Revamping Recipes: A College Survival Guide

Growing up, I had the luxury of a home-cooked meal every night for supper and multiple on the weekends. My mom is a fabulous cook (who will never admit it) who truly finds happiness by cooking for those she cares about. I’m pretty sure I have inherited this trait, but unfortunately it is hard to cook great meals in college for usually only one person. I like making things, but I do not have the money or time to make a hearty home-cooked meal every day of the week. I normally make simple foods that don’t require recipes like wraps, sandwiches, buttered noodles with spices, salads, and many foods that come frozen or in cans. Although this is an easier way to eat, it also is a less tasty way to eat.

Once in a while, especially when I am with my boyfriend who also loves to cook, we like to spice things up a bit, but we don’t want to completely kill our wallets. A couple weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were looking in a cookbook we had picked up with low-budget recipes (which I can’t find online). We found what was labeled as a “bargain recipe” called Tortellini With Ham. Here is the recipe:

• 9 oz meat-filled tortellini
• 1/4 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 oz cooked ham, diced
• 1/2 cup double (heavy cream)
• 1 cup freshly grated grano padano cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2/3 cup passata (bottled strained tomatoes)
• salt and black peppter, to taste

Serves four

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until it darkens.

2. Add the passata to the pan. Stir well, then add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer the sauce for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced slightly. Stir in the cream. Drain the pasta well and add it to the sauce.

3. Add a handful of grated grano padano to the pan. Stir to combine well and taste for seasoning. Serve in warmed bowls, topped with the remaining grano padano.

What I like about this recipe is that the main ingredients can be changed with whatever is on hand because the sauce is what really makes the dish delicious. The first time we made it we used spaghetti instead of tortellini, a mix of shredded cheeses instead of grano padano, petite diced tomatoes instead of passata, and chicken instead of ham. It was delicious and the only thing we had to buy was the heavy cream. We decided to make it again last night, but I had ground turkey in the freezer, a can of diced tomatoes with garlic and onions, an Italian blend of shredded cheese, and fettuccine. This time it did not turn out quite as good as the first time (probably because it was late so we didn’t measure carefully and also because the tomatoes were not in as small of pieces so they didn’t combine with the cream as well), but it still was very good and easy on our budgets.

Here is the dish before we added the cream.

Then with the cream while we were letting it thicken.

And the finished product. We served it with some sundried tomato rolls and raspberry iced tea.

You can tell it was tasty by the look of our plates when we were finished.

What I learned from this recipe is that people with a small budget can cook delicious meals, but it is really easy once you find a recipe that can be easily made as well as easily changed to make it more versatile. This recipe will probably be a staple for the next couple years because I will almost always have some ingredients on hand that I can throw in to make another variation of this recipe. So my advice to people with a small budget or struggling college students like myself is to find recipes you like, but don’t let yourself get bored with them by making them the same way every week. Mix them up and let yourself make mistakes. Cooking is something the requires practice, so testing out different variations while always knowing that it will taste somewhat similar to the way you’ve made it before is a safe way to practice without too much stress. Too many people my age, I think, give up because they don’t have time and they don’t have a lot of money to spend on fancy foods. Just find a couple recipes and mix them up every once in a while so your taste buds don’t get bored.

Got any recipes to share? Let me know if you try this and what you think. It’s a pretty simple dish, so many people may have had a variation on it. Any tips to a new cook just starting out? What’s your recipe of choice after a long day?