Do you need a super-quick and easy dessert recipe to take to a last-minute holiday party help ease the pain of a break up? Do you love peanut butter? Do you love desserts that are indulgent and–gasp!–healthy?

Read on, my friend.

This recipe for pumpkin peanut butter mousse (adapted from The Peanut Butter Boy‘s formula) is about as close to Food Pyramid-certified as you’re going to get. The only fat in this dessert is in the peanut butter (which is loaded with “good” monounsaturated fats, as well as protein), and hey, pumpkin is a fruit!  Best of all, this recipe is multi-functional (see below) and takes less than five minutes to make.

If there were ever a sign that god exists, it is here. And it is tasty. Read More »

Sadly, this is not a picture of the snack mix. My roommate ate it before I could snap a photo. No joke.

Thanksgiving to New Year’s (and the few days after when you’re lying around attempting to kick the hangover) is pretty much the universal stuff-your-face time period. It’s suddenly acceptable to drink gallons of Starbucks holiday drinks and eat desserts like there’s no tomorrow.

It isn’t the healthiest thing, but we’ll worry about that tomorrow when our ambitious “go to the gym at least 5 times a week” resolution kicks in.

Or we won’t, because there are some things in life that are more important than your flat abs, and this snack is one of them. Seriously, this stuff is the reason I go to the gym. Not to burn off the calories from eating bowls full of it, mind you, but to work up an appetite so I can eat more of it.

My grandma has been making this snack mix for years and it never fails to make it into my belly. It’s just the perfect combination of salty and sweet resulting in a savory, dessert snack mix combo. It’s super easy to make, looks great in a bowl on the table and will be the hit of any party you may be throwing. It also happens to go swimmingly with long study sessions, a few back-to-back episodes of 30 Rock, or when you’re barefoot and standing over the counter late-night.

Or, you know, whenever.

The good news? You can adjust the ingredients to make it your own. You can use dark chocolate to make it a bit healthier, or mix all three for a fun (and delicious) tie-dye batch.

Ingredients:
10 oz. pretzels
1 can (14 0z.) cashews
5 cups corn Chex
5 cups Cheerios
2-12 oz. packages of white chocolate chips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Recipe:
1)    Mix pretzels, cashews, corn Chex and Cheerios in a large bowl. Set aside.
2)    Melt the white chocolate and vegetable oil in the microwave (2 minutes).
3)    Add chocolate mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until covered.
4)    Spread out on wax paper and let cool (it will dry into one big block).
5)    Break into pieces and eat away!!

Warning: Do not sit in front of the bowl, I repeat: DO. NOT.  It is extremely addicting and you will eat the entire thing. Instead grab handfuls as you pass through the room to control consumption.

All the cookie dough you can eat and none of the Salmonella? Hell to the yes.

Any type of cookie dough is a good type of cookie dough in my book. Cookie dough ice cream, homemade cookie dough, even store-bought Nestle cookie dough is delicious. Especially when eaten directly from the plastic tube with your fingers while watching old episodes of Sex and the City.

You know what’s not good in my book (or stomach), though? Salmonella. Which is exactly what I’ll get if I keep on keepin’ on with my cookie dough habits. Sometimes – like when I’m chowing down on some dough to prevent a mid-finals meltdown – I try not to care about the havoc those raw eggs are wreaking on my body, but it’s there. And it’s wreaking. So you can imagine my excitement when I found this faux cookie dough recipe in Glamour magazine; it’s a lot healthier for your bod than the real stuff (there’s even wheat germ!) and even has an added peanut butter flavor, which just makes it even more scrumptious (not to mention totally safe to eat).

Trust me: this stuff is as tasty as it is easy to make.
And it’s really easy. Deliciously easy. Read More »

Do you loooove breakfast, so much so that you often eat it again for lunch, and dinner? You could pull off the thrice-daily cereal routine -and yes, I’ve been a culprit – but as great as three servings of Frosted Flakes tastes, I’ve got a dish for you that is as wholesome as a hot breakfast, delicious as a quick lunch, and hearty as a home-cooked dinner. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it’s ethnic to boot.

It’s shakshouka!

Native to North Africa and the Middle East, shakshouka is a breakfast often served straight out of the skillet, with a side of pita bread in which to stuff the piping hot concoction. However, I am a celiac, which means I’m gluten-intolerant (can’t eat anything containing wheat, barley, or rye).  I’m also a distance runner, and I’m constantly looking for more protein to stay full and rebuild muscle. Hence, the following recipe, which reflects my own spin on the ethnic favorite. The chickpeas and black beans offer lean, healthy proteins and the rice, a staple in the celiac diet, allows this classic breakfast to transition easily to lunch or dinner.

Yeah, it might be hard to pronounce, but this stuff is easy to make.
See for yourself!  Read More »

Though it’s getting a bit chillier these days, it’s still Fall, pumpkin-flavored anything is still awesome, and there’s basically nothing better than waking up and making yourself pancakes on a blustery morning, afternoon, or night.

Ok, so maybe having some hottie do it for you would be nice, but you’ll forget all about that once you bite into these badboys.

This recipe is slightly complicated, but it’s nothing a relatively cheap trip the neighborhood grocery store and 30 minutes in the kitchen won’t fix.

And, like that thick trainer at my gym always says, “no pain, no gain.” I’m pretty sure he’s talking about a 45-minute run on the treadmill, but I just think it means all that cooking will be worth it when you’re filled with 2 lbs of pumpkin pancake bliss. Read More »

If you’re looking for major brownie points from your tailgating crew, or if you just want to win over the hearts of every carnivorous, beer-chugging dude on campus (and who wouldn’t???) try these wings on for size!

Nothing brings a crowd together like a hearty plate of buffalo wings, especially a crowd of rowdy football fans looking to nosh on something hot and tangy. This all-time bar food favorite is easy to make, and fun to share, especially when double dipping comes into play. This recipe allows you to make your treats as spicy as you like, so either curb the fire breath or BRING ON THE HEAT!

Note: This recipe calls for 24 wings. Adjust as necessary Read More »

So, it’s the beginning of a new school year, and you’ve got a hot prospect. How can you woo him (or her, as the case may be) and get those googly eyes to focus only on you?

Easy.

It’s like your mom always said: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Even if you aren’t exactly Julia Child, you can still follow instructions, and that’s all you need to do to bust out a romantic dinner that’ll have him drooling for your food and bolting with you to the bedroom.

Trust me, it’s way better to make food for your dude than take him out. Anyone can whip out a credit card, but it makes you look extra-special if you can whip out a spatula and use it like you’re supposed to. Plus, it’s obviously sweeter to make dinner than to buy it, and it gives you the opportunity to tailor what you make to what your guy really likes. (And it might even inspire him to cook for you . . . swoon!)

Before you get carried away, don’t go all Bridget Jones and try to make super-fancy recipes for multiple courses. Keep it simple, especially if you don’t have a ton of cooking experience. Odds are, your guy loves the classics: what meat-eating man would deny a nicely grilled steak or a plate of spaghetti just like his mom used to make?

So set out that tablecloth, light those candles, put on some tunes, and give these two tried-and-true recipes a whirl. Read More »

Remember those nasty instant-oatmeal packages you would toss in the microwave on those mornings when you were all hungover but starving? Yeah, forget them. This isn’t that. This is waaaaay, way better.

Oatmeal is the perfect breakfast to warm you on a cold winter morning, or to keep you full and alive in a long, boring lecture until lunch. It’s tasty, healthy and super versatile, meaning it’s pretty much the perfect college meal.

So how do you make it well? It’s simple.

First, you need to get yourself some rolled oats. Not the quick-cooking kind – the regular kind. The only other staples you’ll need are milk (any kind, even soy is OK) and salt. And we all have that stuff lying around, right? Once you’ve got that down, then you can lay out your own personal oatmeal sundae bar: nuts, dried fruit, cream, sugar, honey, fresh berries, yogurt, chocolate chips, etc.

So here’s how you make your oatmeal:

1. In a small saucepan, put 1 cup of milk (or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk) and a sprinkle of salt. Set the saucepan on medium-high heat.
2. When the milk starts to bubble up and simmer, pour in 1/2 cup rolled oats. Reduce the heat to low.
3. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often so the oatmeal doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
4. When the oatmeal is the consistency you like, scoop it out and serve it! Read More »

All right so it might not be cold yet, but that doesn’t mean a bowl of something hot wouldn’t hit the spot. If you’re too broke to swing by the nearest deli every time you get a massive craving for a soup and sandwich, try this recipe for chili. It’s super easy, great for dorm rooms (assuming you can use a crock-pot there…or can hide it from your R.A.) and it makes enough to last a lot longer than one of those eensy bowls of Broccoli Cheddar soup (still, mmmm broccoli cheddar soup…).

Chili is extremely customizable. For instance, depending on whether you like yours really hot or not so much, it isn’t hard to adjust the spice of this recipe. Chili is kind of a free-for-all dish, meaning, throw whatever the hell you want into a pot as long as it sounds good. (Caution: do not try this when inebriated. I did and quickly realized that frosting does not go well in chili.) Read More »

The most elaborate meal most college students cook consists of adding water to some noodles and microwaving on high for 2 minutes. Except maybe the weird stuff we all put together after a long night of drinking (Cheez Wiz and frozen spinach? Mmmmm!).

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Eli and Max Sussman, two lovely boys who are as talented in the kitchen as they are witty, have recently published, Freshman in the Kitchen.

This cookbook is made for us – college students – and teaches everything we need to know about cooking, including making things that don’t require a flavor packet or a microwave.

Freshman in the Kitchen proves that cooking a real meal can be as easy as Easy Mac, with much better results. The boys will be sharing their expertise and recipes with us, so look out.

And buy their book. Your roommates will thank you.