College grads gotta eat. Try these five quick and cheap meals

Now that you’ve graduated college, your eating habits may change. You won’t be able to pop into the campus dining hall and chow down. You will no longer be able to take advantage of your roommate who loved to cook. Or, if you lived at home while going to school, your mom or dad won’t be cooking for you. (Unless of course you’re still living at home, and there’s nothing wrong with that.)

However, if you’re on your own and a little short of cash, (or if you want to give your mom or dad a break from cooking, which is nice) you can still eat well and cheaply. Searchwarp.com offers five quick and cheap meals.

Jambalaya
For less than $10, you can purchase a box of Jambalaya rice, some sausage or chicken, and some canned corn. You can even add some frozen garlic bread — or make your own – and a bagged salad.

Quesadillas
Buy a can of refried beans, flour tortillas and grated cheese. (If you buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself it’s cheaper.) You can also add some precooked fajita chicken or make some chicken yourself to add to the quesadillas. If you add a box of Mexican rice, you’ll still be under $10.

Spaghetti
Oh, so simple. A box of pasta and a jar of pasta sauce. If you want to get a bit fancier, you can add a pound of ground meat to the sauce.

Chili
Again, easy and cheap. A pound of ground beef (or turkey or chicken), a packet of chili seasoning and a can of kidney beans. Adding some chopped onions and shredded cheese (you’ll probably have some left from the quesadillas) will make it taste even better. If you have any leftover flour tortillas, brush a little oil on them and bake them until crisp. You can put them on top of your chili.

Sloppy Joes
You’ll need a pound of ground meat (beef, chicken or turkey), a can of ready-made canned sloppy Joe sauce and some buns. If you still have cheese left, sprinkle a little on top for extra flavor.

If you’re cooking just for yourself, you will likely have leftovers. Invest in some good plastic containers such as Tupperware or Rubbermaid.  Then, you’ll get two maybe three meals out of one recipe.

Happy eating.