LDOC and Explosions

Happy LDOC!  LDOC = Last Day Of Classes (for the semester), in case you were curious.  Actually, LDOC was a few days ago, but with college schedules differing so much, perhaps it is someone's LDOC.

And now it's time for a story.  Let's set the stage.  My roommate and I have bunked our beds together and the ladder that I use is next to our mini-fridge.  We use the space (about 2.5 ft high) under my roommate's bed for storage.  The floor is cleared in the space in front of the mini-fridge except for my roommate's bag containing holiday gift bags, etc. and some expired orange juice and an expired individual serving of chocolate milk that had been removed to make more space in the fridge.

I was studying for finals and reclining on the couch, facing the fridge.  I could not see the floor due to the armrest.  So there I was, minding my own business, and something explodes.  My first thought was that it was a party popper or something that my roommate had that just went off randomly.  It even threw things, maybe confetti, in the air!  And that's kind of cool and exciting.  

But the truth was neither cool nor exciting.  I stood up to find the once full chocolate milk bottle leaning on its side above a puddle of soured milk.  The souring milk had released enough gas to build up enough pressure in the plastic bottle for the bottom to pop outwards and the cap to fly off.  The "confetti" had been drops and chunks of milk.  Yuck!

So instead of continuing to study, I rushed to move things out from under the bed, where a significant amount of the milk was.  Then I was faced with cleaning up the rest of the mess.  While spilled milk might not be something to cry over, exploded soured milk might be.  Phew, the smell of it!  Even after soaking it all up and taking everything to the dumpster outside, the whole room smelled awful.  So I wiped the area down with some lemon scented wipes, which masked the smell some, but left our floor very sticky.  After about a day I wiped down the area again with just water to remove the stickiness and any remaining weird combination of smells.  Overall, wouldn't it have been much better to just take the expired milk to the dumpster in the first place?  Oh yes, a thousand times yes.

Updates and Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal (Boatmeal)

Sometimes when reading a post on a blog that I haven't read much or at all before, I'll check out the author's "About" section.  And sometimes even after reading only a few posts, I can tell that it hasn't been updated for a while.  The poor, neglected "About" section.  And what about us new readers?  But don't worry, if I can tell that the section might be a bit off, it's probably because the content of the posts is really rich.  So I just move on and read more posts. :)

And even though I've noticed things like this, somehow I let my "About" section become outdated.  However, there is not really much there.  But hey, I'm a junior now, not a sophomore, so I guess that's exciting. :)  Okay, and now for something much more interesting: Boatmeal!

This is another great (and easy!) recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie.  Baked Oatmeal = Boatmeal.  Since it is now definitely fall, I decided I wanted to make something with pumpkin in it, and this was a really easy way to do so.  I increased the size of the recipe (and the ingredients proportionally) and made my boatmeal in a 2-cup class container.  When I got back to my dorm room, I shared it with two of my friends.  I had bought a pack of about 10 small single-serving vanilla ice creams, so we each had the perfect amount of ice cream to go along with the pumpkin boatmeal.  Delicious!

My lunch plans are boring.

I basically eat from the same set of options each week.  Sometimes I'll have a salad.  I'll have sandwiches with meat and cheese and sometimes tomato or mustard several days of the week.  And of course sides of whatever fruit/chips/other snack-y items I have that week.  And that's pretty boring.  I don't care, but it's not really worth talking about.

What I do enjoy talking about are the special things I do each week.  For example, last weekend a friend and I made pizzas!  We bought pre-made crusts for simplicity and topped them with spaghetti sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and some leftover tomato slices I had.  And of course we added garlic and basil to both pizzas and a small about of crushed red pepper flakes to a small test section.  Yum!  Simple cooking fun with a friend!

And then sometimes I come up with new ideas to make my life simpler/easier.  Usually I buy fruits and vegetables on the weekend and then prepare them when I want them.  So for my first sandwich of the week, I might wash and slice a tomato and store the remaining slices for the rest of the week.

But I don't always have enough time to both prep and eat lunch, so I would just skip on the tomato on Monday...and again on Tuesday...and so on.  So it might be Thursday before I start enjoying some (or most) of the food that I had bought the previous Saturday.  And sometimes food goes bad. :(

So this week I did something different.  I prepared everything on Sunday night.  This mostly involved washing and chopping.  I chopped up my peach, nectarine, and mango and put them in single serving containers.  It was so easy to just grab one of these to eat in between classes!  I also prepared my cucumber and tomato for a cucumber, tomato, and feta salad.  And I chopped the bad ends of the beans so that when I wanted to cook them later in the week it would require less of a time commitment.  And they were so good!

But this method does have a major drawback: sometimes produce isn't quite ripe enough when one buys it.  And even though my mango wasn't quite ripe, I decided to prepare it.  That was not the best decision.  Some of it was good.  But most of it was crunchy.  Yuck.  So, I might have to amend my plans for this weekend.  But the general idea still turned out to be a good one for me.

What ideas have you tried to make your cooking simpler/easier?  How did they work out?

Food plans for the week of 9/9/13

Once again, here are my lunch plans for the coming week.  I did not eat very many frozen meals last week due to attending many welcome events for different clubs offering free pizza and/or other food.  Thus, I still would like to have some more containers and freezer space before I make anything too serious.  Last week I did make some squash (with basil and garlic, yum!), so I will eat the remaining portions of it sometime this week.  Once again, breakfasts will be fairly simple.



Every day: Options of dried apricots, cranberries, veggie chips, applesauce, peaches, etc.


M:
lunch: salad using leftover tomato, cucumber, and greens from last week

Food plans for the week of 8/26/13

Once again, here are my lunch plans for the coming week.  I did not eat very many frozen meals last week due to attending many welcome events for different clubs offering free pizza and/or other food.  Thus, I still would like to have some more containers and freezer space before I make anything to serious.  Last week I did make some squash (with basil and garlic, yum!), so I will eat the remaining portions of it sometime this week.  Once again, breakfasts will be fairly simple.



Every day: Options of dried apricots, cranberries, veggie chips, applesauce, peaches, etc.


M:
lunch: salad using leftover tomato, cucumber, and greens from last week

FDOC, getting into classes, and how to make an awkward salad

Happy FDOC (First Day of Classes)!

Here's a quick note/reminder that if you really want to get in to a class, but it is full, attend the first class and then go talk to the professor/TA teaching it afterward.  One of my friends asked today about a class that he had been hoping to get in, starting, "Hi, I'm currently on the wait list...", to which the instructor responded, "Not anymore you aren't!  Let me get your name and student number, and I'll make sure that you are added."  Awesome-sauce!  It's not always this easy, but sometimes it is.  And it never hurts to try.  :)

And here is how to make an awkward salad.  I was super excited about my cucumber, tomato, and feta cheese salad.

First cut the cucumber and add it to your salad bowl.  I used half of a cucumber. 

Food plans for the week of 8/19/13

I moved back to college!  And now that I am living in a dorm again, I'm dealing with the challenges of cooking and eating in a dorm.  I thought it could be helpful to see how I prepare for making food for the coming week.  (And it is helpful for me to consolidate my plans in one place.)  This week I will just show what I'm doing for lunch, as it will require more work than breakfast or dinner this week.  (I brought a lot of frozen meals from home, so I will be eating those for dinner some this week.  I need the container and freezer space before I can make more food.  Other than that I will eat out with friends for dinner. For breakfast I will probably have fruit of some kind (applesauce or peaches, probably) and a bagel or some toast.  Oh, or I could have some oatmeal or dry cereal.)  Also, I'm more flexible about when I eat what than the schedule might imply, but by scheduling my meals, I can make sure I get enough food (but not too much) from the grocery store this weekend.



Every day: Options of dried apricots, cranberries, veggie chips, etc.

Monday:
-Tasks: Slice tomato and keep 2-3 slices.  Dice the rest.  Store in container(s).
-Eat: Sandwich - lunch meat and cheese, sliced tomato, and mustard

Restaurant to dorm?

Today I went out to lunch with a good friend, and we went to a crêpe place.  Yum!  It was so good.  We both ended up creating our own crêpes, though their listed options looked really good, too.  I ordered mine with chicken, feta cheese, avocado, spinach, tomato, and olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  It was really good!  And it felt kind of healthy.  So as we were finishing our food, I thought that this would be really nice to have in college.

Now that I'm home from work, I'm thinking about how this would work out.  I obviously can't make crêpes in my dorm.  (Okay, I guess I've made crêpes at home before.  But still, it would require too much time.)  I could try to make a sandwich with these ingredients.  And I could substitute sliced chicken or turkey for the cubes of chicken that I had today.  Or, I could make a kind of salad in proportions similar to those in the crêpe today.  Oh, and I could add cucumber and/or onion.   Mmm.  That sounds good.

Walk your schedule

You know, I don't know if this is a commonly used phrase or not.  My friends and I use it.  So just in case you aren't familiar with it, "walking your schedule" consists of leaving your dorm/apartment/house and walking to each of your classrooms in order before the first day of class.

Why would I do this?  I know where the buildings are.  Yeah, but my question is: do you know where the classrooms are?  Do you know where the stairs in the building are?  Do you know the door to the building that is closest to your previous class?

Enough of the questions.  Below are four reason why I suggest walking your schedule.


1.  You need to know where the classroom is.  You will be having class there, and I'm hoping you will be attending.  :)  Look at a campus map or online to find the building if you need to.  If the semester starts in the middle of a week, I've often found that the buildings are unlocked starting on Monday.  The professors do need to be able to prepare for the first day.  And if you can't get inside, at least you will know where the building is and how long it takes to get to and from there.

Back-to-school! Preparation for college and moving

Whether in grade school or college, I have always found the back-to-school preparations fun.  I get to plan how I will organize the necessary papers for my classes, prepare for learning new things, and much more.  Many people starting college will move away from home to live in a dorm or an apartment closer to their school.  And since most of us have never had the need for extra-long twin sheets (among other things) before college, this means some shopping.  So today I thought I would share some tips and some helpful websites.  I may add some to this list, and feel free to share your own advice in the comments!

+ Many stores have special ads for moving to college.  These can help give you ideas of what you might want or simply style ideas.  For example, see Target's college section, Walmart's college section, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond's college section.

+ Fun fact about Bed, Bath, and Beyond: if you sign up for coupons/emails, they will send you 20% off one item coupons every once in a while, and sometimes $5 off coupons.  Even though their 20% off coupons have an expiration date, BB&B accepts expired coupons.  (This might hold true for the $5 off ones, too.  I can't remember.)  So when I bought things for college, I brought a bunch of 20% off coupons with me.  You can only apply one coupon per item, but that's still pretty good.

Doing the math...on meal plans

Figuring out what meal plan to get or whether to have a meal plan at all can be a little tricky, especially if you have never had a meal plan before.  As I mentioned in a previous post, when I looked at my meal plan and other food expenses after the fall of my sophomore year, I decided to drop the meal plan altogether.

To evaluate everything, I wanted to figure out exactly how much I was spending on different things.  I double-checked the cost of the meal plan online and then looked through credit card bills to see how much I was eating out and buying groceries.

(Note that food costs will be different for different people.  Costs can be affected by the region in which you live.  Costs will also depend on what types of food you buy.  For example, buying organic foods will cost a lot more than Ramen.)

For the fall of 2012, I spent approximately $1240 on food.  The actual amount was slightly higher, as I took some groceries from home.  The $1240 was divided up approximately as:
Groceries: ~$280
Eating out on or off campus: ~$260
Dining Hall: ~$700 (I got the "Block 120" meal plan, which cost $1128, but then swiped in a friend for meals for which he repaid me.  We agreed upon this at the beginning of the semester, as I knew I wouldn't eat 120 meals in the dining hall.)

Homemade Hotpockets

I found these sometime during last semester and had been looking forward to trying them.  Within the past two weeks, I've made these twice.  They are easy to make and turn out wonderfully!  They aren't quite dorm friendly.  If I did decide to make them during the school year, I could go ahead and measure (and maybe mix) the dry ingredients.  All I would have to add would be yeast and water.  Another option would be to make and then roll out the dough and freeze it.  Then all I would have to do is thaw them and add ingredients for the filling.

Below is the recipe for the dough, which I found at ABeautifulRuckus.com.  The fillings that I suggest are combinations that I've already tried.  Feel free to suggest new ideas!


Dough:
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/4 cup dry milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 cup warm water (not hot)
extra flour for helping the dough not stick when you roll it out

Dressing Correctly - Business Casual

As I mentioned in my previous post, I just got an internship.  (Yay!)  I was told to wear business casual.  This term probably covers the widest range of clothes.  In some cases, this could be fairly casual khaki pants and a nice blouse, but in other companies this could mean just a step down from a full suit.

At school, I pretty much wear jeans and t-shirts all the time.  I decided I needed to do some research to figure out what would be good for the office and look appropriate for someone my age.  Below are some of the helpful sites that I found.  I was looking for things that would be stylish, without being too fashionable for me.  For example, my shoes are simple classic black heels that have a rounded toe.  None of this fashionable extremely-pointy-toe and excessively-high-heel business for me!  So the sites listed here are based on that side of shopping: practical, but still attractive pieces.  I also expanded it to include ideas for men.  Maybe I'll be able to expand this list in the future.  Feel free to comment with your suggestions!


Young, Polished, and Professional - This is a wonderful site.  It offers great tips for someone just starting his or her career or a new job.  The author wrote a post that was very appropriate for me: a business casual starter kit.  As I mentioned before, I'd been wearing mostly jeans and t-shirts.  I had some nicer clothes, but not too many pieces that would qualify as business casual.  The post gave me great ideas about certain pieces I should make sure I have, like a cardigan that goes with multiple outfits.  (Cardigans are also great, because, even though it's summer, the office is still very cold sometimes.)

Corporette - I have spent less time here.  It seems to offer some good advice, but is focused on a older and/or more fashion savvy demographic than mine.  This site did have a good, light-hearted post about proper etiquette during your summer internship.

Dappered - I'm not familiar with this site, but found an article about how to look good in the required dress code that could be otherwise downright boring or ugly.  For example, "pleats on pants worn on the hips are pointless.  Like trailer hitch on a Geo Metro pointless."

_______.edu - If you are in college, check out your college's career page.  They will likely have a good section on what types of clothes fall into the various workplace dress codes.  In my initial searches I found several other colleges' sites to also provide good advice.


And to close, here is an article on Forbes.com about how wide the spectrum of business casual can be.  Because of this huge range, I recommend paying attention to what the people around you are wearing during your first week of working.  If you have enough clothes to get by for a few days, but still need to fill out your wardrobe some, waiting a few days could help you have a much better idea of what is expected and appropriate.


Update: This article was published today and touched on the same topic.  It also appears to feature clothes meant more for winter.

Getting an internship

Starting in January (or maybe earlier), I had been looking for internships.  I didn't make too much progress during the semester, though, as schoolwork always took priority.  But since early May, I've been putting a lot more time into the search.  And now I have an internship!  I am very, very grateful for this opportunity.

So what does this mean for the blog?  Well, I started this both for the enjoyment of it and to do something productive with my summer.  I had been posting every other day, which worked well when my schedule did not contain many other commitments.  But when working a normal working week, I doubt that I will be able to keep that up.  So now I plan to post at least once a week, and anything beyond that will just be a bonus. :)

Homemade Peanut Butter Bars

I found this recipe for peanut butter protein bars on Chocolate Covered Katie's blog and it sounded wonderful.  It has only a few ingredients and very simple directions.  I was looking for something like a granola bar, not a protein bar.  Also, I don't have any special protein powder.  So instead I replaced the protein powder with chocolate-flavored Carnation Instant Breakfast.  I haven't put the full recipe on this page per Chocolate Covered Katie's request, but here is the recipe and below are pictures and notes about my experience making these yummy peanut butter bars.  Next time I make them, I will try covering them or mixing in them mini chocolate chips and/or crushed pretzels.


Tools:
-two bowl
-spoon(s)
-knife
-gallon-sized plastic bag
-rolling pin (optional, as you could flatten it with your hands...or a textbook)
-1/4 and 1/2 cups
-1/4 teaspoon
-1 tablespoon

I first gathered the necessary ingredients and tools.

Quesadillas and Pizza-dillas

Based on the things I've posted on this blog so far, you might think that I cook almost every night and make rather complicated meals (for a dorm).  This is not the case!  I really enjoy cooking, whether I make a family favorite recipe or try something new.  But I do not have nearly enough time to cook more than a few times a month.  So today I will share one of the simplest things that I make: quesadillas.  (In my book, making a quesadilla does not count towards the number of times I cook in a month.  But that's just my standard.)

To make a quesadilla, you just need 1 or 2 tortillas, some cheese, a microwave, and a plate or paper towel on which to set the quesadilla.  Sprinkle the first tortilla with cheese.  Then either fold the tortilla in half or top with another tortilla.  Microwave for about 45 seconds or until the cheese is melted in the center.  Enjoy!

(I realize most people probably know how to make quesadillas.  But just in case you don't, I don't want you to be left out from experiencing the yummy simplicity that is a quesadilla.)

After a year of enjoying quesadillas as a quick snack, I discovered pizza-dillas.  Yeah, I totally just made that name up.  I had a lot of pasta sauce, and freshman year was almost over, so I decided to try some of it with cheese and a tortilla.  (I had to get rid of everything in my fridge and let it defrost, so anything I didn't eat I would have to throw away.)  And voilà!  The pizza-dilla was born.

To make a pizza-dilla, put a tortilla on a plate (or paper towel).  Then spread pasta sauce (or pizza sauce) over the tortilla.  Next sprinkle cheese on top.  If you have pepperoni or some other meat or some chopped veggies, feel free to add those, too.  Note, however, that tortillas are very thin and don't support much weight.  So if you add even just a few toppings, your pizza-dilla might be very messy to eat.  Then microwave it for about 45 seconds or until the cheese is melted.  To eat this, I find that it is more managable (and fun) to cut the pizza-dilla into slices like you would a pizza.

What toppings would you enjoy on a pizza-dilla?

How to do laundry in 10 steps

Someone suggested that I post about how to do laundry, as some people might not have to learn this skill until they get to college.  I learned how to do laundry when I was in elementary or middle school, and one summer my favorite chore was ironing my dad's shirts.  So to me, doing laundry in college was never a big deal (other than how much time it takes), but if someone had never done their own laundry, I imagine it could be quite overwhelming.

Step 1:  Make sure you have enough dirty clothes to do laundry.  If you have something that you really want to be washed, then you could make an exception to this.  But I usually wait until I have two loads to do, since I can do them simultaneously and thus save some time.

Step 2:  Locate washers and dryers.  This doesn't seem important after the first time you do laundry, but initially you will need to learn where in your dorm or elsewhere they are.  My freshman year I was in a dorm that shared the machines with the neighboring dorm.  The washers and dryers were in a small building between the dorms called "the tower".  My sophomore year, my dorm housed washers and dryers in the basement.

Tomato Basil Chicken

This is a recipe that I really enjoyed at home and decided to try to make in my dorm.  It requires relatively few ingredients and is very simple to assemble.  I changed the recipe a bit to make it simpler for fewer servings; initially, it would have yielded about 6 servings.


When I made this, I used 3 2-cup glass containers so that I could have maximum flexibility about when I ate each portion and whether I froze any portions.  I bought two chicken breasts and cut them both into two pieces: one 2/3 of the chicken breast and the other the remaining 1/3.  Then two of the bowls contained one piece of chicken and the last bowl contained two smaller pieces.  This worked out great for me; each was just the size I needed for a good portion.

The ingredients required of this dish also work well for life in the dorm because they are either used up or easily used in other dishes.  Basil and garlic are probably my most used spices.  The leftover tomato can provide extra slices for sandwiches or something else.  And finally, the remaining mozzarella sticks make for a great snack; this is what they were sold for in the first place.

Candy Graduation Caps

My brother just graduated, and my mom and I had been working together to make some food and decorations for his joint graduation party.  As you can tell from the title, this recipe is for candy graduation caps, which turned out very nicely.  My mom had the recipe, which we then adapted to be peanut free, as one of the graduates has a peanut allergy.


Below is my picture guide of the process and at the end of this post is the full recipe.  My brother's school's colors were royal blue and white, so we found the closest thing we could to royal blue for the buttons and tassels.  And since I am at home and was working with other people, we used more tools than absolutely necessary.  That said, these could still be somewhat difficult to make in a dorm due to the lack of counter space and lack of fridge/freezer space.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls

One weekend I thought it would be nice to make a special brunch-like meal.  I googled different things that I thought I would be in the mood for, and ended up with a recipe found on this site.  It looked great!  It only required a few ingredients, and those were items that I could use for other meals.  It was a very simple recipe.  And so I made them.  And they did not lead to a nice brunch.  This was due to a couple of important problems.

Problem 1:  Brunch did not happen until after lunch time.  I had gotten up early to make these, but was waiting on a friend to come over and eat them with me before I put them in the oven.  Suddenly, it was afternoon and I had eaten nothing all day and I was not happy for it.

Problem 2:  The pasteries did not get done in the middle.  The oven was too warm, so the outside crust got a nice golden brown look to it while the middle remained gooey and uncooked.

Final result:  I was too hungry for this very sweet and thus overwhelming pastry, and the gooey middle had to remain uneaten (or maybe I ate some of it and that contributed to not feeling well).

Fixes:  Make sure this isn't the only thing you are eating on an empty stomach unless you tolerate very sweet things in large quantity well.  The oven needs to be cooler than mine was.  I don't know if this means that the recipe needs to be changed or that my oven just runs hot.  But next time I will reduce the temperature just in case and cook them for longer.

Green Onion Magic

Sometime when I was looking for recipes this past semester, I found something online about regrowing green onions.  If you keep the root ball after cutting off all of the useful green parts, green onions will grow again by just putting them in water.  So of course I had to try this!

I used the green onions in a recipe and then put them in water and used string to tie them together so that they would stand up.  And as I don't have a vase in my dorm room, I used a plastic bag contained within a pencil holder to hold the water.

I had cut the green onions down to the white part, and this is what they looked like a few weeks later.

Want to give it a try?  I originally found this idea here.  

Fancy Sandwiches, part 2

Another way that I dress up an otherwise boring meat and cheese sandwich is by adding other healthy things, such as eggs or sliced tomato or avocado.  By adding these things I feel like an otherwise small sandwich can turn into a healthy, filling meal.

At the start of the week, I can slice a tomato and store it in a plastic container in the fridge to use a slice or two every day throughout the week.  Avocados are harder to keep, as they turn brown soon after being sliced.  Therefore using an avocado is better when you are making sandwiches for you and a friend or two.  Another option would be to make some guacamole from the leftover avocado.  The lime or lemon juice in the guacamole helps the avocado stay fresh for longer.

Eggs are one of the easiest things to make in a dorm room.  All you need is a microwave safe bowl or mug and a fork (for scrambled eggs).  Crack the egg into your bowl or mug.  Whisk it with the fork.  Microwave until done.  Microwave times vary a lot based on the microwave (wimpy dorm one vs. high powered one) and how many eggs you use.  The egg will expand a lot as it is microwaved.  Just make sure that it is no longer runny, especially in the middle.

My sandwich: pepper-crusted turkey, tomato, egg, onion, green pepper
My meat of the week this week was pepper-crusted turkey.  I had also purchased a tomato for the week.  The onion and green pepper I had bough for another recipe, so I used some to make this sandwich seem even more delicious.

Microwave egg with green pepper and onion.  Add egg, turkey, and tomato to your bread.

And enjoy!

What are your favorite additions to a sandwich?

Fancy Sandwiches, part 1

Having a sandwich for lunch is wonderful.  It is simple and quick and can even be healthy.  But with only one person eating meat and cheese, I have the same meat and cheese all week.  So if I got roast beef and cheddar at the store the previous weekend, I eat that for lunch most days of the week.  But that can get boring very quickly.  So how can you change a boring sandwich into an exciting one?  Go fancy!

Find a different meat or cheese:
In addition to switching up the normal meats and cheese, you can find less normal toppings.  For example, at the grocery store I found small strips of chicken already cooked.  (They were called "short cuts" or something like that.)  They came in different seasoning, but I just got the plain ones.

Add seasonings:
Also, you can add your own seasonings to a sandwich.  Who said you could only add spices to elaborate dishes?  Not me!

My sandwich: toasted Oatnut bread, chicken strips, shredded cheddar cheese, basil, and garlic
Even though I'm home for the summer, I decided to make something simple that I could eat in my dorm room.  And since I couldn't find some of the spices at home, I dug through my college things and found my box of spices.


Assemble cheese and chicken, then sprinkle with spices.

Microwave until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Keep up with "Before College Life" People

Yesterday I visited my high school and spoke to lots of my former teachers.  I went to a great high school where all of the teachers truly care about the success of their students.  And after having seen you in the halls for four years, they get to know you pretty well.

I always enjoy visiting the school.  My former teachers enjoy hearing updates about how I'm doing, what I'm majoring in, and how classes are going.  They, in turn, tell me how they are doing and what is new at the school.  It is always very encouraging for me to visit these people.

So don't forget about the people who helped you accomplish what you have achieved.  They are still rooting for you and are wonderful to talk to.

Thank you, everyone, for a great day yesterday and a wonderful high school experience.

Chicken Tetrazzini...a work in progress

When I want to make a meal at college, one of the post important things for me is that the recipe not contain very many ingredients and only those ingredients whose leftovers I will use in another recipe.  My mom is awesome and sent me to back to school with some frozen meals and some frozen chicken that she had previously cooked and shredded into bite-size pieces.  So when I realized that I had chicken and some spaghetti, I wanted to make chicken tetrazzini.  And as any good college student who doesn't remember something does, I googled it!  I compared 5-10 recipes and reduced them to as few ingredients and trouble as possible.  Also, I have yet to perfect the proportions of each ingredient.  That means that this isn't the most wonderful dish and certainly isn't your grandmother's well-known recipe, but it does still make a decent meal.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Reading books - for fun?

When I was little, I loved to read.  I read all types of books, but my favorites as a child were mysteries.  My mom would taken my brother and me to the library often, and we could choose from lots of new and interesting books.  I even knew that the limit to the number of books we could check out from the public library was 99 (not that we ever reached that number).  When I got home from school, I would read.  If my brother was bothering me, I could always lose myself in a good book.  In the summer, we would both participate in the summer reading challenge held by the library and get prizes for how many books or hours we read.

And then high school happened.  And with high school came more school work and more extracurricular activities.  I was taking harder classes and reading more for school.  After school I would go to practice for whichever sport I was participating in that season: soccer, basketball, cross-country, or indoor track.  And once a week I would go to youth group after a long day of school and sports practice.  With all the time I was spending school and other things, I did not have much time left over for reading for pleasure.  But when summer came around, I would be reading a lot again.  My family has always taken books to the beach so that we can read and relax on the beach.  One summer I recall averaging about a book a day, at least for the first half of the week.

To have or not to have...a meal plan

During Christmas break of my sophomore year, I decided to reevaluate my meal plan.  Actually, I reevaluate my meal plan after each semester.  But during this evaluation, I decided to get rid of my meal plan all together.  My decision was based on what made the most sense financially and on my desire to make my own meals in my dorm more often.

So my advice is to take a good look at the different meal plan options.  One benefit of a meal plan is that your food costs are already covered at the beginning of the semester.  You are also guaranteed a variety of options of meat, veggies, fruit, etc. that would be hard to generate on your own.  Additionally, eating at a dining hall is great for meeting with friends or making new friends.  When I was a freshman, all of my friends had meal plans, and a group of us would go to dinner together almost every night.

On the downside, meals at the dining hall are generally more expensive than if one were to cook for themselves or eat out at somewhere like Noodles and Company or Qdoba.  Many people feel a certain security in having a meal plan with a guaranteed number of meals, but then fail to eat at the dining hall enough.  And when I decided to drop the meal plan, there was no problem for me with using a payment method other than my dining hall card.

For me it came down to a few factors.  I did not have as many friends with meal plans this year.  Also, I enjoyed cooking on my own when I had the chance.  Even when I was on the meal plan, I wasn't eating at the dining hall often enough to make it worth it.

What's your dining hall story?

Welcome!

Welcome!

I just finished my sophomore year in college, and in the past two years I have learned a lot about college and life in general.  In trying to make more of my meals on my own this past semester, I realized that there were not that many resources online for students who wished to make simple meals in their dorm rooms.  I decided that I could try to fill this void with some of the things that have worked.  

Therefore, I created this blog: to discuss some of the things that are great to know "For Life in College."  In addition to discussing food and posting recipes, I expect that I will post other things that I've learned because of being in college.  

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you enjoy my content, whether you are in college or not.  And don't forget to leave your comments and questions!

Thanks!
Catherine