Yummy recipes for the *actually* broke

This one takes some work but not so much that it'll take forever and you can make quite a bit at a time. Also, there's no fancy cooking supplies required.

Firstly, you'll need a bag of flour. These are really cheap and you can make a lot out of them if you're willing to put in the time!

Next, get a few cans of cream of chicken soup, chunk chicken (canned), and chicken stock. Also, garlic powder and onion powder are recommended. *For a more professional style dish, Thyme also tastes good with this recipe.

Once you're ready to prepare the meal, start by boiling some water. While that's heating up, you'll need to get out the flour. The following step can be tricky, but you'll want to mix the flour into a small amount of water (a VERY small amount of water). When you get the dough to a point where it isn't sticky anymore, roll it into a long cylinder shape. Then you'll want to cut that cylinder into small dumplings. Be careful not to make them too thick or they won't cook properly. (We will test for thickness later) Do this until you have all the dumplings you want. These will expand some when you cook them so be aware of that.

Before you start cooking the dumplings, fill a pot with chicken stock and cream of chicken soup. Leave this cooking on low. You only want to warm this up- not boil it.

To cook the dumplings, place them in a pot of boiling water. To test the thickness, place one dumpling into the pot. At first, it will sink to the bottom. If it's the right thickness, it should float to the top when it's done. If it takes longer than about 3 minutes to rise to the top, you'll want to make the dumplings thinner. Test again if needed. At the right thickness, I would suggest doing only a few at a time.

Once the dumplings have been cooked add them straight to the pot with the cream of chicken and the chicken stock. Then add the chunk chicken. If it includes water, add that too. Also, add the garlic powder & onion powder in during this time. *This would also be where you'd add the Thyme.

Wait until everything is hot, turn up the heat to medium if needed. There ya go, it's done 😉

Here, I have a few recipes which contain common ingredients, so you can make several great meals/snacks but pay less for them!

1. Tacos- I'm gonna say that most people know how to make tacos. These are super simple and use tortillas, which can be used to make several other things as well.

To keep it simple, you'll need the following: Medium-sized tortillas, taco seasoning, and ground beef. You will also likely want some shredded cheese. Because of a later recipe, cheddar is recommended. Some might also prefer to add in some shredded lettuce.

To make them, cook the ground beef until all the pink is out of the meat. Then add the taco seasoning to the beef and place them into the tortilla. Sprinkle in the cheese. If desired, add some lettuce into the tortilla as well. It's no Taco Bell, but it'll do. 🌮

2. Banana & Peanut Butter Wraps

You probably wouldn't think these would have a common ingredient, but they both use tortillas! Simply add a banana and some peanut butter into a tortilla and carefully wrap it up. I like to cut it in half when I'm done, so they're easier to hold. Yum! 🍌

3. Cheeseburger

Literally one of the simplest and most common things ever to make. But, you might not realize, you can use the same ingredients from your tacos in a cheeseburger! Cook the ground beef in the shape of a patty then add on some cheddar shredded cheese. After you have the burger, add it into a hamburger bun. There you have it -a cheeseburger! 🍔

4. Sloppy Joe Sandwich

I met someone the other day that had never heard of these and it sort of surprised me a little. So, if you go into the canned food aisle you should be able to find something called "sloppy joe sauce". Now I'm sure you could make it yourself but if you're keeping it cheap, or you're crunched for time, the cans are not at all expensive and make the process quicker.

Cook the ground beef until there's no pink visible, then add sloppy joe sauce to the hot skillet. Make sure the sauce gets hot. Then add the beef to a hamburger bun. And that is a sloppy joe. I find them very tasty and they're almost too easy! 🥫

For all 4 recipes- You'll need a large amount of ground beef, a pack of cheddar shredded cheese, tortillas, taco seasoning, bananas, peanut butter, hamburger buns, and sloppy joe sauce.

*Optional lettuce for the tacos

You've probably bought Pasta Roni at least once in your life. Being real, you've probably got about 4 boxes sitting in the back of your pantry. They're truly easy and oh so cheap. But, after a certain number of times eating them, they just aren't quite as satisfying anymore. So here I offer a recipe that will add just a bit of flare to your usual box of mac.

Ingredients:

-Shells & White Cheddar Pasta Roni along with milk & butter (or margarine)

-Onion Powder

-Garlic Powder

*Optional

-Bacon Bits

-Bread Crumbs

Cook the box as it says to. *When you reduce the heat to medium, add bacon bits if you're going to. 🥓

At the same time that you add the Special Seasoning, add a couple dashes of garlic powder & onion powder. (A dash in this case means about 1/2 teaspoon)

*If you're adding bread crumbs, do it at the end while the sauce is thickening. 🍞

And there you go, a super simple version of something you already know and love 🙃