College food gets old, even Washington University’s acclaimed campus food. You can only have so much Bear’s Den, and even Center Court loses its allure after you’ve tried every wacky salad concoction and entr‚e combo possible. (I’ve tried a lot; my favorite mix-n-match dessert is a cup of coffee with a good-sized dollop of vanilla frozen yogurt.)

For those of us who have a low budget and limited transportation, here are some recipes you can whip up in a dorm kitchen (or even your room) with ingredients from campus grocery stores.

English Muffin Pizza

This will beat the BD pizza any day and works for a quick snack or a meal. You’ll find all the ingredients at Bear Mart and the Village.

Ingredients:

1 package English Muffins
1 package shredded cheese – sharp cheddar is great, parmesan is the best
1 package string cheese
1 jar salsa or pasta sauce – I recommend Prego’s Traditional Pasta Sauce
1 tomato – if Bear Mart is out, ask at BD; sliced or chopped tomatoes are fine

Optional Toppings:

Bell pepper slices, a sprinkle of feta cheese, olives (ask for these at the Bear’s Den salad bar), ham slices (at Bear Mart) or anything else you can find!

Preparation:

Extremely simple. First, preheat your dorm’s oven by setting it at its highest temperature (if the oven has a “broil” option, use this). If you have a toaster oven, no preheating will be necessary.

Split English muffins. Spread with a layer of sauce. If using salsa, scoop the chunks out with a fork and place these on the pizza. Do not pour salsa directly onto pizza; the English muffins will get soggy. If using pasta sauce, follow with a thin slice of tomato or a sprinkling of chopped tomato bits. Now for my favorite part: peel the string cheese into the thinnest strings possible, and layer these onto your pizzas. Next, sprinkle the cheddar or parmesan cheese. Finish with whichever toppings you choose.

Place pizzettas on either an oven-safe dish or a sheet of tinfoil and slide into the oven. Cook 5 to 10 minutes. Wait for the cheese to melt and begin toasting (this is when the cheese starts to get golden-brown on the top or around the edges). Make sure to check them frequently so they don’t burn.

When they’re done, let them cool for a minute or two before eating. Cut into quarters if you’re serving them as a snack for friends, and arrange quarters on a plate.

Ziploc Omelet

(Recipe courtesy of Jaclyn Allen)

For this recipe, all you need is a Ziploc bag, some basic ingredients and a microwave.

Ingredients:

2 eggs – Bear Mart does not sell eggs, but you can request eggs at Bear’s Den
Cheese of any kind – available at Bear Mart
Your favorite omelet additions: chopped onion, ham, tomato (all at Bear Mart), spinach or olives (at Bear’s Den), etc.

Preparation:

Crack no more than two eggs into a large Ziploc bag. Add other ingredients. If adding cheese, make sure to chop it into cubes smaller than dice or use shredded cheese; otherwise, it won’t melt. Shake Ziploc bag to mix ingredients well. Squeeze all air out of the bag and seal tightly. Place upright – so that the zipper is on top – in a microwave. Cook for 45 seconds and test firmness. Most microwaves will not finish cooking an omelet this quickly, but microwave strengths vary, so be sure to check. Continue to cook in 30-second segments until the omelet is firm and the eggs are well cooked. Yes, this requires some vigilance, but who wants an over or undercooked omelet?

Slide omelet out onto a plate when it’s fully cooked and eat while it’s hot.

Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup water
Ham (sandwich meat is fine)
English Muffins

Sauce Ingredients:

¬ cup butter
¬ cup light cream
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp. lemon juice
pinch salt

Preparation:

Place water in a large microwave-safe dish-preferably something flat, with a good amount of surface area. Bring water to a boil: approximately 2 minutes in the microwave. Crack two eggs and drop into the boiling water. Make sure to do this quickly, while the water is still very hot. Immediately place back in the microwave and cook 1-2 minutes, or until the eggs solidify and turn completely white. Remove eggs from water and set aside. Separate English muffin and place a slice of ham on each half. Set aside.

Begin sauce preparation: melt butter thoroughly, then add first cream, then lemon juice, then salt, then egg yolks, and beat (by hand or with machine) until smooth. Cook sauce 1 minute, removing every 15 seconds to beat well. For the last 30 seconds, place the English muffins with ham in the microwave as well. Finally, place eggs on top and pour over sauce. Serve hot!

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Note: You may want to wait for FDA approval on this one.

For this recipe, you’ll need to use the oven and a pie tin or casserole dish.

Ingredients:

_ package of frozen spinach or two large BD salad bowls full of fresh spinach
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tablespoon milk or cream
2 eggs
Salt
Onion powder or minced onions
Pepper
Grated parmesan or cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450?. Cook spinach in microwave for 3 minutes if frozen. If fresh, boil 1 cup water and place spinach into it until wilted. Drain and set aside in a medium sized mixing bowl (a large BD salad bowl works perfectly). Mix in cream cheese, milk, eggs and seasonings and stir up thoroughly with a fork.

Grease pie tin or casserole dish with butter or a half teaspoon of oil. Pour in spinach mix. Sprinkle generous amount of cheese in the middle, leaving the edges cheese-free so you can see when it’s cooked.

Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until the edges turn brown and the center is firm to the touch. Wiggle the pie tin to make sure the center isn’t soupy. Slice like a pie and serve hot.

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