College cooking tips

This is a topic to find the cooking secrets for those people in college who may be limited by budget or ingenuity.
for my contribution I will list the first recipe: Ramen noodles
There are either two ways to go about it
the microwave and boiling water methods
if you have a microwave. Put the noodles in a bowl and fill the bowl with water to a level slightly higher than the noodles themselves then place the bowl in the microwave for three minutes. the remove, stir and serve hot.
If you're boiling water. Put the noodles in a bowl, boil some water. pour that boiling water into the bowl then let it sit for three minutes. serve hot.

Easy Mac with sliced up hot dog.

Prepare Easy Mac as directed by package, but do not heat in microwave yet.
Take hot dog, slice into several pieces, add into Easy Mac and microwave both at the same time. Eat.

Eh, I prefer putting less water than the level of the noodles because too much water = less taste. But noodles are the best quick meals to make.

Something my roommate made a lot was heating up some canned chili then mixing it with a pack of crushed saltine crackers. I tried it and loved it. Simple to make and easy on the budget.

balado base spice mixture

# 12 red chile peppers, seeded and chopped
# 8 cloves garlic
# 8 medium shallots
# 4 tomatoes, quartered
# 2 teaspoons shrimp paste
# 3 tablespoons peanut oil
# 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
# 2 teaspoons white vinegar
# 2 teaspoons white sugar
# salt and pepper to taste

#blend all ingredients in a blender until it becomes a paste.
#store in a tupperware and put it in the refrigerator until it is used.
#for 6-10 servings.

to use it:
# get some meat ready.it could be chicken,shrimp,beef or mutton.
# heat 1-2 tablespoon(s) of veggie oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
# pour the balado mixture (according to your taste and/or the amount of meat)into the skillet,stir well until fragrant.
# put the meat into the skillet.mix well and let it cook for about 5 mins.
# close the skillet,reduce the heat to medium-low,and let it simmer until the meat is cooked thoroughly.
# enjoy.easy peasy.serve with steamed rice.

Dude, College recipes...skillets aren't involved in college cooking, it must be George Forman or microwaveable.

Learn how to improvise. Can of Chicken Noodle + Chicken Ramen + Other Noodles + Crackers or w/e you want = pretty good meal that could last you at least a day or two for only a couple bucks.

Also, learn to love ramen and mac'n'cheese, hunt freshmen for protein and... never turn down a free meal...well, almost never

Peanut Butter sandwiches. Can last you a whole week.

che.
frickin' normal college students.

(i'm pretty sure that it's an easy to do recipe for me...)

-Scrambled egg and rice with mayonnaise.
-Or a simple egg sandwich. Just put butter, egg, and mayo. And lettuce if u have some.
-Or a simple lettuce and potato salad with mayonnaise and slices of boiled egg.
-Or instant noodles omelet. cook the noodles without the seasonings, remove the water, mix the noodles and seasonings with egg, then pour it on the frying pan. eat it with mayo and tomato sauce. don't use shrimp/ any kind of seafood flavor. I tried.

There are hundreds of variations of simple dishes you can cook using egg and mayo.
Just stock eggs and mayo in your fridge and you'll survive.

@mnx: err, that is a bit too much for college students, especially when you live alone. and you seem to like spicy foods :D

true indonesian could withstand extreme heat. 8)

and btw,i live alone,and i'm a college student...and i find that recipe easy...ah well...here's an easier recipe to make up for it.

baked potato for one

#a large potato
#some parmesan and mozzarella cheese
#some slices of bacon
#a bit of broccoli
#salt and pepper
#some water

instructions:
-boil the potato in a microwave-safe pan for a minute,medium heat.
-scoop some of the potato from the skin and left the skin for later.
-crush the potato,add some bacon,mozza cheese,margarine,salt,pepper and broccoli into it.
-add a bit of water,mix well until it has the consistency of a puree.
-scoop the puree back inside the potato skin.
-grate some parmesan cheese on top of the potato.
-bake it in the microwave,2-3 mins,low heat.
-enjoy.

is this easy enough?

We don't all have rich parents that let us travel to exotic places.

cold pizza:

Step 1- buy pizza
Step 2- insert into fridge
Step 3- enjoy


My favorite low-budget, quick'n'easy, questionable nutritional value meals usually come from boxes or else are made in a crock pot (as in, set it and forget it till after class/work). Tuna casserole is an easy one though.

Italian Chicken and Veggies

Chicken Breast (frozen or thawed)
Pack of frozen Veggies
Italian Dressing
Garlic
Parmesan Cheese



Pour about two tablespoons(or more if you want) of the Italian Dressing into a pan. Chop garlic and sautee it in the dressing for a minute or two. Place chicken in pan. Once it's almost done, add some of the frozen veggies into the pan and cook until heated and chicken is done. Put on plate and sprinkle parmesan cheese ontop.

cereal:
Get a bowl, fill it with cereal. Then pour milk on this cereal. Just a quick warning, this process doesn't work nearly that well in reverse.

I cook at college, and I find having a crock pot is pretty nice. You can buy chunk of meat, whip up a simple sauce, and throw some vegetables in. Turn it on, walk away, come back 8 hours later and bam, food is done. I often throw something in before my first class of the day and let it cook all day so dinner is ready in the evening.

These are two particularly simple ones I use

Pork w/ Sauerkraut

-1 piece boneless roasting pork
-1 bag of store bought sauerkraut
-1 can beef broth

You can add some carroway seeds and throw in a little bacon to enhance the flavor. Let it cook for about 6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low(depending on the size of the meat).

Beef w/ vegetables

-1 piece boneless roasting beef
-1 can beef broth
-chopped carrots and potatoes, or whatever veggies you like]

Same deal, just throw everything in and let it cook for 6 hours on high or 8-10 on low. You can also throw some spices in to add some flavor. I often add a little dry sherry.


Other than that, I make a lot of pan-frying stuff, like stir fry, marsala chicken breasts, buffalo chicken strips, vegetable omelets, etc.

Pan frying is generally quick and easy as long as you keep the number of ingredients needed pretty low.

My college doesn't allow dorm students to have cooking implements, makes it kinda hard to use a crock pot. but we do have a common area with some basic stuff

pop tarts: 3 different ways
1)basic
- unwrap tarts
- eat cold
2)toaster
-unwrap tarts
-place in toaster
-eat when toasted to your satisfaction
3)microwave
-unwrap tarts
-place in microwave for about 30 seconds
-eat warmed
!!!!!!warning, remove the wrapper before putting in the wrapper or you WILL start a fire!!!!!!

this also works with frozen pizza. once you chew it enough, it tastes normal, dont even need a stove *thumbs up*

Taco shells with cheese thing...

Get a soft taco shell, put cheese in it (or pizza sauce for pizza taco shell)
Heat up with anything (Open fire works...)

Then eat that up

Just point yourself towards the frozen foods section and grab whatever looks good.
Follow the heating instructions and your good to go!