Being at college has been my first time away from home. This is the first time I have really had to learn some of those basic life skills that you need to survive, such as feeding myself. As much as I would love to eat out every day, the cost adds up and I can only order so many variations of the same combo meal. I needed to cook for myself, or at the very least make a meal from something.
I am fortunate to come from a home where my meals were made for me. I am appreciative, but I lacked the skill, technique, and knowledge of making a meal for myself. After many phone calls to my mother and just about anyone that knew how to boil water, I learned a couple of basics that help me make any meal. Being able to break down recipes into serving sizes that work for you always takes time – plus you have to learn how willing you are to eat certain leftovers day after day. Personally, I won’t eat leftover red meat, but I don’t mind reheating chicken!
There are a couple of basics needed for just about any recipe that needs to be heated/cooked/boiled: measuring cup, a knife (or two if handling raw meat along with other ingredients), cutting board, onion, cooking oil, and seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and parsley. Though, every recipe calls for different ingredients and you should season food to your preferences, so take everything with a grain of salt.
Chicken
I love chicken. I find it to be very versatile and easy to cook since it doesn’t depend on your desired tenderness – chicken is thoroughly cooked when it is no longer pink on the inside, so there’s no debating how “well” you want it! One of my favorite dishes to make is actually one my mother taught me to make: Italian breaded chicken with lemon juice. All you need to do is make sure your chicken is evenly sliced, toss it in an egg wash before covering it in breadcrumbs of your preference, then add it to a pan of hot oil to fry it and flipping to ensure both sides are cooked. I find this to be a tasty stand-alone dish but you can add it to some mixed greens and top with lemon juice and parmesan!
You can also grill chicken and add it to a basic garden salad mix from the store and make grilled chicken salad. Grilled chicken is a staple in my house; I use it as its own meal, the leftover chicken is put into salad, I can make chicken alfredo, or I can use it in a grilled chicken wrap with spinach, carrot slices, cheese, and Italian dressing. I don’t believe in “leftover” chicken, there is always a meal waiting for it to be used as an ingredient!
Chicken is great for me when I don’t want to feel weighed down with a heavy meal or spend an hour making lunch. I always add salt, pepper, and onion powder to my chicken, but if it’s the main course of my meal then I’ll finish it with either Italian seasoning or garlic powder. You can add a bit of spice with a Cajun seasoning like Tony’s. Tip: after fully cooking chicken let it rest for 3-5 minutes so that it can carry over cook.
Pasta
Pasta is my go-to dinner. There are so many ways to make pasta and there is never a wrong way to experiment with it! In my experience, its easiest to make pasta when you let the water boil before adding the noodles. Some of my favorite ways to make pasta dishes are to make alfredo or parmesan noodles. I boil two handfuls of pasta until its soft, then drain most of the water and mix in 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream, 2/3 cup of grated mozzarella cheese, and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. At this point, the pasta is done! I like to add some pan seared slices of sausage and cooked down onion and spinach to add more depth to the flavors.
If hot pasta isn’t your thing, there is always pasta salad! Pasta salad is as simple as picking up a ready-made box and just boiling your noodles then mixing it with the sauce. When I make pasta salad, I prefer to mix my sauce with vegetable oil and top it with lightly seasoned grilled chicken and shredded parmesan. Since there are so many types of pasta salad, you can add any extra ingredients you desire! I like to add carrot slices, steamed broccoli, and even croutons!
Potatoes
If you’re not interested in standing over a hot stove and possibly burning yourself as oil pops in your face, then try making potatoes! Baked potatoes are as simple as poke, rub on salt and vegetable oil, roll in tin foil, and leave it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. Baked potatoes are very simple to prepare and super satisfying to eat. Eating a whole baked potato can be overwhelming, but making a few mini baked potatoes is a much less daunting meal to eat. You can make “smash” potatoes, which is essentially a small baked potato that was boiled, pressed flat, and sat in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees before adding your toppings. I’m not often in the mood for a baked potato or even a mini smashed potato, but I love having roasted potatoes. They’re chopped up potatoes covered with vegetable oil and spices (salt, pepper, rosemary, basil, and parsley) that are roasted in the oven until crispy. Often, I’ll make roasted carrots at the same time in the same way just to add a bit of sweetness to my dish!
Potatoes are a great main dish, but they make an equally tasty side dish too! You can use potatoes as sides in so many recipes as a way to add quantity and diversity to your plate. Its so easy to make potatoes for one meal and use the leftovers for another, totally different meal.
On my Pinterest there’s a board dedicated to food, so if any of these meals sound good and you want a more detailed recipe then check it out – or if you just want some inspiration for dinner then I have plenty of that!