How to eat healthy for cheap- entrees

I haven’t really been making traditional American meals with an entree and two sides. I’ve been making a lot of seemingly random items- but they usually turn out to be good together!

I always make a salad, some chicken or an egg dish, a side veggie, and fruit. Sometimes I make a lasagna or a pasta instead of or in addition to the chicken or eggs. Later on I’ll post full meals. But for now I’m focusing on each part. Last time was salads.

This time is chicken and eggs.

The way I make roasted chicken is to put some olive oil on a cleaned chicken, add some salt and pepper, and put it in a 450 degree oven. I start checking it after about 45 minutes with an instant-read thermometer. When it gets to 160-165 degrees I take it out and let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes. It’s tasty and simple.

A frittata is basically just baked scrambled eggs. I either make scrambled eggs the normal way, but instead of cooking them on the stove, I cook them in a baking dish in the oven at about 350- 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or I make them fancier with ricotta instead of the milk or by adding veggies. It’s really simple and hard to screw up, but if you need a recipe, there are tons online.

Fritatta with salt and cracked pepper. — Frittata with salt and cracked pepper.

Fritatta with asparagus. — Frittata with asparagus.

Fritatta with spinach. — Frittata with spinach. Spinach and ricotta frittata.

Then there are the days when I am too lazy to even do a frittata, so I just go ahead and do regular scrambled eggs. Sometimes I add cheese or veggies.

: Scrambled eggs with salad and toast.

From time to time I’ll make an omelet which is really just a frittata cooked on the stove.

: Omelet with broccoli.

Or if I’m feeling particularly industrious, a quiche. Quiche does not have to be made with tons of cream or melted butter or flour, or cheese or anything you always see in fancy quiche recipes. You can use a ratio of about 4 eggs to 2 cups of milk to get the basic mixture. If you want it creamier, you can add a little cream, but it’s totally not necessary. I usually make spinach quiche but you can use whatever veggies or bits of meat you have on hand. The pie crust is a basic pie crust. Everyone has one they like. This time I made it all fancy in a springform pan. Part of the crust fell over but the rest of it stayed up and it looked really pretty and tasted delish. You can cook it at 400 degrees for 30-60 minutes. Just stick a knife in it when it starts to look set up. If the knife comes out clean, it’s done.

: Spinach quiche.

So there you go. Chicken and eggs are cheap and delicious, filling and healthy. Let me know what you think!