Help for a college student please!?

Question

Ever since I moved out of my parents house to start college, I've noticed that my meals consists of pizza, PB&J and microwavable chicken tenders. Does anyone have any easy recipes for college students that are healthy? Thanks a lot for the help!

Answer 1

TORTELLINI SOUP

1 tb olive oil
2 med ribs celery diced
2 med carrots diced
1 med-lg onion diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cans fat free chicken broth 14 oz each
1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated tortellini (your choice)
we like tomato or chicken pruscuito tortellini
the 3-cheese is good too
1 can 19 oz cannelini beans, rinsed
1 bag 6oz baby spinach
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp pepper
salt to taste

Heat oil in 4 qt saucepan over med low heaat. Stir in celery, carrot,onion and garlic, cover and cook 10 minutes until soft. Add broth and 2 cups water.
Bring to boil, stir in tortellini and simmer as package directs. Stir in remaining ingredients, heat through. Sprinkle the soup with finely shredded parmesan cheese and accompany with crusty Italian bread.

This is a low fat and heart smart recipe and one of our favorite soups ever!

-- Womans Day 2003
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Taco Soup

1-1½ lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can beef broth (or 2 cups water + 2 beef boullion cubes)
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained (I like the mix of white and yellow corn)
2 cans diced tomatoes, any variety, undrained (I like petite diced, w/ onions and bellpeppers in them; if you want heat, use at least one can of Rotel)
1 can red or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 packet Taco seasoning

Garnishes (any or all)
sour cream
diced green onions
sliced black olives
sliced jalapenos
guacamole
shredded cheddar cheese


Brown ground beef over medium heat in large stock pot. When nearly cooked, add onions and sauté w/ ground beef. When onions are wilted but still opaque, stop cooking and drain off any fat. Return to heat and add remaining indredients. Cover and let simmer at least 30 minutes, or up to about 3 hours. (Can be held longer in a slow cooker set on Low.)

Serve in bowls w/ crushed corn chips in the bottom. Top each bowl w/ garnish of choice.
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Chicken Scampi
(easy but delicious and elegant)

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced lengthwise into thirds

In a skillet heat the butter and olive oil on medium high heat until butter is melted. Add parsley, basil, oregano, garlic and salt and mix together. Stir in lemon juice.
Then add chicken pieces and saute for 3 minutes or until white. Lower the heat and cook for about 10-15 mintues or until chicken is cooked through. More butter can be added if needed. Serve chicken over hot angel hair, or other pasta and pour some of the sauce over it all.

Make sure you have some bread to 'sop' up the sauce! This is really good and so quick and easy, but it has a nice presentation on the plate.
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Deep Dish Taco Squares

2 cups biscuit mix
½ cup cold water
1 pound ground beef
½ green bell pepper -- chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1( 8-oz )carton sour cream
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
Paprika

Combine biscuit mix and water, stirring with a fork until blended. Press mixture in bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Bake at 375ºF for 9 minutes.

Cook ground beef, green bell pepper, and onion in a large skillet until meat is browned, stirring to crumble meat; drain well. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning mix, spoon over crust.

Combine sour cream, cheese, and mayonnaise in a medium bowl; spoon over meat mixture. Sprinkle top evenly with paprika.

Bake at 375ºF, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until casserole is lightly browned. Cut into squares to serve.
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CHINESE CHICKEN WITH ALMONDS

1 lb. chicken meat
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 sticks celery, thinly slices
2 oz fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 oz frozen peas
1 cup stock
2 tsp cornstarch
3 oz split, toasted almonds

Cut the meat into paper thin slices and salt. Heat the oil, add chicken and fry for about 5 minutes or until the meat is tender. Add the soy sauce and mix well.

Add celery, mushrooms, and peas, mix well and cook for 1 minute. Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Mix the cornstarch to a smooth paste with a little cold water, stir into the pan, bring to the boil, stirring all the time until slightly thickened.

Add the almonds and serve over steamed rice.
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CHEESEBURGER PIE
Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: < 35 minutes
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (4 oz) shredded light cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat baking mix
1 cup 1 percent milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Heat oven to 400ºF. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium. Cook beef and onion 6 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and onion is softened; drain. Stir in salt. Spread mixture in pie plate; sprinkle with cheese. In a medium bowl, with a fork, stir baking mix, milk and eggs together until blended. Pour into pie plate. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cut into wedges and serve.

Per serving: 270 calories, 25 grams protein, 14 grams fat (45 percent calories from fat), 5.6 grams saturated fat, 12 grams carbohydrate, 126 milligrams cholesterol, 524 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.

--7 Day Menu Planner
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Answer 2

A real simple recipe for onion soup.

Chop two onions (Yellow or sweet onions work best) and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Saute' in a semi large pot with some olive oil (just enough to coat bottom of pan). Saute' onions until browned. Add 2-4 cups beef broth a splash of Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some red pepper for a little kick. Melt cheese on it (provolone is best) and serve with some bread. Total prep time 5 minutes, total cooking time approx 10 minutes.

Serve with a salad.

Enjoy...

Answer 3

If you can bear it, try planning several days meals in advance and making creative use of the left-overs. For example, if you like ham, then:

(i) buy a boiling joint and cook it with plenty of root vegetables. This will give you one or two meals of sliced ham, which you can serve with mashed potatoes, broad beans, and parsley sauce (can't you tell I'm a Brit?). Don't throw away the cooking liquor, put it in the fridge or freezer. Then:

(ii) from the nubby chunks of ham, make bubble and squeak. To do this you need mashed potatoes (instant will do - honest) and cooked cabbage, chopped up. Add ham and fry in a shallow pan, getting as many crisp bits as possible by stirring and turning.

(iii) finally, take your stock and what's left of the ham and make soup - add lentils or dried peas.

You can live for the best part of a week on that (I have) and it's incredibly cheap and your mates will love you for your delicious food.

Answer 4

You might want to check out the book "How To Boil Water" by the people at the Food Network. My mom gave it to me for Christmas, and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it after only 3 months. It is good for beginning cooks, and not only has a lot of good recipes but also a lot of good cooking tips. Not everything in it is healthy, but a lot of it is. It covers all the basic groups from breakfasts to soups and salads to entrees, vegetables, and desserts. The tips are very useful, and it give you a lot of ideas for customizing recipes to suit your own tastes. There are also a lot of pictures and illustrations that are useful. Check it out!

Answer 5

Louis Kemp Seafood, chop up a stalk of celery, add Ranch Dressing and spread it on a Tortilla, fold it up. Or you can just eat it as a salad. Another suggestion would be to ask your parents for some recipes from home.

Answer 6

Buy frozen veggies and frozen cooked chicken. Stir fry them in a skillet or wok with sauce (teriyaki, orange, soy sauce, sweet and spicy, etc) and eat it with rice.
Pasta with veggies and chicken is also healthy and cheap. Cook pasta, saute chicken and veggies in olive oil until chicken is cooked all the way through. Combine everything and top with parmesan cheese.
Rice, pasta, frozen food never goes bad and is pretty cheap and healthy.

Answer 7

Trader Joe's All Beef Nitrate Free Hot dogs.
And their frozen food section rocks. Also, they always have samples and recipes, and everything is easy to make.

Answer 8

stir fry
soup
grilled cheese
are you in a dorm?
do you have a stove?
a George Foreman grill is great for dorm rooms you can cook hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, ham slices and grill cheese sandwiches and you can get the kind that has inter changeable grill plates that have the flat plates that you can cook eggs and stir fry's on.!
egg dishes like scrambled eggs, fitatas, quiche's, omelet's are cheap, fast and easy

Answer 9

go to www.kraft.ca they have meals that can be made in under 15 minutes and one bag of groceries will make a weeks worth of meals. good luck!! i use these recipes when i am strapped for time and cash which i assume is your situation. happy surfing.

Answer 10

Check out the websites below. Hope this helps.

http://www.k-state.edu/lafene/recipe_easy.pdf
http://simplemeals.cdkitchen.com/
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Main.aspx

Answer 11

salad salad salad