The Dorm Chef

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve updated this thing, but I think I may be ready to come back and start it up again.

I got so many positive responses to this site when I first started it up and I was so excited to be doing something I enjoyed, but my interest eventually fizzled out when I tried to do too much too fast. I think this time I’m just going to take it slow and try to update on a more regular basis, though I probably won’t be posting more than one original recipe a week, if that.

I’m trying to save some money this semester, so I’ve been cooking less in the dorm and eating in the cafeteria more frequently. But, I still stumble all of the time and I find lots of good recipes that I’d love to try, so I’m sure some of you would be interested in those articles. So if nothing else, I’m going to try and update two or three times a week either with my own recipe, or something good that I find online.

Anyways, hope you all enjoy.

Well, summer is finally here and that means I’m finally done with school and I’m back home in Texas. That means I’ll be able to dedicate all of my time to trying out new recipes and posting them here for all of you to enjoy.

Before I start posting recipes, I wanted to note a few changes you’ll all be noticing.

First, a lot of the recipes I’ll be making won’t necessarily be able to be made using only a microwave and a grill. I’ll try my best to adjust my recipes so that they can be cooked in the dorm, but I’m back home now and I have access to an oven and a stove again and I plan on using them.

Second, I am continuing in my efforts to lose more weight. I lost 30 lbs during the semester and I plan on losing even more in the summer now that I won’t be eating fast food or anything like that. I plan on posting recipes for just about everything I eat, so a lot of them won’t necessarily be thrilling or life changing. I want to state my purpose for this site again. My goal is that people who view this site will understand the variety of dishes out there, a lot of which are very common and simple. I just know that in my life I use to tend to eat the same 10 or so meals over and over again. I’m hoping this site shows everyone that there are other options available to you.

Lastly, I’m thinking about changing the layout soon, so I’m hoping the transition goes well and everyone is happy with the new look.

So, now that all of that is out of the way. Here come some new recipes!

Sorry I haven’t made any posts in the past week or so. I have one week left of school and I’m trying to study for finals and get things settled before I leave town for the summer.

The recipes should probably start up again in about a week and a half, around the 10th of may. I’ll be home for the summer, so I might throw in a few normal recipes that aren’t made using just a microwave or grill, but I haven’t really decided yet. I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m still around and this blog isn’t dead yet.

Sorry for not posting more updates, but I appreciate that you all keep coming back.

Thanks,

Thomas

Hello to all, unfortunately I just found out that the wireless internet at my home in Houston has gone out. We tried to buy a new router and that didn’t fix the problem, so the next step is to try a new modem, hopefully all goes well.

I just wanted to let everyone know there probably won’t be many updates this week, if any. I apologize, I just don’t think I’ll be able to commit the time this week.

Don’t worry though, check the site out again towards the end of the week and the beginning of next week and you’ll surely see some new recipes!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve been trying to pass my physics 2 class. I had my last test this morning and now I’m free for a week as our school lets out for Spring Break, so expect lots of updates in the upcoming week.

I’ll be posting two relatively simple recipes tomorrow that are packed full of flavor. They’re both foods that my mom would cook for me when I was younger and she didn’t feel like making a big huge meal for the family. So be looking out for that tomorrow afternoon!

I have a few things on my mind and I’m really just hoping I’ll get a little bit of feedback so I can make this site more catered to the viewers rather than me just throwing up a recipe for whatever I feel like eating that day. Please take a minute and drop a comment so I can try and get this site headed in the right direction. I want to post stuff you all care about!

So I’m starting to realize some of the stuff I’m making probably doesn’t appeal to everyone. I think the most popular recipe so far has actually been the spaghetti and sausage which kind of surprised me. I’m not sure if that means you all enjoy spaghetti, sausage, or what. I’m thinking maybe it has something to do with the fact that it only has three ingredients and doesn’t really involve much preparation or cooking knowledge.

So the first question is what kind of dishes would you like to see recipes for? Do you want to see something simpler than the past few (the jambalaya and the soup)? Do you want things that are more complex? Do you want things that are cheaper (ramen type dishes)? Do you want healthier recipes? Would you prefer if I took existing recipes I find online and convert them to a recipe you could use in the dorm?

Lastly, has anyone actually tried any of the dishes I’ve posted so far?

Please take a second and leave a comment so I can try to improve the site.

Thanks again to all those who keep coming back, I hope you’re enjoying the recipes.

Well, sorry for not posting any updates this morning. I hope everyone remembers that I am in college, and that tests are unfortunately a regular occurrence. I had a Differential Equations test this morning and I pretty much spent all of yesterday and this morning trying to learn all about Laplace transforms! How exciting.

Anyways, I’m glad the weekend is here so I can catch up on some much needed relaxation. But, I’m also excited because Friday is grocery shopping day! Some people have been requesting that I post prices for the ingredients I use in my recipes, so I remembered to keep my receipt after getting back from the store so that I could put it up on here.

I think my plan for now is to post what I purchase from the store every Friday so that you can have an idea of what I might be cooking in the upcoming week. This way maybe some of you can go shopping on the weekend and have the ingredients ready for when I post the recipes up during the week. Or at least you’ll have you’re shopping list ready after you see how amazing the recipe turns out later on in the week.

So, lets see if you can guess what I’m cooking this week. Feel free to comment if you have any ideas. If you guess right I’ll make sure to edit this and let you know!

- Cream of chicken soup (11oz can) - $0.82
- Yams (15oz can) - $0.87
- Whole leaf spinach (13.5oz can) - $0.54
- Long grain rice (32oz) - $1.24
- Low sodium chicken broth (14oz can) - $1.22
- Sliced potatoes (15oz can) - $0.58
- Loaf of double fiber wheat bread (20oz) - $3.13
- Hot pork sausage (16oz) - $4.57
- Mini marshmellows (16oz) - $1.16
- One white onion - $0.87
- Brown sugar (16oz box) - $0.86
- 4x chicken breasts - $5.00 ( I actually already had this, but I wanted to include it so you would know it would be in at least one of the recipes next week. Not included in total price below)

I also bought some measuring tools and another, larger tupperware dish.
- 8pc measuring utensils - $0.97
- 14 cup Rubbermaid tupperware - $5.74

Total price with tax came out to around $23.50 . This will probably make about 6-8 meals depending on how hearty of an eater you are. That comes out to only $3-4 per meal. You might be able to get that same price if you eat fast food, but I guarantee it won’t be anywhere near as good as what I’m making.

Well, that’s everything! I plan on making two main dishes as well as two side dishes. So there should be at least four new posts next week. Hope everyone will be looking forward to them!

A lot of people have been questioning whether or not I’m actually coming up with my own recipes or if I’m getting them from other sources. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am creating these recipes as I go along. I’m basically winging it from day to day actually. I haven’t looked off of any cooking blogs or websites to find any of the recipes on my site. I’m sure if you looked out there hard enough you would probably find similar recipes, but unless I’m making fish ice cream tacos or something, I’m probably not going to have anything 100% original.

The whole point of this blog is to show people that they can cook with limited resources. I’m not just talking about money, but a lack of cooking skills or appropriate appliances should not hinder you from having a great tasting meal. I’m trying to get across to everyone that you can adapt almost any recipe to be made in a dorm room setting. On the same note, you can convert almost any recipe I create here into something you can make in a household setting. All you have to do is replace the microwave with an oven and the grill with a stove top and then adjust for heat differences and cooking times. It really is that simple!

Now I thought I’d give people a little bit of background on how I started cooking in the first place, since some people have been asking me that as well. I probably started cooking when I was around 15, which was five years ago. I started out by just hanging out with my mom in the kitchen and watching what she would do. From there I asked if she could teach me how to make jambalaya and gumbo since those are my two favorite dishes. So she showed me step by step how to make it, and after watching her do it two or three times I ended up trying it out myself.

After that I learned the basics of cooking meats, which is the core of most of the meals I eat. I began to realize that cooking really isn’t that bad once you know some basic steps, and from there as long as you know the terminology used in recipes you can make just about anything.

It actually got to the point before I left for college that I was the one who was cooking most of the meals in the house. My mom and dad both worked and I got off around noon my senior year, so I would get bored and just cook a meal.

You know how some people can hear music and be able to play it back instantly without seeing any of the music in front of them? Well I’ve gotten to the point where I can recreate most thing’s I’ve eaten in the past with my own spin on it, without using recipes as a guide. Granted, this does end up going horribly wrong some times. I’ve made things before that I had to force myself to eat because I didn’t want to throw it away, but that kind of stuff happens when you are experimenting.

Summary: No formal background in cooking, everything on my website is my own creation, or inspired by my mom’s cooking. It got to the point where I knew what mixes well and what doesn’t mix well and I just started making my own meals.

I was thinking of starting a blog to keep track of the random stuff I cook in the dorm room. My roommate and I are both over weight and we decided to start losing some of the pounds at the beginning of this semester. I started out at 331 and he started out at around 264 I believe. So far I’m down to 299 and he is down to 229.

The way we accomplished this is by buying a George Foreman grill and making smarter decisions at the grocery store. All semester we have been grilling and microwaving in order to avoid the plethora of fast food surrounding us.

I would say most of the recipes are pretty common and not very special, aside from the fact that we use a microwave and a GF grill to make it. So the recipes might not be very original, more of an inspiration for what you can do with a very small assortment of cooking tools.

NOTES
If you DO have a kitchen in your dorm/apartment, you really don’t have to use a George Foreman grill for any of my recipes. You can definitely just cook it in a pot/pan. The only benefit of the GF grill is that when I cook fatty meats, all the grease/fat will drain off. But it definitely isn’t as flexible as a pot or pan and I would much rather use that if I had the option.

Anyways, My next post will contain my first recipe that I’m going to make tonight.