Easy recipes for freshmen in college?!
Easy recipes for freshmen in college?
I will begin college in the fall( August) and I need to know some simple recipes and dishes I can cook for myself to stay alive and well, because the meal plan ive purchased only allows one meal per day. I dont know much about cooking and I can barely boil water( just kidding), please give me advise on some easy dishes a beginner could whip up to stay alive when im away from mothers cooking, instructions and name of the dish would be appreciated, thank you very much.
Answers: Ramen (which is a type of noodles cooked in hot water and flavored with spices) is a good and cheap alternative if you need a simple dish that won't cost a lot of money nor take much time to prepare. You can usually get Ramen at the local grocery store for dimes on the dollar (e.g. 10 Ramen packs for $1, etc.)
Another option is the frozen dinner section, which usually includes Banquet meals like Spagetti, Macaroni and Cheese, Fried Chicken, etc. These meals are easy to prepare and can be purchased for approximately $1.25-1.75 for meal, depending on the brand that you purchase. Healthy Choice is the best quality in terms of nutritional value, but it costs around $2.50 or so per meal, which can get expense.
An even better solution would be to purchase ham and cheese along with bread to make simple lunches. And of course there is always the option of buying canned food like chili, beans, carrots, fruit, etc. The best thing about canned food is that it keeps for a long time and is generally healthy. The downside to some of these foods, however, is a higher sodium content (usually around 15-20% of the Recommended Daily Value).
This is probably a lot of information to read for simple dishes, but I hope it is helpful. And good luck in college.
Paul --Definatly order vegetable fried rice. This lasts about 4 days in the fridge. When you warm it up, you can add some scrambled eggs and you have a perfect meal.
--Scrambled eggs
--Lean Cuisine frozen meals
--Salads
--Boiled veggies You could start off making roman noodles (very tasty and many varities plus it's cheap). Then maybe you could make hot dogs. Just put a little water in a pan and turn the stove on medium. Add whatever you want and have lots of fat to keep you filled while you are in class (where you can think the fat off). Buy a crock pot. You can throw some ingredients in when you get up, and you'll have a hot meal ready for you when you come home 8 hours later. The owner's manual has many recipes you can use, or you can do a search on slow cooker recipes. get a can of spam open it ant cut it in tiny bite size pieces fry it then set aside until you open a box of mac and cheese and make it according to the directions on the box after you made it add the spam you can add a can of green peas yummy good luck There are a lot of microwaveable things out there so you have a good choice of things to eat. Hamburger Helper, mac and cheese, rice-a-roni, hot pockets, frozen dinners, and much more. Just follow the directions on the package and adjust cooking times if necessary. That should do you for a while. If the campus allows (or you don't get caught with it), you could get a George Foreman grill and some premade hamburgers, some chicken breasts, or some small steaks and grill them up to your liking. It doesn't take long to cook any of them all the way through and it's pretty easy to clean the grill, too. They now have the removeable grill plates that you can wash with soap and water.
Good luck in college! Actually anything you put in a crock pot is tasty and easy, You don,t have to watch it cook, just put in meat and veggies and when you get back its done. Also if you have a microwave there are a lot microwaveable dinners that are ok. Microwave pizza is a good example. When I was at University we had one of the few known incidents of scurvy in the modern Western world - scurvy is a disease caused by lack of Vitamin C, potentially fatal, and the early stages are not very pretty - teeth all fall out, gums turn black, etc.
On investigation it transpired that at the start of each term the student concerned - believing himself to be on a very limited budget - made a very, very large quantity of porridge (oatmeal) and poured it into a chest of drawers to set firm. Then every day he would carve himself a hunk of same (it's very filling, apparently) and get on with his life ... until he fell over.
I offer this as a humble recommendation of what *not* to do.
Good luck. cereal. milk. bowl. spoon. That's all you need :D
Kidding....kinda.
Try hamburger helper. Very straighforward. and pretty tasty. The crock pot idea was great. Also invest in a George Foreman grill. You can cook meats, sandwiches and veggies on it, and it's easy clean-up. Also get a blender so you can have smoothies on the run to class in the morning.
Breakfast is the easiest for you to make, so I'd suggest keeping cereal, fruit and milk around. I'd save my free meal for lunch or dinner, depending on my class schedule. I found a great little book, 101 Things To Do With Ramen Noodles, by Toni Patrick. Pick it up, it has great low cost recipes in it. For the meal plan, since dinner is the most expensive meal, it would be cheaper for you to eat dinner at the cafeteria and make sanwiches for lunch and eat cold cereal for breakfast. I did this when I was in college to save money. Spanish Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
2 dozen chicken wings
Flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons paprika
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup Spanish olive oil
Pinch red pepper flakes
Bay leaf
2 lemons, halved
10 roasted cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup Spanish sherry 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Method
Rinse the chicken wings in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place flour in a shallow platter and season it by adding paprika, salt and pepper. Toss to incorporate, and then dredge the wings in the flour. Heat oil in a skillet and brown the chicken wings on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a platter. Add the pepper flakes, bay leaf, lemons, garlic, oregano, sherry, and chicken broth to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Return the chicken to the pan. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or braise in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Notes: You can use the sauce for a veggie version of chicken wings using vegetable stock.
These sites have great easy recipes
http://easy.betterrecipes.com/
http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-c...
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/quick...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_quick... I would always keep a gallon of milk on hand. It is a healthy drink all alone, and cereal with milk is something you probably will never get sick of. Depending on your grocery you should be able to get milk with an expiration date about one month out from the day you purchased it. If it is any less than that, especially if it is under two weeks, I would find another grocery store.
Ramen Noodles are a good and easy idea, and if you ever have any extra chicken or meat around you can always put it into your noodles... My favorite kind that I have been eating for years is Sapporo Ichiban.
The Foreman Grill is also a good idea, hotdogs, hamburgers, fish, grilled cheese, and steak all come out fine with one. Just be sure to find a good grocery store nearby that carries fresh and good meat. It is worth putting in a little effort to ask around or shop around yourself to find the best place for meat near campus.. http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?b...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainmen...
http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/sto...
http://www.peta2.com/college/c-recipes.a...
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_tips_food_di...
http://busycooks.about.com/od/fallrecipe...
The links above are all recipes for college students. The are lots more out there, just google Dorm room recipes to see more.
Good luck and enjoy college life. Being a person who does not like cooking I have a few tips.Speaking of fried rice and noodles, both are great ideas. Any rice holds up well a few days and all you have to remember is 3/2 and 2 when cooking. Rinse any rice a few times with room temp water before you cook it (unless out of a box, but bulk just as easy and allot cheaper) Then put (3)cups of water for 2 cups rice. Get the rice cooking and a few minutes into it stir well (1). Then Once boiling hard, stir well again (2). Turn down to low, cover and 20 minutes later you have perfect rice. Depends on elec or gas heat of course so be patient. If you do everything right and it looks soggy after 20 min stir once more (UGH) and cover until it doesn't look so wet. Just remember once you turn it off, let it stand and the rice will absorb some of the water. Then: Put it in soup!, heated tomatoes over rice is good, drop some canned chicken and chicken bullion in it for a change,rice and sugar warmed in the micro with some butter is my favorite dessert. Anything goes with rice (fresh is cheaper and better with brown being the best for you). Scramble eggs and rice, hot dogs and rice, sky is the limit. Noodles about the same. My favorite is Ramien noodles with an egg cooked in it. The best cooks learn by tossing and seeing what tastes good to them. Hope it helps.