<p>I talked to my D last night - 1st year living off campus. I asked what she ate. LOL, she said that she ate those chicken soft tacos at least once every day last week. (I think she’s ready for a new idea.) She did say that the soft tacos are also good with scrambled eggs in them…so I guess she’s branching out a bit.</p>
<p>One thing that I loved when I was single/cooking for one: pasta with olive oil, sun dried tomatoes and parmesean cheese. I bought the fresh pasta so it cooked very quickly, but I was already working at the time. Dried pasta costs a lot less…if you have the patience to cook it once, cook several portions and just microwave the leftovers.</p>
<p>My kids also like fried egg sandwiches…fry an egg, add cheese if desired, put on toast. Again, something that can be cooked from scratch in about 5 minutes.</p>
<p>Has anyone mentioned cereal? I think cold cereal and milk is “dinner” for a lot more people than will admit it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think you’d be amazed at how many couples I know that are my age (mid/late 20s) where it’s the guy that does all of the cooking. I think what’s more important is that everyone learns how to cook and make healthy decisions.</p>
<p>It’s not just the cooking, but having ingredients on hand that have not gone bad, that prevents students from making lots of meals for one. When I was in grad school my dinners were primarily eggs or french toast, since a dozen eggs and a loaf of bread would last pretty well in the fridge. Or a take-out salad from the Korean store on the corner. (Especially since the grocery store was long, long walk away.)</p>
<p>Spriteling,</p>
<p>What fajita seasoning do you use? Is it spicy or mild? Thanks.</p>
<p>That is better RacinReaver- everyone learns to buy food, cook and clean up. I guess I just know more girls in college. They do seem to cook more because most don’t do the meal plan after freshman year. It to easy to gain weight on most of meal plans and they don’t feel it is cost effective</p>
<p>I wish the amazing poster and organizer BobWallace would organize these recipes and ideas! It was so great the way he did the scholarship thread.</p>
<p>If I were to make a grocery list for a grad student (no allergies), who was looking for some easy meals, it probably would include:</p>
<p>Milk
eggs
butter
bread
Peanut butter and jam
tortillas
cheddar cheese (both shredded and regular)
string cheese
salami
deli sliced ham
rotisserie chix
mayo, ketchup, mustard, jar of tasty salsa
albacore tuna in can
a few good hearty soup cans and crackers
cans of tasty chili
frozen hamburger patties and buns kept in freezer
baking potatoes
onions
pasta pkgs
Jars of a good pasta sauce
frozen meatballs
cereal
oatmeal
rice
good frozen fish (individually wrapped)</p>
<p>and make sure he had some basic spices…garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, etc.</p>
<p>A while back ago my girlfriend and I made the transition off of deli meats to stuff I can cook myself. I usually buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts when they’re on sale for $2 a pound and freeze them individually. Every Sunday I take a breast or two out, thaw it, slice it into really thin pieces (like I’m going to stir fry it), throw on some salt, pepper, and garlic, then sautee. I have a shelf in the door of my 'fridge with a bunch of different sauces, so every day when I make our lunches I put something random on the chicken (hot sauce, wing sauce, bbq sauce, steak sauce, or some salad dressing (the asian sesame is our favorite)). Works out to be cheaper than deli meats and takes about 15 minutes a week to prepare.</p>