Quick Meals for One under $2

1. Hash Brown and Eggs - Buy shredded frozen hash browns. Heat in microwave for 1 minute while also heating 1T olive oil in pan. Add hash brown to pan and flatten. Cover with lid (doesn't have to fit) and leave 5 min. Crack 2 eggs over hash browns and flip. Cook another 3-5 min. Season w/ salt and pepper. Hash browns $.50, olive oil $.20, 2 eggs $.80 Total: $1.30. Keep in mind this total includes using organic cage free eggs for over $4.50 a dozen.

2. Lemon Egg Soup - Incredibly comforting and satisfying. Combine .75 cup brown minute rice, 1.5 cups water, and 1.5 teaspoons better than boullion chicken broth paste. Cook 7 minutes. Squeeze in juice of 1/2 medium size lemon. Crack one egg into mixture and stir vigorously with fork. Rice $.25, boullion $.25, lemon $.50, egg $.40, Total: $1.40.

3. Sweet Potato and Green Vegetable - Again comforting and healthy. Microwave sweet potato for about 10 minutes until soft. Remove skin and add butter and brown sugar if desired. If veggies aren't in season use frozen. I don't have hard data but I have read that if fresh fruits and vegetables have to travel to get to you, frozen alternatives may have a smaller carbon footprint. Things like green beans or peas are nice. Sweet potato $.75, veggies $.50, topping $.15 Total: $1.40.

4. Spaghetti with Fake Meat - A classic stand by. Combine cooked whole wheat pasta, marinera sauce, a sprinkle of cheese, and about 1/4 cup of Morning Star's Griller crumbles. Pasta $.50, Sauce $.60, cheese $.15, griller crumbles $.50 Total: $1.75. I buy Morning Star Products at Wal-Mart for 1/2 the price that they retail at the grocery store (about $2.50/bag instead of $5). Many people will think me a hypocrite for shopping at Wal-Mart. But I'm not so sure its all bad. I'd like to explore this in a debate style post later.


5. Dry Soup Mixes - My local co-op has several dry soup mixes that are $3-4/lb. I especially like a curry lentil soup mix they have. These soup mixes are much cheaper than buying a can of soup and you can add frozen veggies or extra seasoning to them as desired.

Up-Cycled Projects from Cardboard or Plastic Bags

Projects from recycled items are always fun. But many of them involve harder to come by items like picture frames or discarded furniture. Don't get me wrong I love those projects too. But what about crafts from things that we have way too much of? Here are a few that I found around the web. Enjoy and let me know if you have any other favorites.

1. Crocheted Shopping Tote : This is a reusable shopping bag crocheted from the plastic bags you get at the grocery store. Its a great project for doing in front of the TV at night and could make a good homemade Holiday gift. If you have never crocheted before it is fun and easy. But you might want to do a practice project in yarn first. Plastic bags are slightly harder to work with. I modified this pattern by doing a double stich instead of a single stich. I also tried doing a mesh type stich but that wasn't strong enough.
2. Retail Bag Wallet : This is a cool idea although maybe not as useful as the tote. Keep in mind that this also simply teaches you to make plastic cloth. So you could get creative and make something other than a wallet.
   
3. Shadow Box: A great way to display your favorite eccentric trinkets while not cluttering up other surfaces. I love projects that find valuable uses for discarded cardboard. The project calls for cork tile. But maybe you could use wine corks cut in half and glued to card board.
   
4. Crocodile Halloween Costume: This design is quite creative. But the basic message is, its cool to make your Halloween costume out of cardboard. My boyfriend and I have been a cardboard shark, whale shark, preying mantis, and cactus over the years. I personally think its even funnier if your costume looks like its made of cardboard.
   
5. Cardboard Cat Bed: This is just hilarious. Its a great looking cat bed made from cardboard. If you're like me, your cat loves card board boxes but you don't like the way they look in the middle of the floor. This is a great solution. Really you have to click the link and see the picture. It even comes with a template.
   
6. Solar Oven: This is a variation of a cardboard box covered in tin foil. Its kind of like a slow cooker that uses reflected heat to cook the food outside. It sounds quite useful for car camping type of activities. There are tons of various designs out there. This is just one version so look around.