In my new apartment, there’s a nice, decently equipped kitchen. I’ve gone shopping for groceries a grand total of once this semester, and have found that I’d really like to eat some things besides ramen noodles, Cap’n Crunch (with crunchberries!), and dining hall food (eww).
What are some decent foods/recipes that I can make with an oven, a microwave, a range, and basic pots and pans? I’m looking for cheap, easy to make stuff. Tasty is a plus, too.
The classic is pasta with jarred spaghetti sauce. Optional extras are meat (frozen meatballs are good), cheese, and garlic bread.
Canned soup is another obvious choice.
Eggs and some milk allow for scrambled eggs and omelets. If you don’t go through a lot of milk (well, with the Cap’n Crunch you probably do…) get Lactaid or other ultrapasteurized milk, it lasts longer.
Baked potatoes are good. If you have extra, you can make fried potatoes with onions the next day–yummers. Chili or broccoli and cheese are good toppings.
A rotisserie chicken with side dishes from the deli can be good for several meals.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts baked with salsa on top, then topped with grated cheddar and/or Monterrey jack cheese is another option.
A super easy way to make tacos at home is to brown some ground beef, add salsa or taco seasoning, and buy some tortillas and some Mexican 7-layer dip from the deli. For each taco, put in some ground beef and some 7-layer dip. Regular tacos aren’t that hard, either, but you might wind up buying a lot of ingredients you don’t use completely.
Quesadillas, good with soup or salad, are very easy. Buy soft tortillas and grated Mexican quesadilla cheese (or Monterrey jack). Put cheese between tortillas and heat in a frying pan, flipping once. Optional additions- hot peppers, green onions, leftover meat from another meal.
Add a crockpot to your hardware. Then, you can throw stuff in it in the morning, go to class, and have dinner ready when you come home.
It might be a bit much for a single person, but if you like leftovers or if you want to have some friends over, try this once you get a crockpot:
One beef roast
Two cans of Campbell’s golden mushroom or beef mushroom soup, undiluted
One package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Throw it all in, cook on low, and you’ll have a falling-apart-pot roast when you come home.
Here is a similar thread from the past:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=329971&highlight=college+food+cook
You might consider a 1.5 quart slow cooker. It is ideal for 1-2 people. One of my favorite dishes to fix in it is pinto beans. This works for most kinds of dried beans as well.
Wash 1 cup of dried beans (very inexpensive) and dump them in the pot, add 2.5-3 cups of water, one smoked pork hock, section of smoked turkey wing or nothing at all if you want a vegetarian dish. I usually season this with a little liquid smoke, a little salt (bacon salt may be an option, I haven’t tried it yet), pepper, chili powder, garlic and half a chopped onion. Set this on high while you are getting ready for class and switch it to low before you leave. Eight hours later, yummy, yummy beans.
This can be served with rice, cornbread or tortillas (all low cost) or as a side dish to a meat and vegetable. Don’t forget to experiment with the seasonings and adding things like carrots, tomatoes, celery, etc. (don’t forget to adjust the water accordingly).
Happy eating!
Direct, step-by-step recipes are fairly easy to find on the ol’ Internet. However, IMO the secret to fun cooking-for-yourself is to discover dishes you like rather than slavishly devote yourself to a complicated recipie that you may or may not like when it’s done.
Harriet the Spry’s quick list of cooking ideas is an excellent start, but I’d encourage you to use them as a jumping-off point to just trying different ideas. So in the spirit of that, I’m going to offer you a few tips, rather than full-blown recipies; they’re geared toward college taste/money, and may lead you to more experimentation:
-
Many spices are cheap, last quite a long time for the money, and can be used in a variety of different dishes. However, don’t just go out and buy a whole spice rack. Start with a few you’re familiar with–garlic (powdered is fine) and parmesan cheese are a must; basil, paprika, red/black pepper and cinnamon probably should be in there as well; avoid parsley (dried parsley is useless IMO).
-
Boullion cubes sound like a silly idea, but they add a lot of flavor to nearly anything you cook, and can be the basis of a tasty sauce. For example, try adding one to the water you use to cook pasta; you’ll really taste the difference. An easy sauce example: One boullion cube, one cup apple juice (sugar-water if you’re cheap), & a few squirts of lemon juice. Heat & stir to dissolve the cube, then add cornstach bit-by-bit until the sauce thickens. Makes a great lemon sauce for chicken & rice.
-
The secret to a great omelet (besides fresh ingredients): Beat the eggs mercilessly to get as much air into them as possible before pouring into the hot pan (milk is for cowards!). The best omelet-makers pour the raw eggs on a shallow plate and use a butter knife to whip and “fold” the eggs in on themselves (bonus if you beat the whites first, then add the yolks). There’s also the fact that you don’t need extra kitchen utensils if you use this method, and can eat off the same plate you beat with.
-
Every college student should be able to cook Minute Rice; it’s cheap, easy and there’s a lot you can do with it. Again, a boullion cube in the water will add a lot of flavor; cilantro will also give it a nice, crisp taste. After cooking, try frying it in a pan with some butter/oil and soy sauce, crack an egg in and mix it up, maybe even a little crumbed cooked bacon, and you have a very simple fried rice (N.B.: I’m not saying this is a culinary delight, but it isn’t bad and it’s a good starting point for developing a better, more personal recipe).
-
Don’t skimp the veggies! Cooking frozen veggies in the microwave is simple: get a coffee mug, throw some frozen peas/corn/mixed/whatever in, add a small splach of water, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for a minute; instant steamed veggies; you can add them to your fried rice or eat them on the side.
I’m sure others can come up with their own ideas, but the point here is to try different kitchen ideas within a college student’s budget. Trust me; when I lived off-campus, putting together tasty dishes was a great learning experience.
We got our daughter a book with recipes you can make with only four or five ingredients. There are lots of cookbooks out there designed for simple and fast recipes. I can find the title if you want, but I bet you can find a lot by browsing through the cookbook section of your local bookstore.
You have it easy. When I was in college I cooked for two years with a toaster oven and a hotplate. My friend and I made duck a L’orange this way, though he said after that while it wasn’t worth it, it was good publicity.
Cooking simple stuff is way easy if you can follow simple directions and don’t start with anything too complicated.
Some general advice: every time you go shopping, pick up something you’ve never eaten before (that isn’t snack food!).
I had the ‘Cordon Bleu’ omelette book which instructed you to whisk the eggs only enough to mix the yolk with the white, actively avoiding introducing much air. Then add to melted butter in a small frying pan on a medium/high heat, and pull sections of the edge in, letting liquid egg fill the gap each time until the egg isn’t running any more, creating a sort of rippled effect on top. Add your fillings and heat a little longer, until the underside is browned, though the middle may be only just cooked, and fold it onto a plate.
Supposedly ‘Cordon Bleu’ techniques may seem ridiculous for college cookery, but it only uses one pan, is easy with a small amount of practice, takes ten minutes all in and looks disproportionately professional on the plate as well as tasting superb.
For what it’s worth, the book suggested beating loads of air into the eggs at the start to make sweet omelettes, with fruit and the like, but I’ve never tried them…
I just graduated from college…oh my, two years ago already…and I found that cooking and having home cooked meals did wonders for my moral with a crazy-busy college schedule. I have so many recommendations I think I’m going to break them into two posts.
General Recommendations:
-
The biggest issue I had was actually keeping food in the house–finding time to go grocery shopping and actually cooking instead of wimping out and grabbing take-out when I was tired. I’d recommend putting a few hours into your schedule for meal planning and shopping every week or two and trying to stick with it. Otherwise, if you’re like me and most college students I knew, you’ll either have a fridge full of stuff that goes bad, wasting your money, and eat take-out, wasting more money.
-
I second the idea to keep a decent selection of dried spices on hand–they’ll last forever, and you’ll be able to experiment add some new flavors to basic meats and veggies. Also, if you like the flavors, get some soy sauce, some teriyaki sauce, a bottle of lemon juice (I know, fresh is better, but this will keep longer and is cheaper and easier), and a bottle of red cooking wine with a screw-top. Also, olive oil is versatile and tastes great in dishes and is good for you. Get a bottle of extra virgin (the store brand is fine—no need to spend a lot.) With these ingredients, you can make all kinds of marinades. Which brings me to number 3:
-
Marinades. I swear by them. For example, lots of people think that chicken breasts are bland and tasteless, and sure, they kind of are on their own, but I’ve found that recipes with sauces and marinades really go a long way to adding flavor. Chicken is fairly cheap on a college budget, but many marinades translate well to other meats, too. After you experiment with a few different recipes, you get a fairly good feel for what spices and sauces and juices will taste great together. You can just toss a few pieces of meat in a marinade, pop it in the fridge the night before or before you leave in the morning, and toss it in the oven with some chopped potatoes and bell peppers for an hour or so when you get home. Then you have tender and flavorful goodness and actually get some nutrients. And, if your mom is like mine, she will be fantastically, disproportionately proud of this accomplishment. She might stop worrying for an hour or so.
-
Get a cutting board (not wood–you want to be able to sterilize it and toss it in the dishwasher) and a few decent knives. Having to work with bad tools will probably keep you from cooking very often. I got a good acrylic cutting board from Target in 2001 for $10 and it’s still serving me well. Bite the bullet and spend $20 or so on a decent butcher knife and paring knife. Don’t break your budget, but don’t get them from the bargain bin, or they’ll break/rust/bend/chip/refuse to be sharpened and become your worst nemesis.
Easy recipes forthcoming.
Our two classics were tomato soup with couscous and college macaroni and cheese.
Take a can of good tomato soup, cook up a batch (2 portions) of couscous, and mix together. Put romano cheese on top. Yummy, and takes 5 minutes.
Macaroni and cheese: Cook a bag of noodles. Mix in a casserole dish with one can cream of mushroom soup, half a soup-can of milk, some shredded cheddar, and your favorite herbs or spices. I use Tony Chachere’s because I learned this recipe from a guy from New Orleans. Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted. Steam some broccoli to go with it.
Another good thing is egg stuff. What I do is cook up whatever veggies I have on hand in a large teflon pan–saute some onion and throw some shredded carrot in, some spinach, some broccoli, a can of water chestnuts, and if you slice a tomato and put it on the bottom of the pan that’s good. When everything is not quite cooked, put some beaten eggs (mixed with a little water, salt and pepper) all over it and let it cook all through. Turn it over at some point. At the end, sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve on corn tortillas with salsa.
Ok, here are two recipes I love:
Recipe 1:
This recipe is one that got me through many a cold winter night when I had to stay up late finishing a project. It’s healthy, it’s easy, and I think it tastes awesome. Plus you can dress it up to impress a date (I speak from experience). You could also substitute tofu for the chicken for a vegetarian, or add fresh mushrooms or a can of drained water chestnuts to the veggies if you want. I like to call it “almost, but not quite, entirely unlike kung pao chicken.” 
Ingredients:
-1 lb chicken breasts, skinless/boneless (to save time and hassle, I bought them prepared that way)
-1/2 cup lemon juice
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-2 chicken bullion cubes
-2 teaspoons corn starch
-1 tablespoon olive oil (any veg. oil will work)
-1 tablespoon garlic powder (fresh if you’re feeling adventurous–I usually use 3 or 4 cloves if I use fresh)
-1 tablespoon ground ginger (again, fresh if you want, about the same amount as the garlic)
-1 bell pepper (I prefer red for the taste, but green, yellow, or orange work too. The darker the color, the milder the taste.)
-1 bunch scallions (also known as green onions)
-Rice or noodles (whichever you prefer, any kind you like, to serve with the chicken. I’d recommend Minute Rice because it’s fastest.)
Marinade (at least 30 minutes):
- mix soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger, and garlic in a bowl
- cut chicken into cubes and put into bowl. (don’t be too particular, just cut it into strips and then slice the strips into chunks)
- marinade in fridge for at least half an hour, up to overnight. The longer you marinade, the stronger the flavor will be.
Cooking chicken (about 20 minutes):
(Make sure to time the cooking of the rice or noodles so it’s done around the same time as the chicken.)
- wash and chop the pepper and scallions, set aside
- pour oil into a large skillet and heat to medium-high heat
- take chicken out of fridge, use a slotted spoon to scoop the chicken out of the marinade into the pan
- keep the marinade in the dish, set aside
- stir the chicken every so often while it cooks, probably about 5-6 minutes
- while the chicken is cooking, stir chicken bullion cubes and corn starch into marinade until dissolved (the corn starch will be difficult, just try to get rid of lumps)
- when the chicken is done, remove from pan and put in large serving dish
- if there’s any extra liquid in the pan, pour it out into the sink and return the hot pan to the heat
- add vegetables to the heated pan, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, until you can start to smell them cooking.
- give the marinade with the corn starch and bullion another quick stir, and then pour into pan over the vegetables
- increase the heat to high, and stir the mixture constantly until the sauce bubbles and thickens
- turn off the heat and pour the contents of the skillet over the chicken
- serve over the cooked rice or noodles
Recipe 2:
This is an easy dessert that is so deliciously unhealthy. It’s great to pair it with a healthy meal. It’s a fruit cobbler.
Crust:
- 1 cup self-rising flour*
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup of milk (soy will work for vegans)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ½ cup butter (never used vegan butter substitutes, but you need something that’s fairly stiff, not a spread. I’ve had success with Smart Balance instead of butter, but butter is generally a higher quality choice.)
*Self-rising flour has leavening agents like baking powder and salt already mixed in. All purpose is just flour, with no baking powder or salt. Be sure to read all baking recipes and flour packages carefully when planning/purchasing.
Fruit filling:
- About a quart of fresh berries or chopped fruit (I like peaches, blackberries, blueberries, or strawberries—use what you like.)
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
Cooking:
- turn on oven to 375 degrees before you start, so it has time to preheat
- Wash & chop fruit (if necessary) and put into medium sized sauce pan
- add ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water
- heat on medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes until a warm, goopy sauce forms and the fruit is easily squished with a spoon
- put ½ cup butter into a baking dish (9 inches x 13 inches works well)
- put baking dish in oven until the butter melts
- mix flour, sugar, milk, and vanilla in a bowl until the lumps are gone
- remove the baking dish from the oven, and when the fruit is ready, assemble the pie like this:
- pour the batter mixture into the dish on top of the butter. The butter will float, it will look messy. Don’t worry.
- remove fruit mixture from heat and spoon into the baking dish. Try to get it evenly over the batter mixture.
- put baking dish in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes
- serve either piping hot or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream if you’re feeling incredibly decadent.
You might also pick up a copy of The Starving Student’s Cookbook.
That sounds just like what you’re looking for.
I, too, would second a crockpot/slow cooker. That, in conjunction with a microwave, is a potent combination. It makes a lot of food, and you’ll have leftovers for days that can be reheated in minutes.
Recipes are all over the place.
Make a dump cake.
1 can crushed pineapple
1 can fruit pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter or margarine
Just dump them without stirring into a 9x13 cake pan in that order (cut the butter into pieces and scatter the pieces across the top) and bake for an hour at 350 degrees for about an hour.
I guess I should say “spread them in the pan” in case you’re like my husband who thought it would go into the oven as a giant pile o’ food. Spread each layer out, but don’t be picky.
You can add nuts if you want to.
It’s the easiest dessert in the world and very tasty.
My all-time favorite college meal costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 (if you’ve got oil and vinegar at home [or if you steal it from the dinning commons], takes about a half hour to make, and serves well cold, warm, or hot. unfortuantely, since I made this up as a poor college student, the proportions are to taste. This should be close though:
Summer Pasta
1 pound of pasta (penne or farfalle)
3 or so tomatoes (depending on size)
1 red onion
1 bunch of spinach
1 head of garlic
Some olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper
- Cut the onions, garlic, and tomatoes into smallish slices/portions. Seperate the onion into two equal piles.
- In a saucepan, pour enough oil to coat the bottom and sautee the garlic until brown and the onion until its sweetened.
- Fill a cereal bowl an inch or two with balsamic vinegar and soak the loose spinach in it.
- Boil water/ make pasta.
- Toss fresh tomatoes, fresh onions, vinegar soaked spinach, oil/garlic/onion mixture with pasta and salt.
- Add oil & vinegar to your liking. Serve warm or cold.
Pretty easy, simple, and tasty. Best results from good produce, obviously. Do not blend into spaghetti milkshake.
I used to love making myself individual pizzas using flour tortillas. You have to puncture them several times with a fork (so they don’t poof up) and crisp them in the toaster oven before putting the sauce on them or they end up rubbery. Spread some spaghetti sauce on them; season with pizza seasoning and/or oregano, thyme, etc.; toss on whatever you happen to have around the fridge or pantry (artichoke hearts, mushrooms, broccoli, onions, olives – whatever); top with some shredded cheese; sprinkle with some parmesan and put them under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is a little bubbly, but not burnt.
Leftover tortillas, cheese and veggies can be made into breakfast burritos. Or warm a couple tortillas and have them alongside an omelet made with the rest of the ingredients. Then use the remainder of the sauce on some pasta the next night. Just a few, simple ingredients can be stretched into a variety of different meals.
The secret to fast 'n easy cooking is simple – sauces and starch.
Take your basic pound of ground beef. Fry it up, mix it with tomato stuff, serve it over pasta and it’s Italian. Mix it with vegetables, pour soy sauce on it and it’s Chinese. Mix it with salsa, dump shredded cheese on it and serve it on a flour tortilla and it’s Mexican. Put it on a bun, serve with mustard and ketchup and it’s American.
Rotate with chicken, fish and pork and you can go a month without repeating yourself.
One of my favorites: Kielbasa and sauerkraut. Take a quarter-pound of kielbasa (keep the rest in the freezer), and put it in your saucepan with a serving-sized dollop of canned kraut (the rest of the jar will keep indefinitely in the fridge). Add enough water to cover, and put it on the stove on high for 15-20 minutes. Serve up the meat and cabbage, and there’ll be just enough water/juice left in the pan to mix up a serving of instant mashed potatoes (which won’t need any butter or gravy, thanks to the flavor from the kraut and sausage).
Beans and rice. I just lived on these for a month until my school money came in, they’re a lifesaver. If you’re lazy, Vigo makes packaged black or red beans and rice for a buck or two, you just use one pot, and it only takes about 25 minutes. Plus, you can add sausage or chicken or whatever you like to make it more filling.
Things like ground meat, pasta, rice, bread, eggs (lots of eggs!), frozen veggies, and some spices should be all you need for cheap and easy meals. Meatloaf, mac n cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, omelettes, and spaghetti are quick and cheap.
Don’t forget soup- take some buillon cubes and throw them in some boiling water, throw whatever veggies sound good and meat if you want any, then simmer. Some chicken bouillon, celery, carrots, noodles, and leftover chicken breasts are all you need for a good chicken soup.
Experiment with flavors- it’ll keep you from getting bored. Garlic and lemon, garlic and rosemary, maybe some cumin and cilantro. Some spice brands have suggestions on the jars as to what flavors blend well, what type of vegetable or meat this particular spice tastes well with. That’s how I know most of what I do about spices.
Potatoes, if you use them for baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes, are super cheap and not too bad for you. Eat the skin so you don’t miss out on the fiber.
For chicken, I’d suggest using thighs instead of breasts. They have more flavour. If you get them with the bone in, use your thumbs to peel off the meat. If you like, throw the bones in the freezer and make chicken stock when you’ve accumulated enough. (It takes quite a while, but you don’t have to tend it much, just stir once in a while and add more water if it gets too low.)
A Denver omelette is good and filling. The standard recipe has ham, green peppers, and onions, but of course you can vary that as you like; I usually use salami (Drain the fat!) with a chopped jalapeno (from a jar if you like) and sometimes a clove of garlic. Melt some cheese on top and serve over toast.
Plain ramen noodles are a lot cheaper than the prepared varieties, and easy to dress up. Saute a little onion, garlic and herbs in a bit of olive oil, add leftover meat and a dash of soya sauce, then put in the noodles and boiling water (bouillon cube optional). Cover and cook a few minutes until they’re tender.
Finally, don’t limit your cheese to Jack or cheddar. Good cheese isn’t ever really cheap, but it’s satisfying enough that you don’t need much. Here’s a previous thread with some good descriptions: