Rhonda Lauret Parkinson - The $5 a Meal College Cookbook: Good Cheap Food for When You Need to Eat

Leaving home for college presents challenges as well as opportunities. If your kitchen know-how doesn't extend beyond the reheat setting on the microwave, the idea of having to learn basic cooking skills along with a full schedule of college courses can seem overwhelming. It's all too easy to give in to the lure of pricey takeout or, if you live on-campus, the dining hall. However, the basic recipes in this book will help turn cooking from a chore into a creative, stress-free break from studying and are wallet-friendly. What's more, they offer an opportunity to bring new friends together.

Before you get started, consider investing in a few utensils for your kitchen area. Of course, what you need will depend on your specific circumstances (some residences with communal kitchens often offer pots, pans, and other cooking essentials for students). Either way, most of the essentials are inexpensive and can usually be found at discount stores or maybe Mom and Dad are willing to pass off some of their older items. And a few basic items will go a long way. Here are the recommended tools:

• Plastic mixing bowls for mixing ingredients and serving dishes A wooden spoon or two for stirring and mixing
• A heatproof rubber spatula for mixing ingredients and turning food during cooking
• A plastic or metal colander for draining washed, blanched, and boiled food
• Knives, particularly a good one for cutting meat
• A plastic or wooden cutting board for cutting, chopping, and mincing food
• Measuring spoons and a measuring cup
• A vegetable peeler
• A can opener
• A grater for grating, shredding, and slicing cheese and other foods
• A wire whisk for whisking sauces and eggs

If there's room in your budget and your dorm or other student residence permits them there are some basic electrical appliances worth acquiring too: a coffee maker, toaster or toaster oven, microwave, hot plate and/or rice cooker. Again, these aren't essential and they'll need to be stored in your room so think about what you'll use before you buy it.

Once you've purchased the basic tools needed for cooking, it's tempting to start filling up the refrigerator. Hold off until you've purchased a few dry staple ingredients. A pantry stocked with basic ingredients such as flour will keep you from having to make repeat emergency trips to the local grocery store every time you cook a meal. Here are the essentials:

• All-purpose flour: As its name implies, all-purpose flour is used for almost every type of baking.
• Sugar: Regular granulated white sugar is used both as a sweetener at the table and in cooking.
• Olive oil: Olive oil is used for sauting and frying, as a salad dressing, and in marinades.
• Instant broth or bouillon: Chicken, beef, and vegetable broth are used in soups, casseroles, and other dishes.
• Dried herbs and spices: Dried herbs and spices lend flavor to soups, stews, and other slowcooked dishes.
• Salt and pepper: Standard table salt should meet all your cooking needs.
• Noodles: Pasta noodles like linguine, penne, or even standard spaghetti can be turned into a meal quickly and easily.
• Rice: If you don't cook rice often, or ever, start with white rice.
• Rice: If you don't cook rice often, or ever, start with white rice.

  Then, for variety, experiment with brown rice.

• Miscellaneous flavoring agents: Lemon juice, tomato sauce, and soy sauce will allow you to create a number of different dishes.

Now that you're armed with some basic kitchen utensils and pantry items, it's time to get started! In this book you will find 301 delicious meals for any occasion: breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert, a date, or when your family visits. And each meal costs five dollars, or less, so you don't have to break the bank for a good meal. Happy cooking!