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.
25 Uses for Tupperware in a Dorm Room
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- 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?
Chili seasoned and mixedStep 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.
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
-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 o
r 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.
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