[Ella]

I need some ideas for meals when “there’s nothing in the fridge”, something that will be fast and easy to prepare like pasta and sauce, instead of ordering Uber eats every time.

[Kristi]

Delete Uber eats off your phone.

[Jeanne]

I keep a can of seasoned black beans and Mexican canned tomatoes in the pantry. Heat them together and serve over rice. Good like this or You can add salsa, cheese, sour cream, cilantro or anything else hanging out in the fridge.

[Tanya]

My quick meal when I have no energy is a couple eggs with toast. I prefer to scramble them in a cup, pour into a small pan, and cook as a solid piece, put it between 2 slices of buttered toast. Simple, quick, protein, fat, and carb.

[Keri]

My great grandma use to make use rice and tomatoes. Cook.rice, dump tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, whatever type of tomatoes over rice. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste. I’m 48 and still make this.

My great grandma has been dead since 2001. Best, easy recipe ever. Add whatever else you want to it.

My grandma (died in 2015) would cook pasta, Add butter and parm cheese and we’d gourge ourselves on that as well. If she didn’t have parm cheese, we’d Add some Italian dressing.

Again, still makes me.feel like I’m 8 years old all over again.

Recommended: Meals that don’t use an oven?

[Ngoc]

Cooked rice, fried egg, and soy sauce! It’s good for any time of the day, and cheap

[Jenny]

I try to keep kielbasa for nights like these! Easy with fried potatoes, onions or any veggies you like. Fast and all in one pan.

[Ngoc]

I really like boiling pasta and then just eating it with olive oil and salt.

[Penny]

When I was broke, I cooked up spaghetti noodles. When done, I covered with butter and sometimes sprinkled on dry Parmesan cheese from a box.

[Dawn]

I buy “takeout” type food from the grocery store when it’s on sale and keep it in the freezer to save money on days when I want to order. Hot wings, fries, pizza, etc.

[Ashley]

I keep indomie noodles (instant noodles stir fry style) in our storage so we don’t eat them up quickly or the kids eat them all instead of prepped food.

I’ll pull them out with green onion, an egg and grated carrot and it really hits the spot and less than $1 a serving (for a whole pack with egg and veggies).

Related: What are your favorite budget-friendly rice recipes for a family of 2?

[Traci]

Tortilla pizza. Large tortillas, pizza sauce, pizza cheese and whatever else you want for toppings. You can also do French bread and bagel pizza.

We also do burrito bowls like Chipotle quite frequently, rotisserie chicken, vigo cilantro lime rice, canned black beans, cheese, salsa, etc.

Then there are the fish tacos, beer battered frozen fish, tortillas, bagged cabbage slaw and a sauce made from lime juice, mayo and cocktail sauce.

Also do frittatas loaded with veggies and cheese

I’m the queen of quick meals.

[Linda]

There is only the two of us now but something that has helped me in more ways than one is to buy my meats on sale and in bulk. I plan my recipes to bake up in larger amounts. I then divide them up into amounts for two and freeze. When time is short I can pull out the entree, thaw in the microwave and quickly add sides, but I usually just thaw ahead and bake.

The rest of the time it is in my rotation for meals. I try to freeze in Ziploc and lay them flat on a baking sheet to freeze so I can store them like a deck of cards for easy identifying and access.

It has given us more time, fewer leftovers, while not bad at all but less repeats, our budget takes less of a hit and I find meal time far less stressful.

[Cindy]

I like to make a large pot of meat sauce and portion it out for the two of us and freeze it. Then all I have to do is heat it up, boil my favorite pasta, throw some salad in a bowl and add some dressing and dinner is served.

[Author]

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