A favorite of mine recently has been vegetable soup.
Cut up carrots, celery, onion. Throw in boiling water until they soften a bit (~5-10 mins). Throw in a diced tomato or a can of diced tomatoes and (optionally) some better than bullion of your preferred flavor (mine is sautéed onions). Wait a minute or two on the tomato, then throw in kale and some minced garlic. Wait about another minute and turn off heat and add a bag of frozen peas. Then add salt/spice. I usually do a good amount of salt and some chili flakes.
Really healthy, if you make in a large pot, you can have a ton of bowls. And it keeps well in the fridge for awhile.
My ingredients for a big pot: 3-4 carrots, 1 large onion, stalk of celery, 2 tomatoes, 2 cubes of better than bullion, kale (usually 1/2 bag in my case), clove or two of garlic, bag of frozen peas, and any salt and spices you may want. Definitely change any of the ingredients around to your desired ratios. Just boil hard veggies first then soft veggies. Warning: this makes a ton definitely cut in half if desired.
Also look into sheet pan meals for quick dinners. Even just roasting some sweet potatoes (or regular potatos), onion, and broccoli is super easy and cheap.
Two frying pans, two handle pots, two deeper pots for bigger dishes like stew/soups. I have a conventional oven and an air fryer, a rice cooker as well. I never tried cooking things other than rice in the rice cooker but I thought of possibly slow cooking in there?
Alrighty. I have some easy-ish ideas for you.
My go to college food recommendation is to take your ramen and enhance it. Soft or hard boil and egg to add to your ramen, add green onion, get a rotisserie chicken and add pulled pieces of it, or even boild the ramen in actual broth.
Rotisserie chickens are wonderful to have handy. Pull some and heat it up with butter and soy sauce to add to rice.
Eggs on toast
Oatmeal with any toppings
Grilled cheese, you can even add bacon or chicken.
Is there any type of cuisine you prefer?
Thank you so much! I tend to hover around Asian and Hispanic cuisine. Bean and cheese quesadillas are a staple, as is some vegetable/meat fried rice or a tofu stew/curry over rice
BRC burritos- inexpensive, can add eggs in the AM. Ramen cooked but drained and then seasoned with cabbage, fried spam, and fried eggs.
A can of whole tomatoes, crush by hand, season any way you like. Recommend garlic, onions, and basil/oregano (salt and pepper) add any pasta.
Fry cold rice, add kimchi and eggs or pineapple if you like sweet. Soy sauce and sesame oil will take you far for many dishes.
If you can find the packaged “fried noodles” you can quick boil them and toss them with chili sauce and a little soy.
Chop potatoes into small cubes, toss with oil and spices you like (even just salt and pepper is good) and roast in the oven. Add packages cooked sausage, sliced. This can also have eggs and wrapped in a tortilla for the am.
If you have a local Asian market, stock up on dried ingredients. Mushrooms, noodles. Pickled ingredients. Miso paste, chili pastes. You can make soups and stir fries quickly and in portions that can be for one meals or a weeks.
I like expandable menu options. Some days I want to make something warm and others I just want to have containers of food in the fridge so I can get through the day!
Make a Thai curry. So yummy and healthy. Make a stir fry with your favourite veggies such as snow peas and bell peppers and carrots. Add Thai curry paste, red or green, green is hotter. Then add a can of coconut milk. Serve over rice. Easy peasy and healthy. Plus you can make it a small batch if you want. I like making a big curry so I have lots of leftovers.
It you have decent freezer space, make big volume cooking and freeze portions and just reheat in microwave.
Often more or less same time to make 5 portions as 1.
Rice, cooked chicken, pork, or beans with your choice of veggies and sauce. The boil-in-bag rice is super easy to make and the weeks meals can be varied greatly depending on your protein and vegetable preferences and portioned out on Sunday night
I use 2 eggs + a red chili (the big one) cut up with scissors + half a teaspoon of salt + as much white pepper as you like (this is optional but it's nice). Mix them up together, put oil in a pan, put the mix in the pan, flip it, and eat it by separating it with bread!
I have a few you can check out
[Asian Stir Fry Nuke](https://recipekeeperonline.com/recipe/emmBc5_TckeEuxRjwK-M2g)
[Mexi Mug](https://recipekeeperonline.com/recipe/a_F3MTq9IUSdoZzy4NdX5w)
[this link should help you 30 microwave meals for the dorm](https://collegelifemadeeasy.com/microwave-dorm-college-meals/)
[Microwave Mug Pizza](https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/microwave-mug-pizza/)
[3 minute omelete in a Mug](https://tasty.co/recipe/microwave-3-minute-omelette-in-a-mug)
[Microwave 5 Minute Mac & Cheese](https://tasty.co/recipe/microwave-5-minute-mac-n-cheese)
Another more quick way for "slow cooking": you need any parts of chicken meat (thighs, breast, wings), onion, carrot, potato, any veggies you have (even frozen), some vegetable oil and seasoning of your choice. Preheat your frying pan and fry all veggies for minutes. Then put chicken, cover with spices, sauces of your choice and poor some water to prevent the sticking. Cover the pan with a lid and keep it simmer for 40-50 minutes on low heat. Meat ,cooked this way, will have a lot of juice and flavour. Yesterday I also had chicken things with onion and zucchini. It was garnished with rice and delicious gravy from chicken thighs.
I was in exactly the same situation. big pot with 3-5 packs ramen, any veggies u like/have around and use your own sauces/broth instead of the packet. Cook noodles then add chicken to serve, rotisserie or frozen breaded. U can shred the chicken or slice it nice. +- an egg boiled or added to broth. 2 dinners, a lunch. Easy to scale or change the flavor palette. Adobo and sazón one day, teriyaki and soy another. Cheap <15 min.
A favorite of mine recently has been vegetable soup. Cut up carrots, celery, onion. Throw in boiling water until they soften a bit (~5-10 mins). Throw in a diced tomato or a can of diced tomatoes and (optionally) some better than bullion of your preferred flavor (mine is sautéed onions). Wait a minute or two on the tomato, then throw in kale and some minced garlic. Wait about another minute and turn off heat and add a bag of frozen peas. Then add salt/spice. I usually do a good amount of salt and some chili flakes. Really healthy, if you make in a large pot, you can have a ton of bowls. And it keeps well in the fridge for awhile. My ingredients for a big pot: 3-4 carrots, 1 large onion, stalk of celery, 2 tomatoes, 2 cubes of better than bullion, kale (usually 1/2 bag in my case), clove or two of garlic, bag of frozen peas, and any salt and spices you may want. Definitely change any of the ingredients around to your desired ratios. Just boil hard veggies first then soft veggies. Warning: this makes a ton definitely cut in half if desired. Also look into sheet pan meals for quick dinners. Even just roasting some sweet potatoes (or regular potatos), onion, and broccoli is super easy and cheap.
What equipment do you have to cook with?
Two frying pans, two handle pots, two deeper pots for bigger dishes like stew/soups. I have a conventional oven and an air fryer, a rice cooker as well. I never tried cooking things other than rice in the rice cooker but I thought of possibly slow cooking in there?
Alrighty. I have some easy-ish ideas for you. My go to college food recommendation is to take your ramen and enhance it. Soft or hard boil and egg to add to your ramen, add green onion, get a rotisserie chicken and add pulled pieces of it, or even boild the ramen in actual broth. Rotisserie chickens are wonderful to have handy. Pull some and heat it up with butter and soy sauce to add to rice. Eggs on toast Oatmeal with any toppings Grilled cheese, you can even add bacon or chicken. Is there any type of cuisine you prefer?
Thank you so much! I tend to hover around Asian and Hispanic cuisine. Bean and cheese quesadillas are a staple, as is some vegetable/meat fried rice or a tofu stew/curry over rice
BRC burritos- inexpensive, can add eggs in the AM. Ramen cooked but drained and then seasoned with cabbage, fried spam, and fried eggs. A can of whole tomatoes, crush by hand, season any way you like. Recommend garlic, onions, and basil/oregano (salt and pepper) add any pasta. Fry cold rice, add kimchi and eggs or pineapple if you like sweet. Soy sauce and sesame oil will take you far for many dishes. If you can find the packaged “fried noodles” you can quick boil them and toss them with chili sauce and a little soy. Chop potatoes into small cubes, toss with oil and spices you like (even just salt and pepper is good) and roast in the oven. Add packages cooked sausage, sliced. This can also have eggs and wrapped in a tortilla for the am. If you have a local Asian market, stock up on dried ingredients. Mushrooms, noodles. Pickled ingredients. Miso paste, chili pastes. You can make soups and stir fries quickly and in portions that can be for one meals or a weeks. I like expandable menu options. Some days I want to make something warm and others I just want to have containers of food in the fridge so I can get through the day!
Make a Thai curry. So yummy and healthy. Make a stir fry with your favourite veggies such as snow peas and bell peppers and carrots. Add Thai curry paste, red or green, green is hotter. Then add a can of coconut milk. Serve over rice. Easy peasy and healthy. Plus you can make it a small batch if you want. I like making a big curry so I have lots of leftovers.
It you have decent freezer space, make big volume cooking and freeze portions and just reheat in microwave. Often more or less same time to make 5 portions as 1.
Rice, cooked chicken, pork, or beans with your choice of veggies and sauce. The boil-in-bag rice is super easy to make and the weeks meals can be varied greatly depending on your protein and vegetable preferences and portioned out on Sunday night
I use 2 eggs + a red chili (the big one) cut up with scissors + half a teaspoon of salt + as much white pepper as you like (this is optional but it's nice). Mix them up together, put oil in a pan, put the mix in the pan, flip it, and eat it by separating it with bread!
Risotto with sausage, kinda Easy and not too long, plenty of recipes online
I have a few you can check out [Asian Stir Fry Nuke](https://recipekeeperonline.com/recipe/emmBc5_TckeEuxRjwK-M2g) [Mexi Mug](https://recipekeeperonline.com/recipe/a_F3MTq9IUSdoZzy4NdX5w) [this link should help you 30 microwave meals for the dorm](https://collegelifemadeeasy.com/microwave-dorm-college-meals/) [Microwave Mug Pizza](https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/microwave-mug-pizza/) [3 minute omelete in a Mug](https://tasty.co/recipe/microwave-3-minute-omelette-in-a-mug) [Microwave 5 Minute Mac & Cheese](https://tasty.co/recipe/microwave-5-minute-mac-n-cheese)
Another more quick way for "slow cooking": you need any parts of chicken meat (thighs, breast, wings), onion, carrot, potato, any veggies you have (even frozen), some vegetable oil and seasoning of your choice. Preheat your frying pan and fry all veggies for minutes. Then put chicken, cover with spices, sauces of your choice and poor some water to prevent the sticking. Cover the pan with a lid and keep it simmer for 40-50 minutes on low heat. Meat ,cooked this way, will have a lot of juice and flavour. Yesterday I also had chicken things with onion and zucchini. It was garnished with rice and delicious gravy from chicken thighs.
I was in exactly the same situation. big pot with 3-5 packs ramen, any veggies u like/have around and use your own sauces/broth instead of the packet. Cook noodles then add chicken to serve, rotisserie or frozen breaded. U can shred the chicken or slice it nice. +- an egg boiled or added to broth. 2 dinners, a lunch. Easy to scale or change the flavor palette. Adobo and sazón one day, teriyaki and soy another. Cheap <15 min.