Cooking at college

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>So I'm in a suite this year (which I'm quite excited about) and have a grocery store a few blocks away. I cook a fair deal at home, and every few weeks would prepare a dinner dish for my friends and myself at school last year (in the building kitchen), but now I've got a kitchen right in my suite, which I'll be sharing with six other people (whom, I might add, I don't know).</p>

<p>I'm planning on cooking all of my meals, and have opted not to get a meal plan. If anyone has any recipes that don't require too much time or too many ingredients, I'd appreciate them. Mind you, I will NOT have a crock pot, and I do know how to cook relatively effectively. The only meats that I will be using, however, are probably chicken and shrimp, maybe fish once in a while.</p>

<p>I'll toss in one of my own recipes to kick this thread off:
Ingredients (for two servings):</p>

<h2>Bowtie pasta/ penne/ ziti</h2>

<p>Olive oil (enough to coat skillet)
1/3 red or orange bell pepper, julienned (i.e. sliced thinly)
1/4 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1 clove of garlic (crushed; I use a garlic press)
A few basil leaves
A few shakes of dried parsley
Shrimp (optional)
Pinch of salt</p>

<h2>Pepper to taste</h2>

<p>Milk or heavy cream (depending on how light or creamy a dish you want)
Parmesan cheese</p>

<ol>
<li>Boil water, cook pasta as per instructions on the box</li>
<li>In a skillet, heat up oil (you know it's ready when you throw a piece of onion in and it sizzles)</li>
<li>Place ingredients from second part of the list into the skillet and mix until vegetables are tender; if you're using shrimp, make sure they aren't on top of anything else, and are flipped when the sides touching the skillet turn pink - shrimp usually only need to be cooked a minute to two minutes, until pink and c-shaped (C means "cooked," O means "overcooked")</li>
<li>Drain pasta, put back in bowl, and toss with vegetables</li>
<li>Add parmesan cheese until melted, then milk/ cream until coated</li>
<li>Enjoy</li>
</ol>

<p>It sounds like a lot of prep work, but it's delicious. If you prepare and cook the vegetables while the water is boiling and pasta is cooking, the whole thing only really takes as long as it takes to make pasta, though naturally a tad more cleanup time.</p>

2

<p>I have a honey mustard chicken recipe. It serves about 4 people though, so you might want to double the measurements I have.</p>

<p>• 6 chicken thighs, skin removed
• Salt
• Pepper
• Pam cooking spray
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup yellow mustard
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice (from a bottle is fine)
• 1 tsp. paprika</p>

<p>Spray pan with cooking spray. After removing skin from chicken thighs, salt and pepper them and place in prepared pan. In medium bowl (or you can use a 2 cup glass measuring cup and measure the ingredients as you go) mix the honey, mustard, lemon juice and paprika. Using a whisk, combine thoroughly. Make sure honey and lemon juice get completely combined. Pour marinade over chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Take chicken out of refrigerator while oven is preheating. Cook for 30 minutes, covered. Remove cover, turn chicken and cook for 30 more minutes. Serve with brown rice and green beans with cooked marinade on the side.</p>

3

<p>Interesting thread. My daughter will be in a suite with a kitchen but she doesn’t cook at all. I think she will be living on grilled cheese sandwiches and cereal. I am hoping others in the suite like to cook…she can do the dishes. </p>

<p>Looking forward to printing out simple recipes out for her.</p>

4

<p>I’m living in a suite too and the 5 of us are sharing a kitchen. I’m also planning to cook all my meals, with the occasional nice restaurant with friends. </p>

<p>Just wondering, are you planning to cook together with your suitemates or is everyone cooking for themselves? I think my suitemates all want to cook together, but I don’t know how realistic that would be…hahah.</p>

5

<p>Einnob (Bonnie backwards, am I right?), I don’t know my suitemates yet; I’m coming in as a transfer, and have only figured out the identity of one suitemate, with whom I’ve yet to discuss sharing the kitchen (or shower). Personally, I’d be happy just cooking for myself, but I’m not sure how realistic that is, or what everyone else’s expectations are.</p>

6

<p>I figure I’ll throw out another simple pasta dish for a four cheese pasta…</p>

<p>I don’t really have amounts for this one, because I sort of play it by ear, but the ingredients are as follows:</p>

<p>Pasta (any type)
Creme fraiche
Heavy cream
Parmesan
Mozzerella
Havarti
Asiago
Basil
Parsley
Salt
Pepper</p>

<p>Basically, cook the pasta, and mix all the (shredded) cheeses in. Then mix in some creme fraiche and cream until thick and coated. Throw in a bit of parsley, basil, salt and pepper for extra depth to flavor.</p>

<p>And, I mean, I suppose this could be baked, but I made the recipe because I didn’t have a proper pan to bake cheesy pasta in…</p>

7

<p>This is my favorite recipe: Jambalaya
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails</p>

<p>In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.</p>

<p>Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.</p>

8

<p>I’m just going to shamelessly bump this right here…</p>

9

<p>Pizza
Get a cell phone
Call a local pizza place</p>

10

<p>BUMP . . this looks useful!</p>

<p>I’m a high school senior, but here’s a recipe:</p>

<p>Omelet:
1-2 eggs
1 tablespoon salsa
1 teaspoon chopped onions
Cheese (optional)
Need: pan, stove</p>

11

<p>Cool Thread! </p>

<p>An easy gnocchi recipe that was my staple meal last year.<br>
Ingredients:
1 cup potato flakes
3/4 cup flour
1 cup boiling water
1 egg
salt and pepper</p>

<p>Combine all the ingredients and let it sit until cool enough to handle. Roll handfuls of dough out into long ropes and cut into bite size pieces. You can either boil them (they’re done when they float on top of the water) or pan fry until golden brown. </p>

<p>They’re delicious with any kind of sauce, but if you’re low on cash and don’t have many ingredients: two-three cherry tomatoes, quartered, sauteed with a garlic clove, then add a swirl of balsamic vinegar and cook until reduced.</p>

<p>You can also make stir fries and things with ramen which is even cheaper.</p>