Easy-to-make recipes

Before I had my first off-campus house in Bloomington, I didn’t really know how to cook. I knew what an oven was for and how to make a baked potato, but I couldn’t master any meal that required actual thought.

Cooking is more than reading a recipe and following instructions; it’s the ability to look into your fridge, pull out some tasty ingredients and come up with a great dish.

You have to experiment and know what will taste good together.
It is about good — and sometimes bad — surprises, but a decent cook will eventually learn how to create good meals every day.

As college students, we’re easily intimidated by our parents’ ease of cooking, but learning how to make restaurant-inspired dinners can be even easier than getting into a fraternity party.

Even if your kitchen is the size of a bathroom, these recipes don’t require a lot of counter room or much money.

 The Essentials

1 Whipping cream This stuff is thicker than half-and-half and has a multitude of uses. It adds consistency and a heaviness perfect when making sauces. I always keep a pint of whipping cream in the fridge for when I want to make a new sauce for chicken, shrimp or pasta.

2  Couscous Most college students stick to rice and noodles for a quick and easy meal, but couscous is a great alternative to those options. It costs around $8 for a box that will last about two weeks, if you’re eating couscous every day. If you’re making food for other people, say a roommate or prospective boyfriend or girlfriend, couscous is perfect. It literally takes five minutes to cook but impresses people more than a plate of white rice.

3 Spices Having a variety of spices can only enhance your food. Some of my favorites are Italian seasoning (great for pasta), curry powder and garlic. But use garlic with caution; too much can overtake the meal and ruin the other flavors.

4 Lemon juice I can never count on having a bunch of lemons when I want to add some citrus flavor to my food, so having a bottle of lemon juice is a great substitute. Lemon sauce is great for pasta, and the juice is perfect for cooking seafood.

5 Butter There is never a time when you will not need butter for cooking and baking. Make sure to have more butter than you think you’ll need; there’s nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of a recipe and realizing you’re missing ingredients.
Berry Ganache Pie
If you make this pie, you will be a legend. My friends still rave about it and I made it about a year ago.

Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (baking chocolate would also work)
Raspberries or strawberries (or both)
Store-bought pie crust

1. Bake pie crust in the oven according to the package directions.
2. Heat whipping cream with chocolate chips over the stove.
3. Stir the cream and chocolate chips together until it’s a smooth consistency.
4. Pour the mixture into the ready pie crust.
5. Slice berries and place them into the chocolate mixture.
6. Refrigerate for about four hours (you can also put it in the freezer if you want to speed up the process).

RECIPES

Curry shrimp with couscous
This is a great example of a dish that tastes great and doesn’t have a lot of ingredients. You can make enough for a lot of people.

Ingredients
Couscous
Cumin, turmeric or other curry spices
Whipping cream
Shrimp

1. Cook shrimp according to directions on the package.
2. Cook the couscous.
3. Add curry spices to couscous.
4. Add whipping cream to couscous; stir until it’s a thick consistency.
Mac and cheese
An easy classic.

Ingredients
Onions
Elbow macaroni
Cheese (for this, I prefer mild cheddar)
Whipping cream
Egg yolk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Dice onions and saute in pan.
3. Cook macaroni.
4. Mix egg yolk, whipping cream (amount of cream will depend on how much macaroni you’re cooking) and cheese.
5. When macaroni is cooked, drain and place in oven-safe pan.
6. Pour egg yolk mixture over macaroni and mix together.
7. Mix sauteed onions with macaroni.
8. Place in oven for about 15-20