Cajun Stir Fry

Oh Snap! This dish was amazing, easily the best thing I've made so far. I went grocery shopping with my mom and sister this past weekend and I was thinking of things to cook during the week. At the time I pictured myself cooking onions and bell peppers with a nice chicken breast in the oven, but when it came time to make dinner last night I just wasn't feeling it.

Instead I decided to use the stew meat (beef cut into chunks) instead of the chicken, and I wanted to do the whole thing on the stove top in a pan. When I started making the dish I decided to eat the beef, onion, and pepper mix over a bed of rice and peas, but as I was cooking and the smell overcame me I couldn't allow myself to waste any of the gravy in the pan. I decided to just throw the brown rice and peas into the pan and let it absorb all of the gravy. It was a great decision! Like I said earlier, this was the best thing I've made yet.

The best thing is that I'm pretty sure I could make this in the dorm as well. At the end of the post I'll tell you what to do if you want to make this without an oven.

Ingredients:
8oz of stew meat (any type of cubed beef)
1 medium green bell pepper
1 large onion
1 cup of Brown rice
1 can of no salt peas (8.5 oz)
4 tbsp of butter or margarine
1/3 cup of water
1 tbsp Tony Chacheres
1.5 tbsp of Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce
1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce
2 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of cayenne pepper

Optional Ingredients:
Other sliced vegetables
white rice
Noodles

Ingredients

Step 1) Throw one cup of brown rice, two cups of water, and the can of peas into a dish and microwave it for 20 minutes or so, until all the water is gone.

Cooked rice and peas

Step 2) Take a pan and turn the stove top to medium-high heat. Chop up your onion and pepper into thin long strips. Throw them into the pan and put the butter on top. Stir and let cook for about 15 minutes or until the onion and pepper are a golden color and are no longer hard.

Cooked onions and peppers

Step 3) Season your meat and throw it into the pan as well. Try to move the onions and pepper aside so that the meat can be touching the bottom of the pan. Just throw the onions and pepper on top of the meat. Let cook for about 10 minutes and then add your browning sauce. Stir the pan to make sure everything is nice and mixed.

After the meat is thrown in

Step 4) By this time your rice and peas should be done. Pour the mix into the pan and add the water. Stir so that everything becomes mixed. Turn the stove down to medium, cover the pan, and let cook for about 10 minutes.

After the rice is thrown in

That's it! Everything should be done now.



Now, if you want to make this using a microwave, here is how I would do it.

Step 1) Microwave the rice and peas same as above.

Step 2) Throw your seasoned meat into a separate, larger bowl and microwave it until it is completely cooked. Not sure how long this would take. I'm thinking about 15-20 minutes, just make sure to stir the meat every 5 minutes or so since the microwave cooks unevenly.

Step 3) Throw your onion, bell pepper, and butter into a third bowl and microwave until the onions and peppers are a golden brown color. I'm thinking at least 10 minutes, but I don't know as I haven't tried it yet.

Step 4) Mix all three bowls into one large bowl (hopefully one of the three was large enough to handle everything together) Throw in your browning sauce and water in as well and stir thoroughly. Stick back in the microwave for about five more minutes.

Done! I just want to say that I haven't tried the microwave steps yet, that is what I would do in the dorm room though, feel free to make adjustments. Just make sure the meat is cooked, that is the most important step.

Crescent Roll Pizza

This one is actually one of my mom's recipes. Apparently when I went off to college she started trying out all kinds of new recipes, this being one of them. I had no intentions to cook this today, but my mom really wanted to make it, so that's what we did.

The reason this pizza is unique is mainly because of the crust. Instead of a traditional pizza crust, my mom opted for a crescent roll crust. I am a huge fan of crescent rolls, so as soon as she showed me that was what she was planning on using as the crust I got excited. Also, since I'm trying to watch what I eat we decided to use turkey pepperoni and fat free cubed ham. I didn't notice any lack in taste and I actually enjoyed it more so than a typical pizza because it wasn't anywhere near as greasy.

Anyways, remember that this is a very general alternative pizza recipe, you can use just about anything you want to throw on this pizza. My girlfriend's parents like to make pizza at home as well and they tend to use an already made pizza crust and they grill some bacon and vegetables and throw that on top of the pizza. So again, this is just one of the many options you have with this pizza recipe.

Ingredients:
2 Cans of Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations
1/2 Jar of Bertolli Vineyard Marinara (8oz)
John Morrel Diced Ham (8oz)
Turkey Pepperoni (6oz)
Shredded Cheese (8oz)

Ingredients

Optional Ingredients:
Any meat
Any cheese
Any vegetables

Step 1: Unroll both sheets of the Crescent roll onto a cookie sheet, overlapping them slightly. Bake them in the oven as the instructions on the can indicate.

Two sheets of crescent roll

Step 2: Once the crust is done baking, take the sauce and pour it in the center of the sheet of crust. Take a spoon and spread it around evenly, leaving about half an inch border around the crescent crust, this allows the crust to get a little crispy on the edges.

Step 3: Spread all but about a handful of cheese over the sauce evenly.

Cheese and Sauce

Step 4: Throw the diced ham and pepperoni on top of the cheese spreading it evenly. If you'd like any other toppings, throw them on as well. If the toppings require cooking before hand, do so. You probably don't want to throw any raw toppings on top unless they are meant to be raw.

Step 5: Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the toppings.

Pizza with all the toppings on it. The ham is under the pepperoni.

Step 6: Put the pizza back in the oven at the same temperature you used to cook the crescent roll. Leave it in for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the toppings are cooked.

Done! Enjoy your pizza. This was my first time having this and I actually liked it more with every piece I had. It's much lighter than a normal pizza, and the pasta sauce is a nice change to the normal pizza sauce. There are tons of options with this pizza, or with any pizza really. Just try different ingredients and you can easily use this recipe over and over again.

Summer is Here!

Well, summer is finally here and that means I'm finally done with school and I'm back home in Texas. That means I'll be able to dedicate all of my time to trying out new recipes and posting them here for all of you to enjoy.

Before I start posting recipes, I wanted to note a few changes you'll all be noticing.

First, a lot of the recipes I'll be making won't necessarily be able to be made using only a microwave and a grill. I'll try my best to adjust my recipes so that they can be cooked in the dorm, but I'm back home now and I have access to an oven and a stove again and I plan on using them.

Second, I am continuing in my efforts to lose more weight. I lost 30 lbs during the semester and I plan on losing even more in the summer now that I won't be eating fast food or anything like that. I plan on posting recipes for just about everything I eat, so a lot of them won't necessarily be thrilling or life changing. I want to state my purpose for this site again. My goal is that people who view this site will understand the variety of dishes out there, a lot of which are very common and simple. I just know that in my life I use to tend to eat the same 10 or so meals over and over again. I'm hoping this site shows everyone that there are other options available to you.

Lastly, I'm thinking about changing the layout soon, so I'm hoping the transition goes well and everyone is happy with the new look.

So, now that all of that is out of the way. Here come some new recipes!

I'm still here!

Sorry I haven't made any posts in the past week or so. I have one week left of school and I'm trying to study for finals and get things settled before I leave town for the summer.

The recipes should probably start up again in about a week and a half, around the 10th of may. I'll be home for the summer, so I might throw in a few normal recipes that aren't made using just a microwave or grill, but I haven't really decided yet. I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still around and this blog isn't dead yet.

Sorry for not posting more updates, but I appreciate that you all keep coming back.

Thanks,

Thomas

Grilled Brisket

The other day I was out shopping with some friends and I knew I was going to be heading home after we were done so I thought it would be a great opportunity to just go all out and spend the rest of the afternoon making a great meal. I thought for awhile about what I wanted and I finally decided I wanted a huge piece of meat, so that is just what I got!

I have never even made brisket before much less tried one on a George Foreman grill. I wasn't too sure it would even cook since it was so thick, but I bought it and decided to try it out anyways. Once I got home I got online and looked at a few recipes to get an idea about what people used to season the meat with. In the process I quickly realized that most people slow cook a brisket over a long period of time, which had me a little worried. I decided to just go on and try it anyways.

It actually turned out pretty amazing. This was probably the best piece of meat I've cooked on the grill so far.

Ingredients
- beef brisket (~32 oz)
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 3/4 cup brown sugar

Optional Ingredients
- any seasoning you want to use really

This dish will make about four – five servings, depending on how big the portion is. I also have recipes for the sweet potatoes and the rice that can be found on the site in previous posts.

Step 1: Cut your brisket into manageable sizes. I cut mine into about six different pieces so that they would grill up quicker.

Chopped up brisket

Step 2: Throw your brisket into a bowl and throw in all the seasoning with it. Rub the seasoning on the meat and try to evenly coat all pieces of meat. Don't be afraid to get a little messy! Wash your hands when done.

Seasoned pieces of brisket

Step 3: Turn on your grill and wait about five minutes until it heats up. Throw a few pieces of meat onto the grill. I was only able to fit about two pieces at a time because of my grill size. My brisket was about an inch thick and it took about 25 minutes to cook completely through. I flipped it over every five minutes or so, which probably isn't necessary in a George Foreman grill, but the bottom side of the grill always seems to cook faster than the top, so I flip it anyways.

Step 4: Take the brisket off of the grill and allow to cool for about five minutes before cutting it. This will keep the juices inside. Now serve with whatever sides you'd like and enjoy your meal!

Grilled brisket - don't cut them like this, see the juices? You want that to stay inside the meat!

Note: As I was cooking the brisket I was cutting them in half so that I could check if it was done, but this allowed all of the juices to come out of the meat. I didn't think much of this at the time because as soon as I put the meat in a tupperware container, all the juices were coming out and tasted amazing when you pour it back over the meat. But when I went to heat up the left overs later, the meat was pretty dry. So try to avoid cutting the cooked brisket until about five minutes after it's done cooking.

Sorry, I know a lot of you wanted easier recipes to follow, but I just really wanted brisket. I have a lot of good stuff coming up. I've been trying to find interesting casserole dishes to try out and I also have a lot of ideas for yummy side dishes. I've also started trying to find recipes that don't require any cooking at all. So hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have some simpler stuff thrown in the mix.

Spring Break!

Hello to all, unfortunately I just found out that the wireless internet at my home in Houston has gone out. We tried to buy a new router and that didn't fix the problem, so the next step is to try a new modem, hopefully all goes well.

I just wanted to let everyone know there probably won't be many updates this week, if any. I apologize, I just don't think I'll be able to commit the time this week.

Don't worry though, check the site out again towards the end of the week and the beginning of next week and you'll surely see some new recipes!

Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Sweet potatoes are pretty awesome, they are basically the candy of vegetables in my opinion. Aside from their great taste, sweet potatoes are known as a superfood, which basically means that they are very healthy.

I think I love this dish so much because this is another thing my mom makes only on special occasions, like Christmas and Easter. It really isn't all that difficult to make either, which is good news for all of us! Typically, this would be made in an oven, which would add a crispy texture to the dish, but unfortunately that isn't an option for us.

Ingredients:
- Sweet Potatoes ( ~15oz can)
- Marshmallows (1 cup)
- Brown Sugar (3/4 cup)
- Butter (2 tbsp)

Optional Ingredients:
- Pecans (chopped, 1/2 cup)

Ingredients

Step 1: Open up the can of yams and drain all of the syrup from the can. Dump the yams into a microwavable dish. try to break apart some of the yams, but try not to mash them up into a paste (I made this mistake and that is why my final product looks the way it does)

Step 2: Throw your butter and brown sugar into the container and mix with the yams.

Step 3: Throw the marshmallows on top of mixture and spread out evenly. If it looks like too much or not enough, adjust accordingly. The marshmallows should just cover up the sweet potato mixture.

I mixed my marshmallows in with everything else

Optional Step: If you are using pecans, throw them in before you throw the marshmallows in.

Step 4: Place dish in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes. Once the marshmallows are melted, it's done.

Step 5: If you let it sit for awhile, the marshmallows might harden a little and form a kind of crust on the top, but I didn't even bother with it. I just stirred it all up together, it still tastes the same, just not as presentable.

Fresh out of the microwave, still bubbly

Enjoy!

Grilled Sausage and Onion Sandwich

Well, it seems as though people are enjoying the simpler recipes so far, so I'm going to try and post more of these from now on. This one really is about as easy as it gets. It involves cutting a few things up and then throwing them on the grill, and that's about it.

Ingredients:
- two links of sausage
- one whole onion
- mayo
- two slices of bread
- 2 tbsp of butter (optional)

Ingredients

Step 1: Cut your sausage links in half and then split them down the middle. You should have about eight even sized pieces of sausage now.

Step 2: First, peel the onion (how to peel an onion) and cut it in half. Now start cutting each half of the onion in thin slices and break it apart as your going.

Chopped onion and sausage

Step 3: If you want to, throw one tbsp of butter on your George Foreman grill and then throw half of the onions on as well. Now throw the sausage on top of the onions and close the lid. After about five minutes open the lid and flip the sausage. After about five more minutes you can take the onion and sausage off of the grill

Step 4: repeat step three for the remaining onions and sausage

Grilled Sausage and Onions

Step 5: Put the mayo on your two slices of bread. take about a quarter of your onions and throw them on one slice of the bread. Take two pieces of the sausage and put them on top of the onions. Place the other piece of bread on top of the sausage and enjoy!

Finished

Hope this one is simple enough for everyone. If you don't have a GF grill and rather use a pan, just throw the two tbsp of butter into a pan and throw all of the onions in as well. Set the stove top to medium-high heat. Cook for about a minute, making sure to stir the onions. Now throw the sausage in as well and brown on both sides. When the sausage is a nice dark brown color and the onions are caramelized you can take it all off of the heat.

Hope this one was simple enough!

Make sure to check out my other sausage recipes(spaghetti, jambalaya) as well as my other sandwich recipes (ham egg and cheese)

Double Recipe Friday!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been trying to pass my physics 2 class. I had my last test this morning and now I'm free for a week as our school lets out for Spring Break, so expect lots of updates in the upcoming week.

I'll be posting two relatively simple recipes tomorrow that are packed full of flavor. They're both foods that my mom would cook for me when I was younger and she didn't feel like making a big huge meal for the family. So be looking out for that tomorrow afternoon!

Sound off! Let me know what you think

I have a few things on my mind and I'm really just hoping I'll get a little bit of feedback so I can make this site more catered to the viewers rather than me just throwing up a recipe for whatever I feel like eating that day. Please take a minute and drop a comment so I can try and get this site headed in the right direction. I want to post stuff you all care about!

So I'm starting to realize some of the stuff I'm making probably doesn't appeal to everyone. I think the most popular recipe so far has actually been the spaghetti and sausage which kind of surprised me. I'm not sure if that means you all enjoy spaghetti, sausage, or what. I'm thinking maybe it has something to do with the fact that it only has three ingredients and doesn't really involve much preparation or cooking knowledge.

So the first question is what kind of dishes would you like to see recipes for? Do you want to see something simpler than the past few (the jambalaya and the soup)? Do you want things that are more complex? Do you want things that are cheaper (ramen type dishes)? Do you want healthier recipes? Would you prefer if I took existing recipes I find online and convert them to a recipe you could use in the dorm?

Lastly, has anyone actually tried any of the dishes I've posted so far?

Please take a second and leave a comment so I can try to improve the site.

Thanks again to all those who keep coming back, I hope you're enjoying the recipes.

Supercook - The Recipe Search Engine

http://www.supercook.com

This is a pretty awesome website that allows you to simply type in ingredients you have on hand and it will show you all kinds of recipes you can make with them.

Sorry, I had a long day so I don't really have a whole lot of time to type up an article. I just thought I would share this useful website with everyone. So far I've been using my own creations for my recipes, but I'm thinking in the near future I might start adding in some recipes from sites like this and adapting them to be made in a dorm room setting using just the microwave and the George Foreman grill on occasion.

Potato, Ham, and Spinach Soup

If you ask any of my friends whether or not I have an adventurous personality, they would most likely say no, but that ended as of this weekend. This is the second time in as many days that I'm trying out a brand new recipe. This one is even crazier than the Jambalaya recipe from yesterday. At least with that I had previous experience making Jambalaya, I had just never made it in a microwave before. But I can honestly say I've never made any kind of potato soup, much less heard of one with these specific ingredients. This was definitely a risk, and while it might not be for everyone, it actually turned out pretty stinking awesome!

I think if I make this again I would probably use diced potatoes instead of sliced potatoes. The sliced potatoes were kind of thick and didn't break down very well. I'm thinking diced potatoes would have broken down a little better. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough? Not sure. I really can't complain too much though, I originally planned to use the potatoes and spinach as a side dish, but I started rethinking it before I made it. It turned out fine as it is though, please feel free to play with the recipe and let us know how it goes.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of Fat Free Milk [$0.60]
- Cream of Chicken Soup (11oz can) [$0.82]
- Whole Leaf Spinach (13.5oz can) [$0.54]
- Sliced Potatoes (15oz can) [$0.58]
- Three large slices of Deli Ham [$1.00]
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- Large tupperware dish (8-14 cup/ 2x 6-8 cup)

Optional/Substitute Ingredients
- 2 cups of any kind of milk
- Cream of Mushroom
- Diced potatoes instead of sliced
- You can cut your own potatoes as well if you'd like
- Any kind of turkey or ham would probably go well with this, doesn't have to be deli slices

Ingredients

This recipe will make around 4 servings depending how much you eat. Total cost comes out to about $0.71 per serving and you really can't beat that. This is about 1/4th of the price of similar soups (I'm looking at you Chunky soup!)

Step 1: Get out a plate and shred the ham with a fork and a knife. I basically did this by folding the ham a bunch of times and then sticking it in the middle with the fork. Take your knife and stick it between each set of prongs on the fork and cut it horizontally. Now cut vertically on either side of the fork. Your ham should be in pretty small sized chunks now, which is what we're shooting for. Throw the sliced ham into your tupperware dish

Chopped up ham

Step 2: Open and drain both the spinach and potatoes. Throw both into your tupperware dish. When I made it a little while ago, I stopped here, but I'm thinking it would have been a good idea to try and chop the potatoes into smaller pieces. If you got the diced potatoes, don't worry about it though.

Potato, spinach, and ham in the dish

Step 3: Open your cream of chicken soup and pour it in the dish.

Step 4: Add your two cups of milk to the dish.

Step 5: Now add all of your seasonings and stir to spread out everything evenly.

Step 6: Put the dish in the microwave for 10 minutes. Take it out and stir every 2 or 3 minutes.

Step 7: Take out and let the dish cool down for about 5-10 minutes. Now pour into a bowl and enjoy!

This picture doesn't do it justice

Like I said earlier, I think this dish is pretty flexible. You can try cooking it longer if you want, maybe that will result in the potatoes being more mushy, making the soup thicker. I think it turned out fine as it is though, but it's all up to you in the end. Since this one turned out pretty well I think in the future I'll experiment with potato soups using other ingredients like cheese, bacon, chives, sour cream, crab, crawfish, ground beef, etc (not all at once of course). I'm thinking I've really got something with this one.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

I'll admit, this was an adventure for me because I had not tried this recipe until today, so I really had no idea how it was going to turn out in the end. Taste and quality wise, I was aiming for somewhere between the boxed jambalaya meals and the home cooked dutch oven variety. I knew it wouldn't be quite as good as the latter, but I was pretty sure it would be better than the former. I did mess up a little bit along the way and I wanted to point that out to everyone so that you all don't make the same mistakes, but feel like I met my goal in the end.

"Great, he can't even get this right, why should I try it?" Well, mine came out just fine, it was just a little over seasoned and a little over cooked. Both of those mistakes could have been corrected had I taken my time to do everything correctly. Which is something I wanted to point out as well. If you are trying to cook this super quick, you might want to quit while you're ahead and go buy the boxed variety and throw it in the microwave, because this probably took me about an hour to prepare and cook. The upside, however, is that I could make about 10 servings of this in one batch if I wanted to (though this recipe is only for 4). So please, take your time, follow the instructions if you want to get the most from this recipe

One last note. I was able to make such a large batch because I went out and purchased a 14 cup tupperware dish. It cost around $6.00 and I feel it was WELL worth it. I can now make huge batches of everything I cook, meaning I don't need to cook as often. It also gives me a lot more options because now I don't have to worry about anything spilling over the side when I stick it in the microwave. So while this isn't necessary, and the recipe below only filled about half of the container, I wouldn't recommend trying the recipe if you don't have at least a 10 cup tupperware dish or something similar in size.

Ingredients:
- One link of hot pork sausage cut up into 1/2 inch chunks (5.5oz) [$1.52]
- One chicken breast sliced up into 1/2 inch chunks. (5.5oz) [$1.25]
- Three cups of white rice [$0.93]
- One can of reduced sodium chicken broth (14oz can) [$1.22]
- 1 tsp of pepper
- 2 tsp of garlic
- 2 tsp of onion powder
- 1 tsp of tony chacheres (or season all)
- 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp of worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tbsp of your favorite hot sauce
- 14 cup tupperware dish

Optional/Substitute Ingredients
- One link of any sausage, andouile, duck, etc
- Shrimp in place of chicken
- brown rice in place of white rice
- vegetable or beef broth instead of chicken

Ingredients
(Ignore the chili powder, I didn't use it)

This recipe will make about 4 servings or so. Total price excluding seasoning and tupperware dish comes out to only $1.23 per serving! If you throw in a vegetable side dish of some kind you could probably stretch it out to 5-6 servings.

Step 1: Start out by pouring your three cups of rice into the tupperware dish and run it under some water for a little while to get some of the starch out. Make sure to empty all of the water out of the dish when you're done. Obviously the rice will still be damp, that is fine, we just don't want a ton of water because it will mess up the next step.

*Note*
Now, It's a rule when cooking jambalaya that you want 2 cups of liquid for every cup of rice that you put into the pot (or tupperware in this case). So we need six total cups of liquid to add to our rice. I keep saying liquid because we are going to use chicken broth as well as water. This just gives it a better taste. Normally we would cook the chicken and sausage in the same pot that the rice and water go into, but this isn't the case for us so we are making up for it with the chicken broth.

Step 2: Pour the whole can of chicken broth into your dish. This comes out to be around 2.5 cups of liquid I believe. Then add 3.5 cups of water.

Step 3: Now is the most important part of the recipe!! This is where I messed up today, so please follow these steps. Begin seasoning with your tony chacheres and worcestershire sauce. Next pour in your garlic powder and onion powder. NOW, take a spoon and taste the liquid. The uncooked rice won't hurt you (this is another reason why you washed the rice earlier). Does the liquid taste like something you would want to eat? If so, stop seasoning here!!! Remember that you want the liquid to be a little salty because the rice will absorb some of it during cooking. If you think it needs some more pepper (which I definitely require in my jambalaya) then start slowly pouring the cayenne, black pepper, and hot sauce into the liquid. Make sure to put a little bit of each at a time! You can always add more but you can't take any out

My rice after seasoning

As you can see from this picture, I didn't follow my own directions. I put all the seasoning in at once without trying it as I was going. This resulted in crazy-spicy jambalaya that was tasty, but a little much even for me. I also didn't pour the liquid into the rice first, which I should have done as well.

Step 4: Cut your chicken and sausage into 1/2 inch chunks and throw them on your George Foreman grill for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure to check them every few minutes to make sure they aren't burning.

Cut up Chicken and Sausage

Step 5: Throw the chicken and sausage into your rice/water mixture and put it into the microwave for about 20 minutes. After about 10 minutes I would take it out briefly to stir it up. The seasoning tends to stay at the top otherwise. I know you wouldn't normally do this when cooking Jambalaya, but this isn't a normal way to cook it, so don't worry about it.

Step 6: After 20 minutes, let cool for a second and then take a bite of the rice. If it is still hard (uncooked), stick it in for another minute or two. The perfect consistency is for the rice to come out soft and slightly wet. Once the rice starts cooling off it will absorb a little more of the liquid. So if cook it for 25 minutes until the jambalaya is very dry straight out of the microwave, it will end up even drier in about five minutes, and you don't want that!

After coming out of the microwave

Step 7: Pull out a plate, serve, and enjoy!

Like I said, I made a few mistakes along the way and that is the main reason why this post is so long. I love this recipe and I want everyone to enjoy it, so I'm trying to describe in as much detail as possible so yours will turn out even better than mine does.

Looking forward to next week . . .

Well, sorry for not posting any updates this morning. I hope everyone remembers that I am in college, and that tests are unfortunately a regular occurrence. I had a Differential Equations test this morning and I pretty much spent all of yesterday and this morning trying to learn all about Laplace transforms! How exciting.

Anyways, I'm glad the weekend is here so I can catch up on some much needed relaxation. But, I'm also excited because Friday is grocery shopping day! Some people have been requesting that I post prices for the ingredients I use in my recipes, so I remembered to keep my receipt after getting back from the store so that I could put it up on here.

I think my plan for now is to post what I purchase from the store every Friday so that you can have an idea of what I might be cooking in the upcoming week. This way maybe some of you can go shopping on the weekend and have the ingredients ready for when I post the recipes up during the week. Or at least you'll have you're shopping list ready after you see how amazing the recipe turns out later on in the week.

So, lets see if you can guess what I'm cooking this week. Feel free to comment if you have any ideas. If you guess right I'll make sure to edit this and let you know!

- Cream of chicken soup (11oz can) - $0.82
- Yams (15oz can) - $0.87
- Whole leaf spinach (13.5oz can) - $0.54
- Long grain rice (32oz) - $1.24
- Low sodium chicken broth (14oz can) - $1.22
- Sliced potatoes (15oz can) - $0.58
- Loaf of double fiber wheat bread (20oz) - $3.13
- Hot pork sausage (16oz) - $4.57
- Mini marshmellows (16oz) - $1.16
- One white onion - $0.87
- Brown sugar (16oz box) - $0.86
- 4x chicken breasts - $5.00 ( I actually already had this, but I wanted to include it so you would know it would be in at least one of the recipes next week. Not included in total price below)

I also bought some measuring tools and another, larger tupperware dish.
- 8pc measuring utensils - $0.97
- 14 cup Rubbermaid tupperware - $5.74

Total price with tax came out to around $23.50 . This will probably make about 6-8 meals depending on how hearty of an eater you are. That comes out to only $3-4 per meal. You might be able to get that same price if you eat fast food, but I guarantee it won't be anywhere near as good as what I'm making.

Well, that's everything! I plan on making two main dishes as well as two side dishes. So there should be at least four new posts next week. Hope everyone will be looking forward to them!

In case you were wondering, these are my recipes

A lot of people have been questioning whether or not I'm actually coming up with my own recipes or if I'm getting them from other sources. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am creating these recipes as I go along. I'm basically winging it from day to day actually. I haven't looked off of any cooking blogs or websites to find any of the recipes on my site. I'm sure if you looked out there hard enough you would probably find similar recipes, but unless I'm making fish ice cream tacos or something, I'm probably not going to have anything 100% original.

The whole point of this blog is to show people that they can cook with limited resources. I'm not just talking about money, but a lack of cooking skills or appropriate appliances should not hinder you from having a great tasting meal. I'm trying to get across to everyone that you can adapt almost any recipe to be made in a dorm room setting. On the same note, you can convert almost any recipe I create here into something you can make in a household setting. All you have to do is replace the microwave with an oven and the grill with a stove top and then adjust for heat differences and cooking times. It really is that simple!

Now I thought I'd give people a little bit of background on how I started cooking in the first place, since some people have been asking me that as well. I probably started cooking when I was around 15, which was five years ago. I started out by just hanging out with my mom in the kitchen and watching what she would do. From there I asked if she could teach me how to make jambalaya and gumbo since those are my two favorite dishes. So she showed me step by step how to make it, and after watching her do it two or three times I ended up trying it out myself.

After that I learned the basics of cooking meats, which is the core of most of the meals I eat. I began to realize that cooking really isn't that bad once you know some basic steps, and from there as long as you know the terminology used in recipes you can make just about anything.

It actually got to the point before I left for college that I was the one who was cooking most of the meals in the house. My mom and dad both worked and I got off around noon my senior year, so I would get bored and just cook a meal.

You know how some people can hear music and be able to play it back instantly without seeing any of the music in front of them? Well I've gotten to the point where I can recreate most thing's I've eaten in the past with my own spin on it, without using recipes as a guide. Granted, this does end up going horribly wrong some times. I've made things before that I had to force myself to eat because I didn't want to throw it away, but that kind of stuff happens when you are experimenting.

Summary: No formal background in cooking, everything on my website is my own creation, or inspired by my mom's cooking. It got to the point where I knew what mixes well and what doesn't mix well and I just started making my own meals.

25 Uses for Tupperware in a Dorm Room

I was out running yesterday when I started thinking about what kind of articles I could write that would interest the people who keep up with this blog. I thought for awhile to try and come up with something that would still be relevant to cooking, but something that wasn't necessarily a recipe. The first thing that came to mind was tupperware!

I don't think I ever go a day without using my tupperware in some way. Every recipe I have posted so far has involved a piece of tupperware, except for the Ovaltine, but even that involves a plastic container with a lid, so we'll let it slide this time. I think I purchased my Rubbermaid 24 piece tupperware set for around $20? You really can't beat that deal. Even though I know I got my moneys worth, I started wondering what else I could be using my tupperware for. So here is the unusual and sometimes practical list I came up with.

#25 - A fish tank
With all the carnivals and fairs that tend to be around college campuses I'm sure you've been in a position to win a goldfish or two. I know every time I've seen a carnival game that gives me the chance to win a new friend I normally turn down because I have no where to put it. But if you have a tupperware laying around, just fill it up with some water and you have an instant fish habitat. I definitely don't recommend this as a permanent installment, but its usually good to put the bag with the fish inside a container of water so that the temperatures will equal out anyway. So you could do this while you go out and buy a normal fish tank.


#24 - Ipod Boombox
Check out this sweet Instructable to find out how to make your very own Ipod Boombox.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tupperware-iPod-Boombox/


#23 - Candy Dish
I don't have the money to buy a fancy glass or ceramic candy bowl to keep around. Plus, with all the people coming in and out of my dorm room I'm pretty sure a glass dish would break after about a day of owning it. But with a tupperware candy dish I never really have to worry about anyone knocking it over.


#22 - Heating up food
Here's another given. You don't even have to take the food out of the container. Just take it out of the fridge, pop the lid off and stick it in the microwave for a quick and easy meal.


#21 - To store left overs
Guess this is a given


#20 - Lunch Box
This is actually just a unique piece of tupperware I wasn't even aware of until just now. Cool idea
http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/tup_show_item.show_item_detail?fv_item_category_code=21808&fv_item_number=P10055361000

#19 - Bring Milk and Cereal anywhere (without getting soggy)
Pretty clever idea. This instructable will show you how to have milk and cereal anytime and anywhere without letting your cereal get soggy.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-eat-cereal-WITH-MILK-anywhereWithou/


#18 - First Aid Kit
Throw some bandages, disinfectants, needle and thread, gauze, small ice packs into a container and keep with you in your home, car, backpack, etc.


#17 - Car Repair Kit
This is a great idea and you will be glad you have it when you end up in a bad situation out on the road. Tire pressure gauge, tire repair kit, small flashlight, small tools, duct tape, emergency cash, etc. Chances are you probably have a lot of this in your car already, but make it easier on yourself by organizing it into a piece of tupperware that you can keep under your seat.


#16 - Coin bank
Keep a small tupperware dish in a drawer so that when you come home from work you can toss your spare change into it. Buy some coin wrappers or take the tupperware to your nearest Coin Star and cash in all the loose change.


#15 - Cereal/grain storage
Great way to organize your cereal, rice, sugar, flour etc. It might not seem like a space saver, but think back to the last time you started running out of your favorite cereal so you bought a second box only to end up stuck trying to find room for your now near empty box of cereal as well as your new full box of cereal. A tupperware will allow you to combine both boxes into one.


#14 - Small electric kit enclosures
I actually hadn't thought of this one before, but it makes sense. This allows you to see through the enclosure to see any loose wires you might have on your circuit board. This would also prove beneficial in a classroom setting. Students would be able to see the device without the danger of touching anything.
http://blog.makezine.com/upload/2008/03/tupperware_synths/tupperware_synth.jpg




#13 - Hardware, Craft, Electronics storage
Basically, anything that is really small such as nuts and bolts, colors and pencils, resistors and capacitors, etc can be organized into different pieces of tupperware.


#12 - Condiment packets storage
Check out this page and tell me that you don't have the urge to go out to restaurants and take a few extra condiment packets to take home for later. This is a great thing to keep in your dorm room and will save some money on condiments. Not to mention the wow factor when you open this bad boy up and whip out hundreds of packets of pure awesome.
http://condiment.portablefolkband.com/packets.php


#11 - Keep sake box
I don't really know if that is an appropriate name, but a tupperware would be a good place to keep small snippets of paper such as fortunes from fortune cookies, pictures, newspaper articles, magazine clippings, movie ticket stubs, etc. I'm sure there are other boxes as well, but they are probably pricier and less secure.


#10 - Keep items from getting crushed
I often find myself over packing my backpack for one reason or another. If I ever have something small or delicate I need to take with me and stuff in my backpack I will usually put it inside of a tupperware because of it's rigid structure. I never have to worry about anything getting crushed or damaged.


#9 - Keep things from getting wet
If you ever go fishing or take a trip to the beach, a tupperware could prove valuable as a storage for your phone or wallet.


#8 - Chips and dip on the go
I know I already mentioned food storage, but I thought this one deserved it's own spot. I never thought of bringing chips and salsa to lunch until I started using tupperware. In my head, I always imagined it as a hassle to bring a huge jar of salsa and a bag of chips with me to lunch, but when I can pour both into two separate tupperware dishes, it made it a viable option


#7 - Candy storage
Go out and buy some of the mixed bags of mini candies and pour it out into a tupperware and keep it in your backpack. You'll be everyone's friend!


#6 - Portable pantry
I actually just came up with this one and I will definitely be using this starting tomorrow. I often find that my plans are getting turned upside down throughout the day so often times I'm not sure when I'll be able to eat next. Putting small snacks such as a chewy bar, or beef jerky, or 100 calorie snack packs into a tupperware and bringing it with you in your backpack could be a life saver.


#5 - Strainer for pasta
If you make pasta often enough and have an older piece of tupperware that has seen better days, why not poke some holes in the bottom and use it to drain the water from your pasta.


#4 - Organize drawers
This one always seems to be one on a list of uses for tupperware, so I'm throwing it in as well.


#3 - Pot holder
No, not that kind of pot. Place a plant in your room to liven up the place. Place the pot inside a tupperware so that the water and soil don't make a mess. You should probably use a disposable piece of tupperware for this.

#2 - Thongs?
Well, it wasn't my idea, but sure, I guess that works.
Check out this link for 100 uses for tupperware containers:
http://www.siteimpressions.com/resources9/handouts/100_midget_uses.pdf


#1 - Cooking Dish
"Um, didn't you mention this before?" No, I didn't, #22 on the list is heating up food and I wanted to make sure that everyone knows there is a difference between heating up food and cooking food. I just want everyone to know that you can uses these tupperwares as a means of cooking fresh food, not just for heating up left overs, or ramen or something. I know that a microwave will never be as good as an oven, but make adjustments and you can eat exactly the same as if you were home!

The whole point of this article is for you to realize that you can make just about anything adapt to your situation if you try hard enough. I'm sure there are 100s of uses for tupperware I haven't even thought of, as seen in #2 of this article. Please feel free to leave a comment with other uses you have come up with.

Cajun Two Step Chili

So as you can see, I'm trying to get a little bit crazier with the names of my recipes. I don't know how much you could really consider this a Cajun dish since I'm using Mexican hot sauces, but we'll ignore that for now. For those of you who don't know, the Cajun Two Step is a traditional Cajun dance similar to the country western two step, but none of this really has anything to do with the recipes except for the fact that this great tasting chili can be made in only . . . you guessed it, Two Steps!!

Ingredients:
- 7.5oz Hormel Chili with NO BEANS
- 7.5oz Tostitos Salsa con Queso (half of the jar)
- Frito Lays Scoops
- Black Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Tony Chacheres
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Chili Powder
- Any hot sauce you can get your hands on

Ignore the Kashi cereal, we won't be needing that this time

Optional/Substitute Ingredients:
- 7.5oz of any chili
- 7.5oz of velveeta or any other soft cheese
- Any chip really, goes best with corn chips
- Pretty much any seasoning you can imagine

Step 1: Pour out the chili and cheese into a bowl or tupperware dish. If you want, add a few slices of velveeta cheese as well. Season generously with whatever seasoning you wish to put in it. Stir it all up and make sure the seasonings aren't all bunched up in one area of the chili.

Doesn't the chili look great fresh out of the can?

Advice: If you decide to add lots of various peppers and hot sauces, remember that they will add up in the end! If you love the hot stuff, then go for it! But If your not a big fan of a nasty burning sensation in your throat, I would limit it to about a tablespoon combined for the various peppers, and about a tablespoon for the various hot sauces.

Chili seasoned and mixed

Step 2: Place the bowl in the microwave for about 1 and a half minutes on high. Take out and stir and cook it for another minute. Take out and let cool for two - three minutes.

That's it! Whip out the chips and enjoy.

Finished Chili

As I'm sure you can tell, this is a VERY flexible recipe. You can throw just about anything in a chili and it probably wouldn't taste that bad. I know some people love putting beans, tomatoes, cream cheese, etc, but I was never a fan of that. I always just stuck with the simple stuff. I find that the more you over complicate the dish the easier it is to mess it up.

Lastly, I realize I put "The Dorm Life" on all of my pictures. Sorry about that. It's 1:45 in the morning and I'm too tired to fix it. Hopefully this won't take away from your yummy chili.

Ham, Egg, and Cheese sandwich

This sandwich is a great tasting and healthy way to start your morning. I saw a picture of a sandwich similar to this in the book Eat This, Not That: The Supermarket Survival Guide. There is just about everything you need in a meal between the two pieces of ultra healthy bread. Tons of fiber, protein, and dairy make this a quick and guilt free breakfast.

Ingredients:
- 3 slices of thin cut ham
- One slice of Velveeta cheese
- Half a cup of Egg Beaters
- Two slices of Double Fiber Wheat bread
- Salt and Pepper or Tony Chacheres
- Tablespoon of Milk


Optional Ingredients:
- Hot Sauce
- Spinach
- Tomato

Step 1: Pour the half a cup of Egg Beaters into a small bowl or tupperware dish and season it with the salt and pepper or Tony Chacheres. Add the tablespoon of milk so that the eggs aren't too dry, stir the mixture together. Cook the egg beaters in the microwave for 1 minute and thirty seconds. Take out and stir the eggs and then place it back into the microwave for 1 more minute. This step is very important otherwise the eggs will not be fully cooked in the center.



Step 2: Let the egg cool for about 30 seconds and then place the egg patty on the first slice of bread. Put your slice of cheese on top of the egg so that the cheese can melt just slightly. Then top it off with your 3 slices of thin cut ham. Finally put your last slice of bread on top of the ham and enjoy your amazing sandwich.



Optional Step 3: If you do choose to put the spinach or tomato on the sandwich, make sure to put the spinach between the cheese and the egg and put the tomato between the ham and the top piece of bread. I don't know exactly why, but it always seems to taste better this way.

Optional Step 4: If you have a George Foreman grill or sandwich press, throw it on for about two minutes so that the bread is nice and toasty.

Spaghetti with Sausage

Ingredients:

-1/2 lb of spaghetti
-your favorite Ragu Pasta Sauce
-fresh Italian sausage
-salt and pepper

(makes one hefty or two normal servings)


My recommendations for ingredients:
-1/2 lb of whole wheat spaghetti
-Ragu Robusto Parmesan & Romano Pasta Sauce
-fresh Hot Italian Sausage

Step 1: Take your 1/2 lbs of spaghetti put them in a tupperware dish. Cover them completely with water and set in the microwave. I always either put a paper plate or paper towels underneath the tupperware because the water does tend to boil over the top from time to time. For 1/2 lbs of pasta I usually set the microwave to 14 minutes on high.

Step 2: For some reason it seems that everytime I cook pasta in the microwave I end up with the tupperware being covered in some kind of sticky substance. I'm not really sure what it is, but I'm thinking its some weird by product of the starch being cooked by the microwave. Don't worry though, I usually just run water over the pasta and put it either in a new tupperware dish or a microwavable bowl.

Step 3: Take one or two links of sausage from your package and take a fork or knife to poke holes in the casing of each sausage. This will allow a lot of the grease to come out when cooking. Throw them on the already heated George Foreman grill and allow to cook thoroughly for around 8-10 minutes. Your sausage might be a little crispy on the sides that are touching the grill, so if you have the time you can grill them for probably around 20 minutes or so without putting the top of the grill down. I really don't mind the crispiness though and I usually just go for the quicker route.

Alternative Step 3: If you don't have a George Foreman grill you can always get precooked sausage instead. I don't mean hot dogs either, look at a package of any kind of sausage and if it is precooked then it will state it on the label. This just means that the sausage is already cooked and it really only needs to be heated up in order to eat. So all you have to do for step three is take out a link or two of sausage and pop it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. I would definitely poke holes in the sausage here as well. I know a microwave cooks things from the inside out, so you don't want any exploding sausages on your hands.

Step 4: Once the sausage is done grilling I usually take it out and cut it up into quarter inch pieces and throw it on top of the pasta. I then put about a cup of the pasta sauce and pour that on top of the spaghetti and sausage.

Step 5: Stir everything up together and put it back in the microwave for about a minute. This will allow the sauce to heat up and also pick up some flavor for the sausage.

Step 6: You can cover with some Parmesan cheese if you have any, though it's not necessary.

Enjoy!

More Ovaltine Please!

More Ovaltine Please!

Ever since I started my diet at the beginning of 2009, I have decided to give up any and all soft drinks. Now, I had done this once before when I was in high school and I made it about two months until I took a single sip of a soft drink. That single sip led to the occasional soft drink when I ate out, which maybe totaled to two or three cans a month. Well that eventually led me right back to where I started and I was drinking multiple soft drinks in a day, but that was then. I think I've finally rid myself of them completely. How did I do it? Ovaltine!

I know, it seems kind of weird, but Ovaltine is basically keeping me away from drinking soft drinks. I'm one of those people who can chug a bottle of water in about 10 seconds flat so after the first few days of not drinking soda I really had no problem drinking only water. But no matter how much I like water I did eventually crave some other kind of beverage. So my roommate eventually suggested I try Ovaltine. I don't think I ever had the stuff until January of this year, I guess my parents never liked it so I never had a chance to try it. Now, I drink about 24oz of the stuff per day.

So, here is how I make it:

Step 1: I bought a protein shaker bottle, similar to the one pictured on the right, that has the ounces measured down the side and I put three dash marks on the 8oz, 16oz, and 24oz (1, 2, and 3 servings of Ovaltine) of the bottle to indicate how much milk to pour.

Step 2: Pour the milk to the appropriate line and then add the appropriate amount of Ovaltine.
-Four tablespoons of powder for 8 ounces of milk
-Eight tablespoons of powder for 16 ounces of milk
-Twelve tablespoons of powder for 24 ounces of milk

Step 3: Close the lid and shake it up for a few seconds. Pop the lid open and enjoy!

This makes for a great and protein shake after working out. I'm not big into using whey powders and stuff like that after a workout, mainly because I don't want to put weird things into my body. I'm sure they work well and probably aren't bad for you, I just don't like to not know what I'm eating. The milk is a great and quick source of protein for your body to digest and get into it's system quickly after your workout. This will help muscle growth and I even read a study that said people who had 24 oz of milk per day actually lost a pound more than people who didn't drink milk on a similar diet.

Cajun Pork Loin with Herb and Butter Rice and a side of Green Beans and Potatoes

Ingredients:
-3 strips of 6-8oz pork loin
-Knorr's Herb and Butter Rice
-Can of no salt added green beans
-Can of diced potatoes
-Seasoning (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, tony chacheres, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce)

This recipe will make three hefty servings. I usually make this much at one time and save it for later in the week. It usually takes about an hour to cook, and being in college I don't have an hour to cook every night, so adjust the ingredients if you need.

Step 1: Season the meat as you see fit. I used all of the seasonings listed above. I never really measure the amounts I use, so I don't really know what to tell you other than I pretty much had equal parts of everything. if you want me to measure the amounts I use from now on, just let me know

Step 2: Throw the three strips of pork onto the already hot GF grill. Allow to cook for probably 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your meat. Always check your thickest piece of meat to see if it's cooked inside.

Step 3: Use the microwavable instructions on the package of the Knorr's Herb and Butter Rice. I basically just pour it into a microwavable tupperware dish and cover it with water. Just stick in in the microwave for about 15 minutes I believe and let it cook.

Optional step 1: I always try to add protein and fiber to my diet, so I always add a package of starkist herb and garlic tuna and a small can of no salt added peas to my herb and butter rice. It taste awesome to me and my roommate, but I know most people probably wouldn't like it.

Step 4: Open and drain your green beans and potatoes, place in microwavable dish, season with salt and pepper, and let microwave for about 2 and a half minutes. I like to mash it all together once it comes out, but that is a personal preference.

Optional Step 2: I split up the rice into three separate containers and place one piece of pork on top of each dish of rice. I then split the green beans and potatoes into three separate dishes as well. I then put two of each of the dishes in the fridge and save for later. Obviously this step is unnecessary if you only made enough for one serving. I find this is a great way to make lunch/dinner for two-three days.

Starting Off

I was thinking of starting a blog to keep track of the random stuff I cook in the dorm room. My roommate and I are both over weight and we decided to start losing some of the pounds at the beginning of this semester. I started out at 331 and he started out at around 264 I believe. So far I'm down to 299 and he is down to 229.

The way we accomplished this is by buying a George Foreman grill and making smarter decisions at the grocery store. All semester we have been grilling and microwaving in order to avoid the plethora of fast food surrounding us.

I would say most of the recipes are pretty common and not very special, aside from the fact that we use a microwave and a GF grill to make it. So the recipes might not be very original, more of an inspiration for what you can do with a very small assortment of cooking tools.

NOTES
If you DO have a kitchen in your dorm/apartment, you really don't have to use a George Foreman grill for any of my recipes. You can definitely just cook it in a pot/pan. The only benefit of the GF grill is that when I cook fatty meats, all the grease/fat will drain off. But it definitely isn't as flexible as a pot or pan and I would much rather use that if I had the option.

Anyways, My next post will contain my first recipe that I'm going to make tonight.