With school just around the corner, we want to continue sharing quick and easy meals for parents and college students alike. We know that college students don’t always have access to a grocery store and instead do their shopping at local convenience stores, so we tasked ourselves with creating dishes using only items we bought at our local Walgreens. Here are three simple dishes that any college student can recreate using only ingredients from their local convenience store.
Dish 1: Yogurt Parfait with Oat and Honey Granola, and Dried Figs
For this first dish, we wanted to create a meal that is simple, easy, affordable, and could be used in multiple ways throughout the week if needed.
Easy to assemble and customizable, this parfait can be your morning breakfast, a start to a three-course meal, or a late-night treat. If you want more savory notes, consider adding goat cheese; if you want more sweet notes, consider adding honey, chocolate, or fruit tossed in sugar. The Walgreens we went to had herb and garlic goat cheese, but for this dish, we decided to go a different route.
Start by choosing your favorite clear glass to serve the parfait in. This dish can be as big or small as you like. Once you have your vessel, start by placing in your granola and follow that with a layer of plain Greek yogurt. Then add three sliced dried figs and more granola. Add even more yogurt, two sliced figs and top with more granola.
The best part of yogurt parfaits is that they can be prepared ahead of time for breakfast on the go or a quick snack after a long day. You don’t necessarily have to add the layers in the order we did, nor do have to use dried figs — any fruit works. You can also add honey for added sweetness.
Dish 2: Penne with Prego Traditional Sauce and Canned Chicken
For our second dish, we wanted something that was versatile, filling, and could be reheated and enjoyed throughout the week.
Start by getting a pot of water on the stove and seasoning it with enough salt so that it tastes like the ocean. While you wait for the water to come to a boil, put your sauce in a pan and season it with garlic, onion powder and salt. Some of the canned sauces don’t have enough seasonings, so give it a taste before adding any seasonings and add based on your preference to amp up the flavor. Add fresh or dried basil or thyme if you have them. You can also add a little bit of red wine as it will add depth and acidity to your sauce along with a nice deep red color and enhanced aroma. Just be sure to cook out the wine before adding your pasta.
Once your pasta water comes to a boil, drop your penne pasta in and cook it according to the package instructions. While your pasta cooks, drain your canned chicken and then add it to the tomato sauce so the chicken can heat through before adding the penne. Once the penne is done, strain the pasta, making sure to reserve some of the pasta water. Then added the penne to the tomato sauce with the canned chicken. Add some of the reserved pasta water and mix everything. Check for seasoning and add more if desired.
Once done, plate the pasta in your favorite bowl and enjoy your delicious penne pasta with Prego tomato sauce and canned chicken.
It’s important to note that when we made this dish, we let our preferences dictate the ratio of sauce to pasta and canned chicken. For this dish, we used a single serving-size package of penne, half a can of chicken, and enough sauce to cover the pasta and chicken. If you like more chicken or more or less sauce, feel free to customize based on your preferences. This kind of cooking isn’t an exact science but instead comes from the heart. If your Walgreens has different spices and herbs you like, don’t be afraid to give them a try.
Dish 3: French Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae with Blueberry Compote and Warm Chocolate and Nutella Sauce
A lot of people don’t realize that frozen fruit is just as good as fresh fruit, as it is processed right when it’s at its peak. So when we saw that our Walgreens had frozen blueberries, we knew we had to get them. Like the other dishes on this list, you have complete creative control over how you use your ingredients, but this is what we’d recommend.
For the compote, place a cup of frozen blueberries in a pan with a tablespoon of brown sugar and maple syrup, placing it on the stovetop at medium heat until the blueberries are no longer frozen and the brown sugar is completely dissolved. If you want the compote to be sweeter, feel free to add more sugar or a touch more maple syrup. Once the blueberries are no longer frozen and the brown sugar is completely dissolved, pour the compote into a container and place it in the fridge until you are ready to assemble.
For the chocolate sauce, add a cup of Hershey’s chocolate sauce to a pan and place it on the stovetop on the lowest setting. Then add two heaping tablespoons of Nutella and mix it with a spoon until smooth. Make sure you are stirring the sauce and the heat is on low. If the heat is too high, the chocolate sauce might separate and/or stick to the bottom and start to burn.
Now it’s time to assemble the dessert. Begin by scooping two nice portions of ice cream into your bowl and spooning your compote around the ice cream. Finish by drizzling your chocolate Nutella sauce over and around the ice cream.
Like we said before, this dish can also be customized based on your preferences. If you want a little texture, feel free to add the granola you have from the parfait, or if you want more chocolate, break off some pieces of a Hershey’s bar or add some chocolate chips. You can also choose a different flavored ice cream, if you’d like. Remember to cook from your heart and have fun with it!
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