Do you never have time to fix breakfast at home? If this is the case you probably turn to fast food restaurants to get your morning meal, but have you considered how much this costs? At $5 per day, Monday-Friday, that's $25 a week or $1,300 per year! That's quite an expense. What if you could enjoy breakfast at home and cut the costs, while still enjoying a quick meal? This week, let's discuss kicking the fast food habit and fixing a quick breakfast at home.

If you enjoy pancakes, French toast, or even waffles, you can easily enjoy them at home, while saving money. You can purchase these items already frozen at the grocery store, but if you want to spend pennies per serving, make them yourself and then freeze them. Then all you have to do is pop them in the microwave or toaster and you've got a quick meal.

If you need something that you can take with you in the car, it's also quite easy to make breakfast sandwiches at home. All you have to do is bake a batch of biscuits the night before and the next day heat up pre-cooked sausage patties, top with cheese, and place on the biscuit. Of course, if you want something healthy, you can also prepare a fruit salad the night before. The leftover fruit salad could be layered with yogurt and granola to create a gourmet parfait later in the week.

This week, why not try a quick breakfast sandwich made from this recipe?

Minute Steak, Sautéed Onions, and Cheese Sandwiches
Serves 4

2 minute steaks, cut in half
1 onion, finely chopped
Olive oil
4 slices of American cheese
4 croissants

1. Cook the minute steak and onions in olive oil over medium-high heat until cooked through.
2. Top each croissant with steak, onions, and a slice of cheese.
3. Wrap in wax paper and enjoy at work or on the go.

A quick meal doesn't have to be expensive. As with most meals, you can always save money by preparing them in your own kitchen.

Do you ever wish you could just go home and have your meal mostly prepared? You're in luck. There are ways you can prepare two meals at one time. Not only does this make meals quicker to prepare, but it also saves money by ensuring that you use all of the ingredients you purchase. These meals use many of the same ingredients and reduce your need to clean out the fridge each week. This week, we'll focus on a couple meals prepared with chicken.

Spanish Rice With Mexican Spiced Chicken
Serves 4

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 boxes of Spanish Rice mix, plus the ingredients needed to prepare it
2 (16-ounce) cans of enchilada sauce

1. Mix the spices together and rub onto the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees until cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, prepare the Spanish rice according to the package directions.
3. When the rice is cooked, stir in the enchilada sauce and heat through.
4. Serve four of the chicken breasts with half of the rice mixture along with some fat-free refried beans and warmed whole wheat tortillas.

Chicken Rice Enchiladas
Serves 4

8 whole wheat tortillas
4 leftover chicken breasts, shredded
4 cups of leftover rice mixture
1 cup of enchilada sauce
1 cup of 2-percent shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Green onions

1. Fill the tortillas with the chicken and rice mixture and place in a baking dish.
2. Top with the enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and heated through, about 30 minutes.
3. Serve with sour cream and green onions.

Cooking doesn't have to be difficult or time consuming to be healthy. When you take time to prepare ingredients for the next day, meals go together in a snap.