I’ve recently been fixated on the idea of struggle meals, probably because I’ve been struggling both financially and mentally. I’ll share a couple of mine:
-Egg on hash brown patty: as simple as it sounds, bake a frozen hash brown patty, cook a sunny side up egg and put it on top. I like to season the egg with salt/msg, pepper, and garlic powder, then add a few drops of Tabasco sauce. Bonus points if you have avocado to spread on the hash brown first
-Flaming Hot Cheetos taco: toast a corn tortilla on both sides on a pan, then add sour cream and shredded cheese and flaming hot Cheetos as the “meat”, add any other taco toppings you like/have (shredded cabbage/lettuce, hot sauce, etc)
Would love to hear everyone else’s struggle meals when you just don’t have the means mentally/financially to put much effort into cooking


These are my go-tos:
Better Jarred Spaghetti:
Cook up some ground pork and add, cayenne, paprika, pepper flakes, and cavenders greek seasoning. Deglaze with any alcohol or stock on hand and melt in butter. Add and simmer tomato sauce of choice for a bit with the pork to bring it together. Finish with sugar to balance acidity. Bonus if you have any herbs or cheese for garnish.
Garlic Chili Crisp Ramen:
On top of 1 beef and 1 chicken instant ramen (cooked and drained) place scallions, ginger, garlic, chili crisp, and a tiny bit of any vinegar (black vinegar is best). Pour hot oil (any kind) over the top then mix. Bonus with any leftover meats or veggies you can use. Extra bonus if you have sesame oil or seesame seeds to garnish.
Black Bean Nachos:
Tortilla chips, shredded cheese, hot sauce of choice, goya sazon seasoning, black beans. Bonus if you have any extra veg like white onion, jalapeno, or tomatoes.