The time has come for your independence in many aspects of your life. In practically all of them, and all these changes must be made gradually.

You now have much more financial independence, so you’ll begin to take control of your money little by little, and the same may happen in other aspects of your life, such as cooking.

You can’t expect to become Ferrán Adriá right away; you have to go through certain stages, and we’re here to help you with your first steps in the kitchen.

Easy and Affordable Cooking: Recipes with Few Ingredients, Microwave, Air Fryer, and Batch Cooking

You have our support, so we’ll give you the keys, tools, and tips you need to handle your first weeks and months as a head chef within your independent career.

Let’s start with the most obvious and the good news: cooking doesn’t require a lot of time, effort, or a huge expense. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want. And you, very wisely, have chosen the simple approach.

The Simplicity of Easy and Affordable Cooking

It’s all advantages. That may be the main summary we can offer you. Take advantage of the most familiar, inexpensive, and essential ingredients in our kitchen. To cook them, consider traditional methods, and the tools to use are easy and familiar to everyone: microwaves and air fryers.

You can already get an idea of where we’re going. Think vegetables, legumes, rice, chicken, eggs, pasta, and everyday spices. No more experimenting or discovering new flavors. Easy recipes, simple ingredients, but with tasty results.

Of course, the combination of these ingredients doesn’t compromise the flavor or quality of the final dish. Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s full of empty calories, far from it. The nutritional value goes hand in hand with its rich flavor, so you can see that quality doesn’t necessarily have to be at odds with simplicity.

Microwave Dishes for Quick and Easy Cooking

The microwave, that great kitchen friend that has so often saved us from having cold dinners, isn’t just there to lend a hand or heat up our coffee; we can also use it as a fundamental part of our kitchen.

Think of all the advantages it offers compared to other methods for heating food or ingredients; you’ll save time, money, and even cooking oil, since you won’t have to use a griddle or frying pan on many occasions. We’ll see its practical application in some of the recipes we’ll develop later.

Simple Dishes Using an Air Fryer

It’s the latest gadget in your kitchen. It’s clean, fast, simple, and healthy. The drawbacks? Well, aside from having to buy one and carry it to your kitchen, there’s little else.

You save time, both cooking and cleaning later, and money, since it cooks quickly compared to traditional cooking methods. Plus, the result is delicious.

Depending on the recipe, there will be times when you only need to use an air fryer, and other times when it will be the cornerstone of your dish, although not the only process you’ll need.

What is batch cooking?

Don’t be fooled by the Anglo-Saxon names. Also known as “meal prep” or “batch cooking,” this has been done at home for many years. Batch cooking, which basically means cooking a lot, then spreading it out and eating it over several days, is a good idea.

But we already knew this, like when you used to make stew at home, and when the third consecutive day of stew came around… surprise! Now it includes rice, and it’s a completely new dish. Bottom line: make extra to extend its consumption, either in subsequent days or by freezing it to eat it weeks later.

Obviously, this results in huge savings in time, effort, and money. You have the food prepared and planned for several days, and all you have to do is heat it up, either in the microwave or the air fryer, and enjoy it.

Examples of easy and affordable recipes with few ingredients

Let’s get to the important stuff: the food. Here are a couple of recipes to show you how something tasty, even traditional, can be simple, quick, and healthy.

Microwave Vegetable Omelette

Ingredients:

2 eggs

Fresh or frozen vegetables, preferably broccoli or spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Beat the eggs in a microwave-safe bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, a couple of pinches of salt (one for each egg is a good idea), and a touch of pepper.

If you like fluffy omelets, here’s a great tip: add a little milk—just a tiny splash. You’ll thank us later. Have your vegetables ready; cut into small pieces if it’s broccoli, and if it’s spinach, it’s usually boiled for a few minutes in a pot of water. By the way, spinach shrinks a lot after boiling, so don’t be afraid to fill the pot.

Once everything is ready, put the vegetables in your bowl with the egg, stir it around a bit, and microwave for two to three minutes, depending on how well-done you like them.

Grilled Chicken with Spices

If we previously used the microwave as a substitute for a frying pan, this time we’ll give you an example of how to use the air fryer.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast

Salt, pepper, and spices (don’t overthink it, you can start with a little parsley or even paprika)

Preparation:

Take the chicken breast—you don’t even need to cut it—and season it with salt, pepper, and any spices you like. Just a couple of pinches, not much more. Remember that later, once it’s cooked, you can add whatever you want if you’re short on seasoning.

Once it’s cooked to your liking, place it in the air fryer, which has already been preheating for five minutes, and let it work its magic for eight to twelve minutes, depending on how you like your chicken. The recommended time is usually about ten.

Once it’s ready, you’ve used that time to prepare a tomato salad with avocado and corn. Don’t worry, you’ll just have to chop everything, add salt, oil and stir.