As few of you know, and even fewer of you care, I'm heading for college this August. This is a monumental step in my life when I must learn to live on my own. I need to find a job, pay rent, clean my own room... and cook my own food. I am not a culinary expert. So, I ask you, people of the Escapist, to please list some simple recepies that are affordable by a frugal college student. What kind of foods did you prepare during your time in college? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Simple Recipies for a College-Bound Guy
- Thread starter DrDeath3191
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FUCK ramen noodles.
Pasta is your best friend. $10 of pasta will last you for at least a couple of months, sauce isn't very expensive, and it's very, very easy to prepare. Just boil it for a while, heat up the sauce, and combine them.
My other classic fallback is chicken breasts. Buy one of those large packages that have the bulk discount and some seasoning that you like (it's expensive, but it lasts forever; my favorites are these wierd greek and cajun medleys). One breast is a meal; freeze the rest and defrost them when you want them. Sprinkle your seasoning on your breast and broil it, flipping after a few minutes. Once it's cooked through, eat it. It works out to a $2 or $3 meal.
Stir-frys are cheap and delicious, but you need to keep a lot of ingredients.
With my meals I usually have some bread and some salad. Salads aren't tough - grab a head of green leaf or romaine lettuce, some dressing, and combine them; add in other veggies if you like.
Don't eat ramen noodles. That's a level you don't want to lower yourself to.
Pasta is your best friend. $10 of pasta will last you for at least a couple of months, sauce isn't very expensive, and it's very, very easy to prepare. Just boil it for a while, heat up the sauce, and combine them.
My other classic fallback is chicken breasts. Buy one of those large packages that have the bulk discount and some seasoning that you like (it's expensive, but it lasts forever; my favorites are these wierd greek and cajun medleys). One breast is a meal; freeze the rest and defrost them when you want them. Sprinkle your seasoning on your breast and broil it, flipping after a few minutes. Once it's cooked through, eat it. It works out to a $2 or $3 meal.
Stir-frys are cheap and delicious, but you need to keep a lot of ingredients.
With my meals I usually have some bread and some salad. Salads aren't tough - grab a head of green leaf or romaine lettuce, some dressing, and combine them; add in other veggies if you like.
Don't eat ramen noodles. That's a level you don't want to lower yourself to.
The trick is to be able to create a lot of combinations out of only a few different ingredients. Always keep bread around or bagels and anything to put on them. Different sauces, spices, meat, cheese, ect. You can combine them in so many ways it'll take a while to get bored.
Oh and never underestimate the deliciousness of a freeze-pop late at night. The moment I got those I started saving money because when I'd look for a midnight snack I wouldn't be as tempted to eat some of the slightly more expensive foods listed above.
Oh and never underestimate the deliciousness of a freeze-pop late at night. The moment I got those I started saving money because when I'd look for a midnight snack I wouldn't be as tempted to eat some of the slightly more expensive foods listed above.
Well, you didn't explain if you were living in a place with an actual kitchen or not, but here is a great link:
http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/SimpleMeals.do
It doesn't matter if you actually have a Publix supermarket anywhere near you (I live in Indiana and don't have any), but the recipes here are excellent and take under 20 minutes to make with simple ingredients and equipment.
Also, I would suggest getting a small crock pot and a small rice cooker. Personal serving rice cookers can be found at any small Asian market (Korean, Chinese, etc) and scrounge around dollar stores and discount merchants for small crock pots.
It helps that, I, like you, used to be of minimal cooking experience. I kept at it for years and have gotten very good at it, so if you enjoy making food that doesn't suck for less money than the pre-packaged junk, practice and experiment.
http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/SimpleMeals.do
It doesn't matter if you actually have a Publix supermarket anywhere near you (I live in Indiana and don't have any), but the recipes here are excellent and take under 20 minutes to make with simple ingredients and equipment.
Also, I would suggest getting a small crock pot and a small rice cooker. Personal serving rice cookers can be found at any small Asian market (Korean, Chinese, etc) and scrounge around dollar stores and discount merchants for small crock pots.
It helps that, I, like you, used to be of minimal cooking experience. I kept at it for years and have gotten very good at it, so if you enjoy making food that doesn't suck for less money than the pre-packaged junk, practice and experiment.
Panfry Hashbrowns - Just throw in pan and cook to your liking. They're cheap, plentiful, and clean up is easy. Just remember to use non-stick spray.
Hotdogs - The key here is to microwave the weiners. Wrap in paper towel and nuke for 30 seconds or so. And if your buns have gotten a bit dry, just heat them up with the dogs. Softens them right up.
Peanut Butter - If you're alright with PB, it's always a great back-up meal. It stays good for quite awhile and you can damn near throw it on any baked carb (bread, pita, buns, wraps). It's filling, stick to your ribs kinda stuff that also happens to be cheap, cheap, cheap like a budgie.
These worked for me, but over time you'll discover your own favorites. Just a suggestion though, I'd stay away from Kraft Dinner. Clean up is a *****, and for some reason keeping drinkable milk and usable butter in a college bachelor's fridge is next to impossible.
Enjoy college my friend, I envy the new experiences coming your way.
Hotdogs - The key here is to microwave the weiners. Wrap in paper towel and nuke for 30 seconds or so. And if your buns have gotten a bit dry, just heat them up with the dogs. Softens them right up.
Peanut Butter - If you're alright with PB, it's always a great back-up meal. It stays good for quite awhile and you can damn near throw it on any baked carb (bread, pita, buns, wraps). It's filling, stick to your ribs kinda stuff that also happens to be cheap, cheap, cheap like a budgie.
These worked for me, but over time you'll discover your own favorites. Just a suggestion though, I'd stay away from Kraft Dinner. Clean up is a *****, and for some reason keeping drinkable milk and usable butter in a college bachelor's fridge is next to impossible.
Enjoy college my friend, I envy the new experiences coming your way.
one pound of lean ground beef browned and undrained, one can of black beans, one can of kidney beans, two cans of diced tomatoes, some sliced peppers (choose according to preference of mild to oh god it burns), some chili seasoning, mix it all up allow to simmer for about 25-30 minutes stirring every so often, get yourself a bag of mexican blend or cheddar shredded cheese and some Santitos corn chips.
it should last you a good 2-3 days.
also if you feeling like you can afford it try home baked tilapia.
it should last you a good 2-3 days.
also if you feeling like you can afford it try home baked tilapia.
Ramen. Drain it, stick a cut of butter on the frying pan, then fry (slightly) your ramen. Throw in an egg and some bacon crushed up and you've got Breakfast ramen!
Another good thing is fried ramen + dumplings (you can get dumplings frozen from practically anywhere, including Walmart).
Chicken is good. So is Italian sausage.
Another quick meal opportunity is Campbell's chunky soups. They're like little bowls, filled with soup with lots of meat and vegetables in them. I recommend the roadhouse chili. It's not extremely spicy, but it leaves the same after-spice sensation that extremely spicy chili creates. I don't know how they did it. It must not be natural.
Another good thing is fried ramen + dumplings (you can get dumplings frozen from practically anywhere, including Walmart).
Chicken is good. So is Italian sausage.
Another quick meal opportunity is Campbell's chunky soups. They're like little bowls, filled with soup with lots of meat and vegetables in them. I recommend the roadhouse chili. It's not extremely spicy, but it leaves the same after-spice sensation that extremely spicy chili creates. I don't know how they did it. It must not be natural.
A fair few. One I liked quite a bit was Alfredo pasta.
Get a pack of chicken breasts, pasta, flour, cheese, milk, salt and pepper, and butter.
For the sauce: Add 4tbsp butter and flour to a saucepan, mixing it together for long enough so it's all mixed well, then add 1/2-1 cup of milk, as much cheese as you wish, and salt and pepper to the mixture, and mix thoroughly and constantly so all the ingredients have mixed together well and the cheese has melted. Feel free to use different cheeses or add more flour for thickness. I personally add chives, salt and black pepper to the mixture, with a little chilli powder.
For the chicken: The popular (and correct) way to cook it is to slice the chicken breast into cubes and fry it in a pan, with salt and pepper for the taste, but I personally cut the chicken into narrow slices, add 5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 stock cube, half a cup of water into a saucepan, and leave the mixture to boil. Then I lower the heat down to a medium, and add the chicken slices to the pan, and leave to broil for around 10-12 minutes. Make sure the chicken is submerged in the mixture.
For the Pasta: Cook pasta. ;¬)
All of those ingredients if you buy them in bulk will cost you hardly anything, if you use this suggestion, enjoy!
Get a pack of chicken breasts, pasta, flour, cheese, milk, salt and pepper, and butter.
For the sauce: Add 4tbsp butter and flour to a saucepan, mixing it together for long enough so it's all mixed well, then add 1/2-1 cup of milk, as much cheese as you wish, and salt and pepper to the mixture, and mix thoroughly and constantly so all the ingredients have mixed together well and the cheese has melted. Feel free to use different cheeses or add more flour for thickness. I personally add chives, salt and black pepper to the mixture, with a little chilli powder.
For the chicken: The popular (and correct) way to cook it is to slice the chicken breast into cubes and fry it in a pan, with salt and pepper for the taste, but I personally cut the chicken into narrow slices, add 5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 stock cube, half a cup of water into a saucepan, and leave the mixture to boil. Then I lower the heat down to a medium, and add the chicken slices to the pan, and leave to broil for around 10-12 minutes. Make sure the chicken is submerged in the mixture.
For the Pasta: Cook pasta. ;¬)
All of those ingredients if you buy them in bulk will cost you hardly anything, if you use this suggestion, enjoy!
Large blocks of cheese, and large packets of Cold Sliced Meat are your friends. As are Large potatoes for Baking, and Tins of beans. Beans go with anything and are VERY filling. Everythign listed can be added to another meal to make it more filling. Also the Cheese Beno. Sliced of break with Beans on it under a grill (both uncooked) but some sliced cheese on top and melt under a grill. The grill cooks the whole thing and it actually tastes lovely.
All you need is assorted Pasta and chicken breasts. Pasta is very filling, and chicken is always good. If you want a specific recipe:
Shrimp Aglio Olio
Butter
Pasta
Shrimp
Pepper Flakes
Garlic...
Ok, I don't actually know the recipe, google that name. Its friggin delicious
Shrimp Aglio Olio
Butter
Pasta
Shrimp
Pepper Flakes
Garlic...
Ok, I don't actually know the recipe, google that name. Its friggin delicious
