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Foodie Column

No time is no excuse: These dorm room-ready recipes are quick and simple for a busy student.

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In this week's Foodie column, Taylor Lucero gives a how-to on meal prepping for students on the go.

Have you ever gone to class hungry because you didn’t have enough time to get to the dining hall, or because you just couldn’t stomach eating that same snack you’ve got tons of in your room? Here’s your solution — all you need are a few simple ingredients, a mug, five minutes and a microwave.

Scrambled Eggs

This outcome is a little awkward, since cooking eggs in a microwave makes them rubbery. When I was making this, I was a bit worried I might undercook the egg, but it turned out fine. This dish isn’t going to look exactly like scrambled eggs when it’s done. It seems a little disappointing at first, but overall it has the same result as cooking the eggs on a stove.
Rating: 2/5

Omelet

As with the previous recipe, make sure the egg is thoroughly cooked before eating. Although looking identical to the scrambled eggs, the salsa and the ham I sprinkled in made a world of difference. After cooking the omelet, I sprinkled a little more cheese on it to make it extra gooey.
Rating: 3/5

Pizza

This pizza is an easy meal to add to your arsenal, but some problems arose when I was cooking. Before sticking it into the microwave, make sure to get the dough to the correct consistency — you don’t want it to be too watery. Otherwise, you may need to adjust the amount of time you cook the pizza. I thought the recipe was delicious — it reminded me of the classic pizza bites kids eat for an after-school snack.
Rating: 3.5/5

Mac and Cheese

I made this dish for a friend, and they pretty much licked the mug clean. I didn’t have any problems with the cheese clumping. The only thing I would do differently is buy thinner noodles. The thicker the noodles are, the more you’re going to have to cook them to get the pasta into a nice squishy state.
Rating: 4/5



Chocolate Nutella Cake

Dessert is always the best – after a long day at work, it’s nice to eat something that can help you relieve the pent-up stress that accumulated during your day. I mean, it’s no coincidence that stressed spelled backward is desserts.

This recipe was my favorite to make — it came out well and was rich in chocolate. My favorite part was the dollop of Nutella that you get at the bottom. It pairs nicely with a glass of milk to wash down some of the chocolate, so it’s not overly sweet. Again, I was little afraid of how the eggs would turn out in the microwave, but combined with the rest of the ingredients it turned out amazing.
Rating: 5/5

In the future, I’ll remake these recipes, but add my own twist to them. My favorite part of this recipe test, besides eating, was that the ingredients needed to prepare the five recipes cost about $30 all together. It’s a cheap and easy way to get some delicious eats.





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