Easy and Stupid Meals For Your Hungry Brains
Between assignments, high grocery prices, and general mental illness, it's not always easy getting enough food at Reed. That's why I've put together some recipes that I fall back on time and time again. These quick, calorie-dense meals come together in one pan or less, use readily available ingredients, and take around ten minutes maximum to cook. Don't think you're good at cooking? Think again with these easy and stupid meals.
Calorie Bomb
This recipe is for when you need food and you need it now. No pans, no fuss—just bread and cheese. Pure fuel.
Ingredients:
English muffin
cheddar cheese
egg (optional)
Directions: Toast the English muffin. Put a hefty amount of cheese on a plate or bowl (not the Commons dishes, they'll crack from the heat). Microwave it until the cheese is melted and scrape it onto the English muffin. If you want, you can put an egg on it too.
Fake Risotto
This dish is a perfect way to use up some old rice. The dish itself is admittedly a bit sad, but there's no chopping, cracking, or prep work involved. A good late night snack to make during your study break.
Ingredients:
rice
butter
salt
Directions: Heat plenty of butter in the pan on medium high. Once it's good and hot, put some day-old rice in. Pat the rice down with a wooden spoon or something to maximize the surface area of rice on the pan. Let it sizzle for a few minutes and then flip the rice once it's browned a bit on the bottom. Let the other side brown as well, and then put some salt and whatever seasonings you want on it.
Eggs and Rice and Cabbage
This recipe is surprisingly versatile. I include two ways that I like it below.
Ingredients:
cabbage
one or two eggs
rice
Directions: Make some rice. (If you don't have a rice cooker, you can boil rice. While it boils, go on Amazon and buy a rice cooker.) Put some oil that works well on high heat in a pan and get it ripping hot. Put around a handful of chopped cabbage in the pan. Make sure to move the cabbage around fairly often so the cabbage doesn't burn. After two or three minutes, Set the cabbage aside. In the same pan, cook an egg however you like your eggs. Put the rice, cabbage, and egg in a bowl. Season with soy sauce and furikake or whatever you want. Another way to do this is to not cook the egg and to instead mix it in with the rice. Stir it around with a fork or a pair of chopsticks until the egg gets a little frothy (for a more detailed explanation of this part, see J. Kenji Lopez Alt's video, "Egg and Rice Bowls, Two Ways"). Then, add the cabbage and season.
Orphan Porridge
Flex on Victorian orphans with this bougie but easy porridge concoction.
Ingredients:
rolled oats (none of that steel cut shit ‘cause we're on a schedule here)
milk
sugar
shredded wheat
frozen blueberries (optional)
Directions: Mix the oats with some water in a bowl. Make sure not to put too much water in—you're going to add milk later. Microwave for around a minute and a half, checking periodically to make sure that the oatmeal isn't exploding out of the bowl. The oats should be reminiscent of drywall paste at this point. Now add some milk and sugar, and crumble some shredded wheat on top. You can also add blueberries (I prefer frozen ones for their taste and long lifespan). If you don't have shredded wheat you can add whatever cereal you think would be good.