Eating at Home

Think of the convenience foods that you enjoy and often buy when you are pressed for time and do not feel like cooking. I love going out to eat, but my budget does not allow it all the time. I think of the places that I enjoy and ponder how I can replicate or make my own version of their food.

One of my favorites is pizza. It's fast, tastes great, and is just another comfort food for me. I am still toying around with whether I want to make homemade crust, use a premade one, or use the Pillsbury version of dough. I try to use our canned tomatoes, if you're not that lucky use some tomato paste from the store. Get your favorite cheese and sprinkle on top and add whatever toppings you love. We are more a pepperoni and cheese fan than anything else which keeps it super simple.

Pasta is another one of my favorites and talk about cheap to make. You can make a ton of pasta and get many servings/meals out of it. I try not to get this when I go out because I know I'm basically paying them a ton for something that cost almost pennies for them to make. You can make a bunch of pasta then use it in salads, just add a white sauce, cheese, or tomato sauce to it. Meatballs can be a nice addition if you are partial to them. Grab a small thing of hamburger meat and make your own balls. Add a simple salad with greens, shredded cheese, croutons, pepperoni, a peppercini for fun, and some homemade dressing (I'm still looking into this). For garlic bread you can use spray butter, seasonings (I've used Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic) garlic powder, garlic salt, whatever you want, on pieces of bread put it on a cookie sheet and bake until they are as crisp as you want them.

Sandwiches are another thing that I look forward to getting for a quick meal. If you think about it how hard is it to make a sandwich, but it takes just a tiny effort to make a sub like Subway. You just need the right type of bread, sandwich makings, and there you have it. Keep some nuts, fruit, crackers, chips, or cookies around to add to that sandwich.