I'm a college student living off campus. What are some good meals to prepare?

Question

I really have no idea how to cook but would like to learn. What's a good way to start? What are the absolute necessities in a kitchen? I plan on following a new recipe each day until I become a master cook! PS. money isn't a big issue as long as it's reasonable (no dirt cheap meals).

Answer 1

The single best thing you could do for yourself is invest in a crockpot. They even sell small ones, if you want to cook just for you. The great thing about slow-cookers is you can throw all your ingrediants in in the morning before classes, and when you come home, tired, in the evening you have a great tasting meal already prepared for you!

There are literally hundreds of slow-cooker cook books out there, but a few of my favorites are:

Pot roast (throw a roast, plus some chopped veggies and a packet of french onion soup mix in the pot, cover with water and cook on low all day),

Chicken cacciatore (throw some chicken breasts in the slow cooker with a jar of pasta sauce, cook on low all day, serve over pasta),

BBQ ribs (throw your rack of ribs in the slow cooker, add a jar of your favorite BBQ sauce, and some apple slices, bake all day on low for fall-off-the-bone ribs)

Roast Chicken (wash you chicken in cold water, pat dry and rub with olive oil, season with lemon pepper seasoning, and stuff with lemon slices and garlic cloves. Truss the legs together, and bake on low all day for tender, rotisserie style chicken).

Chili, for this I will give you my homemade recipe that I won second place in a chili cook-off with - It's Beer Chili Con Carne, and being that you're in college, you'll likely always have some leftover beer on hand (or that was the case with me! Haha...enjoy!) http://www.recipezaar.com/230063

Answer 2

Buy lots and lots of veggies. Make a huge salad and put it in the fridge. Don't dress it though. Whenever you want a salad you can just take some out and dress it. Try to make enough to last about a week. Do this like every Sunday or a day you have time. Amys organics has lots of vegetarian meals, but try to limit it to once a week. Soy is a good replacement, but again, soy is a product you want to try to limit your intake of, maybe once or twice a week. Erins popcorn is a good brand of unbuttered airpopped popcorn. This makes a good snack. Buy lots of fresh fruit. Try for organic, it costs a bit more but is worth it. Every morning eat some fruit, if your in a hurry, grabbing an apple Is better than no breakfast at all. Fruit makes a good snack also

Answer 3

Whatever you prepare, make double and freeze the rest (works for most things). Stock up on the staples--chicken broth, diced tomatoes, frozen veggies and chicken/hamburger, etc., a few sauces and spices (I like soy sauce, curry and the regulars, and I grow my own rosemary and basil.

If you get a whole small chicken, you can roast with some onions, carrots and potatoes and have 2-3 meals. Rub the bird with mustard (keeps in the moisture and you don't taste it) and bake uncovered on 350 degrees for about an hour depending on size.

The crock pot is a great idea, and get a simple cookbook for it...the meats come out much more tender in a crock pot than with conventional cooking.

Always keep some things (like frozen meals--I like the Contessa frozen entrees like orange chicken and shrimp dishes) for days when you are too tired to cook.

ALWAYS get fresh salad ingredients each week, maybe at a farmers market if you have one near you. And keep frozen juices on hand as well as brewed teas for iced tea.

Answer 4

When I was in college we got this cookbook called the 4 ingredient cookbook. It was great. The recipes are easy to make and really good. It would be a good place to start for learning how to cook. It has everything from main dishes to desserts like cakes and cookies.
Some good things to have on hand are cans of tomatoes (diced, crushed, sauce, paste, etc), cans of beans- black beans, refried beans and such are great for chili and soups, also stock up on such things as frozen vegetables, which taste much better than canned, onions, potatoes, and dried pasta. These items can last a while and you can easily add them to meat dishes for complete meals. I would also recommend some spices like garlic salt, parsley, basil, cinnamon, and rosemary. They add good flavor to any dish.

Answer 5

family favorite everybody asks for it.

King Ranch Chicken

4 chicken breasts
(You can buy a chicken already cooked if you'd like)
Cream of Chicken soup
Rotel
corn tortillas
lg bag of Mexican cheese
jalapenos * optional*
onion*optional*
Baking dish

Prepare:
1.cook chicken (bake it, boil it, or buy it take off skin)
shread the chicken into bits or cut really fine. put in a bowl and leave it

2. take about 1/2 of the corn tortillas cut them into squares they don't have to be uniform but just small enough to fit on a fork or spoon. put it to the side and leave it

3. If you use the peppers and Onion start them on med. in a sauce pan till the onions are soft. If you don't want the optional stuff just...Add rotel the whole can and cream of chicken soup. mix till warmed through

4. in baking dish layer
tortilla till bottom pretty much covered
some chicken
rotel/cream chicken mix just use spoon fulls you dont have to saturate it.
couple handfuls of cheese

repeat and top with cheese place in your oven for 30 mins at 350 or until all the cheese is melted.

* this gets better every time you reheat it.

Answer 6

I made enchiladas the other night and it was sooo easy.

I took one of those roasted chickens from the grocery store (the ones from the deli that are hot) and I wrapped chicken with green salsa in little tortillas, rolled them in a baking pan, put a can of diced tomatoes with chiles in it over the top and shredded cheese. SOOOO GOOOOD and so easy.


Tortellini with prosciutto
You can buy tortellini at the grocer
Alfredo sauce(prob in same section as pasta)
Frozen baby peas
Mushrooms
Prosciutto ham (I cheat and use turkey bacon)

Cut the meat into thin long strips
Saute on light heat with the mushrooms
Boil the pasta, doesnt take long
Add the Alfredo sauce and the baby peas
Strain pasta and add the sauce to it
Garnish with shredded Parmesan


Shrimp or Salmon Pasta

Shrimp, whatever kind you want
OR Salmon
Angel hair pasta
Pine nuts
Mushrooms
Fresh Spinach
Butter (I use smart balance or Becel)

Saute shrimp or salmon in lots of butter you can do mushrooms with it too if you want-separate seafood and set aside
Boil angel hair pasta
When pasta is strained add the butter to the pasta
add pine nuts
add spinach
add mushrooms
TOSS
Set on plate and plate seafood on top
fresh cracked pepper

Answer 7

Get Betty Crocker's Big Red Cookbook, you can get anywhere from Wal-Mart to Barnes and Noble. It will walk you through every step from what utensils you need to how to select meat and vegetables in the store. It also has a lot of good recipes. It helped me a ton starting out.

Answer 8

Absolute necessities: salt, pepper, garlic, dried mixed herbs, tinned tomatoes, onions, rice, pasta, butter, oil and whatever sauces you like (vinegar, ketchup, pickle etc), cheese

Spaghetti Bolognese (student classic)
1. Peel and chop 1 onion and fry until soft in a little oil
2. Add 1 crushed garlic clove and dried herbs and stir.
3. Add minced beef and stir until all of it is brown
4. Add tin of tomatoes and pepper and stir. Cook for about 20mins
5. Meanwhile cook pasta according to instructions
6. Add salt to to mince according to taste and then serve mixed with pasta.

Chilli Con Carne
As above but mix in chilli at the garlic & herbs stage and add a small tin of cooked red kidney beans at the tine of tomatos stage. Serve with cooked rice

Shepherds/Cottage pie
As above but top with mashed potatoes and bake in oven for approx 30-40mins. Can also be done with lamb mince

Answer 9

PEPPER STEAK STIR FRY

1 1/2 inch thick beef steak, any kind (16-24 oz)
2-3 bell peppers, any color
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/2 hot pepper (depending upon heat desired)
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4-5 cloves garlic
1/2 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Wondra (or other flour)
3 tablespoons red wine
1 bouillon cube or teaspoon of beef flavored soup base (optional)
salt or soy sauce (if desired)
pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste

Slice uncooked steak into thin slices across the grain.

Tip: Place steak in freezer until partially frozen but the tip of a sharp knife can still pierce it 3/8" deep. This makes it easier to slice.

Prepare vegetables: Core and slice peppers, peel onions and thinly slice, peel garlic. Clean mushrooms and slice.

In a skillet, melt butter in oil. Add onions and saute over medium high heat until edges take on light brown color. Add whole garlic cloves and sliced peppers. When garlic cloves have a slightly roasted appearance, mash the garlic into the oil using the tines of a fork. Remove sauteed vegetables to a dish using a slotted spoon when tender, and lightly browned on edges but not soft.

Turn heat to high and brown steak; add mushrooms after several minutes. Remove steak to vegetable dish when tender. Add wine, flour, and bouillon, scraping pan to add flavor and color to gravy. Reduce heat to very low and simmer gravy ten minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water or broth if gravy is too thick; add more flour if gravy is too thin after several minutes. Add vegetables and steak to gravy and heat through. Season to taste with salt (or soy sauce), pepper and hot pepper, to taste.

Serve as is, or over rice or chow mein noodles, or in sub sandwiches topped with caramelized onions. Season with soy sauce, if desired.

Variation: Prepare using pork loin instead of beef steak; substitute Nappa cabbage for peppers. Add finely minced fresh ginger, if desired

Answer 10

breakfast is a great place to start learning to cook

when i was in college i learned a lot by cooking with friends, try asking people what they like to cook and invite them over and ask them to teach you/make it with you. once you start to feel comfortable with the kitchen explore online recipes at sites like allrecipes.com - you are in college, the last thing you need is MORE books!!

;-)