Dinners I Love Making (As A Broke College Student)

By ELLA SILVA

I haven’t been on the meal plan for two years now, so here are my favorite recipes to make in my little apartment kitchen! Enjoy.

Please let me know if you try making any of these!! 

Boursin Pasta (Total cost for ingredients: $13)

Ingredients:

• Container of cherry tomatoes
• Pasta shape of your choice
• Italian seasoning 
• Garlic powder 
• Olive oil 
• Boursin cheese wheel  (I usually use the garlic and herb variety) 

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 375 F
• Drizzle a thin layer of olive oil over the bottom of a square baking dish
• Place the Boursin cheese in the center of the dish
• Chop the cherry tomatoes into fourths
• Evenly distribute tomato pieces around the cheese in the pan 
• Add italian seasoning and garlic powder on top of the tomatoes and cheese to your own personal preference
• Drizzle more olive oil over the top, and use your hands to mix the seasonings and oil into the tomatoes gently, leaving the cheese alone in the middle
• Put in the oven for 30 minutes
• While the mixture is in the oven, boil water and make your pasta according to the box instructions
• Drain the pasta, and add it to the tomato cheese mixture once it is done in the oven
• The cheese will now be melty and soft, so you can use a spoon to mix the tomatoes, cheese, and pasta together to coat the noodles
• Enjoy! 

Buldak Rice Paper Wraps (Total cost for ingredients: $13)

Ingredients:

• Buldak flavor of your choice, I like the original black best for this
• Sesame oil 
• Rice paper / spring roll wrappers
• Kewpie mayo

Directions: 

• Cook Buldak according to package directions, but drain all of the water out before adding in the sauce
• Add the sauce and mix so it is incorporated into the noodles
• Get a large shallow bowl and fill it with a thin layer of water
• Dip rice paper in the water to make it flexible 
• Put about ⅕ of the noodles in the center of the rice paper, and drizzle a line of kewpie mayo over the top
• Wrap the rice paper up like a burrito around the noodles
• Repeat until all of the noodles are used
• In a small frying pan add a small amount of sesame oil over medium heat and place the wraps seam side down in the pan to fry for about 5 minutes 
• Enjoy!

Pizza Toast (Total cost for ingredients: $9 – 12)

Ingredients:

• Sourdough bread 
• Pizza sauce 
• Mozzarella cheese 
• Italian seasoning 
• Garlic powder 
• Olive oil
• Whatever pizza toppings you want 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Place sourdough slices on baking sheet and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil
• Put in the oven for roughly 7 minutes
• Remove from oven and add pizza sauce, cheese, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and any other toppings you desire
• Put back in oven for roughly 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted
• Enjoy!

Chickpea Wrap (Total cost for ingredients: $12)

Ingredients:

• Flour tortillas 
• Garlic powder 
• Shredded lettuce 
• Chickpeas 
• Cumin 
• Avocado 
• Ranch 
• Frank’s red hot 

Directions:

• Drain can of chickpeas and add to frying pan over medium heat
• Add in a heaping tablespoon of cumin and garlic powder, and as much Frank’s red hot sauce as you want
• Warm until chickpeas are warmed through and coated in the sauce and seasoning
• To a flour tortilla, add shredded lettuce, sliced avocado, and chickpea mixture
• Drizzle ranch dressing over the top, and wrap up like a burrito
• Enjoy!

Crab Rangoon Grilled Cheese (Total cost for ingredients: $15)

Ingredients

• Imitation crab 
• Laughing cow spreadable cheese 
• Shredded cheddar cheese 
• Sweet chili sauce 
• Olive oil 
• Bread 

Directions: 

• Chop imitation crab into small minced pieces
• Combine with laughing cow spreadable cheese at the ratio you desire and mix until well incorporated
• Spread mixture on one side of bread, and top with shredded cheddar cheese
• Close up sandwich, spread a small amount of olive oil in a pan, and grill sandwich on medium high heat
• Dip in sweet chili sauce and enjoy! 

Taco Salad (Total cost for ingredients: $18)

This recipe makes a lot, so is awesome for meal prepping!! 

Ingredients:

• Head of lettuce 
• 2 tomatoes 
• Sweet onion 
• Kidney beans 
• Corn 
• Ground turkey 
• Package of taco seasoning
• Shredded cheddar cheese 
• Spicy Nacho Doritos 
• Italian dressing 

Directions: 

• Brown the ground turkey and add taco seasoning per package directions
• Chop lettuce, tomatoes, and onion
• Put all veggies, beans, and cheese in giant bowl and mix together
• Add ground turkey
• Crunch up Doritos (maybe 2/3 of the bag) and add to bowl 
• Mix together 
• Add Italian dressing to taste and enjoy!

Featured image: Allrecipes