Jacque Janssen, arts/features editor
University Daily Kansan / Thursday, February 25, 1988
Living
11
Even students can cook easy, gourmet food
By Julie Adam
Kansan staff writer
For the amount of time it takes for a pizza delivery or a drive to the burger joint drive-thru, a quick, nutritious meal could be already cooked in the kitchen.
We are already cooking in the kitchen. And dinner could be done in about the amount of time as when the pizza man knocks at the door. Welcome, students, to the world of cooking. Anyone can a gourmet chef without an elaborate spice rack or wasting precious study time, two local chefs say.
Jayni Naas and Frank Carey are experienced in the cooking business. They wrote the cookbook, "The Easier You Make It, the Better It Tastes," which is a guide to elegant food that is easily prepared.
They said many of their recipes were ideal for college students because the recipes featured substitutions for long lists of ingredients. They said they tried to focus their book on canned or processed foods that included several ingredients in one box or can. For example, they suggest using cream of mushroom soup instead of making a white sauce.
Carey suggested that an easy recipe for students would be to saute a chicken breast, add premade spaghetti sauce and pour that mixture over pasta, which would make a type of simple chicken cacciatore. The remaining sauce and pasta could be used for another meal.
Carey said, "Chicken breasts, especially deboned chicken breasts, lend themselves to a lot of one-pan meals."
But many college students are equipped with only a hot pot in their residence hall rooms.
Although hot pots are used mainly for boiling water, they can also be used for heating soups, Naas and Carey said. They said that hot pots were mostly good only for heating water but that students could spice up a lot of ordinary soups by adding extra ingredients such as sop, cream or garlic in the pot.
Stacey Frakes, a Manhattan freshman who lives in residence hall, said that she used a hot pot regularly. She said she usually made tea or hot chocolate. though, she heats soup because she has late lunch and drinks in time to eat in the cafeteria. She said that she also used the hot pot to cook canned lasagna or ravioli.
Hot pots but not hot plates are allowed in the residence halls, according to a policy by the office of residential programs. The residence halls also have kitchens in which students can try more extensive cooking.
Carey said that microwaves in residence halls provided more alternatives than just using hot pots. All of the residence halls have microwaves
Many simple foods can be made in the microwave, Carey said.
"You can do twice-baked potatoes in the microwave and slice them in half, scoop out the inside, mash them, combine it with sour cream, milk, butter, grated cheese and chopped green onion and put it back in the shell and put it back in the microwave." Naas said
Another good vegetable, Naas and Carey said, is frozen corn on the cob because fresh vegetables are scarce this time of year. Sprinkling chili powder and spreading sour cream on the corn is an alternative to the traditional butter and salt.
"We've always been into fresh vegetables," Naas said, "but just because of the high cost of vegetables and how expensive lettuce has been
lately, we've started looking at the frozen vegetables. We're really amazed at how good the quality is and how tasty they are, particularly the frozen corn on the cob.
It's as good as any you might grow yourself and freeze."
A good suggestion for college students who prefer vegetables rather than meats is to mix salad ingredients beforehand and then refrigerate them for a couple of days. Ingredients that spoil can be added when ready to eat.
Naas said, "For a basic salad, there are just a number of things that you can put in it to make a meal, from avocados to skinned and deboned chicken breast broiled, or you can also buy canned chicken breasts. The quality of the meat is really good, and there are no preservatives."
A different salad recipe of Naas is "Orange and Radish Salad." The four ingredients are lettuce, radishes, green onions and mandarin oranges. The salad dressing is made of $\frac{1}{2}$ cup olive oil, $\frac{1}{2}$ cup lemon juice and tablespoon sugar.
Gretchen Schmitz, a Kansas City, Kan., senior, said that she rarely ate out and always cooked her own meals. She said that she ate many steaks because they were sold in small
always cooked her own meals. She said that she ate many steaks because they were sold in small portions and cost her about the same as if she would
"A steak dinner for two costs about five dollars, and that is cheaper than eat out," she said. Schmitz said that she also made meals that could be reheated and eaten later, such as chili. "I can cook a whole box of macaroni and cheese, and it will make three meals," she said.
She said that her lunch usually was a sandwich or cold food but that her dinner was always a hot meal.
Naas and Carey suggested that for students, the easiest, most nutritious meats for meals were chicken, lean hamburger and fish.
Naas said, "The reason why I suggest chickens because so many people are getting away from eating beef. And if they eat beef, they want to eat lean beef."
She also said that fish fillets were a different alternative to meat
"There are lots of good available fish fillets in the stores. It's not expensive if you just buy one serving," she said. "You never need to go in there and buy a
Prices for meats differ from store pound.
which is 30 cents for a 4-ounce serving. And 99 percent lean hamburger in a family pack is $1.86 a pound, which is about 46 cents a 4-ounce serving.
Janine Demo, coordinator of health education, said that Watkins Hospital offered pamphlets about nutrition, the four food groups, vitamins, weight control and fiber diets.
Ann Kohl, dietitian for student health services, said that she could provide suggestions for students who needed special diets. She said that students could make appointments with her and that she would discuss with them individually their special nutrition and diet needs.
She said she also could offer some recipes tailored to living group and lifestyle for diabetics and people on diets.
By Julie Adam Kansan staff writer
Secret Chili
1 pound ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
$\frac{1}{2}$ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chili powder
$\frac{1}{2}$ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
$\frac{1}{2}$ teaspoon ground cloves
1 15-ounce can preseasoned Mexican chili beans
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 16-ounce whole tomatoes
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic.
Drain off all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pan drippings. Return the pan to the heat source and add the salt, chili powder and cumin. Add cinnamon and cloves.
Let the meat absorb the seasonings for a few minutes before adding the remaining ingredients. Over low heat, let the chili simmer 20 minutes or more.
Chicken in Foil
4 chicken breast halves, skinned and
1 tablespoon butter
4 squares aluminum foil
1 cup green onions, finely chopped
2 cups mushrooms, finely chopped
4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon tarragon
Flavor
4 tablespoons butter,melted
Skin and debone chicken breasts.
Butter the four pieces of foil, each large enough for one chicken breast. Combine green onions and mushrooms, putting 1/4 cup of the mixture on each piece of foil.
Mix the soy sauce, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and tarragon in a bowl. Dip each chicken breast in this mixture and coat it generously with flour. Place the breasts on top of the onion-mushroom mixture and cover with the remaining vegetables.
Pour the rest of the soy sauce mixture over the breasts and drizzle each with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Seal the foil tightly and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.
Mexican Corn Chowder
1 onion, chopped
6 tablespoons butter
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
tablespoons flour
15-ounce cans chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans chicken broth
1.17 ounce corn corn, drained
1 4-ounce can green chilies, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and green pepper. Cook over medium heat until onion and green pepper are soft.
Add the flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the chicken broth slowly. Use a wire whisk to break up any lumps.
Add the corn, green chilies, dry mustard and cumin.
Bring the soup to a boil, add the milk and reduce the heat to low. Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste.
All recipes are taken from "The Easier You Make It, the Better It Tastes!" by Jayni Nass and Frank Carey.
SUA FILMS REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
With a legendary performance by James Dean,
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE is the screen classic of the 50s that yields the powerful portrayal of a young man alienated from the adult world and even from most of his peers. The film examines the inarticulate frustrations and rage of three teenagers that erupts in violence and tragedy.
Wed. & Thur., Feb. 24-25 = 7:00 p.m.
$2.00 in Wooldruff贸. (Akansas Union)
With a legendary performance by James Dean.
BLOOD DONORS
Make appointments for Blood Drive
WHERE: Kansas Union, Burge Union.
SIGN UP DAYS: February 24 & 25
Wescoe and Summerfield
The Blood Drive will
be held on March 1, 2, & 3
(Sponsored by Panhellenic & IFC)
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842-8372
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exn. 3/11/88
exp. 3/11/02