I walk into the kitchen through the back door after a long hour and forty minute class with the appetite of a ravenous dog. All I want to do is stir-fry some chicken and veggies and eat in peace. To my dismay, all five of my housemates have the same idea. The trash is filled to the brim after a long weekend of zero production and all of us being too lazy to walk all of two feet to the dumpster. The sink is overflowing with dirty dishes. Not to mention our sink is clogged because there are, wait for it, three decently sized rocks blocking the drain after a dear housemate washed her fish bowl out over the sink and dropped some of the decorative “pebbles” down the drain.
The kitchen is smoky and hot with two pans of pasta on the stove and some frozen chicken nuggets in the oven. Three of my five housemates are hovering over their sizzling meals and I am the last one to the party due to having the crappiest timeslot for class, the awkward 5:25 p.m. All of the sudden, a spell of laziness hits me and I have absolutely no desire to cook anything at all. I go to my room, cry a little bit, sit on my bed, contemplate life, go back into the chaos, find my frozen Whole Foods burrito, zap it in the microwave for 2 minutes and VOILA a five star meal!! This, my friends is a day in the life of living in a house with six hungry girls.
In reality though, even if there was no one in the kitchen and it didn’t look like a hurricane just hit, I probably would still be too lazy to stir-fry or do any of the other fancy stuff these so-called adults do to their food. Hey, you’re only in college once, might as well enjoy your shi**y meals right?!
Last year, as a freshman, I was so excited to get away from Benson, be able to prepare my own meals, and be healthy and what not. I told myself I would convert to Pinterest style eating where people prep all their meals on Sunday and store them in fancy containers for the week, but clearly that just doesn’t happen in real life. Now after living off campus for 6 weeks, I can definitely say I miss the convenience of Benson.
My favorite go-to recipe is pan-grilled chicken with a side of asparagus and whole grain pesto pasta. This recipe usually takes about 25 minutes to make.
First I put the asparagus in an oven pan and season it with olive oil, garlic powder, Parmesan, salt and pepper. I put that in the oven right away because it takes the longest to cook.
Next I cut the chicken into cubes and marinate it in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, and Montreal chicken seasoning. Let that sit for about 5 minutes and then put it in a pan to cook.
The pasta part is pretty self-explanatory, just add the pesto in and there you have it.
When I say this meal is my go-to, what I really mean is it’s the only meal I make. But hey it counts for something. Try out this gourmet recipe at home and see how you like it!