by Brian Vandenbroek

Created on: December 27, 2009   Last Updated: September 04, 2010

When you're going to college there are many factors that go into feeding yourself. Meals have to be affordable, easy to prepare and easy to clean up afterwards. If they can be nutritious and give some leftovers, so much the better. When you're going to school, you can't always afford to spend lots of money and time trying to feed yourself when you have mountains of homework and studying to deal with. For this article I've included recipes for quesadillas, hash brown casserole, and an easy pasta recipe.

QUESADILLAS:

1 lb lean ground beef

1 pouch chilli seasoning

1 Tbsp canola ooil

1 clove garlic

1 onion, finely chopped

2 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

6 8-10 inch corn tortillas

3 cups cheddar, grated

In a skillet cook ground beef until browned.. Add chilli seasoning and cook a couple minutes longer. Remove beef to a bowl, set aside and drain grease from the skillet. Add canola oil to the pan. Add garlic to the pan along with chopped onion, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and jalapeno. Cook vegetables until softened, 5-10 minutes. Add vegetables to ground beef and mix until thoroughly combined.

Lay tortillas on a clean work surface. Divide beef filling evenly among the tortillas, covering half of each tortilla. Spread cheddar over the ground beef. Fold tortillas in half and saute in skillet until golden brown on each side and cheese has melted. Remove quesadillas to serving platter. Cut each quesadilla into thirds and serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

CHEESEY HASH BROWN CASSEROLE:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, finely chopped

1 can mushroom gravy

1.5 cups fat free sour cream

2.5 cups grated cheddar

2 tsp salt

1.5 Tbsp pepper

2 tsp cayenne

1 kg bag frozen hash browns

2 broccoli florets, finely chopped

In a skillet cook ground beef until browned. Set beef aside and drain off all but 1 Tbsp fat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and transluscent, 5-10 minutes. In a large bowl combine mushroom gravy, sour cream, cheddar, salt, pepper cayenne. Add hash browns, broccoli, ground beef and onion. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Place hash brown casserole in a 9X16 inch shallow baking dish and cover with tin foil. At this point the casserole can be frozen until ready for use. When ready to cook, covered with tin foil for 45 minutes at 350F. For the last 15 minutes remove tin foil to let casserole brown nicely on top. Remove from oven, let stand 5 minutes and serve.

WORLD'S EASIEST PASTA AND SAUCE.

1 16 oz can chilli con carne without beans

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes

2 tsp canola oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 finely chopped red bell pepper

4-6 oz whole wheat fussilli

Open the chilli con carne and pour into a bowl. Remove chunks of beef, shred them with your fingers or a couple of forks and return them to the chilli. In a large skillet heat canola oil. Add onion and red bell pepper. Saute until vegetables are soft and transluscent, 5-10 minutes. Add the canned diced tomatoes and simmer 10-15 minutes, until some of the liquid cooks off. Stir in chilli and cook until the sauce cooks through. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, add 2 Tbsp ketchup or tomato paste.

Add 4-6 oz whole wheat fussilli or other pasta to a pot of salted boiling water. Cook according to package instructions. Drain off liquid and serve pasta with sauce.

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