Cooking

Take out may be convenient but it gets pricy. Cooking your own meals and learning to cook traditional meals from home can be less expensive and fun!

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Tips & Tricks

Learn to Cook

There will be a lot of fast food restaurants where you are going, DO NOT EAT OUT EVERY DAY! This will get super expensive and it will be one of the reasons you have no money left quickly. Learn to cook. Figure out what kinds of food you like and find recipes and videos online and learn how to make them.
It is better to grocery shop, make food at home, save leftover food to take with you to school or to have later. It saves you A LOT of money.
Most recipe websites have videos to show you how to make the meal, or step by step detail with pictures to follow along.

Tools and Resources

Cooking

Measurement

Found the perfect recipe but you can't figure out the measurements? Google and Siri can help you out in a pinch! (Pun intended) Or check out some of these useful websites:

Volume Conversions for Recipe Ingredients

Cooking Recipe Converter

Measurement Converter

Cooking

Kitchen Essentials: Tools

  • A sharp knife or two (for cutting meat and vegetables)
  • Tongs
  • Peeler
  • Ladle (for soup)
  • A spatula
  • A large 8-quart deep pot (for cooking pasta)
  • A 10-inch frying pan
  • A small frying pan (for eggs)
  • Metal mixing bowl(s)
  • A baking sheet
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • A colander (for draining pasta and rinsing vegetables)
  • 2 cutting boards (one for vegetables; one for meat)
  • A can opener
  • Containers for leftovers
  • dish towels
  • pot holders
  • aluminum foil
  • plastic wrap/beeswax wraps
  • sandwich-size re-closable plastic bags
  • paper towels
  • sponges
  • dish soap
  • dishwasher liquid
  • dinner plates
  • soup bowls/cereal bowls
  • flatware set
  • beverage glasses
  • coffee mugs
Cooking

Ingredient Alternatives

Don't have all the ingredients a recipe calls for? The meal is not ruined. Check out this link for ingredient alternatives.

or this website:
The Ultimate Baking Substitution Guide

Cooking

Kitchen Essentials: Cooking Staples

Please note, these are only suggestions.

  • Olive oil or Canola Oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Spice/herb blends, e.g., Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, steak seasoning, chili mix, taco mix
  • Canned beans/dried beans
  • Canned soup
  • Tuna
  • Pasta sauce
  • Pasta
  • Rice

Baking

  • Flour: all purpose, whole wheat or pastry
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder
  • Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
  • Chocolate: chips or bar
  • Vanilla extract

Sweeteners

  • Granulated sugar
  • Confectioners' sugar
  • Brown sugar
  • Honey
  • Maple Syrup

Quick Eats

  • Granola Bars
  • Trail Mix (if allowed, allergies in residence)
  • Cereal
  • Oatmeal
  • Popcorn
  • Pretzels
  • Crackers
  • Applesauce

Drinks

  • Coffee (instant or other depending on tastes)
  • Black tea
  • Green tea