Home Cooking On A Dime

Like many college students you may be living paycheck to paycheck or even have to pinch pennies together just to afford to eat towards the end of the month. I am no exception to this phenomena, however I have learned to improvise in new creative ways when it comes to cooking at home. I too am sick of cup after cup of ramen noodles and boring leftovers, so I started to experiment with the random things I had in my fridge to create full new meals. Here is one example.

Spicy Creamy Shrimp Linguini with Saag Vegetables and Naan

 Ingredients 

• Pasta
• 1 can Cream of Shrimp
• Green Beans
• Carrots
• Milk
• Ghost Pepper Salsa
• Saag Sauce (leftover)
• Naan (leftover)
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Old Bay
• Cilantro

Now these ingredients are speculative, and subject to change based on what exactly you have in your near barren fridge and cabinets; obviously this won't apply to everyone, it is just an example.

1. Bring pot to a boil for your chosen type of pasta (cook pasta, this takes the longest amount of time)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3. Sauce prep

 Take a small can of cream of shrimp, and empty it into a small saucepan, add half a can of milk. Bring to low boil, add chopped cilantro, Old Bay, and Parmesan to taste. Now, only add half a spoon of your spicy salsa to this mix (I'm using the ghost pepper salsa I had in my fridge, by God use it sparingly). Cover and let simmer.

4. Veggie Prep

I took the leftover saag sauce I had from the Indian delivery I had earlier in the week and heated it up in a small saucepan. I added some green beans that were about to expire (canned beans would work too) and some chopped carrots. I kept this mix on a low heat until the green beans and carrots were thoroughly cooked.

5. Bake Naan

About 5 minutes before the pasta is done, lay the leftover naan you have on a baking sheet, and place in your previously preheated oven. Cook for only 5 minutes, they'll come out tasting freshly baked.

6. Put it on a plate and devour it, you are now a King/Queen of Leftovers.