[faerie87]

Hi all,
sooo i want to save some money to cook at home, but i'm a full time college student who also interns, so i don't have a lot of time to cook.

most of the recipes i find require a lot of ingredients as well as time to prep.
what are some more simple but good home cooking recipes or dishes that you guys make on a regular basis?

please share! and how you manage to balance life with preparing your meals! thanks!

[this luallaby]

I am in the same situation as you. I'm a fulltime student and work part time so I don't have a lot of time to cook. In fact, I don't even know how to cook. This is what I do...Go to walmart. Go to the Asian food aisle and check out all the sauces. For example they hve soy sauce, marinade sauce, sweet and sour sauce etc. I always get the stir fry sauce. It adds flavor to everything. I pour some in when I make fried rice with egg. Very simple. And delicious.

And sometimes I buy a pack of chicken breast or tenders and cut it into tiny chunks and fry it with the stir fry sauce. Absolutely delicious. No lie.

[azn_bubblez]

my two fav dishes to cook are spaghetti bolognese and japanese curry rice.

just buy sauce, spaghetti, some mince, onions and mushrooms. make the bolognese and put it over spaghetti. can probably last u a few days. same with curry.
u can buy curry mix in boxes. and just cook a whole pot full! then spoon it over rice.

[faerie87]

haha yep, i've made spaghetti bolognese before too, did last me a couple days.
what do you put in your curry? meat and potatoes? i have curry mix but never made any for myself, made it once for an event.

anymoreeee? what about just simple dishes that are easy to make on a daily basis?
like steamed fish, but need to go out and get fresh fish!

[faerie87]

does anyone have anymore ideas??

[deathangelxd]

Ah, for curry, most people I know add meat, like, any type, onion, carrots, and potato. Personally, my family just buys the sauce and not the mix...my mom said it was unnecessary, but who knows. Good luck with that. ;D
I guess you can always make porridge and steam some egg. Also, you can just stir fry some veggies and that's one dish. Ahh, what else do I make...well, I guess if you want, you can try seasoning the meat/fish/whatever in the morning and when you come back, you can grill it while you do homework or something. Ahh, and mac and cheese. ;D

[JerseyLadi]

I go to college full time and work part time. i have two recipes that my friends really like.

Chicken tenderloins or chicken breast. I find chicken breast to be too thick.
Salt and pepper the chicken meat. Put some oil on a frying pan or sauce pan and cook till chicken is brown on both sides.
Ok lower the heat and pour in some chicken stock or chicken broth, not too much stock/broth just enough that the top half of the chicken is not in stock
When you pour in the stock, pour in some salad dressing. nothing creamy. I use wishbone bountiful in tuscan romano basil. not too much just eyeball it, it really depends on how much chicken you use but if you're only cooking for yourself i guess a tablespoon or two.
and stir it around the pan and bring to boil.
You can add in some veggies too. i like onions and tomatoes. If you put in something like broccolis remember that it will absorb a lot of the stock.
after boiling it for about a min or two, add in a LITTLE milk. The stock will turn into a creamy color and when it comes to a boil again which will be really quick, take the chicken out and put on plate. try to spoon some of the veggie out and put on the chicken and pour some of the stock on the chicken...it will be like a thin sauce.

I'm sorry i'm really bad trying to explain a recipe but i'm sure you will understand what i am talking about when you cook it. it's really good. My friends love it. It's not a asian food but it's really good.

Another recipe i have,
This is a bit of a spanish recipe.
You need a lime
any kind of meat, like a pork chop or chicken breast
salt, pepper, sazon (spanish speasoning look in spanish aisle of grocery store. they're cheap)
Adobe (also spanish seasoning)
OK sooo this is all about marinating.
Salt and pepper the meat. shake some adobe onto the meat on both sides of course. sazon will come in little tiny packets in a box. shake some onto both sides of meat. use about half the packet for one meat. don't touch it with your hands because your fingers will turn dark orange. cut half a time and squeez it on both sides of the meat and use the lime to rub the meat so the seasoning will get ono the lime instead of your fingers. and just cook it. just on a frying pan. dont over do it with the adobe and lime. just spritz it.

One advice. I have a box of potato buds. i love mashed potatoes so yeah i use it alot for sides and such.

i know this sounds long but its not its really quick.

[vividified]

the idea is also to make your meals in bulk and freeze your sauces, find recipes that can be freeze and can be kept a bit longer.

my favourite recipe i use it veal steak.. marinate the veal steak in sea salt and cracked pepper and extra virgin olive oil. leave for an hour (do other things like catching up on homework during this time) and then cook in a grill pan .

[JetGirl]

the idea is also to make your meals in bulk and freeze your sauces, find recipes that can be freeze and can be kept a bit longer.

my favourite recipe i use it veal steak.. marinate the veal steak in sea salt and cracked pepper and extra virgin olive oil. leave for an hour (do other things like catching up on homework during this time) and then cook in a grill pan .

i have to cook everyday, I find it uberly depressing to eat food i made 2 days ago. But i'm a first year history student so i have alot of time anyways, XD

VEAAL?? mini cooper! Thats expensive.

[faerie87]

ooo thanks! i'll try that someday!! maybe the other dish too.
any one have sauces they like to freeze?

I go to college full time and work part time. i have two recipes that my friends really like.

Chicken tenderloins or chicken breast. I find chicken breast to be too thick.
Salt and pepper the chicken meat. Put some oil on a frying pan or sauce pan and cook till chicken is brown on both sides.
Ok lower the heat and pour in some chicken stock or chicken broth, not too much stock/broth just enough that the top half of the chicken is not in stock
When you pour in the stock, pour in some salad dressing. nothing creamy. I use wishbone bountiful in tuscan romano basil. not too much just eyeball it, it really depends on how much chicken you use but if you're only cooking for yourself i guess a tablespoon or two.
and stir it around the pan and bring to boil.
You can add in some veggies too. i like onions and tomatoes. If you put in something like broccolis remember that it will absorb a lot of the stock.
after boiling it for about a min or two, add in a LITTLE milk. The stock will turn into a creamy color and when it comes to a boil again which will be really quick, take the chicken out and put on plate. try to spoon some of the veggie out and put on the chicken and pour some of the stock on the chicken...it will be like a thin sauce.

[nikkipicky]

chicken katsu is pretty good and easy. doesn't take long =] just eat it with rice. my sister ate it in a sandwich once and she said it was good. you pretty much just add salt and pepper to a raw chicken breast, coat it in flour, then egg (i add soy sauce to the egg) and then put plenty of panko (japanese bread crumbs) on it. then .. pan fry. very yummy =]

another thing i like to make is ttaktoritang. korean dish my exboyfriends mom used to make me. it's so delicious. anyway, it's some veggies and chicken cooked together with soy sauce and chili paste. potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, some garlic, i add broccoli cause its delicious. i usually buy about 2 lbs of potatoes (i <3 potatoes), one or two bell pepper (doesn't matter the colour to me), about 2 or 3 carrots, only need two cloves of garlic... and as much broccoli as i feel like xD hahaha. don't go overboard with soy sauce. it'll make it salty =x so i think 1/4c is all you'll need for a big pot. and as much chili paste as you want. sometimes i add crushed chili flakes. spicier xD my recipe that i wrote in my recipe notebook (hahaha) also has onions on the list, and some fresh ginger, white sugar and some water. i could tell the exact measurements for everything =]

boil eggs and crack up the shell but don't peel it. let it sit in black tea for a few hours and when you peel it, it's all pretty =] makes good snacking if you like boiled eggs. and they're pretty for adding to things like bento >_> you can also put it soy sauce, but without the shell. makes tasty eating.

another thing is (korean) boochu. it's chives in a spicy sauce. in it: one tblsp soy sauce, one tsp. crushed garlic, one tsp. sesame salt, one tsp. sesame oil, one tsp. brown sugar, one tsp. chili flakes... i think that's it. mix that up and add around 8 oz (or as much as you like. 8oz isnt a lot for this sauce =x there's leftover sauce) of chives and eat it with rice. the longer it sits, the spicier it gets. my sister and i love this so much xD i don't really measure anything though. i just throw it all in. don't forget, though, to cut up the chives into about 1-inch pieces. or however big you want them to be.

yet another thing is rosemary lemonpepper chicken. just chicken breast (to lessen cooking time, i suggest cutting up the chicken into cubes) and as you cook, you season it with some rosemary, some lemon pepper, some thyme. maybe some herbs de provence (cause it just has a good mix for chicken =x) and when it's done.. yum good on pasta, with rice... with boiled squash and cheeeese. i once added some hot sauce to kick it up for my boyfriend (he's fond of spicy food) but i made it really spicy X_X too much hahaha. but this mix of seasonings i've tweaked over the years =x i like a lot of lemon pepper on it though =\

with pasta, after you cook it you can add the sauce and put it in a casserole dish and bake it for a while. and add parmesan cheese to the top. makes it oh-so-delicious.

i could probably think of more.

[GooNiEGooGoo]

tortillas, beans, cheese...

optional: meat, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream