Here’s to all of the “One Pan Dan’s” and toaster oven enthusiasts. We may be lazy, we may be less talented in the kitchen, but we’re still hungry. Here is a list that exhausts my cooking expertise, to help out the underdogs like me.
1. Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla
All you need is PAM, some chicken (canned or the pre-cooked Tyson kind works great), a tortilla, and the shredded Mexican cheese that already has seasoning in it. Fry it up until it’s golden on each side, then dip it in salsa, or sour cream, or even your roommates guacamole. It’s not quite TacoBell but it won’t keep you held up in the bathroom either.
2. Breakfast in a Cup
Remember when you actually had time to sit down and enjoy your breakfast? Well those days are long gone. Grab a travel mug, layer in some yogurt, your favorite granola or cereal, and some fruit on top and it almost counts as a balanced breakfast. Plus, you can eat it on the bus.
3. Fancy Ramen
You can never eat just plain Ramen, it’s a pride thing. So instead, bust out the frozen peas and carrots, and some chicken if you’re feeling sophisticated enough, and throw them in with your noodles. It’s like homemade soup, except everything was already cooked for you.
4. Grilled Everything Sandwiches
Don’t stop at grilled cheese or fried bologna, you can grill up anything in a sandwich. Butter up some bread, throw on some cheese, and start piling up anything and everything you want on your sandwich. Leftover mac and cheese? Perfect. Some veggies? Now you’re even healthy. Anything tastes good when smothered in cheese.
5. Picture Perfect Oatmeal
Oatmeal is one of the quickest options for breakfast, but eating a bowl of “something and cream” mush can be dissatisfying. Next time, try adding your favorite fruit, some chai seeds, honey, syrup, or even peanut butter. The topping choices are endless and can make a world of difference.
6. Smoothies
Pinterest is always full of delicious smoothie recipes that call for more ingredients than you probably have in your apartment-size fridge. What nobody ever tells you is that smoothies are practically fool proof. All you need is something dairy based – ice cream, yogurt, even milk and ice; something cold – frozen fruit, ice cream, ice; and something(s) to flavor it – fruit, honey, protein powder. You can even add spinach or kale to make up for drinking ice cream for breakfast.
7. Everything-but-the-sink Spaghetti
As long as it’s red with noodles it’s considered spaghetti, right? At our apartment, spaghetti night means getting rid of leftovers. As a can of marinara sauce simmers on the stove, we chuck in whatever meat is in the fridge, any vegetables we can chop up, and more cheese than we probably should. Mix it with some type of noodles and spaghetti night is on.
8. Power Lunch
Some days, no matter how badly you want to, eating a real meal for lunch is not an option. Grab a Cliff bar, a cheese stick, a piece of fruit, and some chocolate milk and you’re golden. All very doable for chomping your way through a lecture.
9. Sunday Morning Feast
AKA a normal person’s breakfast. Grab the frozen hash browns, shake and pour pancake mix, carton of eggs, and a loaf of bread and you have all the carbs you need to get through your post-tailgating mornings without slaving away for hours.
