Caesar salad with chicken or hard-boiled eggs:

- rinse lettuce - tear lettuce - add commercial Caesar dressing of choice - toss lettuce with dressing - add a handful of croutons, a spoonful of Parmesan, and a few slices of grilled chicken or chunks of egg. Voila.

Per meal, the croutons turn out to be the most expensive ingredient, oddly enough (if you go with eggs rather than chicken). A good head of romaine costs under $5 and will make 2-3 salads. The chicken/eggs you can either buy pre-cooked, or prepare a few meals’ worth in advance over the weekend - and use for other recipes. 5 minutes prep, tops.