Cost Breakdown

Recipe Making Process

Gather ingredients and mix in a large bowl. Make sure everything is combined evenly.

Using a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop, scoop balls, roll, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Place balls in fridge for 30 minutes to allow them to set. ENJOY!

Nutrition Facts

This recipe is from an established food blog called All Recipes. As a busy college student, I love finding recipes that are budget friendly and that will leave me with quick leftovers throughout the week. Growing up, I was never disappointed when my mom announced that we were having chicken pot pie for dinner. Being able to recreate this dish while being away from home is the perfect way to find joy and comfort through a nutritious meal. I also love that this recipe teaches how to make your own easy pie crust! Since learning how to make this crust, I can use this same recipe for other dishes such as quiche, empanadas, and dessert pies. It is an overall versatile and easy recipe to follow.

Cost Breakdown

Recipe Making Process

Gathering ingredients for this recipe at local grocery stores is a breeze because each ingredient is a kitchen staple. In fact, it is likely that you already have most of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry! Carrots and celery are in season during the fall and winter seasons, which can make the meal even cheaper to make. Any other vegetables can be substituted in for the filling, such as corn. Having the chicken breast already thawed, helped with speeding up the preparation/cooking process. It can also be helpful to have the carrots and celery pre-chopped to make cooking time run smoother. I like to have the chicken and vegetables boiling while I am working on my pie crust. This recipe uses baking and boiling as its two main cooking methods. Each step should be simple and clear to follow, leaving you with a beautiful, golden brown, pie!

This chicken pot pie recipe is sure to be a winner for you as it’s been for me. It’s packed full of flavor and the flaky texture of the pie crust paired with the warm filling will leave you wanting more. It’s budget friendly and most ingredients can be frozen (chicken and peas) or used for other recipes (flour, salt and pepper). A tip that I would recommend is letting the pie set for 15-20 minutes before serving. This allows the pie to set and cool, which makes serving it super easy! If you find your crust is getting too dark/burning as you are cooking, you can cover  it with aluminum foil to avoid the crust burning as it may cook faster than the rest ofthe dish. This recipe makes 1 pie or 8 servings, but if you won’t be eating it all in one sitting it makes great leftovers.

Energy bites are more than fast food. The peanut butter packs a punch of protein, while oats help stabilize blood sugar, provide antioxidants linked to heart health, and improve digestion through their fiber content. Omega-3 fatty acids have links to brain and heart health, chia seeds are a terrific source of healthy fats to support cell function and nutrient retention, and taken together the ingredients have more health benefits than can be listed here.

The recipe price is low, and it can be easily adapted based on local ingredients, seasonal flavors, or whatever you have on hand for a fast, delicious, and nutritious snack any time of the day. All of the ingredients for the energy bites can be found in a grocery store.

Cost Breakdown

Additional Budget Friendly Tips

• There is no fresh produce or ingredients in this recipe, so the quality of the ingredients comes down to price and personal preference. This also makes it easy to save by buying in bulk and storing the ingredients, or making a large batch of the energy bites and freezing them.
• Other options to reduce price include shopping around, exploring local farmers markets, or dropping by the SNAC pantry. The food at the pantry is subject to change, but staples such as peanut butter and oatmeal are almost sure to be found there and the option can shave several dollars off the recipe cost.

Recipe Making Process

• To make the recipe, simply gather together the ingredients and measure them out, then follow the recipe to combine and shape the energy bites. Collecting and measuring the ingredients prevents the nasty surprise of an impromptu grocery trip and simplifies the process over all.

• The tools needed for this recipe include measuring cups, a tablespoon measure, a mixing bowl, a spoon, and a cookie tray. A rubber spatula can also be helpful for handling sticky ingredients such as peanut butter and honey, or a quick spritz of cooking spray to the measuring cup before measuring out the ingredients works just as well or even better as it means one less dish to wash. The final tool vital to this recipe are your own hands!
• A scooper can be used to measure out and shape the finished dough, but approximating the amounts and molding the bites by hand works just as well without the need for extra tools.
• If the dough is sticky, feel free to pop it in the fridge for a couple of minutes to let it firm up before shaping the bites. Adding a bit of water to your hands, no more than is needed to make them damp, can also prevent sticking.

Reflection of the Process

When done correctly, these energy bites can’t go wrong. The energy bites should turn out perfectly every time, with evenly mixed balls that stay intact for as long as they last. While not the prettiest looking snack, these energy bites make up for appearance in taste and speed. The chocolate chips melt in your mouth, mixing with the peanut butter to create a delicious flavor with just enough sweetness. The flax seeds, coconut, and oats add a satisfying texture to every bite.

The recipe is easy to make, so easy that one person commented it felt like cheating, and takes less than twenty minutes to prepare. For a bit of extra multitasking, listen to a recorded lecture, run through some notes, or use the time as a well deserved study break.

Overall, remember that this recipe is for the person making it. While the recipe is terrific as is, feel free to make changes to the recipe based on allergies, taste, and seasonal ingredients. If peanuts aren’t a good option, peanut butter can be replaced with almond butter or another similar choice. Semi-sweet chocolate chips can be replaced with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, M&M’s, or anything else in the pantry. This recipe is easily adaptable to all tastes and occasions. There’s nothing stopping you from giving it a try!

There are quite a few vegetables that need to be chopped, but we will discuss proper cutting techniques and tricks in the recipe description that will help you cut each ingredient quickly.

Making Cowboy Caviar is a super fun and easy process. Once you figure out different knife cuts and the proper way to hold your knife, it is really quite relaxing. Getting to spend a little bit of time just cutting veggies can be fun! The quick and easy preparation process makes this recipe a perfect choose for those times you are in a rush or need a quick healthy side dish to bring to a party. It is also very budget friendly if you are looking to save money. You just need to buy a few vegetables and in addition to few other ingredients that you probably already have at home. This recipe can be very versatile. The vegetables in this recipe can be switched if you don’t like them or if you have other vegetables at home you are wanting to use up.

This dish is very delicious, nutritious, budget friendly, and simple to make. It tastes very fresh and would be great to use for your next home barbecue. It is best served chilled with tortilla chips.

Cost Breakdown

Tips for Making this Budget-Friendly

• The Student Nutrition Access Center food pantry on the USU campus typically has canned beans and corn.
• Buy generic products such as Great Value or Kroger to reduce ingredient cost even more.

Making Cowboy Caviar and Knife Skill Tips

Tip before cutting vegetables: Hold the knife between your thumb and pointer finger on the bolster. Then wrap the rest of your fingers around the handle.

Step 1: Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Gather the vegetables and other ingredients that will be put into the dressing.

Step 3: Rinse and drain the beans and corn.

Step 4: To cut the bell pepper, gently cut around the top. You do not want to cut all the way through the pepper. Turn it upside down so the stem is facing downward. Cut along each of the sections of the pepper (there will be three or four, depending on the pepper). Gently pull each section away from the pepper. Slice each section into four thin strips. Then dice. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 5: Cut the top of the onion off, leaving the bottom intact. Cut the onion in half. Beginning at one side, make cuts all the way across the onion. Then turn the onion and make perpendicular cuts. You should have small, diced onions. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 6: Slice the jalapeno in half and remove the seeds (you can leave some in if you like more of a kick). Cut the jalapeno into thin circles and proceed to mince the jalapeno until you are left with very small pieces. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 7: Chop the cilantro. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 8: Cut the avocado in half, throwing away the seed. Peel the skin gently off. Flip the avocado so the rounded side is facing up. Make thin slices lengthwise all the way across the avocado. Then turn it 90 degrees and slice all the way across the avocado. This should create little cubes of avocado. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 9: Add all the ingredients into the bowl with the dressing and mix well.

Eat with your favorite bag of chips, as a side for a hamburger, or just straight out of the bowl!

Cost Breakdown

Our Thoughts

You’ll find that this recipe is easy to follow and that cooking under gluten and dairy restrictions can be much simpler than it is sometimes made out to be. This crustless garden veggie quiche is an inexpensive, simple, and incredibly tasty meal option for breakfast, lunch or dinner that everyone can enjoy.

The process of making this meal went very smoothly. We never felt too overwhelmed and were able to enjoy our time in the kitchen. The baking time is a little long but is one hundred percent worth the wait. Preparing your ingredients by chopping vegetables and pre-measuring before starting to sauté the vegetables will be a huge help later on. Whenever you have multiple pans on the stove it is always a good idea to have your ingredients ready to go to avoid leaving anything on the heat for too long. We fell in love with this recipe and will definitely be making it again.

Are you a busy college student? Do you miss warm, homemade meals? Well we have a solution for you!

We are going to make a simplified homemade chicken pot pie. This recipe is cost effective, healthy, and quick. Between classes, working, and blooming social lives, college students have busy schedules. They don’t have the time, skills, or supplies to cook gourmet meals, however, they do need to eat balanced meals to sustain their lifestyle. This chicken pot pie is perfect because it has minimal ingredients, yet is packed full of vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates. You might not have time to slave away in the kitchen all day, which is why this recipe if perfect; you get the homemade taste without the time burden. Now that your mouth is watering, lets learn how to make it!

See video of each step below recipe!

Cost Breakdown

See below for the cost breakdown. Surprisingly, this recipe is relatively cheap, especially if you get ingredients from the USU SNAC Pantry. SNAC pantry ingredients may include mixed vegetables, cream of mushroom soup, and cream of chicken soup.

We highly recommend you try making this recipe as it is an inexpensive and healthy way to fuel your body. We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Reference: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/237960/campfire-chicken-pot-pie/

You have likely stumbled across this blog post because you are craving a Chick-fil-A sandwich. One of the following situations probably just took place:

1. 1. It was a long day. You are a hungry but broke college student. You are tempted to go out to eat. Where to? To Chick-fil-a, of course! But the low balance on your bank account causes you to pause and consider if you can really afford it.
2. 2. You are with your friends, and everyone wants to go out for food together. The consensus is…well, of course: Chick-fil-a! But the cost and calories cause you to reflect on the potential consequences of this decision.
3. 3. You just thought about Chick-fil-a (well, of course)! But you don’t have the time or energy to go change out of your sweats and get into the freezing cold car.

Ladies and gentlemen have no fear! Whether one of these situations really took place or not, we have a wonderful solution THE HOMEMADE CHICK-FIL-A SANDWICH from StaySnatched!

Can you even tell that it wasn’t bought from the real fast food chain?! Look at that genuine thumbs up! Follow this recipe by @StaySnatched and our personal tips to make this easy, cheap, less processed and delicious alternative to a Chick-fil-a Sandwich. After this, you are going to be saying to everyone around you: “Eat more chicken – AT HOME!”

Cost Breakdown

Let’s take a look at the cost breakdown for these sandwiches:

Tips to make this cheaper

• Find chicken that is cheaper per pound, look at multiple grocery stores.
• Use frozen chicken rather than fresh chicken, it is usually cheaper.
• Buy spices in bulk so you can only get the amount needed for the recipe instead of the whole bottle.
• Save money by buying a jar of pickles for the essential juice and then using the remaining pickles for your sandwiches.

Reference: https://www.staysnatched.com/air-fryer-chicken-sandwich/

Ingredient Cost Breakdown

Tips when Cooking Steaks

This recipe helps improve both food skills and confidence. I have found that making this recipe gave me confidence in making all steaks, not just this simple recipe. Because this recipe is subjective to the chef’s liking, it teaches the skills of having freedom and fun with a recipe while ensuring it is still prepared properly.

The fun part about making a steak is the freedom to choose how well-done it is. The different levels of doneness are rare, medium rare, medium, and well-done. From rare to well-done, the levels increase in brown color and decrease in tenderness. The more red and rare a steak is, the more tender it will be to the bite. Personally, I like my steaks right about medium-rare (shown below). It creates a perfect tenderness and juiciness without risking toughness. The easiest way to check for doneness aside from a thermometer is simply to cut a small slice down the middle of the steak. Usually, about a half inch slice at the thickest part of the steak is good enough to be able to peek into the inside of it and check for doneness. 

Another measure I use to determine medium-rarity is after the first side of the steak is done and the second side is cooking, if red juices start rising to the top of the slices that I’ve cut, then I know I only need another minute or two before the doneness is just right. With that being said, if your doneness preferences are more rare, then don’t cook quite as long after that point, and of course if your preferences are more well-done, then cook it for a little longer.

(Good brownness at initial flip)

Every steak and every cut of steak differs, and thus the tenderness and toughness of those steaks are also going to differ. In this case, we used a sirloin cut, which is one of the more tender cuts of steak. Cuts generally more tender than sirloin consist of ribeye, t-bone, top loin (New York strip), and tenderloin (like Filet Mignon).

Regardless of which cut is used, the way it is cooked and the way it is sliced both affect tenderness as well. It is often thought that meat should be cut with the grain, which is the direction of the muscle fibers. However, cutting against the grain in small pieces makes the steak have an even more tender texture. At the end of the day, regardless of what steak you’re making or how it is cooked, having a steak is going to make your day better, so quit reading this and get cooking!

Our Experience Cooking Steaks

The process of preparing these steaks was actually pretty seamless. It is easy and very straightforward to season and make. One part of cooking that can be forgotten about is the fact that cooking with hot oil can get messy. The oil is hot and starts to bubble when the steak is placed on it, thus it will splatter quite a bit. To avoid getting oil where it is unwanted, it is always good to make sure valuables are moved or put away and clothes are covered with an apron. Another good tip to use when placing food into hot oil is to lower it down facing away from yourself. This prevents splash back towards yourself when cooking.

Another potential obstacle with this recipe is finding the right meat. Every grocery store is different, and not all of them have the right cut of meat or a good price on meat. There area few ways in which that can be fixed: look up online or on store apps to see that they have the right cut of meat for the right price before making the trip there, or, if paying higher prices for the steaks aren’t as big of a deal, get any of the other cuts that are listed in the above paragraph.

All in all, making this recipe was really fun and delicious. It was as good, if not better, than I remember the first time or two I ever made it. Steaks always go great with potatoes and other vegetables as well, which is how many prefer to have it served. The only possible change I would make is using garlic salt instead of regular salt. Another asterisk I would add to the recipe is that any seasoning can be used; the ones listed are the simplest and provide a very unique flavor. Feel free to get creative and find seasonings that work for you and your unique taste preference.

These tacos were made with ground beef because it is a relatively cheap protein that is versatile in its use in different dishes. For a substitution, ground turkey can also be used.

Cost Breakdown

The Step-by-Step Cooking Process

Start by heating up oil in a pan. Add meat to the pan and begin cooking the meat until it is brown and no pink is showing. Once meat is cooked, drain the grease. A helpful tip is to tilt the pan, and push the meat to the side.

Next, use a paper towel to soak up the grease, and throw it away. It is important that you dispose of grease properly; do not pour down the sink, either place it in a jar to be taken out later, or put it into the trash. Draining the grease also has nutritional properties. Reducing the grease reduces calories by nine calories for every gram of fat.

Measure out seasonings, including water and tomato paste, and add to meat. Mix until well combined and thickened. Feel free to add more seasonings to create a flavor you like.

For the taco shells, using corn tortillas helps give you a more authentic feel and taste to your tacos. Corn tortillas are very flimsy and breakable. Frying them in oil helps them stay intact when you build your taco.

To begin frying tortillas, heat up about half a cup of oil in a pan. This step can be done before, during, or after you cook your meat, whatever works best in your situation. A helpful tip to know when the oil is done is to stick the end of a wooden spoon in the oil. If bubbles form around the wood, and begin to float up, then the oil is ready. If the oil is bubbling really hard then it is too hot and needs to cool down.

When oil is ready, place the tortilla into the pan and cook each side for about 5-10 seconds. Next, fold the tortilla in half and hold the top half away from the oil while the bottom half is cooked for 10-15 seconds. Flip to the other side and repeat, ensuring that the top half is being held away from the bottom half. Cook to desired crispness. Once the shell is done cooking, place on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.

Cooking the tortillas like this can work for someone who is craving a soft taco and even a crunchy taco. The main purpose of this recipe is to learn to cook food that tastes good to you, so cook to your own desire of flavor and appetite.

Last step before you can build your taco is to prepare your toppings. Chop up lettuce and tomatoes, shred some cheese, and prepare any other toppings that you desire on your taco.

Now it is time to build your taco. Place your freshly fried taco shell on your plate, and fill with meat. Finish with desired toppings and pair with good company or with your favorite drink and TV show.

The best part is this meal can be refrigerated and used for a meal later in the week when you need a quick lunch before class.

Wondering how much it will cost to make this recipe? Here is a cost breakdown:

TOTAL RECIPE COST – $7.34

COST PER SERVING – $1.22

Tips to make it cheaper:

• Get ingredients in bulk – even though it is initially more expensive, it is cheaper by the ounce. Especially for ingredients like salt or flour that have a long shelf-life. You can also go to places like Winco that have a bulk section where you can get things for the measurement of the recipe(s) that you make.

• Find ways to freeze leftover ingredients – for example any leftover chicken so that it doesn’t go bad in the fridge.