Hello, Honors Students! From summer to fall, we are here to bring you five recipes any Honors student can make in less than half an hour. Whether you share these meals with family, friends, or even just with yourself, each recipe is sure to leave you wanting more!
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Peeled and cubed butternut squash: You can start with a whole squash or pick up a precut bag at the store
Milk: recommendation is whole milk to maximize creaminess
Shredded cheddar cheese: great for pictures, use yellow to match the color of the squash
Unsalted butter
Uncooked pasta: a classic mac and cheese shape, such as mini shells
With the ingredients at hand, it’s time for directions!
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the squash until tender.
Transfer ingredients into a blender using a slotted spoon. Make sure to leave the water in the pot since it will be used for the pasta!
Add milk, butter, and cheese.
Blend until smooth with no bumps.
Once pasta is ready, drain the water and dump the sauce into the pot with the pasta.
Stir until satisfied.
Serve!
2. Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 cup of chopped onion
2 cups of frozen corn, thawed
2 cups of frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons of tomato paste (ketchup also works)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
½ cup of cold water
½ cup of sour cream
3 ½ cups of mashed potatoes (prepared with milk and butter)
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink then drain. Stir in the corn, peas, tomato paste (or ketchup), Worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Reduce heat to medium low; cover and cook for five minutes.
Combine the cornstarch, bouillon, and water until well blended; stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream and heat through (do not boil).
Spread mashed potatoes over the top; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook until potatoes are heated through and cheese is melted.
Serve!
3. Creamy Mushroom Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
Flour for dredging. Use it to get a nice crust on the surface of the chicken.
Olive oil and butter
Mushrooms-crimini (or baby bellas), white mushrooms, or whatever the store or your personal pantry has is fine
Italian seasoning
Garlic
Chicken broth
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Heavy cream
Directions
For the chicken, to make it tender, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so they cook faster and don’t get all tough and dried out. You could also pound them thin if that is preferred.
Take the mushrooms out of the pan and add the garlic, chicken broth, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard.
Let it reduce, then stir in the cream along with the mushrooms and chicken.
Finish cooking the chicken through, and season with salt and pepper.
Serve!
4. Potato-Leek Soup with Mini Pierogi
Ingredients
Four tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch leeks (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced and rinsed well
1 onion, sliced
2 russet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
½ cup heavy cream
12 frozen mini pierogi (half of a 1 pound package)
Chopped fresh chives, for topping
(optional: 2 slices of thick-cut bacon, chopped)
Directions
Melt the butter in a large pot or oven over medium heat for 350 degrees.
Add the leeks and onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes, garlic, and one 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
Cook, stirring occasionally until well coated, about 2 minutes.
Add 3 cups of water, the chicken broth, and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.
Cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes then discard the bay leaf.
Working in 2-3 batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a clean pot and stir in the cream; season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring until crisp, about 5-7 minutes.
Transfer to paper towels and add the pierogi to the skillet and cook, flipping halfway through, until golden brown and warmed through, about five minutes.
Top each serving of soup with pierogi, bacon and chives.
Serve!
5. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
2 ¼ cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup of packed brown sugar
½ cup of granulated sugar
¾ cup of pumpkin purée
1 large egg
2 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, pumpkin juice, and salt.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a fork, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until combined, then add the flour mixture. Put in the chocolate chips and beat on low until no raw flour appears.
Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. (While the dough is refrigerated, catch up on some reading, take a stroll, or catch up on homework!)
With a spoon, scoop 1 inch balls onto prepared baking sheets, two finger lengths apart, and bake until puffed up and golden around the edges, about 12 minutes.
Five easy recipes for anyone to make this fall season! Each recipe is for those who love pasta, shepherd’s pie, chicken, soup, and who doesn’t love dessert? Especially the most popular fall flavor: pumpkin! Whatever mood you are in for eating this fall semester, make sure you try out these recipes that will leave you wanting more.
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