Cheap Cooking in College
Why this dish?
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Affordable​
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Lots of protein without having meat
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Few ingredients
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Only use one appliance: the stove
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Have always loved fried rice at sushi restaurants
Tips to a Cheap Meal
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Prepackaged vegetables are more expensive
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Buy the large uncut carrots and cut them yourself
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Buy a head of broccoli and cut it into florets yourself
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Only buy vegetables that you will actually eat! They go bad fast
Recipe
Serving size: 1 person
Rice (the easy version!):
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
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1 cup rice
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1 cup water
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2 tablespoons butter
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Pinch of salt
Instructions:
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Turn on one burner to high on your stove.
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Pour one cup of water into a pot.
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Place pot on the burner.
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Let water sit until boiling.
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Once water is boiling, pour one cup of rice into the water.
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Remove pot from the hot burner, and place it onto a cold and unused burner.
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Let sit for five minutes.
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After five minutes is up, drain the excess water down the drain.
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Transfer your rice from the pot to a bowl.
Scrambled eggs:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
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2 eggs
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Splash of milk
Instructions:
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Crack two eggs into a bowl.
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Add a splash of milk to the bowl.
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Stir milk and egg contents in the bowl.
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Add the bowl contents to a pan on the stove.
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Stir contents on medium heat for around three minutes.
Vegetables:
Prep time: 7 minutes
Ingredients:
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Water
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Carrots
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Broccoli
Instructions:
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Take your preferred amount of vegetables and wash them with water thoroughly.
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Cut the carrots and broccoli into smaller pieces.
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Pour enough water into a pan so that just the bottom of the pan is covered with water.
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Place the pan onto the stove with high heat.
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Once the water is boiling, place the vegetables into the pan.
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Place cover over the pan.
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Let vegetables sit and steam for five minutes.
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Drain the excess water and add to your bowl.
Finishing touches:
Prep time: 2 minutes
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Add your rice, eggs and vegetables to a pan on the stove with medium to low heat.
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Add soy sauce and butter to the pan.
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Mix all together and add all contents to a clean bowl when finished.
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Add salt and pepper to garnish.
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Enjoy!
Ella's Experience:
I had such a fun time making this dish! I was a little scared at first because my parents always cooked for me before I left for college. During my freshman year, I was on a university meal plan and now I live in a sorority house with a chef, so I haven’t had the opportunity to make myself a full meal yet! When I was in the grocery store I really wanted to focus on finding cheap but fresh vegetables for my dish, since that was the most expensive part of my meal.