Okay, let us be honest while dining hall food is easy and warm- it is not the best food in the world. Assuming you have a dining hall plan at all that is, even if you do everyone needs a break from the dining hall that will not break the bank like a restaurant in a college town. How are you supposed to do that in a tiny little dorm room? I am finally out of the dorms, but I was able to learn the in and outs of dorm cooking to keep myself from the dining hall. Here are some tips and tricks in the way of simple recipes to make dorm work for cooking.
First things first, you need a microwave, and if you are adventurous a nice mini fridge. These things were a life saver to me and I'm sure they will be to you too if you hate the dining hall or have to cook in the dorms. Most dorms will not let you bring anything more in the way of cooking appliances; so get what you can!
Get a microwave rice cooker ( or a real one if you can!). You can make a million things inside it that will keep you from starving. I usually used mine with just rice, water, and a broth cube. It made nice rice patties that cooked within a few mins and were easy to eat. I got one on amazon for twelve dollars, and I am still using it! It is also useful for making steamed veggies, cooking frozen tamales, and rehydrating food.
It was one of the best things I could get, however, if you only have a microwave you cannot order a rice cooker or need something right now- get a plate and a bowl that is microwavable. Add water to the bowl and put the plate on top and you now have a rice cooker! It may take you some time to figure out water to food ratio for some food ( especially rice) but it works in a pinch and your food gets cooked!
Everyone always puts up these 'in a mug' recipes, and they require more ingredients than you might just have in your dorm. However, I recommend trying them because usually you only need a few ingredients for a section of mug recipes. Such as cake in mugs, if you buy flour, sugar, baking powder, and keep milk and butter in your fridge- you are set for the basic mug cake! Now all you have to get is a little cinnamon, vanilla or chocolate chips to mix it up!
If you are ready to just eat or primarily eat in your dorm, treat a section of it like a kitchen. I medium size box, a section of your shelf, or everything on top of the microwave will be all that you need to cook. Most things you will only have to buy once a semester or only once the whole year, like flour, sugar, rice, flavorings, and spices. You can cook from that mostly and a few other ingredients like milk, eggs, bread, and pasta that will have to be replaced more frequently. It should not break the bank and you will love being able to have 'home cooked' meals. Even if they do come from your dorm room!
I recommend checking out this Pinterest page if you want the recipes I have tried or wanted to try out for dorm food!
