Taste of College

[-DEADLY SUSHI-]

First, purchase a box of Maccaroni & Cheese. Generic is just fine!

Get Pot (yes... the metal thing )
Fill pot with water 3/4 of the way up
Open box
Take out packet of powdered cheese
When water is boiling, Pour contents of box into boiling water
While noodles are boiling, get 2 tablespoons of butter and put into large bowl
When noodles are almost tender, drain noodles and then put them into large bowl with butter.
Mix!!! When butter is almost dissolved open packet of powdered cheese and mix together until the noodles turn a deep orange.
Milk in college is optional. If you have it, pour it in before adding the powdered cheese.
There you have it! now kick back and watch Ren & Stimpy!

 

[pdswife]

I've had this many times Sushi.
I still eat it when Paul goes out of town. It's still good. I do add
the milk though and sometimes mushrooms and some canned tomatoes.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Well - I can make this for about $1.

Basic:

1 box generic Mac-n-Cheese (19 cents)
1 can tuna (50 cents - on sale 2/$1) - drained
1 can sweet peas (19 cents) - drained
butter and milk - amount according to Mac-n-Cheese box (butter is mandatory and can be lifted from most eating establishments for free - milk is optional but nice, or you can use an equal amount of reserved pasta cooking water)
additional salt and black pepper, to taste (packets from any restaurant or McDs - free)

Boil the mac according to package instructions - drain - turn burner down to medium - add the butter to the pot while draining pasta - throw pasta back into the pot, add cheese powder, and milk (if not using milk, reserve some of the pasta water and use that) ... stir to combine. Add tuna and peas - stir to combine and allow to heat for about 1 minute. Turn stove off - take pot into the living room and eat while watching reruns of your favorite TV show.

Big Spender (Payday) version:

Use real milk and 2 cans of tuna, 2 boxes of mac-n-cheese optional.

Gourmet version:

Put a pot of water on to boil, and while waiting for it and the mac to boil - sweat a diced onion in butter in a skillet. When soft - over low heat add a tablespoon or two of flour and cook for a minute or two to make a roux. Add tuna (1 or 2 cans) and peas, salt, pepper, and 1-2 cups milk. Stir to make a sauce. Make the Mac-n-Cheese and add the tuna mixture.

Low on Butter? Use the oil from one can of tuna to sweat the onions and make the roux.

Low on Milk? Use the juice from the peas plus additional water to make the sauce.

Cooking for a crowd?

2 boxes Mac-n-Cheese
2 cans tuna (3 cans if you're rich)
1 can peas
milk, butter, salt, pepper
onions and flour (optional for adaptation of the gourmet recipe above)

College Gourmet?

Make any 1-box Mac-n-Cheese recipe above and place in a 8x8 or 9x9 inch buttered casserole dish, or the 2-box version in a 9x13 inch dish, sprinkle some buttery flavored cracker (something like Ritz) crumbs over the top and bake at 350-F for 20-30 minutes.

Dude - I got a date casserole:

Make the "College Gourmet" recipe casserole above - but add some grated chedder cheese - mix some into the mixture and a little on top before adding the cracker crumbs.

Fancy Gourmet:

When Walgreen's has their canned mushrooms on sale 3/$1 - add a can.

Options:

For the casserole - use the "dust" in the bottom of a potato chip bag in place of the cracker crumbs. In fact, you can sprinkle this dust over any of the above recipes.

Of course ... you could used chopped bacon, cubed canned ham, corned beef, canned shrimp .... wow - what will cooks think of next!??

 

[ronjohn55]

WOW! Look at all the big spenders!

Two words - Ramen Noodles!

John

 

[jennyema]

OMG, Michael ... I make your basic recipe all the time as "comfort food" lunch.

I thought it was my dirty little secret

 

[Erik]

Good stuff, Michael!!!

 

[buckytom]

michael, what year did you go to college? where in the heck can you get canned veggies and mac-cheese for 19 cents?
i remember my brother-in-law talking about buying quarts of beer for 25 cents, back in the early 70's.

here's something a little more fancy, in case you want to impress your college sweetheart. it's also good to make for large groups and benefit functions, as it is easily multiplied, and cost effective.


linguini alla vongole (pasta with white clam sauce)

ingredients:
1 box linguini
3 cloves garlic, smashed, skins discarded, minced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 stick butter (or steal a lot of packets from the cafeteria)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese (steal from a pizza place )
1 can chopped clams, drained
1 can whole baby clams, including the liquid
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, washed, stems discarded, chopped, divided into 2
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

optional, to serve on the side: extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, italian bread

fill a large (like a 6 quart or so) pot 3/4 of the way with water, put over high heat, bring to a rolling boil, salt the water, and add the box of linguini. stir a few times to keep the pasta from sticking together.
while the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat, let butter melt, and add the diced rred onion. toss a few times to coat, then once a minute or so, until the onion begins to soften and carmelize (turn brown on the egdes). turn heat down to medium, and add the garlic. cook the garlic gently with the onion, unitl it just begins to turn golden.

the pasta should be ready about now, so test it so that it is just little firm, not gushy. this is called al dente. drain the pasta when it is ready, set aside, uncovered.

dump the can of chopped clams into the onion and garlic, cook for a minute, then add the whole baby clams, including the liquid. add 2 more tablespoons of butter and 1 of the divided portions of parsley, cook until the butter is melted, stirring into the clams.
turn off the heat, dump the drained pasta over the clams and toss with a couple of spoons.
pour the clam tossed pasta into a large bowl, and sprinkle the remaining parsley over top.
serve with italian bread, olive oil for dipping (with a little salt and pepper added), and offer the grated cheese as you plate the pasta. not everyone likes cheese on their clams.

 

[ronjohn55]

BT,

I went to school in downtown Detroit - where in the world was I gonna find:

1 can chopped clams, drained
1 can whole baby clams, including the liquid
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, washed, stems discarded, chopped, divided into 2

I mean, just ASKING where to get that type of stuff in that neighborhood is enough to get you smacked around!

John

 

[buckytom]

you went to harvard? wow, ronjohn, i'm impressed.

ok, so it was harvard driving school, but it's still the best one around.

the clams can be found in almost any supermarket, even bodegas, and the parsley, while some consider it a main ingredient, can be left out.

 

[Constance]

Bucky, prices have gone up a lot in the last few years, but I think you can still get deals almost that good at a box store.

My first husband got that meal once a week. My budget and my repertoire were quite limited.
I still make tuna and noodles, but now I use wide noodles, 2 cans of flaked tuna, 1 can of solid albacore tuna, mushroom soup, canned mushrooms, peas, and top it with slices of Velveeta cheese (lite). I love it so much, I can eat it the leftover cold from the fridge.

 

[Michael in FtW]

LOL - Buckytom - those were prices from just a couple of weeks ago! These are not "National name brand" stuff. The tuna I have to buy when it is on sale (2/$1) - but the box-mac and peas I can usually get any time 5/$1 at a little store about 3-miles down the road.

Once upon a time I went to Harvard, and MIT! I also went to the real Cheers, ate at The Frog and a few other places in Boston .... went to a college radio station in Lowell ... had a pizza that should have had a skull and crossbones on it (had to be 2-pounds of green bell peppers and onions on it with about 2-Tablespoons of tomato sauce) and did a bunch of other stuff I hardly remember ... what a birthday!

ronjohn - I have an Asian market on the other side of town that I used to frequent every week or two (when I lived on that side of town) ... I can do a dozen different things with Ramen Noodles, too! Give me some frozen and/or dried peas/corn, some dried shrimp/fish, and a sauce of some kind .... When my sons were younger we used to go and just pick up stuff (very few cans had any English on them so we just looked at the pictures and made up things to cook based on the pictures). Yep - we got some suprises - but we managed to figure out what to do with it .... if nothing else we doubled the rice. I guess before the "Iron Chefs" we were the original "Tin Can Chefs"?

You don't have to be rich to eat something that taste good.

 

[texasgirl]

Get Pot (yes... the metal thing )

I'm glad you clarified that, sushi!!

 

[mish]

Add Meat.

http://www.generalmills.com/stream_image.aspx?rid=9535

 

[Constance]

I went to North Texas State University, in Denton, Texas, in the triangle of Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton. That's the first place I ever had a taco, or any Mexican food, for that matter.
My goodness, those Sigma Nu guys were fun...it was a lot like the movie, "Animal House".
Then I got marrried, had a child, a divorce, and headed to Southern Illinois University in 1970. What a trip that was! Fortunately, I had a little girl to take care of, and she meant more to me than anything else, so I kept my act together.
They had to close the University that spring, after the Kent State event. We had a lot of rioting on campuss, the National Guard came in...it just got too dangerous.

Told you guys I was old!

 

[mudbug]

Another Dinosaur Chimes In

I remember those days, Connie. The Kent State event was one of my first demonstrations. Did you know that Joe Walsh was a member of the Ohio Natl Guard back then? How times have changed.

 

[Constance]

Mudbug, I sure didn't know that about Walsh! By the way, we saw him performing at the State Fair a few years ago...great concert.

"play golf all day with heads of state...if they brought beer, wouldn't that be great?"

 

[-DEADLY SUSHI-]

WOW! So THIS is where this thread went! I forgot about it after it moved. What GREAT cheap recipes!!! Bucky And Mike, really fantastic ideas. Mike, love the variations!!!

Ok... how about hot dog variations??

(GOOD beef)Hot dogs with rice, cilantro, jalapenos and SHARP cheese!!!

 

[buckytom]

ok sush,

of course there's chopped up dogs mixed into a can o' baked beans. add any available diced veggies like peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, and potatoes. heat and stir until the veggies are soft (nuke the potatoes first), then top with chopped raw onion and melted cheese.
when i was a kid, i thought i would be a good cowboy because i loved this meal. this is what cowboys eat, don't they?

another one is fried dog balls. put a package of hot dogs, wrapper removed and discarded, into a blender and pulse blend until it is like ground meat. mix with an egg, shell removed and discarded, and a cup of breadcrumbs, and a good squirt of mustard. roll into balls.
put corn flakes in a plastic bag, beat until they resemble fine breadcrumbs, then roll the dog balls in the corn flake crumbs, and fry in oil, turning to fry each side. deep fry if possible.

 

[CharlieD]

Butter in college - you're dreamming!

 

[Piccolina]

Butter in college - you're dreamming!

Lol, perhaps if you gathered enough of those little thimble sized containers of cream that you get at restaurants and cafes together you could whip up some butter yourself