Autumn Chili 4 College Cooking

PMy travels to Europe and South Africa have finally ended, and returning to Chicago found me bedridden with illness after 22 hours of steadfast flying--but, I also came home with a great recipe for low-budget college cooking after meeting up with friends in Germany who made this simple supper (a variation on Chile Con Carne) while we reminisced about high school and the good 'ol days!

This is an easy one-pot meal for the cold fall and winter days ahead. Packed full of vegetables, nutrition, protein and flavor; and, this is yet another option to limit your meat consumption and stretch your grocery dollars--for an apartment of college students this will satisfy any hunger with leftovers to spare. 

(Not a chili or stew fan? Try these alternatives to make winter's chill bearable: Lemony Chicken Orzo Soup, Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, Corn Bacon Chowder with Shrimp, or Loaded Baked Potato Soup.)

Another benefit to any chili-stew recipe is that if you only have black beans instead kidney beans...use them...or add some corn...or not! Don't like green peppers...skip them...exchanges are easy...wanna go vegetarian or save on grocery dollars...omit the meat altogether!

Don't sweat the small stuff with one-pot meals!

Add a simple salad, like a simple Arugula Salad with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper, and some Cheesy Toasts for a meal worth sitting down for. Make time to connect (and re-connect) with the folks that matter in your life no matter where you are...never eat alone! Share a meal! Invite a friend and find out what's going on in their life! 

(Courtesy recipe from Dorothee Reiniger-Pointer--thanks for a wonderful evening and welcome back to Germany!)

Autumn Chili 4 College Cooking

Equipment:
5qt-sauce pan with lid
Can opener
Wooden spoons

Ingredients:
1 lb ground hamburger
2 onions, coarsely diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick rounds
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 peppers (red, yellow, green--or as available, cheapest), cored & coarsely chopped
3 (15oz) crushed tomatoes
1 (15oz) light red kidney beans
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sambal oelek (optional if you like it spicy, or substitute 1/8 cayenne pepper)
Sour Cream or Creme Fraiche

Add-Ons:
Baguette with cheese, cold cuts, or plain ol' butter
Salad

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands and produce.
2. Prep all of your ingredients before starting the skillet.

3. Brown hamburger meat, garlic and onions in a large non-stick 5 qt-saucepan

4. Add carrots and cook 5-6 minutes.

5. Add peppers.

6. Add tomatoes and season with salt, pepper, and sambal oelek.
7. Simmer on low-heat x one hour.

8. Add kidney beans (or black beans or corn) and simmer another 15 minutes.
9. Prep your add-ons, i.e. cheesy toasts for the broiler and/or salad.

10. Call some friends over for supper tonight! 

Veggie Toasts 4 College Cooking

Scraping by is no fun, but recently I posted an article on College Confessions that exposed a very stark reality that some college students are experiencing related to money and making ends meet: 

http://www.upworthy.com/8-student-confessions-that-make-me-think-differently-about-money-and-merit?c=ufb2 

Compelling information on the struggles from being penniless to hungry in college. I would encourage you to look at every penny and dollar you have if you are living off campus...if you are limited in income and survival is looming ahead...

---calculate everything in your budget 

---remove extraneous items, ie cigarettes, soda, beer, candy, desserts, junk food

---stick to water

---eliminate meat from the grocery budget

---most importantly, identify someone who is struggling and share a meal 

Even if you don't have a lot to share, consider reducing your intake just a smidge to give a little to someone in need! Great recipes for sharing include simple meals like my Dad used to make for lunch: Open-faced sandwiches!  

Typically, these little bites were made with a lunchmeat, leftover chicken or tuna and then covered in grated cheese; but, if you substitute sautéed veggies instead…this is a cheap, satisfying and delicious meal!  

For $4.90 I can get (in Chicago):

--1 squash

--1 zucchini

--1 green pepper

--1-2 onions

--1 red pepper

Extra $2.50-$2.99:

--1 box portobello mushrooms 

Chop and sauté these veggies, sprinkle with cheese and broil; and, you will have plenty of toasts to share! Some great combos include: 

1. Sauteed Mushrooms & Cheese (featured in this post)
2. Sauteed Onions & Cheese
3. Veggie Medley & Cheese

Veggie Toasts 4 College Cooking

Total Cost: $10.41 (includes cheaper veggies, cheese and bread or 2-3 boxes of 'shrooms)

Toast: $0.52/ slice (15-20 slices)

Equipment:

Toaster Oven
Non-stick skillet
Spatula

Ingredients: 

1 box portobello mushrooms, cleaned & sliced (other veggies diced & chopped)
2 tsp butter
1-2 Tbls olive oil
1/2-1 tsp of dried thyme
Salt & pepper

1 loaf of crusty bread, sliced 1/4"
Cheese (Monterrey Jack, Gouda, Havarti, Gruyere), grated

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands and veggies.
2. Prep your cheese and veggies.

3. Saute your veggies with butter and olive oil in a medium-large non-stick skillet.

4. Allow mushrooms to sear untouched or stirred. Once golden brown, add salt, pepper and thyme.

5. Toast your slices of bread lightly.

6. Once the veggies are done, divide evenly across your toasts.
7. Sprinkle cheese over the top.

8. Broil your toasts for 2-3 minutes.

Sloppy Joes 4 College Cooking

Start off the semester with some incredibly simple meals reminiscent of summer and home! (Plus, I always love recipes that only requiring a skillet, stirring and eating). Set the tone for eating good food on a tight college budget with quick meals like this classic recipe from decades ago! Make it even better by sharing it with friends!

Found this recipe from The Pioneer Woman's Frontier Cookbook, but decided to substitute ground turkey for beef--less fat and lighter, but just as delish! Other than knowing how to dice a pepper and onion, there is really no skill required--simply add one ingredient after the other--really!

Make sure you use a sturdier roll, slightly crusty, i.e. Kaiser Roll when eating these tasty sandwiches--something that won't sag into mush upon contact with meat mixture! 

Sloppy Joes 4 College Living

Equipment:

Large non-skillet

Wooden spoon

Ingredients:

1 tsp butter

2 tsp olive or grapeseed oil

1 1/4 lb ground turkey breast

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

1 Tbls brown sugar

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tsp worchestershire sauce

Tobasco to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

4 Kaiser rolls

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands. 

2. Prep your ingredients and get equipment ready!

3. Heat skillet with butter, olive oil and brown meat. 

4. Add green pepper and onion.

5. Add garlic. 

6. Add ketchup and 1/2 cup water. If you like it "sweeter", add more ketchup. 

7. Add brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, pepper flakes, and Worchestershire sauce.

8. Stir and let flavors simmer over low heat. Adjust salt, pepper and flavor to taste.

9. Toast your rolls with light butter. 

10. Assemble and dig in.

These sandwiches will rock any college apartment living and off-campus dining. 
Nice on the wallet!
Minimal skills required!
Easy to double the batch!
Under 20 minutes from start to finish!

Make it this week, then share it!

Never Eat Alone: Chicken and Sausage One Pot Meal

I am always trying to find simple meals for my busy schedule! Browsing thru the Cook's Country Magazine this weekend, they featured a little known old-school Southern recipe called the 'Carolina Chicken Bog'--what the heck does that mean? 

Well, after reading the recipe, I translated it to mean: Simple. Affordable. Delicious. Flavorful. Satisfying. Crowdpleaser. 

In fact, a 'bog' recipe was originally intended to "combine inexpensive ingredients--chicken, smoky sausage and rice--into an easy one-pot meal that works for big weekend gatherings"…so, I decided to try it out (with a few adjustments)!

Perfect for college cooking and college living. Invite someone to dinner tonight for some low-country cooking!

Carolina Chicken & Sausage Bog

Equipment:

Large Dutch oven with lid

Ingredients:

2 - 3 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 

(or, store-bought roasted chicken if time an issue)

1 Tbls butter

1 Tbls grapeseed or vegetable oil

8 ounces of Hillshire Farms Kielbasa (Reduced Fat), 1/4" sliced

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups chicken broth (or re-constitue bouillon cubes)

2 cups long-grain rice

2 cups fresh or canned corn

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands. 
2. Remove meat from roasted chicken and prep all ingredients.

2. Heat 1 Tbls oil in large dutch oven over MEDIUM heat.

3. Add sausage and onion and cook until onion becomes translucent, approx 3-5 minutes.

4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, approx 30 seconds.

5. Add rice, broth, salt and pepper.  

6. Stir and cover with tight-fitting lid and cook x 20-25 minutes until rice is done.

7. Add shredded chicken, corn, and stir until combined. 
(this photo without corn, obviously)

Top it off with chopped parsley or parmesan cheese!

Call your friends.

FYI. The original recipe calls for skin-on chicken thighs (ultra cheap):
--searing the skin-on chicken thighs or breasts in large dutch oven, removing skin,and setting aside.

--adding chicken back to the sausage, onions, and garlic with the broth, salt and pepper and cooking x 20 minutes.

--removing the chicken from broth and dutch oven. cooling and shredding.
--adding rice to dutch oven, covering and cooking x 20 minutes until rice is done.
--finally, re-adding chicken back to dutch oven.

I find this too cumbersome for college cooking!