College Cooking

From Mom with Love…………

My oldest boy went back to college this week. It is his Senior year and we are in the home stretch. This year he is in an off campus apartment and once again we opted not to purchase the ridiculously priced meal plan. In past years his menu consisted of fast food, junk food, sandwich food and any food he could get for free- in no particular order. This year in his infinite wisdom he decided it may be cheaper if he actually cooked food at his apartment. He is right and I have been saying that for some time but he needed to figure this out own on his own so I applauded the smart thinking and got to work with minimal “I told you so” references. Excited by the thought of one of my sons actually being interested in cooking (my favorite pastime) I put together an easy to follow plan for him. Not only will he succeed at eating better and for less money he will also be heading off into the real world with a valuable skill not to mention he can cook for his gal on date night-way to go!

I put together a few recipes with directions to walk him through some easy basic meals. Keep in mind this is not my best most creative work so don’t judge me on these recipes. The purpose was to keep it simple, filling and cheap. I could have titled this plan anything from 5 Ingredient Cooking to Family Meals for $10 or less to Cooking for Beginners.

I did go buy him one small crock pot and a handful of basic spices and condiments to get him set up. Did I mention how excited I am that one of my sons WANTS to cook??! I tried to use a lot of pantry ingredients and frozen veggies to minimize grocery store trips. To kick off the semester, I pre-made the meals and froze the packages of meat so all he had to do was assemble.

Meals

• Pasta Ala Any Veggie

Check Back Every Friday For New Meals #FoodieFriday

• Chicken Legs
• Crock Pot Beef Stew
• Gumbo
• Pasta Fagoli

About the author

40+ mom of two grown sons, enjoying living life w my soulmate while working FT in a demanding position. Her passions are family, crafting, and cooking insane amounts of food and entertaining. She coordinates a yearly craft exchange and runs a seasonal holiday Boutique called Boutique In The Barn in CT which has now grown into an annual Winter Wonderland. Tracy believes in raising well rounded young men who know how to handle themselves around the home and out in the world and will not need their wife to wash their clothes or cook dinner!