There are some things that should not be as easy as they are. Using disposable plates at parties, cutting a corner by walking through  a neighbor's yard, casually listening to the intense conversation happening at the table next to you, and making Rice Krispie treats. 
The magical squares that are both crunchy and chewy honestly take almost no effort to make. This particular recipe takes 1 cup of Rice Krispies cereal, 1 cup of marshmallows, and about 6 minutes. We're sorry.
Picture
Ingredients (makes 4 squares)
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows
  • 1 cup Rice Krispies (f)
Directions:
  • Melt half of marshmallows in double boiler
  • Add remaining marshmallows, and stir until smooth
  • Mix melted marshmallows into Rice Krispies
  • Spoon into square tupperware (lined with aluminum foil)
  • Let sit 10 mins, until cool
  • Remove from foil and cut into squares

 
Picture
We've done a few very risky things here on dorm room delights: like cooking quesadillas in a steamer, to creating stuffed bell peppers without an oven, and now- a fully cooked quiche!
Although we were skeptical at first, our experiments ultimately have shown that it is possible to cook eggs in the bowl of a double boiler. The secret is to stir the eggs frequently so they can be exposed to the heat on the edges of the bowl. Our quiche is made by effectively scrambling eggs together with cheese, ham, and spinach. Once the eggs are almost completely cooked, the scramble is pressed into a firm, quiche-like shape. The quiche is cooked together and can be easily served on a plate as the perfect centerpiece of a high tea! Enjoy :)



Ingredients:
1. 1 whole egg
2. 1 piece of ham, sliced up (f)
3. Light handful of sliced spinach (f)
4. Light handful of chopped cheese
5. 1 tablespoon of heavy cream

Picture
Directions:
1. Beat the egg with the cream and then add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Butter the measuring cup and pour in the egg mixture. 
3. Cook over the kettle, stirring every minute, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the cup.
4. After five minutes, pat the egg down and leave for another five minutes. 
5. Turn the quiche onto a plate and enjoy!

 
Guess what? Spring is coming! It was 60 degrees and sunny today, and the snow is just starting to melt off the quad.
We've decided to celebrate the weather with a spring-themed recipe: Vietnamese Spring Rolls. 
Unlike deep fried chinese spring rolls, vietnamese spring rolls are served cold and made with a clear rice paper wrapper. (The rice wrappers can be purchased in packs of 100 for around 5$, and come pre-cooked. Just soak in water and they are ready to roll.) As their name suggests, spring rolls are light and crisp: a perfect savory snack for a spring afternoon. 
Spring rolls are generally made with some combination of lettuce, carrots, rice noodles, and chicken/shrimp/tofu. We chose to use make vegetarian spring rolls with tofu, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, and wonton crisps from the salad bar. We paired our spring rolls with our Thai peanut sauce (yes, we mixed ethnic regions), and they tasted fantastic! The peanut sauce added an element of richness to the light vegetables, and the mixture of sweet and savory flavors is always delicious. 
Ingredients (Makes 4 spring rolls)
4 rice paper wrappers*
handful carrots(f)
1/4 cup cucumber(f)
4-5 tofu cubes(f)
A few leaves lettuce(f)
1/4 cup wonton crisps(f)
Directions
1. Slice carrots and cucumbers. Cut tofu into small chunks. Rip lettuce into pieces. 
2. Fill large bowl half way with a mixture of boiling and cool water. Final temp should be warm, but not steaming. 
2. Dip rice paper into water so that half of circle is submerged spin to wet completely. Rice paper should be translucent and stretchy.
3. Put damp rice paper on plate and place a piece of lettuce lengthwise down center of wrapper. Add a few pieces each of: tofu, cucumber, carrots, and wonton crisps, also directed lengthwise.
5. Cover with another piece of lettuce
6. Fold rice paper like a burrito: fold up base width-wise over end of lettuce roll, and then bring one side of paper up lengthwise over the center lettuce. Roll the paper so that it covers the filling. Finally, fold remaining side of paper over the exposed end. 
7. Cut in half and serve with peanut sauce
 
We are so excited about this recipe for a few reasons. Not only do these bars taste like mini apple pies, but we were able to forage every single ingredient from our dining hall!
These bars have an oatmeal crust that is layered with apple sauce, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar (or an optional walnut streusel topping which requires a few more ingredients.) The cinnamon, brown sugar, apple, and oatmeal flavors combine perfectly to create a truly sublime desert!
Ingredients:
For the bars:

  2 packets instant oatmeal (f)
  2 tbsps brown sugar (f)
  1 tablespoon butter (f)
  2/3 cup apple sauce (f)
  1 tsp cinnamon (f)
  1 tbsp sugar (f)
For the walnut streusel topping:
  1 tbsp flour
  2 tbsp sugar (f)
  1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (f)
  1 tbsp butter (f)
  Handful chopped walnuts
Directions:
1. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over oatmeal, and stir until oats are cooked
2. Melt butter in double boiler, stir in 1 tablespoon brown sugar
3. Pour butter mixture over oats and stir until just combined
4. Press oats into base of aluminum foil pan
5. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp brown sugar
6. Spread apple sauce over oatmeal and refrigerate for 1.5 hrs
 
A simple bean and cheese quesadilla is a fantastic go-to snack when you get a craving for melted cheese deleciousness. 
We've been thinking of ways to make quesadillas in our dorm, and have thought through a variety of techniques: from mixing melted cheese with beans and pouring them over a tortilla, to wrapping a pre-assembled quesadilla in aluminum foil and holding it against the side of the kettle. Sadly, none of these techniques were able to successfully melt the cheese and heat up the entire tortilla. 
However, when we added the steamer method to our repertoire of kettle tricks, we realized that we finally could make perfect dorm room quesadillas! We assembled small quesadillas and wrapped them tightly with aluminum foil, then placed the packets in our steamer and used the hot steam to warm the quesadillas all at once. 
These quesadillas are perfect: bite sized, with a gooey center. They are best eaten when hot, fresh from the steamer! 
Ingredients:
1/4 cup shredded cheese* (f)
1/4 cup cooked beans* (f)
1 tortilla (f)
Directions:
1. Cut tortilla in half
2. Sprinkle with beans and cheese
3. Fold over to make triangle. 
4. Wrap quesadilla with aluminum foil: press foi, down from edges, fold over half of center piece, fold again and press onto center, fold edges up and press onto center.
5. Place in steamer and cover top of steamer with aluminum foil
6. Put steamer over boiling water for 5 minutes
 7. Remove quesadilla from steamer, take out of foil and munch. 
8. Repeat steps 2-7 for second half of tortilla.
 
Marshmallows and Rice Krispie cereal. Two ingredients that combine to make one of the most nostalgic snacks in the world. Every child loves to mix gooey melted marshmallows with crunchy cereal, and quite a few college students enjoy it, too. 
This is one of the most simple recipes on our blog, so feel free to get creative by adding various ingredients to the melted marshmallows. We tried out  peanut butter-cranberry Rice Krispie treats (the middle treat in the stack shown above) along with the original recipe.
Ingredients (makes a 4' by 4' bar or 9 small cubes)
-1 cup mini marshmallows
-1 cup Rice Krispies (f)
Directions:
 1. Melt half of marshmallows in double boiler
 2. Add remaning marshmallows, and stir until smooth
 3. Mix melted marshmallows into Rice Kirspies
 4. Spoon into square tupperware (lined with aluminum foil)
 5. Let sit 10 mins, until cool
Variation peanut butter-cranberry:
Add 2 tablespoons peanut butter to melted marshmallows, and mix in 1 tablespoon dried cranberry when combining ingredients.