College cooking

[Spring_Mist18]

Salutations! I've never posted here before.

I have two questions:
First, do any of you have any recipies that are easy to do in a college dorm? I have a hot plate with a pot and a pan, as well as a refrigerator. Furthermore, I am lactose-intollerant.

Secondly, what is a good substitute for oil or butter, which is called for in most bread recipies?
Thank you !
--Erica

 

[bjcotton]

Welcome Erica! I'm sure someone will be along shortly to help you out, but I don't thing there is really any substitute for oil or butter, unless it's lard.

 

[TATTRAT]

Welcome to the Board!


I though all college kids lived off of ramen and hot dogs?.....and the occasional "special water"?

 

[Spring_Mist18]

lol... well I'm personally a "health nut" so I'm just looking for recipies that are simple, and better for you than hot dogs, microwaved food, etc.

I already have a tall stack of oranges, as well as some canned organic soups and spinach salad.
So I'm just looking for some newer ideas... the ones I have already started to get SOOO old last year. lol

 

[DaCook]

How about pasta and meat sauce. You could make the meat sauce, remove from the hot plate, cook the pasta and when it is done reheat the sauce. Serve with a salad and a crusty roll. Chili also comes to mind.
Why do you want to replace the oil or butter?

 

[Michael in FtW]

As for the oil/butter sub in bread ... fats serve a purpose (keeping qualities, texture and grain, tenderness, flavor, color, etc.) - basically overall quality. Some flat breads and some sourdough breads don't call for fats as an ingredient - but since fats are used in such a small quantity I wouldn't worry about it.

What type of meals are you looking for? There are plenty of pasta, rice, bean recipes - soups, stews, chili - lots of stuff that could be modified from "crock-pot" recipes (if you're going to be in your dorm room for 4-6 hours).

 

[Spring_Mist18]

Thanks for the ideas!! They will work
I think it also would be a good idea to get crock pot, when I'll be around for 4-6 hours.
Much better than cafe food, that's for sure!

 

[Robo410]

breads can be made with olive oil, a healthy choice.
cakes can be made with applesauce, prune preserve etc.

many healthy one pot meals exist. I love red lentil soup with potatoes and kale and sausage or ham. but the meat can be left out. instead of chicken broth use veggy broth. red lentils cook in half an hour no soaking needed, great for you. add parsnips and turnips. delicious.

THe new all purpose joy of cooking will serve you well in the college dorm.

 

[VeraBlue]

Hello Spring Mist

Good luck in college. Rather than answer your original query (sorry), do permit to me to make a suggestion. I'm assuming you also have a meal plan, yes? Please seek out the dining service office. I promise they, especially the chef, will be very happy to discuss your particular dietary needs with you. Short of making meals especially for you, the chef will be able to point out which foods you can easily tolerate on any given day. The chef will be able to help you plan meals for healthy eating.
Please consider this.

Most campus dining services spend a great deal of time trying to give the customers exactly what they want. Lots of effort is given to vegetarian diets, heart healthy diets, lo-carb diets, high protien diets. More fresh produce than frozen is often used. Breads come in every day. You'll probably find at least three kinds of fruit juice. It's also more cost productive to make food from scratch than buying frozen food, so you can be assured that everything is made fresh. Keep an open mind and communicate with the service. They would appreciate that.

 

[Human]

Here are some suggestions:

Pot:

- cook wild rice (if rice can be cooked with the pot) + mushroom sauce from Campbell.
-cook carrots and/or potatoes, and mash them together. With the extra water, you can make pototoe soup
-chicken broth + eggs (1 or 2) + iceberg lettuce + salt (if you wish)
-boiled egg to make egg sandwiches

I can't think of anything to make with a pan just now only with a pot because I had a rice cooker while living in a residence.

Can you use a slow cooker? Never seen a slow cooker in a dorm before , but it's a suggestion.

Hope this helps.

 

[Half Baked]

If you are making coffee cakes or muffin types of bread, applesauce can be substituted for the oil.

I used to eat ramen with fresh spinach swirled in it.

Flavored packages of tuna, in noodles are pretty healthy.

 

[thecactuswill]

George foreman grill is a must! Grills meats and vegetables fast and easy.

 

[Bridgett]

Do you make soups? They can be so easy, and are very nutritious. Plus they are always better the second time round, so you can get a few meals out of the one pot. Youu don't even need a recipe - chop carrots, onion, potatoes (and any other vegies of your choice), add chopped meats and flavour of your choice - stock, garlic flakes, pepper, etc., cover them with water and cook a couple of hours on slow. Yum!

I don't know what type of bread recipes you have, but in Australia we don't add butter and oil - unless you are making scones or something like that. Generally everyday bread dough is moistened with water, milk, or both.
Come to think of it, I also came across a thread where someone was talking about cream being in bolognaise sauce - i've never heard of such things! Try looking at international recipe sites, in my experience, other countries tend to use less unnecessary fat in their meals.

Good luck!

 

[Claire]

As a general rule, I say as someone else already did -- pasta, pasta, pasta. My personal favorite (believe it or not, especially for breakfast) is angel hair tossed with olive oil (when I'm trying to reduce fat I use a low fat bottled Italian dressing, but ... prefer the oil) and great veggies. I season with Cavender's Greek seasoning and red pepper flakes, and add a shaving of some strong cheese (not for you, obviously). But there are some great Barilla pastas out there that are made with very nutritious ingredients if you don't want to use regular white pasta.

You might consider a small electric rice maker if you love rice. You fill it at night, plug it in before you go to out for the day, and you have a bowl of rice to embellish or not as you will when you get home.

 

[JMediger]

When I was in college and then in graduate school, I lived off of rice with just stuff mixed in - generally whatever the grocery had on sale or whatever my mom sent back with me. Two of my favorites ...

* White rice with vegetable soup stirred in (don't add water, just straight from the can) and then mix in cheddar cheese. (A friend of mine who is laxtose intolerant used soy cheese and said it was wonderful.)

* Brown rice with black beans and salsa

 

[thegrova]

I would seriously suggest a slow cooker. Especially if you have any fridge / freezer space. Preparing in bulk and in advance would allow you to come back from class to a fab home cooked meal, with enough to last for several days. Saving more time for study later in the week! If you could freeze in single serve portions you could literally prepare a different bulk dish once per week and still eat a different dish every night. There are heaps of fantastic slow cooker recipes out there and a slow cooker is not expensive.

 

[Mel!]

Reply

Hello Spring mist

I think u dont need to put any substitute, for oil and butter, in bread. Just leave them out. If us want, u can put in some soya milk, or soya yoghurt.

Mel

 

[abjcooking]

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f104/what-is-your-favorite-microwave-recipe-14607.html?highlight=orange+chicken


Orange Chicken over Rice

1 lb. chicken tenders (strips)
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup orange juice
rice

Coat pan with a little oil. In a bowl blend marmalade and orange juice together. Toss chicken into pan and cook. Just as chicken starts to change colors add the orange mixture. Cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened. serve over rice.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Turkey Chili - pick up a "chili kit" from any supermarket, a can of diced tomatoes, & a package of ground turkey meat. It's easy to fix, & keeps well for several days of lunches. Also freezes well, but I'm not sure if your dorm fridge also has a freezer.

You can also make all sorts of "stirfries" in your pan on your hotplate. Buy a package of boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast & cut into bitesize pieces. Add in a bag of frozen mixed stirfry vegetables or cut up fresh vegetables that you like. Add in some soy sauce or other spices/flavorings you like & you're all set. Again, leftovers can be had for lunch or another meal the next day. You will need to use at least a small dollop of veggie oil for this, but this certainly isn't harmful to your lactose-intolerance.

Is there a reason why you don't want to use any sort of oil in your cooking? Because that will be difficult to do in the long run.

 

[Mel!]

Chinese stirfry

U could make a simple Chinese stir fry and serve with boiled rice.

Chinese stirfry

Ingredients
An onion
a carrot
2 cloves of garlic
quarter inch of fresh ginger(u can sprinkle in some dried instead, while cooking , if u prefer)
Quarter cabbage
Roasted salted peanuts
Oil for cooking
Soya sauce.
Salt
(The vegetables can be varied, according to availibility)

instructions
Chop up vegetables.
Stir fry onion garlic and ginger, in oil, with a sprinkling of salt.
When these strart to turn brown, add the cabbage and carrot.
Turn off heat, when these are slightly cooked.
Sprinkle on some soya sauce
Sprinkle the peanuts, on top of stir fry. As many as u want.