Sunday's Best

Technically it is no longer Sunday, but I was unable to create a new post until today. Such tardiness on my part could be attributed to school work, procrastination, and simple laziness. Now that it is the weekend, I can no longer think of a genuine excuse to postpone the inevitable.

Last Sunday was cooking day. While I think using this blog to develop recipes that are great for students on a budget and a time crunch is a sound idea, some days I just want to spend all my day cooking something awesome whatever the monetary consequences, within reason of course. Last Sunday was one of those days. Rather than doing homework all day and munching on cold pizza like the majority of the college students I know, I decided to cook all day. This was probably not the best use of time and my grades may reflect it later. 

To start the day off right, there's breakfast. We chose to fix something incredibly healthy, Sausage Gravy and Biscuits. Unfortunately we fixed Bisquick biscuits. Homemade biscuits will come, but those require ingredients we have not yet acquired. 

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup Bisquick mix
1/3 package of sausage
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp corn starch
Milk

Steps:
Use Bisquick mix and 2/3 cup milk and follow the directions on the box to make the biscuits.
For the gravy, fry the sausage in a skillet until nearly cooked. Add the flour and cornstarch and whisk until mixed. Add milk until gravy appears to be just slightly too watery. Stir until gravy thickens to your liking.

I believe this to be a fairly easy recipe. One can create gravy to their liking whether it be heavy or light on the sausage side, thick, or thin. Spices can be added to enhance the taste of the gravy. I would suggest adding sage to the sausage, I quite enjoy that additional flavor.

Enough about breakfast, for dinner we made a recipe that my grandmother makes that is delicious and fairly easy to make.

Chicken Southwestern

Ingredients:
Chicken
1 large onion, sliced
2 tomatoes
2 green peppers, sliced
1 small can of sliced black olives
1/2 cup margarine
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups chicken broth

Steps:
Boil chicken until no blood is present then pull apart. In a saucepan, melt margarine, stir in flour, salt, paprika, pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, and cheese. Slowly add broth, stirring constantly until blended.  Place chicken pieces in a Crock-Pot. Add onion, tomatoes, green pepper, and olives. Pour sauce over top. Cover and cook. Serve over rice.

We made a few changes to the recipe listed above. Instead of green peppers we used red bell peppers. We also added some Worcestershire sauce for an additional flavor. I understand that for most college students fresh vegetables are slightly too expensive for an everyday meal, but this meal is fairly simple and makes a large portion that you can eat on for a few days. There is still some of it in our fridge right now.

Continuing the Sunday cooking spree, I wanted to make some of my grandfather's homemade bread. So I called him up and wrote down the directions. This recipe is not something that I would suggest for someone who is cooking in a time crunch or on a budget. If that is the case, a simple loaf of bread from the grocery store will do. I simply enjoy baking and making my own bread when time permits. Granted this loaf of bread did not turn out as intended. I believe I heated the milk and shortening too much and then killed the yeast when it was added it to the dry ingredients. The bread tastes good; it just  failed to raise like it was supposed to. For this reason in addition to laziness, I am going to put off writing the instructions for the bread until I actually get the recipe right. But I do have a picture!

I do not know when the next post will be. We didn't make anything spectacular this week and I am still finishing leftover Chicken Southwestern and Pinto Beans, although we will attempt to post the next dish within a reasonable time frame.

Southern Comfort

On a Friday, you may not be too interested spending your evening cooking a meal. There are just always better things to do than that. That's why we went with the Crock-Pot today. Although this recipe involved adding ingredients at different times and checking your dish here and there, it was still a lot easier the last hour or two than a normal meal would be. This may not be the healthiest dinner you'll have all week but its sure to free up some hours in your day.

Beef and Potato Stew

Ingredients:
6 potato's
1 pound ground beef+9
1/2 onion
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken
1 can chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Steps:
Heat cream of chicken, chicken broth, and milk in a Crock-Pot on high. Add seasonings, butter, oil, and Worcestershire Sauce to mixture and stir. While mixture is heating, peel and chop potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, then add them to the Crock-Pot. While the mixture is cooking, chop and add half an onion. Let cook half an hour. Cook ground beef in a skillet, drain, and add to Crock-Pot. Let cook on high for four hours or more, stirring occasionally.  Add cheese half an hour before serving.

Tell us what ingredients or recipes you'd like us to try out with a college twist!

On a Whim

We (Drew Meyerhoeffer and Jordan Mullins) have been cooking a lot lately now that we are in our apartment. Jordan bought a 50 pound bag of pinto beans and I bought a 25 pound bag of rice. We both really like cooking and taking pictures so starting a blog really makes a lot of sense for us. Not to mention the fact that one of us has a macro lens now. This blog is about cooking on a college budget and schedule hopefully without sacrificing flavor.

Our first recipe though doesn't involve beans or rice. Here it goes...

Cinnamon Apple Chai Tea:

We've found that cooking with lots of spice isn't as expensive as you'd think. Most spices you can get for $1 at a SuperSave or similar type grocery store. You don't really need the high end brand because we can hardly tell the difference.

Ingredients:
1 Gallon of Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Regular Tea Bags
3 Chai Tea Bags
1 Apple
1 Orange
1 1/2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Teaspoon All Spice
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 Cup Milk (Fattier the better!)
Dash Cayenne Pepper
Spiced Rum (Optional, not to mention expensive for a college kid)

Steps:
Begin heating water and sugar in a large pot. Chop up the apple and toss into the water to cook for five minutes before continueing. Then add all the spices (cinnamon, ginger, all spice, nutmeg). Once that has dissolved completely, add the tea bags. While the tea is brewing, grate in the zest of the orange into the pot. Once the tea has brewed to your liking, add the milk and serve!

You might be thinking, this doesn't sound that cheap. Like I said, all the spices aren't too expensive if you buy an off brand. Also, fruit doesn't cost any money at all for college kids who take a backpack to their all you can eat dining hall if you know what I mean.

The next entry will probably a food item instead of a drink. Can't live off a drink after all!