baked macaroni and cheese, with a large serving size. You can also remove the spam if you so desire. 

• Ingredients:
  • 1 (12-ounce) can SPAM® Classic diced
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
  • 2 cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 4 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• Directions:
  • Heat broiler to high.
  • In large broiler-safe skillet, over medium-high heat, cook SPAM® Classic 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet.
  • In same skillet, over medium heat, combine milk and macaroni. Bring to a simmer. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking, until macaroni is tender and mixture has thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheeses, 2 tablespoons butter, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt. Stir in browned SPAM® Classic.
  • In small microwavable bowl, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add breadcrumbs, stirring to coat. Sprinkle mixture on top of macaroni and cheese.
  • Broil 3 to 5 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Garnish with parsley if desired.

5. Custom Quesadillas.

Next up on the list of easy recipes, another classic. Quesadillas are some of the easiest and most versatile among all easy recipes. I’ll be listing a few options, but you can add basically anything you want to them. 

• Ingredients:
  • Large flour tortillas
  • Grated cheese such as mild or sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
  • Olive oil or butter
• Options:
  • Sliced mushrooms
  • Green onions
  • Black olives, sliced
  • Fresh tomatoes, diced
  • Chicken pieces
  • Avocado
  • Lettuce
• Directions:
  • Heat the tortillas in an oiled skillet, flip every ten-ish seconds until air pockets form.
  • Add cheese and other ingredients, make sure not to get the cheese on the pan itself.
  • Reduce heat to low and cover pan, check every minute or so
  • When cheese is fully melted, Fold the tortilla over, remove from pan, and serve.

6. Fried Rice.

The last of our easy recipes is Fried Rice, another staple of easy meals. You can basically throw in whatever leftover veggies you have, and it’ll end up tasting great. There’s an endless number of permutations for this dish, so feel free to experiment if you feel like it. 

• Ingredients:
  • ⅔ cup chopped baby carrots
  • ½ cup frozen green peas
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced, or to taste (Optional)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 cups leftover cooked white rice
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil, or to taste
• Directions:
  • Place carrots in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a low boil and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in peas, then immediately drain in a colander.
  • Heat a wok over high heat. Pour in vegetable oil, then stir in carrots, peas, and garlic; cook for about 30 seconds. Add eggs; stir quickly to scramble eggs with vegetables.
  • Stir in cooked rice. Add soy sauce and toss rice to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil and toss again.

Are there any easy recipes you that we missed? Be sure to share your ideas with us!

Featured Image Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/delighted-ethnic-woman-cooking-in-kitchen-3771120/