Busy creative-preneurs want to whip up delicious meals for themselves, their families, friends, and partners but do not always have the time. And quite frankly, cooking a fancy schmancy meal can be costly. But, guess what? It does not always have to be. Here are a few amazingly simple, inexpensive, quick but delicious and filling recipes to make any creative-preneur look like Emeril. BAM!
Cheesy Garlic Bread Pasta
I do not know about you but I love garlic bread with my pasta so why not combine the two to cut down on carbs but not on flavor? It’s pretty simple, too. Here is what you will need:
- 1 box of Ronzoni Quick Cook 3 minute Penne Rigate (ranges from $1.06+)
- half of a stick of any kind of margarine (the best is from the local grocery store like Stop and Shop)
- McCormick Garlic Powder in 3.12 OZ ($3.44 at Walmart)
- One bag Kraft Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese (8 OZ)
- A flat aluminum baking pan (one that is used for lasagna or brownies)
Now that you have all of these ingredients, wait for the water to boil using a large pot and place the box of penne into a pot. After approximately three minutes, the pasta should be nice, soft and tender. Proceed to drain the water from the pot and once it is just pasta, put the half of a stick of margarine into the pot and mix with the penne. Make sure to get all of the penne pieces covered and you may feel need to use 3/4 of a stick; it is your prerogative so go for it.
Once the penne and margarine have been blended, preheat the oven for 375 degrees, line the aluminum pan with a light coating of mozzarella cheese. Follow that by the penne/margarine blend and top with an overall sprinkle of garlic powder and cover with the remainder of the mozzarella cheese. The oven should be fully preheated by now so slide the aluminum pan in and set the timer for seven minutes. It should be browned by then but may need an additional three minutes. Once the top is lightly golden, you can now remove it and let it cool. Everyone enjoying can add extra garlic powder as they deem necessary and there you have it; cheesy garlic bread pasta.
Chocolate cream pie
A quick dessert is always a hit, especially if you add some semi-sweet chocolates to the mix. Here is what you will need:
- 2 boxes of JELL-O Cook & Serve Pudding & Pie Filling in Chocolate ($1.39 at Target)
- Market Pantry Graham Cracker Pie Crust (9 inches)
- One quart of fat-free milk (or whatever your preferred type of milk is including almond or coconut)
- Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips ($2.49 at Target)
- One 8oz tub of Cool Whip Original Whipped Topping
Mix the pudding with the milk per the instructions on the package then add in half the tub of the Cool Whip along with one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Mix together and put in the pie crust then top with the remainder of the cool whip while sprinkling the rest of the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Put in the refrigerator to cool and within an hour, you will be slicing up heaven.
There you have two amazingly delicious recipes that are not only quick but easy and inexpensive. Good luck and eat up!