It's Junior Year!

It's my third year at college, and I thought, after two years of being forced to eat the school food, that I would gradually add in a little cooking to my schedule. The very first thing I cooked was plain ol' spaghetti! But boy was it delicious:

I had Barilla thin spaghetti noodles and Barilla sauce. I added this fancy organic, Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil with the fancy top spout



to the pasta water. Then I added more EVOO to the sauce. And cut up a piece of fried chicken breast (ingenious use of Cracker Barrel leftovers, if I do say so myself), and it became the best tasting thing I’ve ever consumed on campus! I didn't even add any spices (I don't have any, limited space (dorm room) and poor organizational skills). My boyfriend said it was way too olive-oily. This is probably because his mom has a very light touch when it comes to flavor intensity. However, I am the chef, I make it to MY tastes, and I could barely even taste the olive oil (I only used about two tablespoons total one for pasta water, and one for sauce). It freaks me out how much he disliked it, and how varying tastes can be (especially because I’m just starting this whole cooking thing).

My second attempt was.... ew. I made Japanese curry the same way I always do (except with chicken instead of beef). I think the chicken made the sauce less robust. It just tasted off. This has been my favorite dish for the past decade and I haven't touched my most recent attempt since I've made it (over a week ago). I put the container in the freezer, hoping the colder weather will made me crave stew.

My only other recipe is ramen. It's okay all by itself, but drop in an egg to poach (or strips of fried egg), green onion, or spam (yes, spam. It's good if you fry it with jasmine rice also - try it.)

All I am armed with, cooking-wise is:

-one pot w/lid
-a nonstick crepe pan (I have no idea, we use it to cook breakfast food on : eggs, scrapple, bacon, pancakes. It is probably horrible misuse, but hey! It’s getting used!)
-a vegetable peeler
-the smallest cutting board you've ever seen ever
-a chopping knife
-I had a wooden spoon, but bits of it broke off in to the curry (scary! i threw that cheapie away!)