Tag Archives: microwave

Made in the Microwave: A Whole Day of Meals

Dorm-Friendly Cooking, , , , ,

Everyone knows that Sundays are lazy, lounging around days. At UA most students spend their Sundays relaxing and studying after their Saturday parties and other collegiate festivities. Sometimes, I get breakfast at the memorabilia-filled Waysider or the always crowded Another Broken Egg in the morning or go for a walk on the beautiful Riverwalk in the afternoon. Other times, I don’t leave my dorm once. Though I choose to stay in all day, I tend to get frustrated about the lack of food options available. While Crimson 2 Go and Waitr can deliver food to the dorms, the options are limited, not the healthiest, and the price tag of a meal adds up quickly with delivery fees and tips. Whenever possible, I like to cook for myself––not only because I enjoy it, but it allows me to be creative, try new things, and feel better about what I’m consuming.

Most people assume that because of dorm kitchens (if you can even call them that) food preparation is limited to the microwave. Though that may seem daunting, you don’t have to resort to Lean Cuisines, Stouffers microwavable lasagna, or Marie Calendar’s microwavable pot pies. With a little research and planning, and some grocery shopping, there are a world of delicious food options that can be prepared using just a microwave. While I was browsing, I decided I was going to try an experiment. I wanted to create a full day of meals using only a microwave, so that I could stay inside all day and still enjoy what I ate.

The Menu:

One thing I love about omelettes is that they can be easily adjusted to include anyone’s favorite add-ins: I made mine with shredded cheese and diced bell peppers, but you can add any veggie or meat! Using a glass pie plate creates an actual fluffy yellow omelette, and not the typical “scrambled egg in a mug.

I love baked potatoes for a similar reason. They are so easily personalized, and a single baked potato is cooked in just about five minutes. I eat my baked potatoes with sour cream, shredded cheese, scallions, and steamed broccoli.

If you want to opt for a healthier option, baked sweet potatoes are a good option as well. Ready in seven minutes, this hearty treat can be topped with almond butter, avocado, or cinnamon for an even better
taste.

Apples in a Bag is one of my new favorite snacks, as well as a healthy dessert when I regretfully opt out of ice cream. Just slice the apple, place it in a plastic bag with sweetener, cinnamon, cornstarch, and water. Then, seal and shake the bag, place it in the microwave, and two minutes later, the room will smell delicious and the snack will be ready. The apples can be used as a topping for oatmeal or ice cream, and pears can even be used as a substitute.

I love this dinner because it feels like a gourmet, home-cooked meal. It just requires a casserole dish! The pasta is boiled in chicken broth with minced garlic and tomatoes, then chicken, mozzarella cheese, and basil are added as finishing touches. Plus, the chicken is pre-cooked, so there is nothing to worry about regarding food-borne illnesses. This dish reminds me of my Italian roots, but it is such a simple one-pot meal.

Last but definitely not least, and my favorite meal of the day: dessert. I know very few people who don’t salivate at the words “chocolate and peanut butter.” This recipe was one of the easiest things I have ever made, and it was ready in five minutes. Topped with hot fudge and a peanut butter mousse, they might as well start serving this delicious treat at restaurants.

I have never been a fan of science, but this experiment was a blast. I loved expanding my horizons and eating tasty meals and I didn’t even leave my dorm once all day. I’d say it was a success. I was surprised at just how much a microwave could do and I would highly recommend any of these recipes. If you have your own favorite microwavable meals, feel free to share them below!

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie

Microwave Masterpiece

Dorm-Friendly Cooking, ,

College is filled with a bunch of teenagers living on their own for the first time. This sounds like a great time when thinking about it as a high school senior, but look at the fine print of living independently: food does not magically appear in the cabinets anymore. College students have to get out of bed to go to the supermarket and spend their own money for groceries. Money? Is that even accessible to college kids? Those home cooked meals are out of the picture. You might be thinking, “Um…mom, can you come back with those pulled pork sandwiches that I used to complain about because I felt like we had them too often?” Yes, the dining hall food is an experience, but it quickly gets old. Greek Life food is such a pain to have to walk or drive to the house for a meal. Granted, I can make my own home cooked meals, right? However, if preparing the meal requires an oven, then I would have to climb to the 7th floor to even possess the cooking appliances.

As a college student, you have to learn to work with what you have and the resources that surround you. We do not have ovens in every dorm room, but we do have microwaves. At home the microwave may only be used to reheat leftovers, heat up a precooked meal, or pop the snack that pairs great with a movie, but in reality it can be used for so much more. Obviously, we consume the elementary meals, like Ramen Noodles or the small Easy Mac bowls, known for being a college student’s best friend, but they do not keep our stomachs full for long. Finding simple and cheap meals that the microwave can bake while providing the same satisfaction that fills one’s stomach after eating at the dining hall or fraternity/sorority house is not as difficult to obtain as it seems.

Eggs. French toast. Cinnamon rolls. Pizza. Cakes. Potato chips. All these foods seem near impossible to make in a dorm room without an oven or stove (unless you sneak in a hot plate burner), but with a tweak to the typical ingredients, you can easily make them with a microwave.

Sifting through recipe upon recipe on the internet for these microwaveable treasures, I was able to come across one that stood out to me: a cookie, but not just any cookie…the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. These sweet treats bring back memories of carving pumpkins, decorating the house with spooky creatures, dressing up in costumes, and eating with friends before a long night of running from door to door to trick or treat. Halloween always promised these magnificent cookies, though I never would have known that they could be created in a cooking appliance other than an oven.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (especially when baked in a microwave) do not require a significant amount of time or ingredients to create. These cookies only take up to 50 seconds to bake in the microwave. So, if that sweet tooth kicks in, challenge yourself to bake a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. The list of ingredients includes:

  • 4 tbsp of all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 tbsp butter (melted)
  • 1/8 tsp + 1/16 tsp ground cinnamon
  • chocolate chips

No need to deprive oneself of warm cookies anymore. The microwave is a quick and easy way to make delectable treats.

Recipe:

  1. Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips into a mixing bowl
  2. Stir until the ingredients create a sticky dough
  3. Spoon out the dough and form separate round dough balls
  4. Add chocolate chips to the dough (make sure to squish them in)
  5. Cook in microwave for 50 seconds