I Refuse to Cook Like a College Kid

In this year of being in an apartment I have learned to make delicious roasted tomatoes, a cheesecake, yummy pasta dishes, and really anything else I could concoct or see on the food network.  I have had a blast learning how to cook different things, peppering my mom with questions, and finding recipes online. 

Tonight's dinner was no different.  I COULD have just got a burger at McDonald's.  But that is for the typical college kid.  And if you have read my recent posts, you know I pride myself on being nothing less than a green zebra in a sea of black and white.

So here we go:

To make this delightful burger, I started with that DELICIOUS 90/10 sirloin meat.  This is without a doubt the absolute best for burgers it is freaking amazing, not super fatty but not too lean- it is burger perfection.  I seasoned it with a little bit of seasoning salt, some pepper, and there is a pretty good chance I added in some butter during its cooking process.

Sue me, Paula Deen does it all the time.

So I toasted some focaccia bread, in the skillet (with butter) because that, in my opinion, is the ONLY way to toast things when you really want something to take it to the next level.  This delightful burger specimen also included colby jack cheese straight from the block...

Random tangent.  Does anyone else ever notice that bagged cheese takes forever to melt these days and it melts unevenly?  Or cheese on pizza even.  34 seconds in the microwave used to get the cheese really hot and bubbly and now I can put it in for like a minute and a half and it still isn't all that stringy/melty/perfect.  What is up with that? What have they done to cheese?

So yes, I almost always use cheese that I shred myself because I am a cheese snob.  I don't like this plasticky crap and I rarely will get near velveeta. 

The burger also had bacon bits and spinach leaves (mini tangent- I hate iceberg lettuce its existence does not impress me with its lack of flavor and nutrients).  I wish I had nicked some mayo packs from panera when I was there earlier in the day because it really would have made it absolutely perfect.  They have that fancy kind of Mayo made with olive oil. Mmmmmm.  I have got to plan better when I am around condiments.

As for the rice, it was leftover rice which is my absolute favorite thing to have as a leftover.  You can make it mexi rice, chinese rice, plain ol rice, or (as seen above) yummy mushroom pseudo-fried rice!

A technical name mind you.  Pseudo...because I have no idea what really constitutes fried rice.

I sauteed the mushrooms in butter, steamed them in the skillet a few minutes, added more butter and tossed in my leftover rice.  I stirred it around, added a teeny tiny bit of water to let it steam up, and left it on low while my burger finished cooking. 

For dessert I ate one of my nutella no-bakes and quite frankly, the meal was just fantastic. 

Just because you are at a college, does not mean you have to live on easy mac and fast food and those icky one dollar frozen pizzas.  Disgusting.  If you plan meals, plan ingredients, and get crafty you can make some legitimately delicious meals...even if your oven is barely wider than your hips and your kitchen can't fit you and your roomie in it at the same time (we are both pretty small humans width-wise, it is like a hotel kitchenette). 

So cheers.  Cheers to watching the food network, stealing their tricks, and making college meals something worth blogging about.  :)