Stay Full... But Without Me!

I may have walked across the stage in a unflattering blue gown two months ago in a hat that made my forehead look a mile long, but today I am finally done with college. Some of you might be thinking wait, Lauren finished last Wednesday, didn't she? Technically, that is when I took my last final... but I got my grades back today, and guess what? I passed! Woohoo! Another chapter in the book of Lauren closed (unless I go back to college, then maybe ill come out with a college cooker: graduate school edition, but don't hold your breath).

Anyways, besides giving a short update on my ultra interesting life, I am also going to take this time to post my last college-cooker post. It isn't even going to have a recipe. Don't be mad... but it's okay if you are, because I'm leaving anyways. It seems a little silly to be the "college" cooker if I am not even in college. I've always disliked that kind of hypocrisy. However, if you know me...you know I can't keep my thoughts to myself for very long. It's a curse to have so many meaningful thoughts ;) So I will probably pop back up into the blogosphere sometime soon. Although, I can't promise i'll be assuming the role of chef. Keep a look out.

Steve Jobs once said "Stay hungry, stay foolish" and although it is an inspirational quote in the business world... taken out of context and put into the brain of a foodie, it doesn't make any sense. So, if you learned anything (especially college people) Stay full, stay satisfied. Happy cooking!

A finals tradition: carbs on carbs

While reading my blog, you must think to yourself Wow, she really cooks a lot, she must have a nice variety of meals each week. Though I do not want to shatter any sterling views you might have about me, sometimes I do not eat so lavishly.

The week before finals, and finals week don't allow much time for cooking. Even if I had the time to cook with all of the studying to be done, I would probably burn myself, or the apartment down, due to my lack of sleep. I don't want that to happen.

Instead, I forget that I am dieting and I survive on carbs. 

Morning: Cereal... see this to get an idea on what cereals are ht best.

Lunch: Cereal 

Dinner: Pasta

Now, here is the thing--I can't be bothered by actually boiling water, waiting for noodles to cook, and preparing a nice pasta dinner.  Instead, yesterday I made a whole box of pasta. I put sauce on it, I put some chicken in it, and then I put it in like three different Tupperware. Microwave and eat. 

This finals tradition is certainly not guilt free--when you realize you have consumed a box of pasta in 4 days, but I like to think of it as helping my brain run at peak conditions. 

Also, it would be a good idea to pair coffee with every meal. Don't believe me? I wrote this 3 years ago, and it still holds true today. 

Pinterest Meal #1: Eggplant and Mozzarella Melt

Girls everywhere spend hours on Pinterest planning their dream DIY wedding. My wedding is already planned, and I don't have time to spend doing things myself. Therefore, I prefer to look at the food section, because I obviously love food. I have a board called future meals, and instead of dreaming of making one of those delectable meals, my roommate Julia and I actually made one.

Here is the website we got the meal from. Feel free to follow that, but we made a few changes.

What you will need:
1 eggplant
4 tomatoes
1 big loaf of french bread (not sliced)
fresh mozzarella
garlic salt
bread crumbs
2 eggs
salt and pepper

First pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, slice up the egg plant.
Mix the eggs, a little bit of salt and a little bit of pepper in a shallow bowl. Put 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs on a plate. Dredge the eggplant in the egg mix, then cover it in breadcrumbs and stick it on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for about 20-25 min.

While that is cooking, slice your bread in half, slice your mozzarella nice and thin, and slice up your tomatoes. Try not to cut yourself.

When the eggplant is finish, put everything together.
Here is the proper layering:
Bread
Tomato
Eggplant
Mozzarella
A little bit of garlic salt

Bake it all in the oven for about 7 minutes, or until the mozzarella is slightly golden brown.

Take it out and enjoy!

This meal feeds about 4 people, or maybe 2 really hungry people. But I mean REALLY hungry.

My new favorite way to eat an apple

As I was watching the news this evening, I could not resist the compulsion to snack. However, since the wedding is in less than 8 months, I don't keep "snack food" around the apartment.  My favorite salt and vinegar chips are nowhere to be found. As I perused the fridge and cabinet, I started to crave apple crisp. Now, instead of drinking a glass of water and allowing the craving to curb, I immediately played upon that impulse. Obviously I did not have the patience to bake an entire apple crisp... so I improvised!

What you'll need:
One large apple (honey crisp is my favorite, if you have had one, it is probably yours too)
1/4 cup oatmeal
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp brown sugar

First, I cut up the apple into nice little pieces, then threw them in the sauté pan. I put a little bit of water in the pan as well. Throw in the other stuff (oatmeal and sugars) and heat it up! Make sure you keep stirring. I stopped stirring for a second because the news was rather interesting, and the oatmeal started to stick.  Once it is nice and hot, put it in your bowl and enjoy! I am currently eating it with a spoon, but I do suppose a fork could work as well. Your choice ;)

Bonus: Since I am currently counting calories, this snack is only 182 calories.

Award Winning Cereal

I realize that I mentioned cereal in one of my earlier posts about the egg sandwich, and I apologize for not expanding on that thought right away.  I understand you have probably stayed up at night wondering what kinds of cereal I eat, and what kinds of cereal to avoid. Well, worry not my friend.  Today I am going to be discussing my take on cereal. Just to be clear, I only eat my cereal with skim milk--mostly because I have slight allergies to milk. I do think that makes a difference. My brother just bought vitamin D milk, he might as well be using half and half. Another thing--if you like your cereal extremely crunchy, my bowl is not the place to look.

So without further delay, here are my top favorite cereals:

1) Apple Cinnamon Cheerios: of all of the Cheerios in the world (and there are plenty) this kind is my favorite.  It has the perfect amount of sweetness and it makes your milk taste so good too.

2) Fruity Pebbles: obviously I was brought up on sugar cereal.  When I was young, my brother, my sister and I all had our own box of FPs because it was gone in a day if we didn't.

3) Honey Smacks: Not too soft, not too crunchy.  A hint of sweetness makes it delicious. Plus, it is small enough where it isn't going to hurt the top of your mouth like fruit loops.

4) Cinnamon Toast Crunch: The taste you can see. Enough said.

5) Raisin Bran: Not a sugar cereal, but it still is good.

6) Honey Bunches of Oats: Tastes good, and healthy!

Everyone has their own cereal preferences, and you by no means are constrained to mine.  Feel free to let me know what your favorite is!

The College Student's Guide to Thanksgiving: Leftovers

 It was worth the wait. An unparalleled meal for sure. I cannot wait for next Thanksgiving. However, for the next couple weeks, leftovers will do. Now, there are probably several people in your family vying for the leftovers. Here are a couple lines you could drop that may help your cause:

"It was really nice to eat real meat for the first time since the semester started."
"It's a shame my stomach expanded so much, I am going to be starving when I get back to school."
"I'm your favorite, right?"
"Maybe I could collect enough change under this couch cushion to afford some mac n cheese for next week."

Put that together with some puppy-dog eyes, and you're sure to get your leftovers.

With turkey, you can pretty much do anything. But don't put it in your cereal, that's gross. You CAN make sandwiches, put it in soup, or warm it right back up!

I just had a piece of leftover pumpkin pie, and it it still just as good.

The College Student's Guide to Thanksgiving: Veggies

Let us continue on in our excursion through Thanksgiving, the college way. To me, it seems like the vegetables served on Thanksgiving are a cut above the rest.  They are greener, they have more flavor, they are the royalty of all veggies. Please do not think that the college version of these Thanksgiving dishes can act as a replacement. No way. These are simply for your enjoyment as you wait a whole year for the masterpiece meal to come back around.

Green beans. Usually baked into a delightful casserole that took days to prepare. If you aren't preparing for your exam until the night before, what makes you think you can tend to a casserole?  For my daily dose of veggies, I like to use frozen veggie steamers.  All you do is slip the bag in the microwave, and poof! You have a your veggies! For green beans, maybe spice them up a little bit.  Put some french fried onions in it...you can never go wrong with those!