Residence Life and Food

[wonderboy87]

Well i live in residence at my university, and the kitchen is in the basement and i live on the third floor, anyways i usually boil eggs for morning, and eat salad, cheese and celery for lunch and dinner as cookin meat is a hassle... Well anyways it's been only about 3-4 days since i started but it's not gonna be easy like this and i know i have to eat meat...

Well anyways i was wondering;

1- Can i boil like 10 eggs and eat then in a span of like 5-10 days... I dunno if they go bad, or how they will taste... And i don't wanna waste anything as i'm on student budget...

2- Any ideas on quick cookin techniques (mainly using the microwave), any recipes that i can cook as bulk, and then put in my fridge for like a week

3- Also any tips and recipes for generally easy cookin food...

Thnx

[boonie stomper]

Re: Residence Life and Food

First, do you have the microwave and/or fridge in your dorm? How about a coffee-maker? Does fridge have a freezer? Can you use a hot-plate in your dorm?


If you answered yes to all, you have nothing to worry about. If the fridge were the "community" variety, you might have space issues, or snitcher troubles.

If you have a 1-burner hot-plate, you can cook most anything anytime. If you have a freezer, you can batch-cook most meats, ie, fry a bunch of burgers or chicken, and freeze in ziplocks; warm up with microwave.

Boiled eggs can keep refridgerated for weeks; depending on certain variables like fridge temp. and original egg freshness, but you will know if one goes bad. It would have a different texture & smell (if you taste a bad one anyway, you WILL spit it out!) A coffee maker can be used to heat water as well, as a last resort can be used for soups and such, as could an immersion heater (costs about 1$). Some canned & dried meats and veggies can be used too, just watch the labels for unwanted ingredients.

[not2late]

Re: Residence Life and Food

The other thing you might want to invest in is a slow cooker. All you have to do is put the ingredients into the cooker in the morning, flip the switch and when you come home you have a hot, cooked meal.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Residence Life and Food

A mini-george foreman grill!!! I've seen them at Walmart, Target and even some department stores. They are small and would be perfect for a dorm room.

You can "grill" meats, veggies and all sorts of Atkins friendly foods.

And, what about your dining hall options?

[Elizellen]

Re: Residence Life and Food

If you dont have a frying pan you can make 'boil in a bag omelettes' by putting a couple of whisked-up eggs plus some cheese and chopped meat or veggies into a ziplock bag and letting it boil till the eggs are cooked.

[wonderboy87]

Re: Residence Life and Food

the boilin omlette seems like a genius idea... i am gonna do that one tonite...

also boonie mentioned soups and dried meats... what kinda soups are allowed, and what is a dried meat lol... like a jerky?

and i don't have a foreman grill, or heater in my room, but i can use the microwave or the oven downstairs... maybe i can go out and buy some frozen meats or something like that....

[higgies]

Re: Residence Life and Food

You can also microwave scrambled eggs. Just whisk up the eggs and put 'em in a bowl with whatever else you want in the eggs and they'll cook up in a couple minutes. I don't really like them this way, but others seem to. To make them a little better you can try stirring them up every 20-30 seconds or so.

[wonderboy87]

Re: Residence Life and Food

thnx for the microwave tip higgies...

is there any meat i can cook with just microwave?

[higgies]

Re: Residence Life and Food

Bacon? That's the only way I do mine. Any meat you boil you can do in the microwave I imagine. I cook my sausages, like polish or italian sausages, in the microwave. I just put them in enough water to cover them completely, plus a little, and then cook them for like 5 min if they're frozen.

[boonie stomper]

Re: Residence Life and Food

I nuke hamburgers all the time. I make one in a donut shape (basically put a ball of meat in a ceramic bowl and press the center out of the middle to the sides) since they cook more evenly that way. Cook about 2 minutes. Add cheese etc. at the end if desired. Repeat.


Livers explode. Hotdogs not in water are....weird.
Eggs if still in the shell are a disaster!

Food dehydrators are wonderful for making your own jerky, and drying mushrooms, onions and other foods for shelf storage.

[wonderboy87]

Re: Residence Life and Food

so i took Elizellen's advice, and about 10 minutes ago attempted to make some eggs in a bag... i put 2 eggs, shredded cheese and some veggies, and then put it in the water, and start boiling it.... it was takin too long as the eggs on the side cooked really fast and the inside was left raw... anyways let it boil more, but i could tell it was gettin way too hot... the zip started openin, then there was a little hole in the bag... and then the next thing i know, the egg is totally out of the bag... well so i screwed that up and nothin i can do cuz i got class in 10 minutes... so no breakfast for this poor hardworkin university student ...

I don't know if i did somethin wrong, if so ,lemme know...
anyways can i use ziplock containers to microwave the eggs, like just whisk them up and put them in the container without the lid? then nuke it for how long?

also i'll be takin any other suggestions, tryin it and then report back... plz gimme some easy to cook recipes, as i'm an engineering student, and i practically have no free time... As soon as i finish this, i have to start runnin to class ....


Allright, thnx for reading... Bye

[Elizellen]

Re: Residence Life and Food

Sorry it didnt turn out right

Here are some instructions from http://www.kirotv.com/food/8022471/detail.html

Hardware:
Quart-sized freezer bags. (I don't recommend using storage bags. They're not quite as stout.)
Pot of boiling water

Ingredients:
Eggs (allow 2-3 per person, 1 for the little kids)
Your favorite omelet fixings, including but not limited to:
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Sausage, browned and crumbled
Chopped onions (sauteed or raw)
Chopped green peppers
Diced ham
Shredded cheese
Diced tomato
Sliced mushrooms
Hash brown potatoes
Home fries
Salt, pepper, or any other spices desired

The best way to prepare this is to add the fixings to the bag first, then have one person hold the bag while another pours in the eggs. Each diner gets their own bag, and gets to choose their own ingredients. Be sure not to fill the bags more than half-full, for proper cooking.

Remove as much air from the bag as possible, then mix the omelets by gently squeezing the bag.

Place one or two bags (depending on the size of your pot) at a time into the boiling water. After five minutes, pull the bags from the water using tongs and gently mix them (without opening the bag!) again. Return to the water and cook until done, about five more minutes. Depending on the size of your omelet and the fixings used, the cook time may vary.

The result will be a perfectly yummy omelet, albeit one that's not browned on the outside

[Libbey77s]

Re: Residence Life and Food

We make these all the time while camping - and sometimes just for fun (for the kiddos) on the weekends. I would definitely try them again - but make sure you do use freezer bags, as they hold up much better. Also, make sure you can get out as much air as possible to avoid uneven cooking. Best of luck to you.