Shrimp Ranch Pasta Stuff?

FAIL NUMERO DOS

Well, it was another fail here at Campus Cuisine with a dish that is sure to confuse the masses. Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta was the name, I don't wanna eat this was the game. Granted, this seafood shortcoming was far from the catastrophe that we now call affectionately, The Salad That Should Not Have Been. The key, we found, to the success of this dish was the addition of pre-made marinara sauce in quantities sufficient to mask the ranchy goo that covered the noodles, veggies and shrimp we so desperately wished to enjoy.

Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta

6 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

12 oz. peeled and deveined raw shrimp

1 bunch asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces

1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups non-fat plain yogurt

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook 2 minutes less than package directions. Add shrimp and veggies and cook until pasta is tender and shrimp are cooked. Drain well. In large bowl mash garlic and salt until paste forms. Wisk in yogurt, parsley, lemon juice, oil and pepper. Add pasta mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with pine nuts if desired.

With the addition of marinara sauce, much more edible, if not almost enjoable.

Ramen that You'll Want to Eat

Szechuan Vegetable Lo Mein

What's the one thing, dreaded or glorified, that every college student has in their pantry? RAMEN.  While this thrifty meal option is, in my opinion, horrific on every level when made as directed, us girls at Campus Cuisine have discovered an utterly delicious way to use the ramen in a tasty and quick asian dish.

Szechuan Vegetable Lo Mein

2 can (14 oz. each) vegetable or chicken broth ($2.50)

2 tsp. minced garlic (bulk item)

1 tsp. ginger (bulk item)

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (bulk item)

1 c. edamame ($1.99)

1 red bell pepper ($1.25)

1 can of sliced water chestnuts ($1.29)

3 carrots, peeled and sliced ($1.50)

3 packets of ramen (discard seasoning packets) ($.33)

3 tbsp. soy sauce ($2.59)

1 tbsp. dark sesame oil ($3.99)

1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions ($.59)

[optional] sunflower seeds for garnish

Cut up all vegetables and set aside in a bowl (except green onions).  To save time, you can replace all the vegetables with a 16 oz. package of any frozen vegetable medley.  

Combine broth, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a large pot.  Cover and bring to boil over high heat.  Add veggies and noodles to skillet, cover, and return to boil.  Once brought to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer uncovered for 5-6 minutes or until vegetables and noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil; cook for 3 more minutes, then stir in the green onions, and ladle into bowls.  Top with toasted sunflower seeds if desired, and enjoy! However, a word of caution...this dish is served hot and is also relatively spicy.  If you're living in a house without air conditioning, I recommend saving this dish for the fall or winter time.  We learned this the hard way, when we were struggling with the conflicting desires to devour this awesome meal, or run to stick our heads under cold water from the sink.  Definitely a winter meal for us non-air-conditioned college kids! Makes 6 servings ($16.03/$2.67 per serving)

When in Doubt, Make Lasagna!

Eggplant Lasagna

First cooked meal on a school night called for something hearty and comforting.  What better cuisine than Italian to fit those requirements?  We started off with the plan of making some eggplant roll-ups courtesy of Ms. Rachel Ray, however, when we happened upon the time to roll up those eggplants, it was apparent that that recipe was not going to happen.  Still sharp-minded from a full day of classes, we decided to layer the eggplant, fresh mozz, basil, more eggplant, and top with tomato basil sauce.  This concoction would be knighted Eggplant Lasagna.

Necessary filling shot

Eggplant Lasagna

vegetable or olive oil, for frying (bulk item)

2 medium eggplants ($2.50)

3/4 c. flour (bulk item)

3 eggs, beaten ($0.75)

salt and pepper, to taste (bulk item)

1 lb. fresh mozzarella ($4.49)

basil leaves, chopped ($1.88)

1 1/2 c. marinara sauce, homemade or jarred ($2.99)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Put flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.  Also have the three beaten eggs in a dish.  Thinly slice eggplants lengthwise, then dredge in flour, and coat with egg (seems backwards, I know, but Rachel Ray said so).  Fry on each side until golden, then transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

In a 9x13 baking dish, layer eggplant, cheese, basil, more eggplant, then the sauce on top (and more cheese if desired).  Cook for eight minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove, and serve with simple olive oil and herb spaghetti if you're carb lovers like us!

Makes a 9x13 dish/$12.61

You're the Pie of My Eye

The clan was incomplete, for two of the roommates were M.I.A. Even with the lack of support, Kayti and I decided to carry on. A glimmer of strawberry rhubarb pie rose on the horizon of our minds, and naturally, we could not resist. Even with our other half missing, we took on the challenge of making our own pie crust from scratch.

Filling:

2 cups white sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 pounds fresh rhubarb

2 pounds fresh strawberries

Pie Crust:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup softened butter (2 sticks)

10 Tbs ice water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Toss in strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Add butter and cut in with pastry cutter (two knives work) until crumbly. Add ice water, mixing one tablespoon as a time. Form into dough ball- divide in half and roll on floured surface with floured rolling pin. Fold in fourths for easy transfer into pie dish, making sure dough covers entire dish. Cut extra dough off with butter knife. Pour filling into pie crust , dotting the top with butter. Roll out second half of dough and lay over the top. Mash the edges together with thumb and cut off extra dough with butter knife. Cut slits into the top of pie and add topper with a water seal (adding food coloring to the dough if you're feeling artsy).

Cover edges with foil for first 25 minutes, bake for 30-40 minutes (until crust is golden brown) on cookie sheet.

Brush pie with mixture of water and powdered sugar (slightly thick) while pie is hot out of the oven. Let cool and have at it!

In Crust We Trust

Summer Vegetable Pizza

With the sting of our recent disaster still hanging in the kitchen, we took on our next culinary creation, a summer vegetable pizza.  Lucky for us, this super fast and healthy pizza completely redeemed our confidence in the kitchen.  Fresh onions, asparagus, corn, and red peppers, piled onto a olive oil and garlic "sauce", and topped with mozzarella, made up this delicious pizza, at just around 380 calories a serving (2 slices)!

Pre-cooking

Post-cooking

Summer Vegetable Pizza
8 inch pizza dough ($3.39)
4 tbsp. olive oil (bulk item)
1 1/2-2 tbsp. minced garlic (bulk item)
1 cup onion, sliced ($.88)
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips ($1.25)
8 ounces asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces ($1.59)
1 1/2 c. frozen corn ($.79)
3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese ($3.49)
1/3 c. basil leaves ($1.88)
salt and pepper (to taste)


Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.


Slice onions, red peppers, and asparagus, then place in a saute pan with the olive oil.  Defrost corn and add to veggie mix. Add in garlic, salt, and pepper. Place veggie mix on the dough, then sprinkle with cheese.  Cook in oven for 15 minutes or until cheese starts brown, then let cool, and dig in my feastin' friends.
Serves 4 (two slices per serving) $13.24/ $3.32 per serving

Salty Peachy Shenanigans

Looks can be deceiving...

Every journey will have its highs and lows, and our kitchen has seen its first catastrophe. We decided to take a leap with a prosciutto, peach, and sweet lettuce salad, and we were far from impressed. While Alina and I struggled through the insane salt from the combination of feta and prosciutto, and the zest of the lime and lemon dressing, Alli and Kayti didn't even manage to get down an entire bowl. This is one that will not make our cook book!

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon and lime juice (1 lemon, 1 lime)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 (6.5-ounce) package sweet butter lettuce mix
• 2 large ripe peaches, cut into wedges
• 3 ounces very thin slices prosciutto, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 ounces feta cheese

Whisk together the lemon and lime juice with the honey, chopped mint, pepper, and salt. Drizzle in the olive oil while stirring. Add the cut peaches and prosciutto over the salad greens in a large bowl and mix together with the dressing. Add the feta over the tossed salad.

Now pick up your phone and order a pizza.

Latin Spice Night! Ole!

Tasty tilapia tacos w/pineapple salsa, mmm.

It's a Tuesday night, and three roommates are stirring in the kitchen... as well as chopping, grilling, and seasoning. Tonight's menu: fish tacos complete with pineapple jalapeno salsa, roasted miniature red and yellow peppers, and, continuing with the theme of last night's scrumptious concoction, tilapia! (If you plan out your meals ahead you can purchase enough fish to last through both of these recipes! We did!) Tonight's meal was an epic success! Low-fat, low-cal, and freakin' delicious!

Bobby Flay ain't got nothin' on us.

Some tricks to shortening the length of time required to cook this meal are simultaneous preparation and a deliberate order to the cooking of ingredients. For example, the Campus Cuisine Crew was able to cut down the prep time by setting up the salsa ahead of time to allow for the marriage of flavor, then chopping all the veggies while heating the corn, roasting the peppers and onions side-by-side while warming the tortillas, and saving the fish for last.

Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

1 jalapeno, chopped

2 cups fresh pineapple, finely chopped

Cut pineapple, onion and jalapeno (DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE!). Combine in bowl then add salt, pepper and lime. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Fish Tacos

6 wheat tortillas ($1.69)

4 tilapia fillets ($8.13)

8 oz small bell peppers, sliced into strips ($2.99)

1 jalapeno, sliced ($.10)

1/2 large sweet onion, sliced ($.88)

1 1/2 frozen corn ($.79)

salt, to taste (bulk item)

pepper, to taste (bulk item)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (bulk item)

First, remove corn from bag and place in pan over low heat. Cut peppers, jalapenos, and onion and grill. Heat tortillas on grill as well. Remove all ingredients from grill. Combine veggies in serving dish and season with salt and pepper to taste. Baste tilapia in olive oil and place in large frying pan over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper (amount to user's discretion). Cook for 7 minutes each side or until fish is cooked all the way through with no pink remaining.
Serves 3 (2 tacos each) $14.58/$4.86 per serving


We ended up having a bit of the veggie mix left over, so being thrifty college students, we opted for chicken fajita paninis for the next night's meal.  This super easy and cheap recipe is the perfect way to use up leftovers in a yummy sandwich.

Chicken Fajita Panini
3 frozen chicken breasts
leftover veggie mix from recipe above (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 slices of harvati cheese
dash of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
6 slices of bread of choice (we used french)
1 tbsp. of olive oil


Defrost the chicken in the microwave, then place in a plastic bag with desired amount of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Cover chicken evenly.  Then place the oven in a pan with 1 tbsp. of olive oil, and cook through on both sides.  Warm up the remaining veggie mix in the microwave. Then it's time to construct your sandwiches! Brush the bread with a bit of olive oil, and arrange the chicken, veggies, and cheese.  Throw it on a panini press or grill pan, and when the bread is nice and toasty, take it off and enjoy!
Makes 3 sandwiches

Testing the Waters, with a Successful Catch!

Ta-da! College kids can cook!

It's Monday night, and the last of the parentals have wondered back to their respective homes.  Three roommates and an honorary friend are faced with their opening act of clown charades, also known as collegiate "cooking".  Not to be intimidated by our ominous task of creating the first edible (and preferably delicious) meal, we decided on the versatile fish that is tilapia, paired with some simple sauteed vegetables, all over a portion of the colossal bag of rice, purchased by a loving parent before disowning us college kids to sink or swim.

Amanda's sauteing vegetables?! You won't find those at an In 'n Out Burger.

This super simple and quick recipe quelled our nightmares of spam-filled meals and even gave light to future culinary endeavors. Be not afraid, my collegiate colleagues!

Lemon-Pepper Tilapia w/ sauteed Squash
4 tilapia fillets ($8.13)
1 tbsp. yogurt butter (bulk item)
lemon-pepper spice blend ($1.50)
1 yellow squash ($.67)
1 zucchini ($.67)
1/2 white onion ($.44)
garlic salt & pepper (bulk item)
2 tbsp. olive oil (bulk item)
1 c. rice (white or brown) (bulk item)
2 c. water


Melt butter and drizzle over fillets in a non-greased baking dish.  Season with lemon-pepper blend to taste.  Bake in oven at 400ºF until flaky and white (about 20 minutes).


Meanwhile, chop squash and zucchini and saute in a pan with olive oil until tender.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Place rice and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes.
(Serves 4) $11.41/$2.85 per serving