One-Pot Wonders: 5 Great Recipes for the Solo College Cook
Being your own cook while in college is uneasy but rather rewarding. It can help you boost your health and fitness, budget your funds, and get all the nutrients your body and brain need to perform at their best. The benefits are plenty. However, there are two major challenges on this path.
First of all, a busy student schedule often doesn’t leave any time even for rest, not to mention cooking. So, if you really want to take decent care of your health and nutrition, you might need a trusted write my annotated bibliography for meservice by your side where you can delegate your assignments and save time. The second challenge is a lack of space and supplies needed for cooking. Yet, with easy recipes, that’s not an issue.
Read on to find a few delicious, nutritious, and simple one-pot recipes that you can easily make in a dorm!
1. One-Pot Gratin With Salmon and Asparagus
Ingredients:
- Salmon filet (skinless) – 4
- Asparagus – 500g
- Red onion – 1
- Garlic clove – 1
- Breadcrumbs – 30g
- Milk – 100ml
- Double cream – 300ml
- Butter (unsalted) – 25g
- Olive oil – 1 teaspoon
- Parmesan – 100g
- Parsley leaves – around 2 springs
Preheat your oven to 180-200°C while you finely grate the garlic, chop the onions, and trim and halve the asparagus.
In a casserole, heat the olive oil with butter and fry the onion for around 5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Stir in the milk, cream, and 75g of parmesan, and cook everything until all the cheese melts.
Nestle the asparagus on the sauce and put salmon on top. Mix 25g of parmesan with breadcrumbs and parsley and scatter this mix all over your filets. Bake for 14-16 minutes and enjoy.
2. Chilli With Meatballs and Black Beans
Ingredients:
- Meatballs – 12
- Canned tomatoes (pick chopped to save time) – two cans (400g each)
- Black beans – two cans (400g)
- Peppers (any color or mixed) – 2
- Onion – 1
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Coriander – ½ bunch
- Smoked paprika – 1 teaspoon
- Ground cumin – 2 teaspoons
- Light brown sugar – 1 tablespoon
- Olive oil – 2 tablespoons
In the heated oil, fry the meatballs. Pro tip: you can buy frozen meatballs to save more time or cook them in advance yourself. Remove the meatballs when they turn brownish. In the same pan and with the same oil (if it’s not burned), fry the onion, garlic, and peppers for around 7 minutes, adding a bit of salt. Then add the coriander, paprika, and cumin and continue frying for a few minutes. In the end, add sugar, beans (drained and rinsed), and tomatoes. Finally, after it boils, add the fried meatballs and cook for 15 minutes. Serve with rice or freeze for later.
3. Garlic Chicken
Ingredients:
- Chicken breasts (skinless) – 4
- Hot chicken stock – 250ml
- Garlic – 10-15 small cloves
- Plain flour – 75g
- Butter (unsalted) – 50g
- Olive oil – 2 tablespoons
- Double cream – 100ml
- Parmesan – 30g
Either buy skinless breasts or remove the skin and slice your chicken crosswise into thick strips. In a large bowl, cover your chicken with the flour and season well to your liking.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken until golden. When all is ready, reduce the heat, add the butter and whole garlic cloves, and cook for 5 minutes.
In the end, add the stock to cover breasts and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and cheese and thicken the sauce. When the dish is almost ready, add more seasoning and herbs to taste and enjoy delicious chicken packed with a wealth of nutrients. To make your meal complete, serve it with your favorite garnish.
4. Vegan Rice With Beans
Ingredients:
- Rice (brown type is the most beneficial one, and you can opt for easy-to-cook rice to save time) – 300g
- Canned red kidney beans – 400g
- Pitted green olives – 10
- Onion – 2
- Red pepper – 1
- Orange pepper – 1
- Garlic – 3 large cloves
- Lemon – ½
- Thyme leaves – 1 tablespoon
- Smoked paprika – 2 tablespoons
- Vegetable stock (ideally, cook it with bouillon powder) – 650ml
- Rapeseed oil – 2 tablespoons
In the pan, slightly heat the rapeseed oil (or another vegetable oil of your choice) and fry the onions to a slightly goldish color. Add the garlic and peppers. Throw in rice, paprika, thyme, olives, and stock, and cook covered for 15 minutes. Stir in the beans and cook for 20-30 more minutes.
In the end, top it with lemon wedges for a nice aroma, leave it for several minutes, and serve.
5. Goulash Pasta
Ingredients:
- Penne pasta (ideally, choose wholemeal pasta to receive the most nutrients) – 180g
- Steak mince – 500g
- Canned, chopped tomatoes – 400g
- Onions – 2
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Peppers – 2
- Thyme leaves – 1 tablespoon
- Smoked paprika – 2 tablespoons
- Rapeseed oil – 2 tablespoons
- Tomato puree – 2 tablespoons
- Hot vegetable stock (with bouillon powder) – 800 ml
In a large pan, heat the oil and cook finely chopped onions for around 10 minutes. Then add the mince and peppers and cook for 5 minutes.
Spice up your dish with grated garlic, paprika, and thyme. Stir in the tomatoes, puree, and stock, and bring everything to a boil. After this, reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the penne and cook covered until it boils again. Then reduce the heat and cook for 12 more minutes until the pasta cooks well. Finally, let it sit for a few minutes and enjoy.
The Bottom Line
Cooking in college is a great way to stay healthy and energetic every day and to save a lot of money on deliveries. Unfortunately, finding enough time to make your own meals can seem nearly impossible due to a busy schedule. To save enough time for cooking, check out an honest EssayService.com review and delegate your tasks to a trusted academic writer. Cook nutritious and healthy meals without wasting time using the recipes from this article and make real one-pot wonders!
