Are you tired of ramen noodles and cold pizza? If you are a student living for the first time in student housing or an off campus apartment you soon begin to really miss mom’s home cooking. Life in student housing is busy. You are juggling classes, term papers, studying, laundry, work and the excitement of campus life. Who has time to cook? But there’s no need to survive on not much more than cold cereal and pop tarts. Here are 3 easy, affordable, nutritious and simple meals for students who are getting adjusted to life in off campus housing.
These meals don’t require much cooking skills just basic boiling water, frying and chopping. So here’s 3 favorites that are cheap, simple and best of all, taste good.
Korean BBQ & Sweet Carrots over Rice
This is a favorite and so simple. Done in 20 minutes. Serves 4.
1 lb ground beef
4 green onions thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sweet Carrots
1/2 lb baby carrots
1 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup rice
2 cup water
Begin cooking the rice in water either on the stove or in microwave.
Brown the ground beef in fry pan along with the 2 cloves of garlic and green onions. Chop the beef finely while cooking. Once browned add soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes and ginger. Let simmer until rice and carrots are done.
While beef is cooking put carrots in another pan with 1 clove garlic and about 1/2 c.-1 c water. Let simmer until carrots are tender, then add soy sauce, brown sugar and thyme. Simmer a few minutes.
Serve the ground beef and carrots on top of rice. Can also be served in lettuce leafs instead of on the rice, like a lettuce wrap. Delicious.
Baked Ziti With Veggies
Ready in 30 minutes. Serves 6.
This is a simple, dump and bake recipe or it can be cooked in a skillet. Adjust the ingredients to your taste.
1 package of ziti noodles ( or any style of noodles)
1 can chicken or 1 c cubed or shredded chicken
Frozen or fresh veggies of your choice (broccoli, mixed italian veggies, spinach, carrots, celery)If using fresh veggies you may want to sauté or steam them before adding)
1/2 chopped small onion
1 c. of your favorite shredded or cubed cheese
1 bottle of any style spaghetti sauce
1/4 c sugar
Cook the noodles until tender, drain.
Sauté onion and veggies
Combined all ingredients in a mixing bowl and then baked in a 9×13 pan x 30 minutes at 350 degrees. You can also make this by sautéing onions and veggies in pan with a little olive oil, then adding all other ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. You can vary the taste of this recipe by the veggies you use, type of cheese used. Try adding about 1/2 c of cream to it for a more creamy sauce. Be creative!
Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
So creamy and delicious. A different spin on enchiladas. Prep time 10 minutes. Bake time 20 minutes.
1 can chicken or 1 lb. cubed or shredded chicken
6 Tablespoons honey
5 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 16 oz. can green enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup heavy cream
8-10 tortillas
Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder in a ziploc bag with the chicken. Let it marinade for 30 minutes in the fridge. Then pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of 9×13 pan. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture, some grated cheese, roll then place in pan. Mix the rest of the enchilada sauce with the cream (to save on calories use milk or half and half). Pour the enchilada sauce/cream mixture on top of tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees x 30 minutes. May add a little more cheese on top last 5 minutes of cooking if desired.
You can also try this with cheddar cheese. You can add a can of green chilis if desired or even add other chopped veggies like red or green peppers or onions to the tortillas. Make it how you like it.
So try something new and maybe you can impress your roommates and even mom with your delicious meals. When living at Dixie Cove Apartments in St George you’ll have all the cooking facilities you will need. Save money and eat healthier by fixing your own meals. When you live in a dorm you usually don’t have ability to cook much other than a microwave. Dixie Cove off campus housing near Dixie State University has full kitchen facilities available.
Living in student housing doesn’t have to mean fast food , expensive convenience foods or unhealthy choices. The right student housing complex allows for simple meals for students. Save money, time , have fun and eat well at Dixie Cove Apartments, off campus housing at Utah Tech.
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