This is pretty basic; but, it’s warm and nourishing and tastes pretty yummy.

Everything in One Pot Ramen
Ingredients:
1. 1 package of beef flavored Ramen noodles
2. 1 cup of cubed tofu, drained
3. 1 cup of the frozen veggies of your choice (I like broccoli and cauliflower)
4. 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and smushed
5. *1 handful of shredded cheese
6. Soy sauce to taste

Technique:
1. Prepare ramen noodles as directed
2. Return to a boil and add frozen veggies, garlic and tofu
3. Cover and simmer on medium until liquid starts to reduce
4. Season with soy sauce and serve w/shredded cheese on top

*If you are a total weirdo like my friends Molly & Carla and do not like cheese you can eliminate this ingrediant.

After making Cheddar Chowdar the other night I had an extra potato which was peeled, sitting in the refridgerator just begging me to do something with it. So here is what I did (and it was LE YUMMEH!)

Cheesy-Potato-Taco-Fakeout
Ingredients:
1 peeled potato, diced
2 cloves of garlic, kinda smushed
2 cups of water
1 tsp salt
Cracked pepper to taste
1/4 shredded cheddar cheese
1 pat of butter
A splash of milk
1 large spoonful of salsa

Technique:
1. Bring water to a boil w/half the salt
2. Add potatoes and garlic, boil until tender and then drain
3. Add remaining salt, pepper, butter and milk - mash together like when making mashed potatoes
4. Add shredded cheese and stir in until melted
5. Using a spoon, create a little crater in the middle of the mashed potatoes
6. Fill crater with a large spoonful of your favorite salsa
7. EAT AND DREAM OF TACOS!

*If you have the extra budget you could probably add some lean ground beef that you had sauteed/drained to this recipe under the salsa.

Yum, yum, yum!!!
I ate it so fast I didn’t have a chance to take a picture of it… will have to do so next time.

From mah Mommaship and Auntie B-B comes this *CHEEESY recipe for easy cheddar chowder. I think I may make it tonight:

Ingredients:
2 cups of water
2 cups of diced potatoes
1/2 a cup of diced carrots
1/2 a cup of diced celery
1/4 a cup of chopped onion
1 tsp of salt
1/4 a tsp of pepper
1/4 a cup of butter
1/4 a cup of flour
2 cups of milk
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
4 strips of bacon

Technique:
1. Combine vegetables, salt, pepper and water in a pot, bring to a boil and cook for 10-12 minutes (DO NOT DRAIN)
2. Melt butter in a separate pot and whisk in flour until smooth
3. Slowly add milk, keep whisking and cook until thick
4. Add CHEEESE and stir until melted
5. Add veggies and water into cheese sauce, stir until combined
6. Cook bacon until crisp and crumble
7. EAT SOUP w/bacon crumbles on the top.

*Please someone tell me that they got the Wallace & Gromit reference… please… someone.

A fuzzy pic of mah actual cheddar chowdah taken on mah cell phone.

Check more of my cellie pictures on Radar… I’m KatedaGreat, friend me y’all and let’s share pics of food we make… mmmm…

My friend Katherine and I are very much a like in many ways: specific to this post, I have discovered that we both had a love of Steak-Umms as kids.

For those not familiar, Steak-Umm is pressed beef which one can pan fry to make cheesesteaks with. Katherine recently discovered that Steak-Umms not only still exist; but, were on sale at Lucky… she just sent me this recipe for crispy cheesesteak grilled cheese sammiches which she says “went over big while watching the Red Sox with a bunch of D’s friends.” (D is her awesome boyfriend.)

Next time I go to Lucky I’m so going on a Steak-Umm hunt so I can try it out!

Katherine’s Yum-tastic Crispy Grilled Cheesesteak Sammiches
Ingredients:
1. 2 slices of bread
2. 1 slice of Steak-umm meat product
3. 2 slices of the cheese of your choice (I prefer American for cheesesteaks, myself)
4. 1 slice roasted red pepper
5. 1 tsp of olive oil

Technique:
1. Toast bread in toaster for extra crispiness
2. Cook Steak-Umm in a skillet until brown, drain fat and blot with paper towel
3. Wipe out pan with paper towel and heat olive oil in the skillet
4. Assemble the sandwich so that the Steak-Umm and pepper are in the middle of the toast/cheese
5. Grill to melty-cheesy-steaky perfection
6. Enjoy with a cold beer while cheering on the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs or some other appropriately lovable sports team (the Oakland A’s or the Buffalo Sabers, maybe?)

GO CUBS!
(Wait, I think they blew it a couple nights ago.)

GO SOX!
(They’re still in it, right? Golly, I haven’t watched enough baseball this summer!)

Ever have those moments when you’re craving something really specific? I have them almost monthly, usually around the time that my face starts breaking out like a 16 year old who’s been eating chocolate and drinking Coca-Cola on the sly… that is when I start craving the combination of sweet and salty. Here is a desert recipe which uses three ingredients everyone seems to have and one leftover from “movie night” to create a gooey bastardized version of the *Rice Krispie Treat:

Popcorn Peanut Butter Bars:
Ingredients:
1. 3 cups of lightly salted, non-buttered stale popcorn
2. 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter
3. 1/16 cup of honey
4. 2 tbsp of flour

Technique:
1. In a bowl, mix together honey, peanut butter and flour into a paste
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
3. Fold popcorn into peanut butter mixture, stirring until all popcorn is coated
4. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a small pie pan with cooking spray
5. Spread popcorn/peanut butter mixture evenly into the pan
6. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes (time can vary - don’t cook longer than 25 minutes) until solidified
7. Let pan completely cool
8. Slice into bars
9. Eat with a napkin - this is a slightly gooey, yet YUMMERS taste treat - while flipping through a copy of Tiger Beat, watching Beverly Hills 90210 on DVD and dreaming of taking Dylan McKay to prom

*I don’t like Rice Krispie Treats for the fact that I cannot tolerate marshmallows in any form other than the forms found in Lucky Charms Cereal… marshmallows = ICKY!

While authentic ramen soup served at a Japanese restaurant is a delish delicacy: Pre-packaged ramen noodles get boring when you eat them multiple times a week. In order to keep this starving student staple (how’s THAT for alliteration, hm???) interesting you’ll have to improvise some new, unique recipes which utilize these tasty soups packs.

As a joke (or, maybe not) my Mommaship bought me the Everyone Loves Ramen cookbook by Eric Hites. It’s full of great ideas on how to stretch your dollars by using ramen as a base ingrediant. This next recipe - while my own - is inspired by Eric’s “Cheesy Ramen.”

Kate’s OMG IS THAT RAMEN?!?!?!?? Ramen noodles
Ingredients:
1. 1 package of Top Ramen pork flavored ramen noodles
2. 1 pat of salted butter
3. 2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
4. 1/16 cup of low fat milk
5. 1 tsp shredded Parmesan cheese
6. 2 cups of water
7. 1 tsp diced parsley (dried is fine, it’s just to garnish)

Technique:
1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pot
2. Cook noodles as instructed, setting aside seasoning packet
3. When noodles are tender, drain in a strainer
4. In the sauce pan combine 1/2 seasoning packet, milk, butter and Monterey Jack cheese and heat over a low flame until ingredients combine into a sauce
5. Return noodles to pot and mix together until noodles are coated with cheesy/porky goodness
6. Serve in a soup bowl garnished with parsley and Parmesan cheese
7. EAT AND BE CONVERTED TO THE CULT OF RAMEN!!!

*This is what I had for dinner tonight and is a personal favorite

My good friend Lisa Wisniewski has submitted the first recipe for The Starving Student:

Wiz says: “It’s BETTER than a real grilled cheese. I kid you not. Totally vegan, super low cal, super low fat. Good drunk snack!”

Lisa Wiz’s DELISH Vegan Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
2 slices flourless sprouted barley bread
3 slices cheddar flavor soy cheese
1 tbs garlic aioli mustard
3 leaves fresh basil
Pinch of sea salt

Technique:
1. Spread the garlic aioli onto the bread
2. Sprinkle with sea salt
3. “Slap” (Wiz’s words) the basil and soy cheese on there and grill it on up!

*These sammiches are a favorite drunk snack amongst our friends, TRIPLE YUMMY!

SHAMELESS PLUG:
Please support Team LisaWiz as they fight the MonSter!
Donate today and tell ‘em that The Starving Student sent you!!!

Eggs are an excellent source of protein, which as a starving student (or, starving whatever) you may not get enough of sometimes. Here are three easy, very cheap recipes that use eggs. They are filling and good for you.

Breakfast for Dinner: Or, cheesy scrambled eggs, toast and “fakon”
Ingrediants:
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp milk
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
A squirt of cooking spray
2 slices of bread, toasted
2 slices of tofu breakfast strips (these generally come about 40 to a package and cost under $5 at the grocery - good buy)

Technique:
Eggs:
1. Break eggs into bowl
2. Add milk, salt and pepper
3. Whisk eggs until completely beaten
4. Spray a small non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat over a medium-low flame
5. Pour eggs into pan
6. When eggs begin to solidify into an “egg pancake,” break them apart with the whisk
7. Remove from heat and fold cheddar cheese into eggs

Toast:
1. Put toast into toaster
2. Press start
3. Wait

Tofu Bacon:
1. Place strips of tofu bacon on a paper towel in the microwave
2. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until crispy

The Best Fried Egg Sandwich You’ll Ever Eat
Ingredients:
1. 1 egg
2. 1 slice of American cheese
3. 1/16 cup of avocado (this is about 1/4 of a whole avocado)
4. 1 tbs of Dijon mustard aioli
5. 1 English muffin
6. 1 pat of salted butter
7. Cracked pepper to taste

Technique:
1. Melt 1/2 the pat of butter over a low flame in a small non-stick skillet
2. When butter is melted, break egg into skillet being careful not to break the yolk
3. Turn heat up slightly and cook egg until *white is no longer liquid
4. Once egg is cooked, remove pan from heat and place slice of cheese on top (the residual heat will melt the cheese)
5. Toast English muffin and spread remaining butter on each half
6. In a small bowl mush the avocado with the pepper until it is a paste
7. Spread Dijon mustard aioli on one half of the English muffin and the avocado paste on the other
8. Place egg/cheese on muffin and make a sandwich
9. Eat with a napkin handy, this could be messy!

*You can make the egg over easy or over hard as your preference dictates - I like runny yolks so I do mine sunny side up.

Kate’s Cheap Egg Salad on Toast
Ingredients:
1. 1 egg, hard boiled
2. 1 tsp of Dijon mustard aioli
3. 1 clove of garlic, minced
4. Salt and pepper to taste
5. 2 slices of toast

Technique:
1. Hard boil egg and allow to cool
2. Peel egg and chop into coarse pieces
3. Mince garlic and add to egg
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Mix in Dijon mustard aioli until combined
6. Spread mixture equally on two slices of toast, serve open faced

Sometimes I get hungry for specific foods, this sucks when you’re broke… Lately, I’ve been craving Mexican food. Quessadillas in particular. Here is a recipe that is quick, easy and which prevents me from making expensive late night Taqueria Gordo runs:

Cheesy Quessadillas on the Cheap
Ingrediants:
3 flour tortillas
3 slices of Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
1 pat of salted butter
Hot sauce or salsa to taste

Technique:
1. Place tortillas on microwave safe plate
2. Equally divide the cubed cheese between them
3. Microwave on high until the cheese is sufficiently melted (about 45 seconds)
4. Melt butter in a no-stick skillet
5. Put hot sauce or salsa in the middle of each tortilla
6. Fold tortillas into each other, tucking the ends so they are closed
7. Place a toothpick through each tortilla to secure the wrapping
8. Lightly sautée the tortillas in the melted butter until they are golden brown on each side
9. Pat excess butter off with a paper towel and remove toothpicks
10. Eat and enjoy with an ice cold beer

An apple a day will keep the doctor away… This is a yummy, cheap fall lunch option that mixes sweet with salty. The apple provides good vitamins and the popcorn is good roughage… and, we all know that roughage is good to keep ya movin’!

Ingrediants:
1 Green Apple, cored
1 tbsp of brown sugar or honey
1 small pat of salted butter
1/4 a cup of popping corn
1 tsp of canola oil
Salt to taste

Technique:
Apple:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
2. Wash and core apple
3. Place apple in a shallow baking pan
4. Put butter and brown sugar/honey into the hole where the core used to be
5. Bake apple in oven for 45 minutes, or until tender

Popcorn:
1. Heat oil in a steel soup pot over low flame
2. When oil is hot, add popcorn and cover
3. When popcorn begins to pop, shake pot over low flame to prevent burning until all the popcorn is popped
4. Salt popcorn to taste

When both apple and popcorn are done you can eat them separately; or, if you want to be REALLY fancy you can fill the apple with the popcorn and plate it using the juices left in the baking pan. YUM!