I’ve always loved to cook; I remember helping my mom in the kitchen from an early age, mixing, stirring, and whatever else she entrusted to a five year old. Over time, my culinary skills advanced from the “salads” I made my dad (large chunks of celery and carrots with vinegar poured on top…thanks for being a good sport about that one, family) and the sun-baked flour/water/cinnamon concoction I made on several occasions, despite the fact that it was disgusting (and took FOREVER to “cook”). But despite now being able to successfully feed myself on a regular basis at home, I feel like all prior knowledge about how to be self-sufficient immediately leaves my mind when I open my fridge each night and wonder what to make myself for dinner here at school. Luckily for you, readers, I’ve been struggling with this dilemma for over a year now, with being abroad, living off-campus, and now having a kitchen in my dorm, so I’ve come up with some delicious solutions that will keep you from eating pasta night after night.
Make Your Own Pizza
I have very different food preferences than the rest of my family, so make your own pizza has become a big thing for us. On your next trip to the grocery store, be sure to pick up a pizza crust (either a pre-made one, like Boboli, or some grocery stores sell the dough)! When I make my pizzas, I tend to put sauce, a little ricotta, mozzarella cheese, and chicken for a bit of protein on top. My mom, on the other hand, drizzles olive oil over the crust, layers thinly sliced tomatoes, then mozzarella, and then tops it with basil and another drizzle of olive oil. As long as you’ve got the crust, you can really put anything you want on it! Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes!
Breaded Chicken Cutlets and Risotto
One of my go-to meals is chicken cutlets and risotto. It’s simple and delicious, and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can spice up your risotto by adding your favorite vegetable (here’s a hint: butternut squash risotto is fantastic)!
The chicken cutlets are the easier part; dip them in olive oil, then breading, then just stick them in the over for about 10 minutes.
The risotto takes a little longer (about 20 minutes), but it’s still fairly simple:
- Sauté ½ cup of onions with some butter in a pot
- Add 1 cup of Arborio rice
- Slowly add chicken broth (you’ll use about 1½ to 2 cups in total, but you want to add a little, let it boil down, then add some more)
- Once the rice is cooked, stir in salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese (about ¼ cup)
Tacos
I always keep a supply of tortillas and Old El Paso spices in my kitchen to make myself soft tacos on a moment’s notice! They’re super quick and easy, and so delicious! The package of spices has the directions for cooking the meat (I always use ground turkey—healthy and delicious), then heat up your tortillas, get your toppings (shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa, etc. etc.), and enjoy!
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Turkey Burgers
I have a not-so-secret obsession with turkey burgers, and luckily, they’re so simple to make that I find myself making them for dinner on a regular basis. You can decide what you want to put in them, but here’s my recipe:
- Mix one pound of ground turkey meat with ¼ cup of breadcrumbs, a bit of ketchup, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of chopped onion
- Shape the mixture into patties (hint: it’s best to make them thinner because they take a little longer to cook, and unlike ground beef, it needs to be cooked the whole way through
- Cook either in a pan (nonstick or with a little olive oil) or on the grill
Lasagna or Chicken Parm
While abroad, I realized the benefit of making these two dishes: you can make them one night, and then heat it up for many more meals that week. If you think you’re going to have a stressful week, try out these dishes so you can already have your dinner ready to go! There are also a ton of recipes for different types of lasagna on Pinterest, so if you want to mix it up from the plain lasagna recipe, definitely check there!
Chicken Parm:
- Follow instructions for cooking chicken from above
- Coat the bottom of a baking pan in a thin layer of sauce (at school, I tend to use store bought sauce, but if you’re feeling fancy, you can make your own from San Marzano tomatoes!)
- Place chicken breasts on top, then layer sauce, mozzarella, and a sprinkle of parmesan.
- Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden-brown (so be sure to check as it cooks)
Lasagna:
- Boil water and cook lasagna noodles according to the box
- Remove from water, dry noodles (I use a paper towel and just pat them down…you don’t want watery lasagna!)
- Pour a thin layer of sauce* on the bottom of the pan
- Put down one layer of noodles, but be sure to keep them from overlapping
- Add sauce, then some ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Repeat this layering until you’re out of noodles or out of space; make sure toput a decent amount of sauce and cheese on the top layer because you don’t want the noodles to dry out
- Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes, again checking as you go to see if the cheese is golden brown.
*Note on the sauce for the lasagna: sometimes, if I want lasagna Bolognese but don’t want to really make the sauce, I’ll just chop up a bit of onion, carrot, and celery, add ground meat and cook that, then add the sauce to make a quick and easy Bolognese.
Enjoy!!
Photo Source: Remy Hassett