Cooking in College: Five Dolla Dinna

I would like to clear up a commonly believed myth that floats around college campuses everywhere.  You’ve probably heard it before, and you’ve definitely wanted to believe it.  Your professors and friends and parents have all said it.  When you graduate college, you are going to get a job that only people with college degrees can get, and you are going to make a lot of money and life will just be a piece of cake after that degree is finally in your hands.  Hate to break it to ya, kids, but that ain’t happenin’ in this economy! In fact, you might actually be more broke after college than you were in college, thanks to the slow but sure disappearance of Mommy and Daddy’s credit cards, gas cards, and especially those wonderful monthly bank account deposits.  Say goodbye.  Unless, of course, you’re just really lucky, in which case, I hate you.

Anyways, cooking in college or even right after college can be quite a challenge when you’re working with a budget.  That’s why there is only one thing to do when times are tough:

Drink.

Just kidding.  Kinda.

This week, I thought it would be fun to try and make dinners that cost under $5 per serving.  It was a success!  Cooking really is a lot cheaper than eating out for every meal; you just have to know how to shop!

Pesto Primavera

Servings: 4-5

Ingredients:

3/4 bag frozen vegetable medley (I used Japanese blend)

1/2 box Whole Wheat Fettucine

2 1/2 tablespoons pre-made Pesto

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, shredded, for topping

salt and garlic powder, to taste

Directions:

You will need 2 pots for this recipe.

Bring one pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt to the water.  Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain pasta.  Fill the other pot with water, but only fill it about a quarter of the way up.  Bring to a boil, add the frozen veggies, and cover with a lid.  Cook for about 5-6 minutes, until tender.  Drain the vegetables.  Add the pasta and the veggies to the bigger pot.  Add the pesto, salt and garlic powder, and stir everything together.  Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan.

Salad with Buffalo Ranch Dressing

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 heart of Romaine, chopped (or 2 cups of already-chopped Romaine lettuce)

1 tablespoon Light Ranch Dressing

2 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce

Directions:

Chop Romaine and add to 2 bowls.  In a separate bowl, mix the Ranch and Buffalo sauce together.  Drizzle over Romaine and serve.