For some, cooking is a chore. For others, like me, it is the best part of the day. Cooking doesn’t have to be miserable; it can be super simple and delicious at the same time. Now that I have a kitchen in Edmonds, the time has come for me to explore my culinary side. I try new recipes and just whip things up with what I have in the fridge (or a cheap trip to the grocery store) and a couple things added from my roommates’ supplies. Although my dorm cooking career is still young, there are three recipes that I have already repeated. Because I have loved them so much, I want to share them with fellow HCBC readers. I promise, if I can do it, you can too.
Chicken and Vegetable Sauté (Serves 1)
Ingredients
- One chicken breast
- Half of a small eggplant peeled and cubed (if you don’t like eggplant use a bell pepper instead)
- One third of an onion, diced
- Two cups of spinach
- A palm-full of grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
- Crushed red pepper
- Olive Oil
First, drizzle some olive oil in the pan on medium-high heat on your stovetop. Then salt and pepper both sides of the chicken and place it in the pan. Once the first side of the chicken browns, flip it over to brown the other side, about two minutes on each side. Next, toss in the diced onions, cubed eggplant and crushed red pepper. Lower the heat to medium and cover the pan with the top and let it cook for about five to seven minutes. Allow the onions and eggplant to get tender and then add the spinach. Put the lid back on and let it cook for about two minutes until spinach wilts. The chicken should be done by this point, but always check it! (Salmonella is not worth the risk.) If it is cooked take it out of the pan and put it on the plate, but if not, let it cook more until the center is completely white. Then add the Parmesan cheese to the vegetables, stir, and let them cook for one more minute. Put them on your plate and voila!
Black Bean Soup (Serves 2)
Ingredients
- One can of black beans
- One third of an onion, diced
- Three cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Crushed red pepper
- 2/3 cup of water
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
Optional:
- Parsley
- Light Sour Cream
Drizzle the bottom of the small pot with olive oil and put it on medium heat. Add the garlic, a dash of red pepper flakes, some salt, and some pepper. Let the garlic cook for a minute before adding the onions. Let the onions cook about 6 minutes until they are soft. Add the entire can of beans and the water. Stir the mixture before covering the pot and let it cook on medium-high heat for about ten minutes. Check to see if the beans are soft. If they are, remove the soup from the heat, but if they aren’t let them cook a little longer. If you like thinner soup with pieces of beans then put it into a bowl! Or, if you’re like me and like a one texture soup, put the mixture into a blender and blend it until smooth. If you have it, which luckily my roommates did, you can add some parsley and a spoonful or two of light sour cream.
Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage (Serves a hungry 5)
Ingredients
- A one pound box of pasta (you can choose any type of noodle and even make it whole wheat for an added health factor)
- 6 sweet Italian sausage links–To prepare the sausage, slice each link horizontally just to pierce through the casing. Remove this casing so that you are left with pure sausage meat
- One whole head of broccoli already steamed and broken into little pieces
- Two large onions, diced
- 5 cloves of chopped garlic
- One cup of grated parmesan cheese
- One jar of vodka sauce
- Salt
- Pepper
- Crushed red pepper
- Olive oil
Fill a large pot with water three quarters of the way full and put it on medium-high heat for water to boil. In the meantime, in a big saucepan, drizzle olive oil and add the garlic, and some salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper (don’t add too much salt because later you’ll add sausage and cheese which are both very salty!). Let this cook for a few minutes before adding the onion. Let the onion cook for about five minutes and then add the sausage meat. Continually break up the sausage meat (I use a wooden spoon for this) and stir it in until it is thoroughly cooked and there is no sign of pink meat. At this point the water should be boiling so add the pasta and set a timer based on the directions! (You do not need to put lid back on once pasta is added) Add the broccoli and Parmesan cheese to the sausage mixture and stir. Finally pour the jar of sauce into the mixture and let it cook until the pasta is finished. Drain the pasta and put it back into the original pot. To that pot, add the sausage and broccoli mixture. Stir until it is completely combined. Serve and enjoy!
These dishes are so delicious, and relatively easy. I know it might seem daunting, but just dive right into the kitchen and testing recipes like these will pay off!
Photo Credit:
http://www.couponclippingcook.com/loaded-macaroni-salad-with-bacon/
http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2012/04/15/how-to-cook-in-college.html