Ugh, it’s the holidays again.
Yes, you’re supposed to be excited but thinking of all those hours you’ll have to spend in the kitchen feels more like forced labor than a holiday.
Try something different. Make quick, budget friendly recipes that are tasty and refuse to feel guilty about not cooking an elaborate, time consuming meal that will be eaten in 10 minutes.
One of the tricks to making quick meals is to prep at the beginning of the week. Cut your onions, carrots, all the veggies that you think you’ll need for the week and put them in separate containers in the fridge.
Try these fast, budget friendly recipes that ensure you spend a very short amount of time in the kitchen this holiday.
Baked eggs in a muffin tray
Ingredients
· A dozen eggs
· Spices of your choice
· Toppings of your choice
· Oil or Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spray the tin
3. Whisk an egg at a time with the toppings and spices that you want. Add the egg to one of the holes in the muffin tray. Do this with all the eggs. Bake at 350F for fifteen minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and let them cool.
Stuffed Baked potatoes
Ingredients
· Russet potatoes
· Butter
· Nonstick spray
· Salt
· Pepper
· Grated Cheddar Cheese
· Ham
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spray the tin
3. Rub olive oil, salt and pepper on to the potatoes. Don’t rub too much oil. Alight coating to make sure that the potatoes don’t shrivel when they bake will suffice
4. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes
5. Slice the potatoes in the center and add the cheese and ham.
Chicken salad with sweet dressing
Budget friendly recipes can include chicken. It you feel that the salad won’t be enough, pair it with the potatoes in the previous recipe, minus the cheese and ham to maintain your budget.
Ingredients
· ¼ cup of buttermilk
· 2 teaspoons of salt
· 8 chicken breasts
· Vegetable oil to fry the chicken
· 2 cups of all-purpose flour
· 1 tbsp of garlic powder
· 1 tbsp of paprika
· 1 tbsp of freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Soak the chicken in the buttermilk with 2 teaspoons ofsalt. Soak for two hours or you can leave it overnight in the fridge.
2. When you’re ready to fry the chicken, fill a deep frying pan halfway withoil and heat it to 350 degrees F.
3. Line a sheet pan with paper towels and a wire rack.
4. Dry the chicken pieces with paper towels.
5. In a bowl, mix the flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Roll thechicken pieces in the flour mixture and then fry until golden brown.
6. Remove the pieces of chicken from the frying pan and let them cool a bit.
7. Slice the chicken into strips.
Salad Ingredients
· 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
· 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
· 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
· 1 clove garlic, finely minced OR 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
· 1 tablespoon honey/ 1 tablespoon of sugar
· Lettuce leaves
· A handful of peanuts
· Carrot strips Instructions
Toss the ingredients together along with the chicken strips If you’re working with a tight budget, you can do away with the sauce and just toss the chicken with the vegetables.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
· 200g peanut butter
· 1 egg
· ¼ tsp salt
· 175 g caster sugar
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, whisk the ingredients together.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line two baking trays with baking sheets.
3. Measure and put peanut butter followed by the sugar in a bowl. Add ¼ tsp of salt and stir well with a spoon(wooden). You can then proceed to add the egg then stir the mixture until it forms a dough.
4. Scoop the dough with an ice cream scoop onto a baking sheet lined trays.Leave about 2 inch gaps between the cookies and the edges of the pan. Press down on the balls of dough a little bit.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cookies just begin to turn golden-brown.
6. Leave the cookies let them cool.
Happy holiday!
Until Next Time,
Amanda Maxwell