Meatless Monday Debut: Gourmet Dorm Cooking

Meatless Monday: Gourmet Dorm Cooking

By Joanna Brown, Editorial Contributor

If you are lucky, your dorm kitchen looks absolutely nothing like my dorm kitchen at Truman State University and looks exactly like the gorgeous kitchen I got to use in one of Mizzou’s dorms. Unless you are planning to eat microwaveable Ramen and Mac & Cheese your entire college career, I consider the following items to be essential. With the assumption that you can store the pots and pans in the kitchen you will need: a 2-3 quart pot for most meals, several extra small pans in case you want to make additives like rice or maybe a sauce, a large pot for mass quantities of pasta (in case you are feeling generous enough to feed your friends), 1 stirring spoon, at least four spoons, knives, and forks, a colander (ever tried draining pasta without one? It usually ends up in the sink), a large skillet or wok, and, if you are into to casseroles or brownies, a 9×13 glass pan.  Now I know this may sound like a lot but as far as cost goes, you can easily get all this for approximately $50 at Walmart or Target.

Tip: Do NOT freak out about used dishes. Buy them used online for a fraction of the cost, pile them in a sink and pour boiling water and soap on them and you are golden.

With the right staples literally ANYONE can learn how to cook. You never know, you may just get good enough to start a restaurant straight out of your dorm kitchen.

We will start easy:

Basic Spaghetti With a Spicy Meatless Twist:

Feel free to modify this recipe based on the number of people that you have joining you.

Ingredients:

2TBSP – Olive Oil (keep this on hand. It’s healthy and it’s used in A LOT of meatless recipes)

1TBSP -Minced Garlic (it’s easiest to buy a container of pre-minced, not too costly, doesn’t go bad and saves you the hassle of mincing garlic)

1 small white onion- chopped small

1 Jalapeño Pepper – chopped small

½ Cup of chopped mushrooms

1 Green Pepper

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Basil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 bag of shredded Italian Cheese

1 Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I LOVE Classico-Traditional Basil)

1/2 Jar of your favorite salsa (I LOVE Pace Hot Picante Sauce for this recipe because it is less chunky, but be careful if you can’t handle the hot stuff because it is extremely spicy)

1 package of Spaghetti Noodles.

Directions:

Put a large pot with water on the stove and begin boiling. Cook noodles according to package instructions.

In a skillet, heat oil and then add garlic and chopped onion, stirring until slightly brown. Add jalapeño, green pepper and mushroom and sauté until all are browned. Add Oregano, Basil and salt and pepper. Add spaghetti sauce and salsa and stir slowly. Heat on medium until bubbly. Add cheese slowly and reduce heat. Stir until cheese melts entirely.  If it is too spicy for you there are two options: 1) Suck it up and learn to enjoy the taste-bud orgasm that is spiciness. 2) Add more spaghetti sauce, which you should always have on hand.

Drain spaghetti when finished and either mix together with sauce to serve or spoon over individual portions of pasta.

Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Extras:

Carnivorous suggestion: Add cooked Italian Sausage or Hamburger if you are in a non-vegetarian mood.

Every so often my recipes will include a brief article to aid those of you that do not consider cooking as something that comes naturally to you. Feel free to email me (at Joanna.L.Brown@live.com) about any cooking question or suggestions for meals that you would like to make. To submit your favorite recipes for Meatless Monday-including meals, snacks, and chocolate goodness- email Joanna.L.Brown@live.com.

Be sure to visit College Femme Magazine for Meatless Monday recipes, and visit our YouTube Channel to see featured recipes made by yours truly.

Enjoy,

Jo!