This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Ian Ferdock. Find him on Instagram at @ianferdock. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.

What are we going to have for dinner tonight? Ah yes, the dreaded daily question. Many Zillennials find themselves agonizing over their food choices. We also are frequently accused of frivolous spending when we choose to eat out. I too was once a victim of the unstoppable cycle of opening the Uber Eats app most nights. However, I did get tired of always eating out. It is generally a more expensive choice, and the food quality often isn’t the best. I’m nowhere near a health freak, but I do prefer feeling better after eating, not worse. To prioritize feeling better and saving money, I set out to solidify a few quick, easy affordable dinner ideas.

Trust me, I get it, it’s always easier to go out, order in, or heat a frozen meal. However, it can be costly, and it can lead to feeling unwell from having lower-quality ingredients in your diet. Eventually, I got fed up with wasting money, so I decided to put more effort towards cooking. My philosophy was less about being healthy and more about feeling better. That said, I didn’t want to agonize about finding new recipes to try. Plus, I didn’t want to spend the whole evening cooking either. My solution was to come up with a few simple, easy dinner ideas that I could rotate using the same main ingredients.

The result was saving money, and time, and feeling better. An important step was just cutting out processed food. Now all I really eat are fresh ingredients and I feel better, sleep better, and have more energy. No more girl dinners, it’s time for real dinners.

The Basic Core Of My Diet

• Meat
  • Chicken
  • Steak
  • Pork
• Veg
  • Broccoli
  • Zucchini
  • Carrots
  • Asparagus
• Carb
  • Bread
  • Cornbread
  • Potatoes
  • Pasta

This list pretty much sums up all I eat for lunch and dinner on a regular basis. I do occasionally get crazy and make something like shrimp tacos. But most days I pick one item from each category and that’s all there is to it. Since it would take way too much of your time to list out every combination, I have boiled it down to three quick, easy affordable dinner ideas.

Recipe #1 Steak, Asparagus, Mashed Potatoes

While I usually believe in saving the best for last, I won’t keep you waiting. A simple combination of steak, asparagus, and mashed potatoes is an all-time favorite in my household.

Mashed Potatoes

The first step will be to make the beloved mashed potatoes. All you need to do is boil your selected spud (I usually choose red-skinned potatoes) with some fresh garlic cloves until they’re soft. If they’re on the larger size, I would recommend dicing them into smaller chunks to make the process go faster. Also depending on the potato, you may want to skin them. Just poke the potatoes with a fork and you’ll be able to tell when they’re done as their texture has softened, it usually takes about 15 minutes. After draining the water from the pot, mix in copious amounts of butter, sour cream, and some whipping cream if you’re feeling frisky. Add some salt and pepper to taste. While everything else is finishing up, I leave the finished product on the stove on low heat to keep it nice and tasty. However, make sure to occasionally mix them to prevent them from burning.

Asparagus

The next step, asparagus, is super easy. All you need to do is wash them off, cut off the ends, and toss them with some olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning. Then, just pop them in the oven at around 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Skinny ones will cook quicker, and naturally fatter ones will take a tad longer. You’re aiming to take them out right as the edges become a bit crispy.

Steak

Now it’s time for the holy grail. Steak. Personally, I think nothing beats a good ole fillet mignon, but it’s pricey. If you want to make a more financially responsible choice, opt for a NY strip or top sirloin. I am lazy and prefer not to bother with the grill, so I recommend searing the steak on a pan. Cast iron is best but anything will work. Set your steaks on the counter for around 30 minutes before cooking to get them to room temperature. Then lather them with avocado oil. You can use olive oil, but avocado oil has a higher smoking point so it’s less messy and stinky. Next, add some seasoning. My favorite is Montreal Steak Seasoning. Once your pan has been oiled and on high heat for a few minutes, lay the steaks on it. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the steak. For a 1” cut, to achieve a medium-rare steak sear it for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. The thicker your steak and the more done you want it, increase the cooking time accordingly. Internal temperatures for steak vary widely from 120 degrees for a rare finish up to 165 degrees for well done. From a food safety perspective, the most important thing is getting the exterior to a high temperature because that’s where the majority of the bacteria resides.

Recipe #2 Chicken Legs, Broccoli, Cornbread

This next masterpiece is a wee bit spicy but full of delicious flavor. It’s also my go to when I have people over because it’s easy to increase the portion sizes.

Chicken Legs

First, take your packet of chicken legs and dry them off. Please do not wash them in the sink. That’s unsanitary and you’ll probably launch E. Coli all over your kitchen. Then I take my top-secret dry rub and generously apply it to the chicken. I’d give you my recipe but as I said it’s top secret. Plus, I don’t even know how I make it as I don’t believe in measuring. Kinder’s BBQ Rub is a comparable option. Then mix some honey, Frank’s Red Hot, and ketchup using roughly a 3-2-1 ratio. Lather the sauce on the top side of the chicken legs and let them roast for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Then, take them out of the oven, flip them, baste the other sides with sauce, and send them back in the oven for another 15 minutes. The main goal is to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees unless you’re cool with food poisoning.

Broccoli

While the chicken is cooking you can prepare and cook the other components. For broccoli, I treat them the same as asparagus. Wash them, chop them, olive oil, lemon pepper, and roast for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Voila.

Cornbread

For the cornbread, nobody has the time or energy to make it from scratch. Just grab a box from the shelf at your local store and follow the directions provided. If you’ve made it to this point in the article, I presume you can read so you’re good to go. Jiffy is like a dollar, so we are really driving home the affordability with this one.

Recipe #3 Pasta, Sausage, Zucchini  

Sausage

Now it’s time for a pasta night. I got tired of meatballs which quite frankly I find very boring. My alternative selection is sausage. I love, love, love this spicy Italian sausage made by Niman Ranch. It has a decent kick to it so if you have a less refined palette then I recommend their sweet option instead. They also make a chorizo sausage which has some spice, but less so than the spicy Italian. All I do is slice them up into ½” pieces and let them cook for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Like chicken, make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Done deal.

Zucchini

While all that magic is happening, I thinly slice some zucchini. A little olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and you guessed it, lemon pepper, and 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Pasta

Pasta is just like the cornbread. Follow the box and boil away. I like to use Barilla’s Protein+ which has extra protein and leaves me feeling less bloated. Plus, it doesn’t have a funny texture like a lot of other alternative kinds of pasta.

When the pasta is done, just add your favorite sauce and mix it in with the noodles and sausage. Too much red sauce tends to make me feel ill, so I don’t add a ton and use some butter and olive oil to keep things nice and moist.

Eat the zucchini on the side.

Disclaimer

I would like not to give any of you lovely readers food poisoning so I would like to point out that the temperatures and cooking times may vary depending on your oven’s capabilities. These are the times and temperatures that work for my kitchen setup, but it may vary for you. Another tip worth sharing I can provide is to not be afraid to cook larger portions. That way you have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. Work smarter not harder right?

The important thing to remember about cooking, especially when you’re just starting is that it’s a bit of trial and error. Practice makes perfect, and you’ll probably make a few crappy meals before you get a good one. That’s okay, just remember to persevere. Once you get the hang of it, I promise you won’t want to go back to eating out all the time. It’s also important to experiment and have some fun with it. Just use my advice as a starting point and branch out from time to time and try new recipes and seasonings. One of the good parts about cooking is that once you learn to cook one thing well, you can apply those skills to other recipes and have a higher rate of success. Before you know it, you’ll be a pro and even be able to pair the perfect drink with your meals.  

Please let us know in the comments what quick, easy affordable dinner ideas you like to rely on!