Dining With Friends on a College Budget

Despite the overwhelming feeling of stress that always comes about during finals time, I’ve always found that there is no better way to take your mind off of studying than a home-cooked meal enjoyed in the company of good friends.

Last week, Julie, Sam, Arielle and I decided it was time to take a break from studying and get together over a college-budget friendly meal. With fresh and frozen ingredients from Trader Joe’s, we put together a fast and delicious meal that satisfied our stress-induced appetites.

We took the basics - pre-cooked Lemon Pepper Chicken, pre-cooked Balsamic Rosemary Chicken, frozen marinated eggplant and zucchini, and frozen mixed peppers – and supplemented the basics with some easy and delicious additions to create a great meal.

Here’s what we made:

Here’s how to do it:

Chicken Dishes:

1. Heat medium or large skillet over medium heat on stovetop.

2. Pour 4-5 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar into skillet, add seasonings (salt, garlic salt, onion powder, dried basil). Cook until vinegar begins to thicken.

3. Place chicken breasts into skillet with vinegar, covering each side with the vinegar mixture. Cook on each side for 20-30 seconds.

4. Remove chicken skillet. Finish re-heating chicken in the microwave (1 min – 1:30min on medium    power).

Vegetable Dishes:

(Note: If you buy the frozen, marinated eggplant and zucchini, the vegetable slices will be much larger than the frozen pepper slices. For best cooking results, slice eggplant and zucchini into smaller pieces)

1. Heat large skillet over medium heat on stovetop.

2. Add in all frozen vegetables. Stir in skillet until vegetables are fully heated.

3. Season with salt, garlic powder and any other seasonings you think would taste best! (I’d suggest dried basil, oregano, onion powder)

In total - the meal cost $28 dollars or $7 per person.