Feeding the [Post-] College Student

For Christmas this year, one of my brothers wanted kitchen essentials. He's a college student living off-campus and responsible for his own nourishment for the first time. This is a difficult time nutritionally... and bugetarially. I lived on PB&J, mac&cheese, and scrambled eggs for far longer than I'd like to admit once I left the cozy cafeteria. There are still days when, two years into marriage, my poor husband has to make himself a sandwich or fry up an omelette for dinner, so we are by no means experts. I thought, however, with more of my siblings heading out on their own and even well-established cooks looking for new ideas, that it might be a good idea to post some practical, modern survival-cooking tips and recipes.

Cookware Essentials (all ideal for housewarming and showers)(assuming possession of stove, microwave, and fridge/freezer)

• Basic bakeware (cookie sheet, bread pan, muffin pan, pie plate, 9x13" nonstick metal and glass casserole)
• Basic stoveware (small and large saucepans with lids, small and large frying pans with lids, and flat griddle)
• colander/strainer
• measuring cups (for liquid and dry ingredients)
• measuring spoons (recommend 2 sets)
• can opener
• pizza cutter
• silicone whisk and spatula
• plastic (nonstick-safe) flippers (spatulas, technically)(recommend 2) slotted and non-slotted spoons
• wooden spoons (2)
• knives (two paring, one santoku-type, and one bread)
• slow cooker
• glass leftover dishes with lids (safe for oven, microwave, dishwasher and freezer)(the dishes; lids can't go in oven)
• wooden chopsticks or nonstick-safe tongs

Non-essentials, but super nice to have:

• rice cooker
• toaster/toaster oven
• chopperchopper (the thing that you put onion or garlic in and whack repeatedly to chop)
• hand and stand mixers
• blender

Pantry Essentials (things to ALWAYS have on hand)
Non-Perishable/Long-lasting

• parchment paper
• Ziploc bags (quart and gallon size)
• flour (keep in airtight containers or freeze)(sacks from store are NOT airtight)
• sugar
• rice
• olive, vegetable, and/or canola oil
• Crisco
• pasta
• garlic and onion powder (so useful that we buy the large canisters)
• oregano
• salt and pepper
• baking powder and soda
• vanilla
• plain bread crumbs
• seasoning salt
• Italian/garlic salt blends (we like garlic blends for bread and Chef Paul Prudhomme's Herbal Pizza & Pasta Magic)
• potatoes
• garlic
• onion
• peanut butter
• marinara sauce (we like Francesco Rinaldi, the No Salt Added variety. Cheaper and healthier than most.)
• pesto
• 2 cans of favorite condensed soup
• active dry yeast

Perishable

• butter
• eggs
• milk
• chicken breasts (buy a lot when they're on sale, then bag individually in Ziplocs and freeze up to 3 months)
• hamburger (ditto; bag in individual pounds and freeze)
• favorite salad dressing
• bread (we prefer to make our own; it disturbs me that a loaf from the store can last a month in the fridge)
• healthy (ie, high-protein/fiber, low-sodium) snacks (we always have yogurt, almonds, whole-wheat crackers, cheese, and fruit)
• shredded cheddar
• shredded mozzarella
• Parmesan cheese (grated)
• green peppers
• baby carrots
• favorite cheese in sliced form for sandwiches
• lunchmeat
• fresh cilantro (freeze)

Having these items on-hand provides for most of our quick, easy lunches and weeknight meals. Planning those meals once a week (or month) means fewer trips to the store and a well-stocked pantry and can save a lot. For example, there will often be bags of salad or just spinach marked down to $1 because they expire within a day or two. If you have planned your meals to use the more fragile grocery items sooner, you can get the clearance salad and use it before it goes bad. I do our grocery shopping on Mondays, so Monday night might be tacos with the fresh lettuce and still-thawed hamburger; then Tuesday would be taco salad to use up some more of that lettuce and the leftover meat. We love chicken parmesan; we'll have that one night and I'll make enough to have leftovers to put on homemade pizza the next night.

Read labels! We use turkey bacon and turkey pepperoni because a) it's healthier, and b) it's usually pre-cooked so it lasts longer.

When you try a recipe and like it, copy it out onto an index card and file it in an index card holder. That way your favorites are easily accessible and easy to prop up and cook from.

A few helpful links

• USDA fact sheets on safe food handling and freezing: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FACTSheets/index.asp
• Awesome recipe-search service: allrecipes.com (I like the comments and ratings; makes it easy to find tasty food fast)
• Great tips on cooking for one or two: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/easy-coooking-for-one-or-two-recipies-and-tips
• A word on Pinterest: we've had about 50% success with Pinterest recipes. People rarely try a recipe out before repinning. Some look amazing but taste awful. Be adventurous, but be warned.