Living on a budget as a college student can be difficult to say the least. Rent, textbooks, food and clothes: several things are crucial to living independently and can cost a pretty penny, but you don’t need to shell out the big bucks for everything. There are endless recipes that take little time and effort to re-create, as well as give your wallet a break. One of these is chicken stir-fry, a dish I personally love to make when I’m running low on inspiration and running high on leftovers.
This recipe is almost too simple, involves ingredients that are incredibly easy to find, and takes only minutes to prepare. To begin, you’re going to need chicken. Chicken is one of the least expensive meats to buy, and it’s very versatile. If you’re not a huge fan of stir-fry, you can use the chicken to make chicken fajitas or sandwiches, the sky is the limit. Preparing the chicken is entirely up to you, be it grilled, fried, or oven-baked: as long as it’s not raw! There’s also a lot of room for creativity when it comes to seasoning.
Once the chicken is prepared you can get started on the rice. I love this part of the recipe because I always have leftover rice lying around. If you’re not quite as lucky, you can easily boil rice in just a few minutes. Now, the remaining ingredients: again, there’s a lot of leg room when it comes to the other stir-fry ingredients. You can purchase frozen stir-fry vegetables if you’re not too picky. Otherwise, vegetables such as green onion, peppers, corn and broccoli make excellent additions to your custom dish.
The actual cooking process is almost too simple to bother writing but I’ll do it anyway: fry! And that’s all there is to it. Dump your smorgasbord of ingredients into any frying pan (or wok if you’re getting fancy), and let it heat. Personalized touches like fried egg or soy sauce help make my stir fry my own, and you can do the same. With the money you save you can indulge in some new fall trends. With all the budgeting you’re doing, you deserve it.