Cooking In At College

[Gusteau]

Originally Posted by kateee

AzTheta, we learned our lesson quickly about how easy it is to catch stuff on fire when deep frying haha

Gusteau, you must be really good at cooking. As evidenced above, mine are kind of sub-par right now haha

I'm not as great as my friend and fellow badge nut would lead you to believe I'm also dating someone who is a strict microwave chef, so I sympathize with your plight!

I love aephialum's suggestion of stir fry, so easy and tasty! Pasta is always a great option; here's a recipe for a super easy marinara sauce:

1 can crushed tomatoes
1 small can of unseasoned tomato sauce
1 clove of garlic
Crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh basil
Olive oil

Coat the bottom of the pan in olive oil and add a few sprinkles (depending on how spicy you like things) of red pepper flakes and a crushed or minced garlic clove (a garlic press is a great tool). Allow garlic to cook until it is fragrant and add both cans of tomatoes, salt (maybe a 1/2 teaspoon? I don't measure) a pinch of sugar, and chopped basil. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.

When I make this I add about a 1/4 cup of red wine to the pan before I add the tomatoes and let it cook off. If you're of age and allowed to have alcohol in the dorms it's a great addition to add some depth of flavor to the quick sauce.

[honeychile]

Also, check out ebay or tag sales for cookbooks. I have several cookbooks that were published by a church/philanthropic/other club group that promise only THREE ingredients (except salt, pepper or sugar) for each dish. You really don't want to be bothered buying lots of spices and such, if you're in this to save money. A plus on these books is that NO WOMAN is going to submit a recipe with her name on it that isn't good!

One example I can think of off the top of my head is Cheater's Beef Stroganoff: beef cubes, mushroom soup, noodles (mushrooms optional).

Also, it's easy to make cookies from a cake mix:

Cake Mix Cookies:

1 box any flavor standard size cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (can substitute applesauce)
Chocolate chips, nuts, crushed candies, flavoring (optional - experiment!)

-Add 1/2 cup oil and two eggs to one box of cake mix, mixing well. Add chips, nuts, and flavorings if desired.
-Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

(Excellent example: chocolate cake mix with crushed Whoppers!)

An online site I use is Just A Pinch Kitchens. They're a bit more advanced, though, but you may get some ideas of what works and what doesn't. Pillsbury, Kraft, and almost any food manufacture has a website, too.

Have fun and keep us posted!

[DreamfulSpirit]

I love this recipe! It's very easy and it is a one pan meal! I usually put aluminum foil on the baking sheet, which makes for easy clean up!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/r...usage-and.html

(it's also a healthy recipe...I'm doing weight watchers and it's only 8 points per serving)

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

I love aephialum's suggestion of stir fry, so easy and tasty! Pasta is always a great option.

Agreed to both. The beauty of stir fry and pasta is that they're basic and easy, but can provide a lot of variety, both as to what goes into them protein- and vegetable-wise, and what goes on or with them sauce-wise. If you can have at your disposal four or five easy pasta sauces that you like, then you'bve just given yourself a whole lot more option. Aside from marinara, one of my favorites is a balsamic brown butter sauce -- very easy and quick. Then there's pesto. Carbonara's quick and easy too, especially if you go with a baconless version of it. (I'd hate to do that, but sometimes you do what you have to.) You get the idea.

Likewise for stir fry, there are endless sauce possibilities. A few tricks: Make sure your meat/protein and vegetables have been blotted and are as dry as possible before cooking them; otherwise, you get steamed food instead of stir fried. Use an oil that can take high temperature without getting smokey -- peanut oil is a good choice unless there are allergy issues. Extra virgin olive oil and sesame oil are typically not good choices.

Always cook your protein first (unless it's something like shrimp that cooks really fast), then remove it from the wok, clean the wok quickly, then do your vegestables, starting with the ones that take longest to cook, like carrots. As the vegetables are finishing up, add the protein back in and then whatever sauce you want. If you can keep ginger and garlic on hand, add a little of each to the oil before putting the protein in, and then again before putting the vegetables in.