The College Challenge

I'm poor.

Okay, I am really, really poor. I am also impatient, busy, and lack culinary skills to impress future mother-in-laws. But I impress myself on a daily basis.

I was given a crock pot for Christmas from my older brother, The Brother, a year ago. Best. Present. Ever. I am kind of, a little bit, seriously in love with this gadget.

Who I am
I'm a college kid on the quest to not starve to death or live off of Ramen noodles or take out. With limited funds and time, it's hard to eat normal, but I try. My challenge to myself is to utilize the simplicity of the crock pot by making healthy-ish (yet super simple) meals. Mishaps usually ensue, but that's okay because it makes a better story.

What I do
I look for EASY recipes and try them. By easy, I mean, nothing that requires more than 10 minutes of hard labor or ingredients that 1) cost $10 for an ounce 2) something I have never heard of 3) requires me to go to some organic health food store where they don't allow plastic bags. I'm just not that fancy I guess.

I try avoid things that call for heavy cream, cream cheese, and other artery clogging substances. It's nothing against them...I love them. I really do... but my huge butt doesn't. I aim for semi-healthy, super easy. However, sometimes (when I'm super low on funds) I do pretend that the the cream-of "insert random vegetable name here" soups count as a serving of vegetables. I love those.

What I use
I use a simple Crock Pot brand 4 qt. It works for me.

Who is involved: My stunning cast of characters.

The Boyfriend. He eats everything I make and he smiles afterwards and says that it's great. Even when it's not. A+!

The Roommate. The backbone to my blogging adventure and well.. pretty much every adventure. She's awesome.

The Wise One. One of the main driving forces behind my adventures in cooking and in Philadelphia. Also a very good coffee partner.

The Cousin. My southern fried sex kitten (just kidding.. kinda) cousin is my best friend and gives me the most sinfully delicious recipes.

The Brother. The giver of the crock pot and a million ideas. And comes over often with much needed groceries.

The Teacher. My wonderful mom whom I call and have frequent meltdowns to on a weekly basis. She also has the best recipes ever. 

That's the cat, and he's a jerk.

The Conclusion

I cook because I need to eat. I try to make decent yet cheap and simple things using my trusty crock pot.
Stay tuned for recipes and ramblings :)