Dorm Delicious

You can make muffins-for-one right from the comfort of your dorm room. Who knew?
Photo courtesy of brit.co

As any college student will tell you, public institutions aren’t usually known for their five-star gourmet meals. At best, a school’s cafeteria typically falls into the “edible but uninspiring” category. 

To avoid confusion, I’m not slamming Concord’s cafeteria. I think I speak for all of us when I say we really appreciate all that the dining hall staff do for us. Always making sure we have a hot meal and a smile is something that means so much to us homesick college students. Nonetheless, sometimes students want something a little different, but variety and the limited budget that almost all of us have to work with aren’t really cooperative. 

Putting aside money, on-campus residents don’t have a lot in the way of proper cooking utensils. Each dorm is equipped with a kitchen, but a handful of stoves between nearly 2,000 students don’t go very far. We’re not allowed to have hotplates, coffee makers aside from Keurigs, or any other instrument with an exposed heating element. So, cooking is pretty impossible, right? 

Wrong! All it takes is a little creativity, some trial-and-error, and a bit of open-mindedness. 

Anyone who has used the internet in the last year is bound to have noticed the new fad of mug recipes. If the name isn’t self-explanatory enough, the concept is simple. You take ingredients, mix them together in a coffee mug of your choice, and microwave it. These recipes eliminate the need for mixing bowls, large quantities of ingredients, and long waits. Plus, minimal dishes to cook with means minimal dishes to wash!

 It started out with cupcake recipes, and has since evolved to include everything from banana bread (my personal favorite) to omelets. While the idea of cooking eggs in the microwave may make some squeamish, as long as you give them enough time to fully cook, you’ll run no more risk of salmonella than if you’d cooked them in a traditional skillet. Mug recipes are easy to find on the internet with a simple Google search, but a great article featuring recipes for everything from breakfast to dinner can be found on brit.co’s “1 Mug + 1 Microwave = 26 Delicious Recipes for the Time Starved Cook.” Personally, I recommend the blueberry muffin with streusel or the chicken pot pie. 

Although these meals-for-one are totally dorm-approved, buying ingredients for some of the recipes can really rack up a grocery bill, especially buying fresh produce. Fortunately, mug recipes aren’t the only recipe’s at the starving student’s disposal. 

Ramen noodles are a commodity that everyone is familiar with. We eat far too many of them. They’re great for a quick meal when trekking across campus for food isn’t appealing. However, they get tiresome really quickly. The sodium-filled flavor packets and paper-like noodles don’t do much in the culinary department. Fortunately, with a little creativity, even these 25 cent packs can be made into something delectable. 

For example, a couple slices of roast beef in prepared beef flavored ramen turns something bland into a hearty and filling meal. A pack of sandwich style roast beef can be purchased for just a couple dollars in any grocery store. If you’re feeling particularly cultured, throw in a little fresh green onion and let it soak in the hot beef broth for about five to seven minutes. 

Chicken flavored ramen provides the perfect base for a cheesy chicken noodle meal. Simply prepare the ramen, drain the excess broth, and mix in two slices of American cheese, or any kind of cheese that suits your fancy, really. Just be aware that some cheeses won’t melt as readily as others. For a creamier option, add just a dash of milk to your meal and stir until everything is blended and delicious. 

Sometimes, the salt content in the flavor packets can be overwhelming and completely drown out any other flavors. For the culinary chemist, this is the perfect opportunity for experimentation. Cook the noodles as you normally would, but instead of adding the included flavor pack, throw in some garlic, parmesan cheese, onion powder, chives, or anything you want. Mix and match, play with quantities and combinations, have fun with it. Every creation may not be a Rachel Ray caliber success, but keep trying! You’ll find something that works for you and then you’ll be a hero among your dorm-mates. 

Cooking is fun! It’s something that you can do alone or with friends, and there really is no right way to make something new. Cooking doesn’t have to be a hassle, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Just grab a coffee mug or some ramen noodles, and a few odds and ends here or there, and get started!