I’ve already spent all of my Christmas money on clothes and back-from-Winter-Break reunion dinners. I made it about a week and a half on my annual attempt to cut the grease and processed sugar from my diet – one more dietary slip-up before my annual throwing-in of the towel. But now, it’s Thursday. And if you’re like me, that means another 48-hour binge on the usual weekend foods (think pizza, chips, chocolatey desserts, and all those other delectable treats that make your body and your bank account hate you) is just around the corner.

This weekend, though, indulge yourself in something new: cooking. Making food for yourself saves money and usually helps keep your calorie intake down, so here are a few suggestions for your eating pleasure.

It’s not delivery, nor is it DiGiorno. This recipe for Barbecue Chicken Pizza is simple, yet deliciously rewarding. You will need the following:

1 package of refrigerated pizza dough

1 ½ cups shredded, mixed Colby and Monterey Jack cheese

2 cups cooked chicken

½ cup barbecue sauce

½ cup green bell pepper

¼ cup red onion

Set your oven to 425°.

Cut up the bell peppers and the onion. (You can dice or slice – it doesn’t matter unless you’re aiming for a certain aesthetic appeal.) Next, shred the chicken – the use of your WASHED hands will suffice. Then, throw the chicken in a bowl along with the barbecue sauce. Mix well so that all the chicken gets equally coated in sauce. Then, on a cookie sheet, roll out the dough and sprinkle on about one cup of cheese. Spread on the chicken mixture and the veggies; top the pizza with the remaining cheese. Pop it in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

For dessert, try this on for size: The Hershey’s recipe website (hersheys.com/recipes.aspx) features some borderline-sinful chocolate dessert recipes with mouthwatering photographs included, and the options are as endless as your desire to consume them. If you’re a fan of the coconut, chocolate and graham cracker deliciousness-in-a-bar served in the NU dining halls, the “Quarterback Blitz Bar” might be for you. From bars to pies, Hershey’s has it all.

This was originally published in The Current, a weekly supplement to The Daily Northwestern.