D-Hall Chili

Now I know that winter is pretty much over, but I didn’t get this blog until a week
ago so unfortunately I wasn’t able to give you this post to eat in a respectable
temperature but I honestly still think you’ll enjoy it.

CHILI

I know some of you are about to start doubting this recipe but its honestly much
better than you might think from dining hall ingredients.

Head over to D-hall, preferably at lunchtime, for two reasons
1. You can grab all beef patties from Kivo meat section rather than flower-shaped meat patties from the grill side.
2. You can make the chili right after lunch so it will be ready to eat for dinner

Grab a to-go box and head to Kivo for three burger patties, no bun, The recipe calls for half a pound of raw beef but in chili you brown the meat before you add anything else so really the cooked burgers are just saving you a step. Fill up enough to have half a cup of onions. Figure that’s about a big handful.

Green peppers might be hard to separate from the red ones but I honestly think they will add just perfectly to the chili. You will only need a small handful of those; honestly this is completely your choice. If you love meat and hate peppers add a burger and skip the veggies. For most chili recipes they are going to ask for canned tomato sauce and diced canned tomatoes so your recipe might have to simmer a big longer to be less runny and it might not work perfectly. I would probably say grab some tomatoes from the salad bar but grab most of them from the burger area where they have larger round tomatoes as opposed to the cherry tomatoes in the salad bar. Fill up the rest with a cup of red kidney means that fills about one blue cup. Now I’m going to attach instructions that list a whole bunch of spices to add but honestly whatever basic spices you have will be just fine. I never leave a dish without salt black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.

1. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine the ground beef, onion and bell peppers.
Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain excess fat.

2. Add the chili powder, garlic, bay leaf, cumin, Chile peppers, tomatoes, tomato sauce and salt and
pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring
occasionally. Stir in the beans and heat through.

Hummus Dip

Here’s an easy hummus dip for finals week snacking.

Grab a to go box and get a bunch of chickpeas, possibly some onions for extra flavor. Get a plastic cup and fill it with some olive oil from the salad bar, not more than an inch. Go to Kivo and get some of the white paste called tahini. Mix that in a blender with the chickpeas salt pepper and onions, you can add lemon juice if you have or some water to make it runnier. Put the dip into a bowl and dig a small hole and fit that with the olive oil. Toast your pita from Kivo and Enjoy!

Easy (Real) Mac and Cheese

Easy Mac doesn't always make the cut

Now I don’t mean to criticize easy mac on any level but sometimes I crave real mac and cheese rather than powder cheese and water.

First things first, you’ll need any type of macaroni, any box from the supermarket on sale for a dollar.  (4oz)

Things you’ll need from Dhall

1 Tablespoons of Butter (One big spoonful is plenty)

1 Cup of milk (Whole or 2%) Whole will make it creamier

1 Cup of cheddar cheese (Get this from the salad bar, but feel free to grab some slices of cheese from the sandwich area, like Swiss or American to add)

1/8 Cup of all-purpose flour

 

  1. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook elbow macaroni until al dente. Drain.
  2. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat melt butter or margarine. Whisk flour and stir vigorously. Add milk and cook until thick and bubbly, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add cheeses and stir until completely melted.
  3. In a large bowl mix together the drained pasta and cheese sauce mixture. Toss to coat evenly.
  4. Pour into a greased 1 quart casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This is supposed to make two servings but for hungry college students I’d say it’s one. Enjoy! E-mail me if you have any questions! Kberman@fandm.edu.

Easy Spinach Dip

Most creamy spinach dips call for frozen spinach but if you go to the dining hall you can fill up on fresh spinach from the salad bar; go ahead and grab as much as you want. Grab two balls of cream cheese, a spoon of chickpeas or artichoke, two handfuls of cheddar cheese (please don’t actually put your hand in the salad bar), and three pitas from Kivo.

You’ll want to chop your spinach onions and chickpeas very finely so that they can cook quickly so you’re not spending all your valuable studying time in the kitchen. Lightly sauté the spinach, onions, chickpeas or artichokes until spinach is dark green. Add your vegetables to a bowl with most of the cheese and 1 or 2 balls of cream cheese depending on how creamy you want it. Mix these around in a separate bowl and pour into an oven safe dish. Cover with some extra cheddar cheese and heat in an oven for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.  Don’t forget to toast your pita bread for the last few minutes your dip is cooking.  Then chop your pita up and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this! I know I did. If you have any questions while your cooking feel free to E-mail me at kberman@fandm.edu  and took out for another recipe in the next article!