5 Simple And Tasty Recipes For The Rookie College Cook

Looking for some new ideas for what to make in the kitchen? Do you want to keep it cheap but still delicious? Well you can take your thinking cap off now. These 5 simple and tasty recipes can be prepped by anyone with a brain and opposable thumbs. For those of you who are fed up with dining hall food, building your own kitchen experience at home is a wonderful and nutritional change of pace. Also, to any man who is not musically gifted, you can just as easily win a woman’s heart over through her taste buds as you can through her eardrum. Don’t expect to become the Iron Chef just from these five recipes. Instead, take this list and use it to stock up on experience for preparing more complex dishes.

1. Pasta Fresca

This simple and delicious pasta dish can be addicting when prepared properly. It’s really just a matter of bringing the sauce to the right texture. No matter how much I eat, I always want just a little more.

Photo uploaded by The Aimless Cook

Ingredients (feeds 4):

1. 2 regular-sized tomatoes
2. 4 basil leaves
3. 1 medium-sized red onion
4. olive oil
5. 1 pack of pasta of your choice (barilla linguini or fettuccine is recommended)
6. 2 to 3 cloves of garlic (optional)

The first thing to do is to peel your tomatoes. This works best if you soak them in boiling water for 20 seconds. The skins will come right off. Cut them into little blocks and put them to the side for now. The next thing is to saute your onion. Keep in mind that the smaller you slice it, the shorter the cooking time. Mix the onion in a sauce pan with however much olive oil you think you will need. You can add garlic to the mix if you want to, but the final flavor is perfect without it. Once your onions are sauteed throw them into a food processor or a blender with your tomatoes and basil leaves. Run your machine until the sauce is of a thick smoothie-like quality, stopping every five seconds to check for consistency. Refrigerate for one hour and cook your pasta according to package instructions. Mix in the sauce and enjoy!

2. Latkes

Whether it’s Chanukah or not, these delicious potato pancakes are good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but not necessarily everyday. Surprisingly enough, there are people out there who have never even heard of the latke. If you are one of those people, I highly recommend trying it out.

Photo uploaded by slgckgc

Ingredients: (makes 10-15)

1. 1 small onion
2. 2 eggs
3. 1 tsp salt
4. 2-3 cups potatoes slices
5. 2 Tbs flour
6. 1 1/2 tsp sugar
7. 1/2 tsp baking powder
8. canola oil

Note: Only refrigerate your eggs.

Use a food processor to shred your onions and potatoes. You can use a cheese grader if you don’t mind the extra time and workout, but watch your knuckles. Mix the first seven ingredients together into a bowl and fry on a pan with canola oil. Check each side frequently, flipping every 2 to 3 minutes like a regular pancake. When you have that nice dark crispy brown on each side, that’s how you know that they’re done. Use your instincts for the cooking time. One latke may not cook equal to another. Also, be sure to place a paper towel under each layer to soak up the oil when they’re finished.

3. Chicken Potstickers With Plum Sauce

They will go with anything and everything. They are a wonderful dish for any small gathering and disappear from the plate the second you turn your back. Be aware that this dish may be a bit more complicated for the rookie college cook. Don’t expect a perfect batch on your first try.

Photo uploaded by Melissa Hillier

Ingredients: (feeds 8)

1. 1 package of frozen spinach thawed and squeeze dried
2. 3/4 lbs ground chicken
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 cup green onion
5. 1/3 cup cilantro
6. 1 1/2 tbs finely chopped and peeled ginger
7. 2 minced garlic cloves
8. 1 tbs soy sauce
9. 1 1/2 tsp oriental sesame oil
10. 1 tsp grated lemon peel
11. 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
12. 1/2 tsp salt
13. 12 egg roll wrappers
14. 1 cup Chinese plum sauce
15. 3/4 cup of water
16. 2 tbs dry sherry
17. vegetable oil

Mix your spinach with the chicken, 1 egg, and the following 10 ingredients. Mix the second egg into a small bowl and take out 1 egg roll wrapper. Cut the wrapper diagonally and coat the edges with the egg. Place 1 tbs of chicken filling into each half and fold the wrapper over the filling.  You should have 2 small triangles. Seal the edges together and repeat the process with the remaining wrappers and filling. Place your potstickers on a foil-covered baking sheet and cover them with plastic wrap. Refrigerate them for a period of 6 hours.

Mix your plum sauce with the 3/4 cup of water and sherry into a small bowl. After the 6 hours are up, fry 4 potstickers at a time with the vegetable oil in a nonstick pan. Use approximately 3 tbs of vegetable oil per batch and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Just like the latkes, use a paper towel to soak up the oil. Finally, heat 5 tbs of your plum-sauce mixture in a second pan and cook for another 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Repeat the process with your other batches, transfer to the plate and serve to your friends morning, noon, or night.

4. Lentil Salad With Flank Steak

This was always one of my favorite dishes growing up as a kid. It’s both delicious and nutritious. If you are not a fan of the classic green salad, I highly recommend this as a substitute. It is easy to prepare and can even be made without the steak. Consider using fish or some tofu based product as a substitute.

Photo uploaded by lucky kt

Ingredients: (feeds 6 to 8)

1. 1 1/4 cups of lentils
2. 6 cups cold water
3. 1/4 cup chopped parsley
4. 1 1/2 cups peeled and thinly sliced white onion
5. 1 cup cored, seeded, and julienned red pepper
6.  olive oil
7. 2 tbs of lemon juice
8. 1 tbs white wine vinegar
9. salt and pepper
10. 1 lbs flank steak

Boil your lentils in a pot with six cups of water, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. After you drain them, mix them together with the onion, parsley, and bell pepper. Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper for dressing and blend them together with the lentils and vegetables. Let them marinate in the fridge for 4 hours. You might want to toss them a few times while chilling.

Season your steak with salt and pepper and cote the surface with olive oil. You can grill the meat for 2 minutes per side, or broil it for 5 minutes per side, if you don’t have access to a barbecue. After the steak is ready, slice it thinly along the grain and and mix it in with the marinated lentils and vegetables. You can always add in more seasoning if need be.  Serve it as a side salad or a main dish for any special occasion.

5. Grandma’s Chicken Soup

My Grandma has always been a wonderful cook. Her chicken soup is perfect for nursing a cold and warming up during bad weather. It is simple to prepare and barely takes any work at all.

Photo uploaded by huckablue

Ingredients:

1. 10-12 chicken wings
2. 1 small onion
3. 2 peeled carrots cut into chunks
4. 2 tsp salt
5. 2 tbs parsley flakes
6. rice or pasta of your choice

The procedure is simple. Just put all of your ingredients into a pot, fill it with as much water as you think you will need  and bring it to a boil. Let your soup simmer for 1 hour. Do a quick taste test to see that you’ve added enough salt. Mix the soup with a rice or a pasta of your choice. Take note that chicken wings are usually the best choice for the soup. They contain just enough fat to add to the taste, but not so much to ruin the texture or nutritional value.

I hope that you have enjoyed looking over my recipes. If this article has made you hungry, then I would say I have done a pretty good job. Now go over to your kitchen and try a few of these recipes out for yourself.