“I need a woman who will have food ready on the table the moment I step through the door,” says nearly every 22-year-old heterosexual male college student who hasn’t prepared a meal in their whole life, let alone their college career. Hopefully if you’re like me or live in the twenty-first century, reading that phrase gives you the absolute ick. Possessing the knowledge on how to cook a decent meal shouldn’t be something that falls on a woman or your partner in a relationship. Cooking is an essential skill for survival.
Who says it has to feel like a constant chore?
Sure, I didn’t possess the same skills as Carmy from Emmy-winning TV series The Bear when I started to learn how to cook, but curiosity is what floated me over to the food side of the internet. Ever since I was able to cook an egg on the stove without the supervision of my mother, I’ve enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen. Thankfully, having a mother who enjoys cooking delectable meals and mouth watering desserts for my sister and I since we were little, blessed me with access to learning how to cook at a young age. Perhaps it’s the “cooking gene” or when I used to make the most beautiful mud pies consisting of dirt, leaves, and delicate petite white flowers in my background at the ripe age of five, but creating dishes always left me feeling serene.
Fast-forward 15 years later and I’m cooking what I consider Instagram worthy meals for myself as I navigate throughout college and my early twenties. Beginning your early twenties doesn’t need to consist of eating out every night and telling yourself you’ll hit the gym next week. With access to endless recipes and advice from chefs and nutritionists from around the world at your fingertips, even a newbie can learn a thing or two on how to cook a few great staple meals to survive another week of this hectic thing that we call life.
Over the past two semesters I’ve collected and tweaked a few of my favorite staple recipes for when I am back at college and have access to a smaller kitchen and less ingredients than usual.
My Favorite 5 Apartment Friendly Recipes to Make at College
- Chili Lime Chickpea Cauliflower Wrap – Plant Based RD
-
I know, I know, the title sounds intimidating but the recipe itself is pretty simple to make. Pro Tip: Double check your pantry before you go out to buy the ingredients! Oh, and this meal is delicious without the cilantro.
- Harissa Honey Chicken Bowls
-
Live Laugh Love CAVA, am I right? With a chronic addiction to CAVA’s life-changing bowls, I knew I had to find a copycat recipe to help relieve some of the damage it did to my bank account. My tip also is to purchase any powdered spice instead of the harissa paste. I love to use chipotle powder!
- Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles. – Half Baked Harvest
-
This is one of those recipes that really does take less than 30-ish minutes to cook. I recommend letting the chicken season an hour or two before you begin cooking everything. Oh, and the cashews are definitely not necessary if you want to save money on your grocery bill.
- Homemade Focaccia Sandwiches with Prosciutto, Brie, & Arugula
-
Out of all of the recipes mentioned, I apologize in advance for this one due to the fact that you will need to set aside at least 4 hours to allow the bread to rise. Trust that the sandwich is worth the wait.
- Birthday Cake Blondies – loaves & such
-
A certified blondie enthusiast can confirm that this recipe is the perfect sweet treat that you’ve been looking for. Plus, who doesn’t love sprinkles?
My Tips For Getting into Cooking
- Figure out what foods you like and don’t like. This will help you not only save money on groceries but also figure out which recipes you’ll want to try.
- Being “Picky” isn’t cute anymore. Sorry to be the first to say it, but don’t be scared to try something new once in a while. Trust me, your tastebuds will thank you later.
- Everyone’s first dish isn’t going to be a masterpiece. Van Gogh didn’t paint The Starry Night in one sitting, he took his time. And you should too.
- Set the mood. Pull out your speaker and put on your favorite jams that you can listen to while you navigate throughout the kitchen. Personally I love listening to 80s and 70s music while I dance around the kitchen! Here’s a playlist of my favorite songs I love listening to while I cook. (Bonus points if you can cook right when the sun starts to set so then your kitchen is illuminated by the pink sky.)
Cooking may not be everyone’s thing but at the end of the day, we all need to eat something to survive. Finding your own style of cooking might take a while, but once you find it, there’s no looking back.
As Julia Child once said, “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”