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7 Easy Weeknight Meals on a Budget

When we have a limited budget for food, we think that we cannot make delicious meals, but this is not the case. With little money, you can make very tasty food.

I invite you to make some of these recipes that, apart from being delicious, are easy to make and inexpensive.

1. Sausage Ceviche

Ingredients:

1 package sausages of 12 pieces

23 oz V8 vegetable juice

4 cucumbers

4 tomatoes

1 avocado

Chopped cilantro to taste

1 medium onion finely chopped

Soy sauce to taste

The juice of 5 lemons

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.Boil the whole sausages in plenty of water for 10 min. Then remove the excess water and let them cool.

2. When the sausages are cold, cut them into small cubes. Next, you mix the sausages with the onion, lemon, soy sauce, pepper and salt. You let it rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

3. While the sausage takes in the flavor of the added ingredients, chop the tomato and cucumber into small cubes.

4. In a small bowl, mix the cucumber, tomato, and coriander with the vegetable juice.

5. When the hour is up, you remove a large part of the sausages’ lemon juice and mix it with the other vegetables. If you see that it lacks lemon, you can add the juice that you took. 

6. In the end, add the avocado cut into cubes. You can accompany it with toast, crackers, or white rice.

2. Quesadillas

Ingredients:

2 green tomatoes

1/2 onion

1 clove garlic

Salt

1 jalapeño pepper (optional)

1 chicken breast boiled and shredded

1/2 cup mozzarella or cheddar cheese

4 tortillas

Sour cream (optional)

Instructions:

1.Cook the tomatoes in water for 5 min. After this time, add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chili in a blender and blend until everything has been crushed. Then season with salt to taste.

2. Lightly heat your tortillas until they are soft, then add the chicken and cheese to the tortillas and roll.

3.Put them in a pan over very low heat and cover. Cook for 5 min or until the cheese is melted.

4.Serve and bathe the quesadillas with the green sauce and add a little sour cream.

3. Chicken Tinga

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 ½ onion

2 cloves of garlic

3 chipotle peppers

5 tomatoes

Instructions:

1. Blend tomatoes, together with garlic and chipotle peppers. If it is very thick, you can add the broth with which you cooked the chicken or water.

2. Then fry the onion, add the chicken and tomato sauce.

3. Cook the chicken over low heat until the tomato changes color.

4.You can accompany them with tortillas, tostadas or white rice.

4. Stewed Chicken

Ingredients:

One whole chicken 

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 red bell pepper

1 or 2 bay leaves

Chopped parsley

1L of chicken broth or water

Olive oil

200g of crushed tomato

Salt and pepper

1 green pepper

Instructions:

1.Cut the chicken, remove the bone. 

Advice:

If you have the whole chicken, you can use the bones to make a chicken broth, which you can use later. Just boil them in plenty of water with 1/2 onion and 2 cloves of garlic for an hour.

2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. In a pan over high heat, put a drizzle of olive oil to heat. Once it’s hot, add the chicken and seal it on all sides.

3. Once it has picked up some color, remove it and lower the heat. In the same pot, add the onion, the peppers, and the garlic cloves, all finely chopped—Cook for 5 min and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Remember and stirring from time to time.

4.Then, add the crushed tomato and the bay leaves and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

5. Add the chicken and mix well. Then add a little chicken broth or water. Until all the chicken is covered and then cover the pot. 

You should cook between 25 to 30 min or until the chicken is well cooked and soft.

6. You can stir from time to time. You can also correct if it needs salt and pepper.

7. You can accompany the chicken with vegetables or with rice.

5. White Rice

Ingredients:

400g or 2 cups of rice

2 cloves of garlic

Oil

Salt

4 cups of water

Instructions:

1.In a pan, heat a drizzle of oil over low heat and add the minced garlic cloves and let them cook for a couple of minutes, avoiding burning.

2.After this time, add the rice. Increase the power of the fire and stir for another minute.

3. Then add the water and salt. The water should taste slightly salty. You can add the salt little by little to avoid going overboard.

4. Cook over high heat until the water has dried. Then lower the heat as low as you can and cover—Cook 20 to 30 min. Avoid opening the pot during this time.

7.White rice can be used as a garnish for countless recipes: fried chicken, stewed chicken, fried eggs, etc.

6. Pasta With Red Sauce

Ingredients:

5 large tomatoes

½ white onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Grated cheese for serving

A packet of spaghetti or the pasta of your choice

oregano and dried basil to taste

Instructions:

1. Boil the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in plenty of water for 10 min. Then blend perfectly.

2. Cook the pasta in plenty of water and salt to taste until smooth.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the tomato sauce. Then, season with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to taste.

4. Next, mix the sauce with the type of pasta you chose and add the grated cheese.

7. Lentil Salad

Ingredients:

1 liter of water

1 cup of Green Lentils

1/2 cups of coriander

1 tablespoon of oregano

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon of honey

3/4 cups olive oil

3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Salt

Pepper,

2 cups of spinach

2 cups of lettuce

1 cup of cooked and diced beets

1 cup of bell pepper, diced colors

Instructions:

1. Put boiling water and cook the lentils with salt for 20 minutes.

2.To make a vinaigrette for the salad, you can cut coriander and mix in a small bowl with vinegar, apple cider, thyme, honey, olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano, mix well.

3.Mix the spinach, lettuce, beets, colored peppers, and lentils and add the vinaigrette to taste. If you want to give it a different touch, you can add goat cheese.