Coffee pot cooking in dorm rooms?

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pjramirez

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 22, 2007
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Help! My son is returning to college and tells me some of his friends cook in their coffee pots. He may only have a microwave and a non-boil coffee pot. Any recipes?
 
A good way to add a little bit of nutritional value to everyone's favorite college staple, Ramen Noodles, is to add some frozen veggies to the coffee pot when you add the dry Ramen noodles. The warmer on the bottom of the coffee pot generates enough heat to thaw and cook the forzen veggies. I should warn you though, that coffee pot cooking takes a decent amount of time because it doesn't generate a lot of heat.

Something to try, but that I can't vouch for personally is to try making some minute rice in the coffee pot. There's quite a few things you could add to plain old white rice to make it tasty, from simply butter to pre-cooked shrimp or chicken.


I'm sorry I can't be more help with this, but it's because one of my most handy tools when I lived in the dorms was a George Foreman grill. I know that they're not allowed, but I can say that having one is a great way to get around the hassles of microwave/coffee pot cooking. If you DO decide to go that route, just make sure that your son knows to turn the thing off as soon as he's done using it, and also to clean it as soon as it cools down (this way he won't accidentally burn any food that sticks to it the next time he cooks and set off the smoke detectors.) I think colleges originally banned hot plate -type devices when they were actually dangerous because the amount of heat wasn't regulated. I believe that the George Foreman (or any similar product) has a kill-switch built in, that stops the flow of electricty to the heating unit once it reaches a certain temperature. Anyways, the Foreman opens up all kinds of possibilities, from grilled steaks to grilled chicken sandwiches, grilled veggies, etc.
 
Having been stuck in some hotels with only a convenience store open and a coffee pot in the room, I have sunk to the depths of culinary artistry. The reslults usually embodied some sort of hot dog.

But he has a nuker and would concentrate on that. One can cook all sorts of things, including many casseroles, in the nuker.

Gosh, when I was in college dorms there were no such things as nukers. We had to rely upon the twenty five cent a throw ratburger place across the road. Blech, blech, a thousand times blech.

Not that I mind ratburgers, it is just I detest anyone who makes them as badly as that guy did.

To this day I exclude him from my prayers. I wish many well, but exclude him, verbally. Am not sure that is the best way to get into heaven, but will not give a recommendation to God of any ratburger monger who will serve swill to freshmen and ladies who just needed something to fill their bellies at eleven at night.

Sorry I got off track. But of the coffee pot and nuker I would concentrate on nuker cooking. That is all I have to offer.
 
I agree with auntdot. A lot of people look down upon microwaves, but they can be a great cooking took. Anything that you can cook in a coffee pot you would be able to cook better and easier with a microwave. I would stick with that.
 
Just avoid any kind of real pasta (ramen noodles don't count) as they won't cook properly either in the microwave or the coffee pot.
 
Hello, PJRamirez,

What kind of coffee pot?

I had a hotpot that had a removable lid for cleaning; the plug/cord was removable from the bottom. Although you can't submerse it in water, you can still clean the inside ok. With this appliance, I made oatmeal (not instant - get a heavy ceramic mug and ceramic plate. Put WHOLE rolled oats in the mug, pour boiling water on top, and cover with a plate and let it stand/steam until water is absorbed - it is a MUCH heartier, toothsome grain, better for you, and you can flavor it any way you wish). I also made couscous (all kinds of varieties are available these days with the Near East Boxes), hard boiled eggs, jello... pretty anything that you can boil and won't make too much of a sticky mess inside the pot. Canned or pouched salmon, tuna, whatever can be added on top for protein.

For more varieties of instant noodles, try a Chinese food market.

You might also consider an electric non-stick skillet. I had one of those. It was a small frying pan with a plug beneath - the cord was removable. The box said it was fully immersible, but I didn't try. It was very easy to clean, and allowed me to make: pancakes, omelets/scrambled eggs, even pizza. What you do is cut up a frozen rising-crust pizza so it will fit in the skillet, turn the heat up to HIGH, and then put the pizza in, put the lid on, and wait until it is cooked. It was actually a lot better than oven pizza.

It has been over 10 years since college and 5 years since grad school is over. I now have a tiny kitchen, but boy, it is nice to have a real oven, stove, sink, and full-size refrigerator!!!

All the best,
;)
 
Would he be allowed to use a hot plate in his room? That could offer an added option that would allow different kinds of cooking, for instance grilled cheese, quesadillas, fried eggs...just thinking of simple foods here. I picked one up at Walmart that has a single burner for $9. They are small and portable...I use mine in hotel rooms. They have double burner ones available as well. The microwave adds a LOT of cooking freedom believe it or not. My kids make ramen noodles exclusively in the microwave. We've even made simple omelets...my kids call these volcano eggs because you can watch them rise and get all puffy. And, one of my favorites....a s'more at midnight. A graham cracker with a few choco chips and a large marshmallow (another puffy sight) can really hit the spot. Hope these ideas help.

EDIT: I missed the reply about an electric skillet....this may even be easier than a hot plate. I think I would opt for that for ease!
 
When I was young my mom used to travel (we were military) with a coffee pot without the innards. We ate many meals heated in it. Canned soups and stews, Lipton's soups (ramen noodles were not invented yet). It is more heating food than actually cooking it. But we did it a lot. This was before the days of free breakfast, etc. WE also travelled with an electric skillet.
 
I'm surprised no one has sugggested a crockpot yet. They sit quietly and coolly in the corner making nice dinners while you are away all day diligently attending class and taking notes and learning.

You don't even have to get a big one - I had a little one that held about 2 cups or so of stuff. Saved my a$$ in graduate school.
 
mudbug said:
I'm surprised no one has sugggested a crockpot yet.
Probably because of this...

pjramirez said:
He may only have a microwave and a non-boil coffee pot.

I remember how strict they were when I was in college. Using a crockpot or any other non approved cooking appliance would have risked a hefty fine. Not that fines stopped us from much :angel:
 
Not that fines stopped us from much :angel:

Nor did it me. I kept an electric skillet secreted in the closet, and delighted my dorm mates (and RAs) with such culinary delights as grilled cheese, the ubiquitous Ramen Noodles, fried apples (very good), and bacon and eggs (sometimes you can't face the cafeteria:sick:).
 
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