During this semester, I’ve found some fantastic recipes, made some discoveries in the world of food and started to lead a healthy new lifestyle. But even still, I’ve found myself bored because I end up eating salad after salad and bowls of rice.
Since I’m in college, I don’t have a lot of money to splurge on cooking meals with extensive ingredients. Usually I’m lucky if the meal I’m making has more than 5 ingredients in it. After one look at my pantry, it’s clear that I’m not ‘stocked’ with food to spare.
However, cooking simple meals isn’t a bad thing. Simple can be tasty, healthy and filling but also much easier to execute. So today I’ve put together a couple easy-to-prepare vegetarian meals that don’t have more than five ingredients.
Now, I’ll admit that I cheated slightly because I excluded water, salt and pepper from the five ingredient rule, but unless you’re camping, those are components that you usually have on hand.
My first low-ingredient meal is a hearty bake that will leave you full and satisfied. It’s a perfect dinner after a cold December day and the leftovers are just as good as round one.
Cheesy Polenta Bake:
1 c. Yellow Cornmeal
¾ c. Water
3 ¼ c. Boiling Water
1 ½ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Butter
2/3 c. Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3 c. Shredded Swiss Cheese
To begin, heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a large casserole pan.
Then, mix the cornmeal with the ¾ cup of room-temperature water in a saucepan. Next, add in the rest of the boiling water with salt. Cook this mixture over medium heat until it thickens.
When the mixture has thickened, cover the saucepan and simmer it for about 10 minutes. Once it’s very thick, stir it one last time and you’ve made polenta.
Now, spread one third of the polenta in the casserole dish. Dot that layer with butter and then sprinkle with both cheeses. Continue to layer the rest of the ingredients in this manner and then pop the casserole into the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.
You’ll be enjoying your casserole in no time and will undoubtedly be satisfied with this easy bake.
The second five-ingredient recipe is especially good if you’re on the run. This meal can be whipped up in virtually no time and is always a crowd pleaser.
*Meatless Meatball Pizza: *
1 12-14 in. Ready-To-Serve Pizza Crust
2 Frozen Italian-Style Vegetable Burgers
1 Can Pizza Sauce
2 tbs. Diced Green Pepper (or vegetable of choice)
2 c. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Start with pre-heating your oven to 425 degrees. You’ll want the oven nice and hot so the pizza crisps up quickly.
Then, place your crust on a cookie sheet and start layering on the ingredients. And don’t forget to crumble the frozen burger into chunks!
The pizza will cook for 18-20 minutes until all the toppings are melded together.
I’ve found these quick recipes to be good solutions to dinner debacles. Hopefully you’ll enjoy them too!
