26 meal ideas for my college son
Life is hard; food doesn't have to be #121 [vol6, 1.1]
The first night home for Christmas break my college son asked for easy meal prep ideas. He lives in a dorm, is tired of paying too much for lunches while off campus (or he would skip lunch all together and come home cranky.) He flies back tomorrow and will be armed with these recipes.
If he can make them so can you.
Hard boiled eggs - easy to do or buy pre-cooked at Costco
Hard boiled egg (HBE) SLIDERS - fancy up HBE with a strip of bacon, slice of cheese, or BBQ sauce and a pickle. The SAWCE is everything IMO: Thousand island, any salad dressing like ranch or tahini, even salsa & Red Hot
Cook several pounds of ground beef at once, freeze in smaller portions. Use as easy taco / burrito / nacho / salads.
Meatballs (make or buy from Costco) - use on sub sandwich, in spaghetti or with a rice bowl
Egg Roll in a Bowl Asian style or from Morocco
Biryani - beef / rice Indian dish written for Instantpot I give stovetop or oven instructions here; more nerdy details and made with chicken here.
Beef Stroganoff (one of his favs)
Beef or chicken with this recipe and magical small jar of red curry paste and coconut milk
Big Mac Sliders - a variation on this recipe but more meat in a bigger pan. I also use dried onions for convenience and powdered mushrooms (haters never know!) Burgers on the grill would be better but these bake in the oven so I can shower.
Roast in crock pot - here are tips for perfection without using a package of soup mix.
Real Cheese Dip - eat with organic tortilla chips, over rice, or in a burrito
Cheeseburger bites in muffin tin or bake in 9x13 pan
Comforting Goulash with beef and macaroni
Sausage, chicken, rice, veg = aka chicken collards pilau
Sheet Pan with Chicken - Mediterranean flair
Sheet Pan loaded potato (bacon) with chicken and broccoli
EASY oven risotto with chicken, tomatoes and basil
Kid Friendly Pad Thai with chicken
Breakfast: Protein pancake in 9x13 pan, baked oatmeal I’ve made weekly for over a decade, make ahead breakfast sammies can freeze
Tip: Read how to cook rice like an Asian.
Baby Step
Pick three from the list to try this week.
Life is hard; food doesn’t have to be.
Julie
PS - the Beautycounter sale is still up to 65% off. The Clean Deo is $5 each when you BOGO! I can’t believe some of the prices. The site will shut down mid-January and will re-open again sometime in 2025.
This is my outdoor loving son who fell off a cliff 2 years ago (he’s back to normal). He made a 2024 recap reel if you’re on Instagram. We didn’t give him the nickname Mr. Intensity for nuthin.