I’ve been stuck in bed for the past three days with a whole slew of symptoms (fever included), and I will admit that I’ve been a little homesick. I miss not having to deal with my roommates going in and out of the room for class. I miss knowing my mom is just a few steps away with a warm cup of lemon, honey tea. And I really miss my grandma’s matzah ball soup…thinking about all these things right now makes me feel weepy.

I’d give you the recipe for my grandma’s matzah ball soup, but I truly believe no one can make it like Grandma. Also, she’s tried to teach me, but matzah ball-making happens to be the one culinary skill I do not possess. Don’t worry though! I’ll teach you how to make the next best thing: chicken noodle soup. It’s pretty close to matzah ball soup but way, way easier. If I had the energy (and a kitchen) I’d be making this for myself right now:

What you’ll need:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves (dried is fine!)
• Salt and pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth (I usually go with Swanson Chicken Broth)
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders, diced
• 1/2 pound wide egg noodles

How to make it:

Place a large pot over moderate heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. Add the vegetables in the order they are listed.

Add the bay leaves and season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste (this is easy. If it tastes good, it’s good!). Add the chicken broth to the pot and raise the flame to bring the liquid to a boil. Add the diced chicken tenders, return the soup to a boil, and turn the heat back down to moderate. Cook for 2 minutes then add the noodles. Cook the soup an additional 6 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Remove the soup from the heat.

This is a thick soup. If you like chicken soup with lots of broth, add up to 2 cups of water and it will still taste great! At this point, you can also add in a handful of chopped, fresh parsley and a handful of chopped, fresh dill, but I prefer the soup without the herbs!

Enjoy and stay healthy through finals!

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University majoring in International Affairs with a minor in English. She has a slight obsession with astrology and Bon Iver. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25

[lead image via Marie C Fields / Shutterstock]

We all have those recipes that remind us of our childhood. For me, that is this Sloppy Joe recipe. When I was little, my mom used to make this for my sisters and me every week. The flavors remind me of being home, something that I miss when I’m away at college for months at a time. With summer arriving quickly, I can’t wait for my mom’s Sloppy Joes. I’ve been craving them recently, which probably shows how much I’ve been missing home.

This recipe is not only really good, it’s really easy. And it happens to be fairly healthy because it can be made with ground turkey!

What you’ll need:

• 2 chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 and 1/2 pounds of ground beef (or turkey)
• 2 cups minced (smaller chop) celery
• 1 green bell pepper finely chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle of Heinz chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 12 hamburger buns, toasted

How to make it:

1. Cook the onions in the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan; set aside.

2. Spray the saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, until the turkey is no longer red, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the celery, bell pepper, brown sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce and vinegar. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Spoon the filling onto the buns and serve!

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University majoring in International Affairs with a minor in English. She has a slight obsession with astrology and Bon Iver. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25

Spanish rice is one of my absolute favorite quick meals — you can cram tons of veggies and whole grains into your diet with one spicy dish. It’s also super easy to add some chicken or tilapia for some extra protein. Either way, my recipe for Spanish rice will rapidly become one of your most-made dishes. I promise.

I really strongly encourage you to use brown rice in this recipe. If you hate the taste, you can of course use white rice — but brown rice is, hands down, much healthier for you. The more whole grains you have in your diet, the healthier you’ll be. With the addition of fresh tomatoes, peppers, and spinach, this recipe will give you plenty of servings of veggies and much-needed vitamins.

Spanish Rice

You’ll need…

• 1 packet of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice, Brown Rice
• about 1/4 cup of your favorite salsa
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• about 1/3 package of spinach
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• about 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce (Tabasco makes a really good adobo in a bottle!)

How to make it…

Prepare rice according to package instructions — usually, you just tear the package open a little and microwave for 90 seconds.

While the rice is in the microwave, warm a pan with a spray of nonstick cooking spray or a splash of olive oil. Add tomatoes, peppers, and jalapeno. Cook until slightly soft (but not mushy). Add salsa and adobo sauce. Add spinach and allow to wilt.

In a large bowl, combine the brown rice and the veggie-salsa mixture. You might need to microwave for another few seconds for the rice to absorb some of the moisture. But otherwise, once you’ve stirred it up, it’s ready to eat by itself or alongside your favorite protein!

Enjoy!

Note: This recipe makes about 3 servings and can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

I really think my best moments during Intro to Cooking come when I’m trying to think up something to eat after getting home from work at 11 pm. Nothing inspires creativity quite like not going grocery shopping for two weeks and coming home to a house stocked with peanut butter, ramen noodles and leftover chicken of questionable date.

Let’s review some of Intro to Cooking’s best recipes — the ones I’m most proud of saying that I cooked!

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This is another recipe adapted from the I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook. I love focaccia bread… I mean, who doesn’t? If I have the opportunity to make focaccia a little healthier to snack on, I go for it.

The original recipe from the I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook only had tomatoes and olive tapenade. it’s a delicious recipe, which I highly recommend, but after I made it, I wondered what other items I could add to make it healthier, but also more delicious. I settled on the idea that if you pile a salad on top of something, you are allowed to call it healthy. Even if that thing is a deep-fried hamburger or something.

Veggie Focaccia

You’ll need…

• flour, as needed
• 1 ball of Trader Joe’s pizza dough, or any pizza dough (you can actually buy dough from local pizza places for cheap!)
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 bunch of spinach, washed and allowed to dry
• 1-2 tablespoons of crushed garlic
• 1 bell pepper (green or red), diced
• 1-2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning

How to make it…

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle your work surface with flour and place pizza dough in the middle. Knead the dough and gently stretch it out. Grease a 8×12 baking dish, or on a cookie sheet (I prefer using cooking spray, rather than olive oil). Place the pizza dough in the disk or on the sheet and press down, using fingers to punch tiny indentations into the top of the dough.

Heat a burner on the stop to about medium heat. Add a tiny bit of olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Allow to cook until slightly brown. In the meantime, sprinkle the pizza dough with a little bit of olive oil and Italian seasoning and add the sliced tomatoes evenly over the top. Add the spinach leaves under and around the slices of tomatoes. When the veggies are read, sprinkle them evenly over the tomatoes and spinach. You don’t want to overload the focaccia, so if you have extra, don’t panic. You can save them in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container till next time. (The same goes for the tomatoes and spinach.)

Bake the focaccia for about 25-30 minutes. Cut into pieces and serve warm.

What’s more relaxing than spending a cozy evening with your boyfriend (or your best girlfriends) enjoying homemade Mexican food and your favorite movies? After a long week, sometimes it’s nice to spend a Friday night in. And you can enjoy tasty, comforting food without completely sabotaging your mission to eat healthy.

Having a Mexican Food Friday is one of the best ways to through a party for friends. Rent a few Redbox movies, pick up a few basic supplies, invite that gorgeous boyfriend (or new fling) of yours over, and you have all the ingredients for a great night.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I love avocado. I especially love avocado, corn and black beans. Some people might call carrots, celery, and onions the Holy Trinity of cooking… but I think avocado, corn, and black beans represent a new, hip Trinity that is moving in on that Traditional Italian turf.

Avocado is a great source of omega 3′s and healthy fat. It’s not great to eat it all the time, but it’s a great addition to any diet. As for corn, just like with avocado, there is too much of a bad thing – but corn cut off the cob is a great source of vitamin B1, dietary fiber, and vitamin C. As for black beans, they are a great source of fiber, protein, and iron, as well as a slew of vitamins. However, beware canned black beans with added seasoning – that’s tricky code talk for “Enough sodium to up your blood pressure for two months.” Together, they make a great topping for any healthy taco.

Healthy Chicken Tacos with Chunky Avocado Salsa

You’ll need:

• 1 package of crunchy taco shells or 1 small package of soft taco shells
• about 4 chicken breasts (look for extra lean cuts at the meat counter!)
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1-2 fresh tomatoes, with the stems removed and diced
• 2 avocados, peeled and diced
• 1 can of black beans, strained and rinsed well
• 2 cobs of corn, boiled and the corn kernels cut off
• Lettuce
• Shredded cheese

How to make it…

In a medium pan, cook the chicken breasts in a tiny bit of olive oil. When they are cooked through, remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, shred into bite sized pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the pan and add the tomatoes and taco seasoning. Stir to coat. Let warm over low heat on the stove.

In a separate bowl, combine the diced avocado, rinsed black beans, and corn. Stir well to combine.

Prepare the taco shells. Add meat, the avocado salsa, lettuce, and a little bit of cheese. Enjoy!

Not only that, this can be easily made while living in dorms or with limited cookware. All you need is a small soup pot (for the ravioli) and a small saucepan, plus a small strainer, and freezer space. I love frozen ravioli because you can take them out as you need them and they won’t go bad. (You will have to boil them a little longer than usual!)

Instead of ravioli from Trader Joe’s, I used a standard pre-made ravioli that you can purchase anywhere, usually in the fresh pasta or deli section of the grocery store. Prepackaged gnocchi would also be delicious with this.

Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce

You’ll need…

⦁       2 9-ounce packages of pre-made cheese stuffed ravioli (such as Trader Giotto’s Carbonara Stuffed Cheese Ravioli, from Trader Joe’s)

⦁       5 tablespoons of unsalted butter

⦁       1/3 of a bag of arugula

How to make it…

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the ravioli until they are soft, 4-6 minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan over high heat, melt the butter, stirring constantly. (You really have to babysit this!) Cook the butter until it gets frothy and turns a golden color, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Add the arugula to the butter, stirring until it wilts. Stir in the ravioli, coating it in the brown butter and arugula.

Optional add ins: spinach instead of arugula; parmesan cheese, pepper; a spoonful or two of cream cheese and spinach; and/or a little bit of garlic.

Note: This recipe makes four servings, so it’s great for entertaining. But if you freeze the ravioli, it is really easy to cut in half or even into quarters!

Some days, nothing tastes better than a slice of watermelon, a big salad and a cheese biscuit.

This recipe is one of my favorites. I like to make these biscuits for family gatherings or to give as gifts. They are flaky and completely decadent, the perfect addition to a family meal or even your favorite salad.

Cheddar cheese has a bad rap out there in the world. It gets knocked down as high-fat, high-calorie, and unnecessary. But ladies, there is nothing wrong with enjoying a little bit of cheddar every once in a while, you know? Okay, maybe not everyday. And maybe you shouldn’t eat four of these biscuits a day (I totally do, but it’s up to you). But don’t let the naysayers persuade you to turn your back on cheddar. Even though cheddar cheese is high in fat and calories, it is also high in calcium and can be very low in preservatives and additives if you buy from the right companies (I’m a big fan of Tillamook cheese).

If you’re ready to give cheddar one more chance, try out these biscuits.

Cheddar Biscuits

You’ll need…

⦁       1 ¾ cup of flour

⦁       ½ teaspoon of salt

⦁       ½ teaspoon of baking poweder

⦁       1 tablespoon or so of granulated garlic (or fresh garlic paste, available in tubes at the grocery store!)

⦁       1 teaspoon of dried parsley

⦁       1 stick (or ½ cup) of butter, softened

⦁       1 cup of milk

⦁       1 cup of cheddar cheese

How to make them…

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, measure out flour. On a cutting board, cut softened butter into small squares.
3. Using a large fork, cut the butter into the flour until large crumbs begin to form. Eventually, the flour will simply appear “wet.” (If you have a mixer, this can go much faster. But it isn’t necessary!)
4. Add salt, baking powder, garlic powder, and parsley to the flour and butter mixture and combine.
5. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the milk slowly. Be careful not to over mix!
6. Add the cheddar cheese and stir. Again, be careful not to over mix (or the biscuits will be tough!)
7. Using a soup spoon, spoon lumps of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Note: this recipe makes around 1 dozen biscuits. They are good for about 2-4 days if stored in an airtight container.

When I started college, I didn’t cook. I had never really had to. I was one of those lucky kids who always came home to a homeade family dinner every single night. I was also one of those kids who was shaken back into reality by college meal plans and the reality that food is kind of expensive.

So when I was lucky enough to get Andrea Lynn’s cookbook, the I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook: 150 Cheap-and-easy Gourmet Recipes, sent to me for free (yay, for being a cheap student!), I was excited. Through college, I taught myself how to cook and found recipes I could reasonably enjoy with my limited means, both monetary and equipment wise. But I wish I had had a sweet cookbook to guide me through the process.

Trader Joe’s is a chain of grocery stores primarily on the West Coast, so unfortunately, a lot of  college students won’t have access to the specific products mentioned in the book. That being said, I toured through a few chain grocery stores in my area and found really similar products. SO that doesn’t devalue this cookbook.

Favorite Recipes

Raspberry Brownies

You’ll need… 1 box of Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Brownies, 1 cup of light sour cream, ¼ cup of applesauce, and ½ cup of Trader Joe’s Raspberry Preserves. (Possible replacements include any low-fat brownie mix and homemade or jarred raspberry jam or preserves.)

Combine sour cream and applesauce before adding brownie mix. (I had to add a little water to get it to come together.) Gently fold in the raspberry preserves. (I decided to spoon the preserves on top and swirl them in with a butter knife.) Bake at 350 degrees for 32-40 minutes.

These brownies are delicious. They would be great to take to a study party – they are lower fat that regular brownies, but about twice as delicious.

Nutty Caramel Popcorn

You’ll need… 1 pack of Trader Joe’s Microwave Popcorn with Natural Butter Flavor (or Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Air-Popped Popcorn), 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 cup of Trader Jacques’ Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce (about a whole jar), and 1 cup of Trader Joe’s Roasted and Salted Mixed Nuts.

If using microwave popcorn, start it in the microwave according to the package instructions. (If using the pre-packaged Air-Popped popcorn, measure out about half the bag.) In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and caramel sauce. Add about half the popcorn and the nuts. Stir to combine. Then add the remaining popcorn. Spread the popcorn onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes to slightly harden.

I could drink this caramel sauce. The end. This popcorn is delicious. As it was sitting out to harden slightly, my boyfriend and I couldn’t stop eating it. It would make a great gift around Christmas time, tied up in cute little plastic bags.

Pros

This cookbook includes an entire section of recipes that can be made in the microwave, which is super handy for those still living in dorms. Also, there is a labeling system that labels things as microwave friendly, vegetarian and vegan friendly, and quick.

The best chapter is the one dedicated to quick and hearty brain food, specifically for finals week. Quick, easy, delicious recipes that are bursting with nutrients. Yes, please. Everyone is deprived of time during finals week, but to stay focused, it’s great to have handy recipes (like Salmon Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce or Potato Frittata) to make in a snap.

Almost every single recipe looks delicious. I wish I had the time and resources to make every single one.

Cons

Of course, this cookbook relies heavily on Trader Joe’s products. Of course, there are ways to replace them with common grocery store ingredients, so it isn’t really a problem. However, there is also a reliance on pre-packaged foods. In the past year, I’ve definitely tried to cut down on my consumption of processed foods. However, Trader Joe’s has some of the best products out there so I’m not too worried. That being said, if you really hate eating processed or pre-packaged foods, this might not be the cookbook for you.

The Verdict

This is a great cookbook for any college girl who wants to learn how to cook, or at least to stop relying on fast food and the school cafeteria. Plus, the recipes are really, really yummy and can make great group dinners or gifts for others. (I would personally get really excited if I was gifted a box of Raspberry Brownies. Just saying.)

This recipe won’t teach you to make anything really complicated, but it doesn’t assume you own specialized equipment. It is the bare basics, tailored to the average college students needs. And who doesn’t love that?

Canned beans are a college girls secret weapon to eating healthy. Okay, admittedly, sometimes they can be loaded with sodium and MSG, but as long as you rinse them thoroughly in a strainer, they are one of the healthiest cheap, quick foods out there. Chickpeas in particular are famous for being high in fiber and protein, two very necessary nutrients, as well as iron and phosphorus. They are well known for their use in hummus and falafel, but have a multitude of other uses that are just as delicious and easy.

Making burgers out of beans certainly isn’t new. However, I’m proud that these chickpea burgers have minimal ingredients for the college girl. Plus, once they are made and cooked, they can be kept in the fridge for a quick snack – cut in half and rolled up in a tortilla with some tzatziki sauce, cut in pieces and tossed over a salad. And, well, they’re delicious and vegetarian, so really, it’s a win-win situation.

Chickpea Burgers

You’ll need

⦁       1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

⦁       2 teaspoons of cumin

⦁       1 egg

⦁       ½ cup of roasted red pepper slices, diced (you can usually find these in the pickled vegetables section)

⦁       6-8 tablespoons of Greek yogurt

⦁       ½ teaspoon of garlic powder

⦁       about 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese

How to make it…

Place drained chickpeas in a large bowl and mash with a fork. (You can also use a blender or food processor if you have one, but a fork works just fine). You don’t need to get a smooth mash or anything, just crush them all up. Add the cumin and combine. In a small bowl, crack the egg and whisk gently. Add egg to the chickpeas and mix. After dicing the roasted red paper, fold into the chickpea mixture. Form the mixture into 2-3 larger burgers, or 5-6 small burgers.

Add a little bit of nonstick spray or olive oil to a small pan on medium high heat and cook the burgers for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Be careful, as these burgers can fall apart pretty easily. While they are cooking, combine the Greek yogurt, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese, as well as a little bit of pepper.

Serve burgers with the Greek yogurt on the side or a little dollop on top!

Note: These burgers last for about 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container or if wrapped individually in plastic wrap or aluminum foil!