One of the blessings of my new apartment this year has been a spacious kitchen, and I've found that cooking for myself is a wonderful way to destress and build up my inner confidence that I am, in fact, capable of taking care of myself.

Depending on my daily schedule, whether it be during the week or on the weekend, I sometimes struggle to plan out what meals I'll be cooking and when. This is when it helps to have a hefty supply of your favorite staple ingredients that you can whip up into a delicious meal whenever it's convenient.

This semester, as I've experimented with how many ways I can cook the same quick meal slightly differently, I've found that there are several kitchen staples that I'm glad I keep stocked up.

1. Eggs

Eggs are one of the most versatile, inexpensive foods you could possibly have in your kitchen. They work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and in many different forms, such as fried, scrambled, nestled in toast, resting atop a pile of greens, stuffed in a breakfast burrito, and so much more.

Basically, if you're going to get good at cooking one thing in college, make sure it's eggs. And as the saying goes, when life gives you eggs, make an omelette.

2. Pasta (and pasta sauce)

Building off of the last point, perhaps the second most valuable food, or even tied for first with eggs, is pasta. I'm guilty (though I really don't feel that guilty) of defaulting to making pasta whenever I want a quick, tasty, homemade dinner.

Sure, there's not a whole lot of creativity in eating just pasta and sauce, though if you buy a great jarred tomato sauce you can certainly have a great meal. But pasta is a reliable, easy-to-cook base for just about every meal you could ever want, and it basically never goes bad, so make sure you always have a good supply.

3. Frozen vegetables

Frozen veggies aren't just valuable substitutes for an ice pack. They're extremely convenient ways to make sure that you eat relatively healthily at home, and when cooked and seasoned properly they can actually taste quite delicious.

Don't think of them as something you only bought because your mom was looking over your shoulder in Kroger; frozen vegetables can be paired with just about any meat or starch and they'll round out your meal nicely.

And the best part? A lot of the time, you can cook them entirely in the microwave.

4. Chicken broth

Whether you're making soup, a baked dish, sauce, or something else, it's always handy to have a couple of containers of chicken broth in your cabinets.

Again, if unopened, they won't really go bad, so you'll always have at least one element of your meal ready to go.

Plus, if you happen to get sick and the thought of eating real food is suddenly nauseating, heating up some chicken broth will provide the perfect nourishment, in between wallowing in sick-person pity and finally binge watching The Office.

5. Cheese for grating, slicing, sprinkling, etc.

I'm fine with taking plenty of shortcuts when cooking in order to save time and make my life easier, but if I'm a purist about anything, it's having quality cheese in the fridge at all times. Maybe it's my Sicilian heritage talking, but pre-grated, flavorless store brand cheese just makes me sad.

Whether it be parmesan, cheddar, Swiss, or another favorite, a sprinkle (or depending on your preferences, a cup) of cheese makes every meal just a little bit more special.

6. Salsa

Lately, I've been pairing salsa with eggs a lot, in place of the traditional "eggs and ketchup" combination, so I've found that I enjoy always having some salsa around to add some tomatoey zest to my meals.

Paired with chips, salsa is also a great way to entertain friends and seem like a totally put-together host, when in reality you've had this salsa in the cabinet for weeks and had no intention of feeding it to other people until you realized you probably shouldn't let them starve.

7. Couscous

Until this year, I never fully appreciated just how easy couscous is to make. From first boiling the water until you sit down to eat, it takes about 6-7 minutes, and you end up with a delicious starch that can be flavored many different ways.

If you're looking to add some excitement to your tired routine of microwavable rice, consider picking up a jar of couscous the next time you head out for your 9 p.m., "this is the only time I could shop for food" grocery run.

8. Microwavable popcorn

Unlike the other entries on this, there admittedly aren't too many ways to use microwave popcorn other than in its purest form. But it truly is the best way to have a filling snack that, depending on what kind you get (I usually avoid the "movie theater butter" variety), may not be too unhealthy.

It's always good to have a healthy stock of popcorn on hand for impromptu movie nights, late night snacks, and stress eating while watching a World Series game go into extra innings.

9. Olive oil

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Use it for sauteing, flavoring, drizzling, dipping, you name it. Olive oil is necessary for most savory cooking and, when used sparingly, will probably last in your cabinet for a while.

I love olive oil so much that I'm sometimes tempted to ask for a take-out container in nice restaurants just to snag some of their way-above-my-pay-grade olive oil.

Something tells me that this goes against social norms... but the next time I go to a nice Mediterranean restaurant with my parents, I just might do a fun social experiment and see how many weird looks I get for an olive oil doggy bag.

10. Frozen chicken cutlets

Frozen chicken cutlets are a perfectly portioned protein for those nights when you've resigned yourself to only using the microwave to cook. Frozen chicken is often surprisingly well seasoned, though I usually add some salt and pepper before I eat it just to enhance the flavor.

You can either transform these frozen cutlets into a chicken parmesan, as seen above, or eat them in their natural state with vegetables and your starch of choice. When you don't want to tempt fate by buying raw chicken that you're not 100% sure you'll have time to cook that week, drop a peg on the domestic scale and stock up on frozen chicken cutlets.

There are a lot more pantry staples that college students with kitchens should probably keep stocked, but I think the ones I listed here cover a wide enough range of snacks, dinner, breakfast, meat, grains, vegetables, and dairy to make this list somewhat comprehensive.

The next time your parents visit and ask, "do you need any food?" don't just say, "yeah, probably" and then only remember what you needed as soon as they leave. Not that I've ever done that.

Instead, take their kind offer, stock up on food that keeps for a while, and enjoy delicious home-cooked food that will tide you over until you go home for Thanksgiving and realize what REAL home cooking tastes like.