So, the Super Bowl is upon us again. Whether you like the commercials, the football, or just being with people, everyone needs munchies.
And since you, my friend, are a college student, (with a college student budget, and possibly living in a dorm) or someone interested in the art of dorm cooking, I have a list of recipes that won't break the bank, and are totally worthwhile.
I have a couple of dips and a saucepan cookie, so get ready to make some food.
Beer Cheese Dip
(I am not saying go try to get beer if you're underage, but if you happen to be going to a party with overage drinkers then you could certainly ask for half a beer. Because, of course, you won't be drinking any.)
14 ozs. cream cheese chopped into cubes for melty fun
1/2 cup pale beer
1 clove of garlic, chopped (see sidenote, if you like)
Salt'n'Pepper to taste
1 Tbs. pimentos, well drained and throughly chopped
1 Tbs. chopped parsley (or a t. of dried parsley)
Microwave the cheese on medium, stirring every minute or so, until it's throughly melted (three or four minutes).
Add in the beer, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Microwave on high for another one to two minutes, stirring once, until it's all heated through.
Toss in the pimentos and parsley and stir.
Now serve it!
I like to serve it with bread, kinda like college kid fondue.
GARLIC SIDENOTE!: Because some of us are newbs to cooking and her ways, I will talk about garlic for a moment here.
Now, the thing you buy in the store is a bulb of garlic. It's made up of lots of little cloves. To chop a clove, pull it off the bulb, peel the hard paper-y skin away, and then use the broad side of your knife to smash it. If you're using a little knife, a spoon works well too. This releases all the delicious garlic-y flavors. Then you chop as normal.
The following recipe is from a magazine called "Light and Tasty" and it's produced by Taste of Home people. It was sent in by Tami Escher of Dumont, Minnesota, and while I'm not positive on the legality, I don't own this dip recipe. But it is available on the internet, I am just reproducing it here, so it is easy to find.
8 ozs. cream cheese (reduced fat or normal) cubed
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 marshmallow creme (or fluff)
Apple slices (with a little lemon juice on them to keep them from browning)
Put the cream cheese and ice cream topping into a bowl that can go in the microwave. Now stir. Don't stop. Keep going until it's super mixed. If you have a mixer, kudos, but if not, you can do it by hand.
When it's mixed, add the marshmallow creme. Repeat the mixing process.
Now, toss it all in the microwave. Microwave it on medium for a minute, and then take it out and stir. Microwave another fifteen seconds and stir. Repeat the fifteen seconds until it's warm and yummy looking. Serve.
Now, everyone has their variation on the no bake cookie recipe. You know, it's cocoa, oatmeal, peanut butter, some other stuff. I even found a recipe without peanut butter, so I could make them for my kids at the YMCA I worked at over the summer.
But here's my recipe:
No-Bake Cookies
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup coconut or pecans (finely chopped or grinded) (optional)
Put the sugar, milk, cocoa, and butter in a saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium high, and hang out there with it until it boils (stirring regularly).
Is it boiling? Take it off the heat and add the cup of peanut butter. Now stir until you can't tell the peanut butter from everything else in the pan.
Now, add the vanilla, oatmeal, and coconut or pecans, if you wish (I prefer them without).
Now stir frantically again!
Find some wax paper or aluminum foil and lay it out on the counter.
Plop spoonfuls of the cookie stuff onto the foil or wax paper. They're cool and harden, and not soften again.
And there's my Super Bowl Sunday recipes. I know it's not enough to feed an army, but most parties I attend are potluck deals. One person supplies the main dish, and everyone else brings something to share. So get your sharing on and go make some cookies.
P.S. I hope your team wins.
-K
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
The Flu and a basic on a few foods
I'm sorry I haven't updated (to anyone out there, hi! How are you?) but the flu descended on my school in a fit of madness, and I've just gotten past the charming high fever part of it. I still have a cough and a runny nose, so here's my warning:
Wash your hands. All the time. Use hand sanitizer. It can't stop everything, but it won't hurt.
Now, I'm going to talk about a few really basic dorm foods, one ingredient wonders that you might not be sure on the time it takes to cook them.
First, baked potatoes.
Take a potato (sweet, russet, whatever strikes your fancy, but make it a little bigger than your fist. You're better off boiling new potatoes.) and scrub it until it's super clean.
Take a fork and jab a few holes in it. If there aren't any holes in it, it could explode. They don't need to be deep, but there certainly needs to be some.
Pop it in the microwave and let it run for five minutes for a smallish potato, and seven for a largish one.
When it's done, carefully ('cause it's hot) reach in a squeeze it. If it's pretty soft, leave it in there for another minute, without running the microwave. If it's not, set it for another minutes, and repeat this set until you're on the let set for a minute.
Remove, and top with butter, and whatever else you like.
I like making potatoes after I've gotten a sandwich and didn't eat all of it. I don't really like mustard or mayo, so it's basically meat, cheese, veggies, and bread. The veggies usually only taste so-so in a potato, depending on what you have. Toss in the meat and cheese, regardless, and munch away.
Another easy to make food is hard-boiled eggs.
Put your eggs in water in a hot pot (or on a pot on the stove) and then slowly bring it to boiling. Keep and eye on it, so it doesn't boil over. After ten minutes or good boiling, they should be done, but for safety reasons, I usually boil my eggs twelve to thirteen minutes.
As soon as they are done boiling, take the pot or hot pot over to the sink and fill and let it over flow with cold water. This will hopefully make the little suckers easier to peel. When all of the water in the pot seems cool, allow it to sit for a couple of minute before replacing the water.
Sorry no real recipes, but these numbers are nice to have on hand.
I'm hoping to be back later today or tomorrow with Super Bowl snacks.
Wash your hands. All the time. Use hand sanitizer. It can't stop everything, but it won't hurt.
Now, I'm going to talk about a few really basic dorm foods, one ingredient wonders that you might not be sure on the time it takes to cook them.
First, baked potatoes.
Take a potato (sweet, russet, whatever strikes your fancy, but make it a little bigger than your fist. You're better off boiling new potatoes.) and scrub it until it's super clean.
Take a fork and jab a few holes in it. If there aren't any holes in it, it could explode. They don't need to be deep, but there certainly needs to be some.
Pop it in the microwave and let it run for five minutes for a smallish potato, and seven for a largish one.
When it's done, carefully ('cause it's hot) reach in a squeeze it. If it's pretty soft, leave it in there for another minute, without running the microwave. If it's not, set it for another minutes, and repeat this set until you're on the let set for a minute.
Remove, and top with butter, and whatever else you like.
I like making potatoes after I've gotten a sandwich and didn't eat all of it. I don't really like mustard or mayo, so it's basically meat, cheese, veggies, and bread. The veggies usually only taste so-so in a potato, depending on what you have. Toss in the meat and cheese, regardless, and munch away.
Another easy to make food is hard-boiled eggs.
Put your eggs in water in a hot pot (or on a pot on the stove) and then slowly bring it to boiling. Keep and eye on it, so it doesn't boil over. After ten minutes or good boiling, they should be done, but for safety reasons, I usually boil my eggs twelve to thirteen minutes.
As soon as they are done boiling, take the pot or hot pot over to the sink and fill and let it over flow with cold water. This will hopefully make the little suckers easier to peel. When all of the water in the pot seems cool, allow it to sit for a couple of minute before replacing the water.
Sorry no real recipes, but these numbers are nice to have on hand.
I'm hoping to be back later today or tomorrow with Super Bowl snacks.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Jazzing up Ramen
I know Ramen is a staple of college days. I eat Ramen, and I'm sure you have too.
But you can at least make it more interesting.
Here are a couple of recipes I like:
Ramen Egg-Drop Soup
1 small head of cabbage (optional)
2 packs of your favorite flavor of ramen (not the kind already in the cups)
2 eggs
Water as needed to make ramen.
If you like cabbage, it adds a good and inexpensive vegetable to your meal.
Cut the cabbage up (to something about bite size) and boil in a fair sized pot of water until it's tender enough that you can poke through it with a fork without much resistance. This could take a little time, but don't get frustrated. Remove from the pot and drain.
Using the same pot, add the amount of water needed to make ramen, plus add a little extra, so the cabbage has somewhere to swim, and make ramen as you normally would.
The cabbage is unseasoned at this point, so you'll need both of those wonderful seasoning packets (full of saltyness). Once the ramen is done, take it off the heat and add the cabbage back in (only as much as you want, cooked cabbage saves well for later).
Now comes the awesome egg drop part. Take both eggs and crack them into a small bowl. Beat them with a fork until they're smooth. Now, gently pour the beaten eggs into the soup, in the thinest stream possible. You'll want to use your other hand to stir the soup in one direction, to try and keep the egg from getting clumpy, and letting it fall in nice streams instead. The eggs should just about cook on impact.
Ramen Stir-Fry
If you're one to buy vegetables and use them until you have just tiny bits of them left that don't make for a full meal, this is for you.
A little vegetable oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
Left over veggies cut into bite-sized pieces. (like sugar snap peas, carrots, asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, whatever you have the strikes your fancy)
Any meat if you happen to have it on hand, just cut it into slivers.
Soy Sauce (little packets from your dining hall or your favorite take out place or a bottle if you have it.)
A pack of Ramen
Cover the bottom of your pan with veggie oil and heat it up.
Add the veggies and meat, and allow them to cook until the veggie colors are vibrant and they're crisp.
Remove from heat.
Cook ramen according to package directions.
When it's done, you can remove the ramen from the pot and toss it in with the veggies. Add a little 'broth' (the ramen water with the seasonings in it) and let everything heat up again.
Serve and top with soy sauce to for flavor and a little more salt.
But you can at least make it more interesting.
Here are a couple of recipes I like:
Ramen Egg-Drop Soup
1 small head of cabbage (optional)
2 packs of your favorite flavor of ramen (not the kind already in the cups)
2 eggs
Water as needed to make ramen.
If you like cabbage, it adds a good and inexpensive vegetable to your meal.
Cut the cabbage up (to something about bite size) and boil in a fair sized pot of water until it's tender enough that you can poke through it with a fork without much resistance. This could take a little time, but don't get frustrated. Remove from the pot and drain.
Using the same pot, add the amount of water needed to make ramen, plus add a little extra, so the cabbage has somewhere to swim, and make ramen as you normally would.
The cabbage is unseasoned at this point, so you'll need both of those wonderful seasoning packets (full of saltyness). Once the ramen is done, take it off the heat and add the cabbage back in (only as much as you want, cooked cabbage saves well for later).
Now comes the awesome egg drop part. Take both eggs and crack them into a small bowl. Beat them with a fork until they're smooth. Now, gently pour the beaten eggs into the soup, in the thinest stream possible. You'll want to use your other hand to stir the soup in one direction, to try and keep the egg from getting clumpy, and letting it fall in nice streams instead. The eggs should just about cook on impact.
Ramen Stir-Fry
If you're one to buy vegetables and use them until you have just tiny bits of them left that don't make for a full meal, this is for you.
A little vegetable oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
Left over veggies cut into bite-sized pieces. (like sugar snap peas, carrots, asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, whatever you have the strikes your fancy)
Any meat if you happen to have it on hand, just cut it into slivers.
Soy Sauce (little packets from your dining hall or your favorite take out place or a bottle if you have it.)
A pack of Ramen
Cover the bottom of your pan with veggie oil and heat it up.
Add the veggies and meat, and allow them to cook until the veggie colors are vibrant and they're crisp.
Remove from heat.
Cook ramen according to package directions.
When it's done, you can remove the ramen from the pot and toss it in with the veggies. Add a little 'broth' (the ramen water with the seasonings in it) and let everything heat up again.
Serve and top with soy sauce to for flavor and a little more salt.
Marshmallows
I think marshmallows are the bee's knees. They're good for s'mores, they're awesome as a decoration, and are super keen in hot chocolate.
But they're also good for making crunchy, chewy, wonderful rice crunchie treats.
Rice Crispy Treats
3 Tbs. of butter
1 package of regular marshmallows (10 oz.) or 4 cups of mini marshmallows
6 cups of rice puff cereal (like Rice Krispies)
If you have a huge microwave safe bowl:
Put the butter in the bowl and melt it. Microwave times vary, so I'm not even going to try. Don't leave the microwave unattended, in case something surreal happens.
When the butter is melted add the marshmallows.
Now microwave those until they're melted, stirring every fifteen to thirty seconds depending on the strength of your microwave.
When they're melted, add the rice cereal and until all of the little rice bits are covered. Depending on how soon they're going to be consumed, you can either eat them straight out of the bowl or spread them into a greased 9'x13' pan. You can grease the pan with butter, shortening, or something like 'Pam'.
If your microwave safe bowl is not huge:
Just follow the instructions above, except you don't pour the cereal into the marshmallows, you pour the marshmallows over a the cereal which is in some kind of big bowl.
If you don't like Rice Krispies:
Use Cheerios.
I love Cereal Treats. They are awesome, and a super fast dorm sweet, or birthday cake substitute.
You can also melt the butter and marshmallows on a stove top.
But they're also good for making crunchy, chewy, wonderful rice crunchie treats.
Rice Crispy Treats
3 Tbs. of butter
1 package of regular marshmallows (10 oz.) or 4 cups of mini marshmallows
6 cups of rice puff cereal (like Rice Krispies)
If you have a huge microwave safe bowl:
Put the butter in the bowl and melt it. Microwave times vary, so I'm not even going to try. Don't leave the microwave unattended, in case something surreal happens.
When the butter is melted add the marshmallows.
Now microwave those until they're melted, stirring every fifteen to thirty seconds depending on the strength of your microwave.
When they're melted, add the rice cereal and until all of the little rice bits are covered. Depending on how soon they're going to be consumed, you can either eat them straight out of the bowl or spread them into a greased 9'x13' pan. You can grease the pan with butter, shortening, or something like 'Pam'.
If your microwave safe bowl is not huge:
Just follow the instructions above, except you don't pour the cereal into the marshmallows, you pour the marshmallows over a the cereal which is in some kind of big bowl.
If you don't like Rice Krispies:
Use Cheerios.
I love Cereal Treats. They are awesome, and a super fast dorm sweet, or birthday cake substitute.
You can also melt the butter and marshmallows on a stove top.
Sore throat
I currently have a sore throat.
I know this blog is supposed to be about foodie things, but it's distracting me for the time being. So I'm going to make a throat remedy and share my wonderful delight with you.
This recipe needs boiling water, which can be achieved by using a microwave, a hotpot, or a stove top and a pot.
WARNING: Don't put metal things in the microwave. I know most of you are rolling your eyes, but there is one person out there that didn't know, or needed to be reminded. Plus, if your boiling water in the microwave, toss a plastic spoon (or something microwave safe, long and plastic, even like a plastic chopstick if you happen to have them) in the container with the water. There have been reports (look under boiling water) of water being microwaved and removed, when it decides to hugely bubble over, burning the hands and possibly feet of whoever was holding it.
Sore Throat Remedy:
1 lemon
2 Tbs. of honey
Boiling water (thanks to the hotpot or the microwave)
First, you want to release the juice in the lemon by either dropping it in the hot pot while the water is heating up, or toss it in the microwave for thirty seconds.
When the lemon is warm - hot (don't burn yourself!) cut it in half (a butter knife could work, but I suggest something a little sturdier) and squeeze as much juice, out of each half, as you can into a mug.
Watch out for the pits. If the juice isn't too hot, you can just use your fingers to catch them as your juice the lemon. If it is too hot, then squeeze throughly, wait until it cools, and then fish the pits out of the mug.
Add an equal amount of honey (about 2 Tbs, but it could be a little more).
Then, pour on the boiling water until the mug is full. Give it a quick stir and though it's hot, get it down as quick as you can without burning yourself.
Why you don't put the lemon and honey in tea:
Most tea is caffeinated, and caffeine dehydrates the body, leaving you open to more throat problems as a result. Certain teas are naturally decaffeinated (like herbal teas) and those are just fine if you can't stand the taste of the lemon-honey concoction.
-K
I know this blog is supposed to be about foodie things, but it's distracting me for the time being. So I'm going to make a throat remedy and share my wonderful delight with you.
This recipe needs boiling water, which can be achieved by using a microwave, a hotpot, or a stove top and a pot.
WARNING: Don't put metal things in the microwave. I know most of you are rolling your eyes, but there is one person out there that didn't know, or needed to be reminded. Plus, if your boiling water in the microwave, toss a plastic spoon (or something microwave safe, long and plastic, even like a plastic chopstick if you happen to have them) in the container with the water. There have been reports (look under boiling water) of water being microwaved and removed, when it decides to hugely bubble over, burning the hands and possibly feet of whoever was holding it.
Sore Throat Remedy:
1 lemon
2 Tbs. of honey
Boiling water (thanks to the hotpot or the microwave)
First, you want to release the juice in the lemon by either dropping it in the hot pot while the water is heating up, or toss it in the microwave for thirty seconds.
When the lemon is warm - hot (don't burn yourself!) cut it in half (a butter knife could work, but I suggest something a little sturdier) and squeeze as much juice, out of each half, as you can into a mug.
Watch out for the pits. If the juice isn't too hot, you can just use your fingers to catch them as your juice the lemon. If it is too hot, then squeeze throughly, wait until it cools, and then fish the pits out of the mug.
Add an equal amount of honey (about 2 Tbs, but it could be a little more).
Then, pour on the boiling water until the mug is full. Give it a quick stir and though it's hot, get it down as quick as you can without burning yourself.
Why you don't put the lemon and honey in tea:
Most tea is caffeinated, and caffeine dehydrates the body, leaving you open to more throat problems as a result. Certain teas are naturally decaffeinated (like herbal teas) and those are just fine if you can't stand the taste of the lemon-honey concoction.
-K
Figured since I'm new on the hall...
I need to introduce myself!
My name is Katherine, and I live on-campus at Virginia Tech. Next semester, I plan on living off campus, but the purpose of this blog won't change much.
What is the blog's purpose?
Well, I love food. I love cooking food, eating food, and just being around food.
Food makes people happy and it brings them closer together. It add for a common bond that the whole world can share.
"You eat? Whoa man! I do too!"
Or something to that effect.
But living on campus has limited my opportunities to cook. Sure our dining halls are the best in the nation (Link) but you can still get tired of the same things, day in and day out. I'm very lucky to live in a small-ish girls' hall with a working, but temperamental oven and stove top. We also have a few necessities for baking and cooking at hand, a pair of vague skillets, two huge plastic bowls, and a few baking dishes for brownies and other such things.
I also invested in my own nine by thirteen inch (9'x13') pan so I'm not stealing the hall pans when I want to take a cake somewhere without cutting it first.
My roommate and I also share a hot pot and a microwave. Contrary to popular belief, these things are good for more than canned soups, Spaghettios, and Ramen.
So the point of this blog will be to achieve and share my cooking experiences on campus, and later, in my first apartment. I'll also do a little reflecting on what I'm eating in the dining halls if something strikes me.
So if you can't stand another dining hall burger, bookmark this blog and bask in the knowledge I will share.
-K
My name is Katherine, and I live on-campus at Virginia Tech. Next semester, I plan on living off campus, but the purpose of this blog won't change much.
What is the blog's purpose?
Well, I love food. I love cooking food, eating food, and just being around food.
Food makes people happy and it brings them closer together. It add for a common bond that the whole world can share.
"You eat? Whoa man! I do too!"
Or something to that effect.
But living on campus has limited my opportunities to cook. Sure our dining halls are the best in the nation (Link) but you can still get tired of the same things, day in and day out. I'm very lucky to live in a small-ish girls' hall with a working, but temperamental oven and stove top. We also have a few necessities for baking and cooking at hand, a pair of vague skillets, two huge plastic bowls, and a few baking dishes for brownies and other such things.
I also invested in my own nine by thirteen inch (9'x13') pan so I'm not stealing the hall pans when I want to take a cake somewhere without cutting it first.
My roommate and I also share a hot pot and a microwave. Contrary to popular belief, these things are good for more than canned soups, Spaghettios, and Ramen.
So the point of this blog will be to achieve and share my cooking experiences on campus, and later, in my first apartment. I'll also do a little reflecting on what I'm eating in the dining halls if something strikes me.
So if you can't stand another dining hall burger, bookmark this blog and bask in the knowledge I will share.
-K
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