4 Fast and Cheap Meal Ideas For When You Don't Want To Cook

Have you ever wanted a fast cheap meal after a difficult day? That doesn’t work well if you’re on a budget. If we go out to eat, we know it will cost about $50, which is way too much.

I’m sharing some fast-food replacement ideas I’ve come up with to help curb the urge to go out to eat. These are quick and easy recipes to get on the table, even on the busiest days.

1. Carrot raisin salad

Ingredients:

• 8 cups shredded carrots
• 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 cups raisins
• Salt

Directions:

Wash your carrots (yes, this is a huge carrot from Costco–I’m not used to these!).

Shred all of the carrots and add to a bowl.

Add the apple cider vinegar (use regular vinegar or lemon juice if necessary), mayonnaise, and honey to the carrots.

Salt to taste.

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. (I added a little more flour to the recipe as I was mixing.)

Pour the batter on a floured surface to knead. (The stand mixer works fine, too, but I like kneading.)

Put a ball of dough in a bowl. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Add a little olive oil to the bottom of a loaf pan. I baked it in my loaf pan for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

It came out nice and golden brown. So this is a really good recipe. I'd adjust the amount of flour to 3 cups, however.

2. Grilled chicken sandwiches

Ingredients:

• Chicken lunch meat
• Cheese
• Thousand island dressing
• Lettuce, tomato, toppings of your choice

Directions:

Put your toppings on the bread.

Put cooking spray on the pan, put the pan on medium heat, and toast the sandwich to melt the cheese.

Brown the beef and if you have lean beef, there’s no need to drain it.

Add all the ingredients in the pot with the beef.

Simmer for about 30 minutes or so until everything is heated through and then it's ready to serve.

I topped mine with cheese, tortilla chips, and avocado. Try sour cream, too.

4. BBQ chicken baked potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds chicken
• 1 block of cheddar cheese (or 1 package pre-shredded)
• Paprika
• 2 cups barbeque sauce
• 6 potatoes, unpeeled and washed

Directions:

Add chicken to the crock pot. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika on it. Add the barbecue sauce. Cook on high so it’s ready in the afternoon.

Salt the outside of the potatoes for tasty skins.

Poke holes with a fork in the potatoes before baking (this is crucial or they may explode in your oven from the built-up steam).

Bake for 3 hours at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you have a block of cheese, shred it or use already shredded cheese.

Use two forks to shred the chicken.

Slice potatoes open in the middle and add butter.

Add cheese to the top of the potatoes

Spoon on the chicken mixture directly from the crockpot.