Quick Healthy and Cheap Recipes: Quesadillas

Continuing on with our series of quick healthy and cheap recipes, is my latest favorite quick lunch. I love cheese and living in the Southwest has no doubt influenced my love of spicy Mexican food. Nothing is better to me than a ooey, gooey, cheesy quesadilla. I simply love them. An added bonus besides the rock bottom price of this recipe is how quickly you can make these. Under 5 minutes on the stove top and your meal is done.

I find quesadillas a favorite way to use up leftover meats like chicken or pork with a little onion, garlic, avocado, or tomato added if you like. If you are out of the extras, just plain cheese and salsa or hot sauce is still a satisfying quick healthy and cheap recipe.

Quick Cheese Quesadillas

1 large four tortilla
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese or cojack cheese
vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray
optional ingredients: cooked chicken, beef or pork, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salsa, avocado, and sour cream.

Spray or grease a large skillet with either vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray, and warm the skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add the tortilla, and brown lightly on one side. Turn the tortilla and add top with remaining ingredients evenly. Fold the tortilla in half and continue to brown until cheese is melted and toppings are heated through.

Cost Comparison: I buy flour tortillas at the dollar store 8 for a buck ($.13 used in this recipe), and cheese when on sale for under $2 per pound ($.25 used in this recipe). I can get an entire jar of salsa for $.99 when on sale with a double coupon ($.05 used in this recipe).

Total Cost per Serving: $.43

Quick Healthy and Cheap Recipes: Apricot Honey Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of my favorite really cheap, healthy and hearty breakfasts. When purchased either in bulk at the local health food store, or on sale with a double supermarket coupon oat meal is a tried and true healthy cheap alternative to much more expensive cold breakfast cereals. Apricot Honey Oatmeal is a quick to prepare morning meal that feeds 4 with generous 1 cup portions and my all time favorite cheap healthy and quick breakfast recipe.

Apricot Honey Oatmeal

3-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch all spice
2 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the honey, apricots and spices and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the oats and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 1 minute for instant oats and 5 minutes for old fashioned oats stirring occasionally. Let stand until desired consistency is reached.

Microwave Instructions:

In a large microwave safe bowl bring the water, honey, apricots and spices to a boil. Stir in the oats. Microwave for 1-3 minutes stirring occasionally until desired consistency is reached.

Calories: 270, Calories from Fat: 25, Total Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 10mg, Total Carbohydrates: 61g, Dietary Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 30g, Protein: 6g

Recipe Source: QuakerOatmeal.com

Cost Comparison: I buy the generic oats in bulk at my health food store for $.69 per pound ($.39 used in this recipe), dried apricots at the dollar store ($.69 used in this recipe), spices are also purchased at the dollar store ($.12) and honey on sale with a double coupon $1.69 per bottle ($.69)

Total Cost for 4 Servings: $1.89 ($.47 per serving)

I hope you enjoy my favorite cheap quick and healthy breakfast recipe. We will be making regular posts for breakfast, lunch and dinner as a regular feature.

Quick Cheap Recipes

In response to several recent emails asking for quick cheap recipes, we are going to be adding a new regular feature to the Use Supermarket Coupons blog…cheap healthy recipes. We are all pressed for time, and always looking for a cheaper and healthier alternatives to eating out.

If only cooking was not so time consuming, perhaps we would all do more of it. I love to cook, and get great pleasure from presenting my family with a home cooked, healthy, delicious and inexpensive meal. The only drawback is of course time in the middle of a busy work week. Quick cheap recipes are not just a goal, but rather a necessity.

The truth is that quick cheap healthy recipes are not so difficult to come by. To be honest, I have saved and adapted quite the repertoire over the years. Options for variety in our diet for quick cheap healthy recipes are definitely not the issue, finding the time to cook in the middle of the work week is another story all together.

We have one hard and fast rule in our house. Cooking during the week needs to be fast and efficient, under 30 minutes is the norm. We are probably not so different from any other household with kids and teens, during the week our evenings are jam packed with activities. Half an hour to get dinner on the table is all we can spare consistently, so half an hour is our time limit. Although 30 minutes of cooking and prep time is always the goal for dinner, other meals need to be quicker still. Time is just too valuable to waste during any part of our busy days.

Starting tomorrow, we will be rolling out our new feature begining with inexpensive quick and easy to prepare breakfasts and progressing on to lunches and dinners. Our goal will always be to offer healthy, quick and cheap recipes that appeal to your entire family while answering the age old question “How can I eat for cheap?”

Eating cheap is not the only goal for those of us seeking to pare down our grocery expenses. Maintaining a healthful diet while making food preparation simple and less time consuming makes the task so much easier. A large number of healthy quick cheap recipes are a must have strategy in reducing your grocery spending.