Celebrations, like how Oktoberfest always symbolizes one particular thing in a college student’s mind: Food. Although it is always something to look forward to, not all students are going home for the holiday or don’t have enough to spare in their budget for an extravagant meal. Here are just ten tips that I’ve collected over my years in the kitchen.
1.) Be willing to get creative. If something is on sale, then find a way to use it. Whether it is the main meat of the evening, or just a simple side vegetable, there’s always a way to use it.
2.) One can always spice up a simple dish by adding an unexpected ingredient. If dinner is going to be ramen noodles, then take five minutes and sauté half an onion with any kind of oil and add that to the dish.
3.) If any stove top (or grilled) meat is going to be the main dish, like say beef or chicken, and mixing spices seems risky, then cheat like a pro and use salad dressing. Those “Zesty Italian” dressings that Kraft makes are perfect for some chicken on a grill/stove.
4.) There are tons of websites that have college students in mind where they use recipes that have less than five ingredients in them or that only take ten minutes to make.
5.) Don’t be wasteful. If all those walnuts, peppers or whatever flavor was being added to a separate dish are just going to get thrown out, then add them to a side dish, or make a side dish out of them.
6.) If something burns, roll with it. Sometimes the burnt part of the dish can be cut off, but remember to transfer immediately what was burned to another dish so the charred flavor doesn’t stick to the dish.
7.) If you’ve known for the last few days (or weeks) that you’re not going home and money is tight, then buy ingredients over the next few days. By budgeting a few dollars here and there, one can easily purchase a large meal; just remember to buy the perishables last.
8.) Treat yourself. Whether it be dessert or an expensive meat, pick at least one part of your meal at home that you can look forward to.
9.) When your cooking, especially if it’s on the stove and you’re using anything with oil in it(butter, olive oil, lard), don’t put that dish immediately in the sink to clean it; unless the kitchen really wants to catch on fire.
10.) To those who are cooking their meals in the microwave; have no fear. Check websites like All Recipes, or The Cooking Channel, for your favorite recipes often have microwave only versions.
