Whether your student is just starting out in a dorm room with just a mini-fridge and a microwave or has moved into an apartment and needs to build a kitchen from scratch, we’ve got their backs! Here’s a list of essential tools for young cooks, perfect for the nights when pizza delivery simply won’t cut it.
1. Perfect Pasta in Minutes
2. Kitchen Utensils They'll Use Every Day
3. Must-Have Microwave Cooking Essentials
You won’t have to worry about burning your hands on hot bowls or freezing your fingers when you eat cold food like ice cream anymore. A microwave-safe bowl cozy lets you heat your food and then makes it painless to hold the bowl and enjoy your food while it’s still hot.
4. Be Ready for Pizza Night (Because You Know It’ll Happen)
5. Make It a Movie Night
6. Take Snacks With You Anywhere Any Time
7. Hot Breakfast On the Go
A scrambled egg on a weekday morning always feels like a treat, but it’s especially true when you’re a hungry student. This ceramic egg cooker makes microwave eggs in a snap, and, as a bonus, it also works to cook oatmeal and even a mug cake for a quick, warm treat.
8. Your Go-To Two-in-One Tool
9. Fantastic Food Storage
Store your leftovers and heat them in the same container. These leakproof glass containers come in a variety of sizes and have lids that snap securely in place. The 5¼-cup container is perfect for leftovers and the 3-cup container is great for a sandwich on the go.
10. Take Lunch On the Go
Layer a salad in the mason jar and you’ll have a fresh meal for lunch. The salad jar has a lid that holds salad dressing to keep veggies and greens from getting soggy.
11. The Best Can Opener
12. A Gadget Every Guacamole Lover Needs
13. Make Fruit Prep Quick and Easy
14. Make Weekend Breakfast (and More)
15. Cover All the Cooking Prep Basics
Thank you for this AWESOME list of ideas!! I was so busy thinking about bedding and things like that – I hadn’t even thought about setting up the kitchen!! You’ve saved me from having to run around WalMart and buy sub-par products we’d end up replacing in a few weeks!
I’m glad you found it helpful. My daughter leaves next Thursday for college and has a whole boxful of PC tools 🙂 Did you get everything you needed? Have any questions about use and care?
I agree Janet, this list is fantastic! So glad to have it as a resource 🙂
I wish they had these things back when I went to college!
What great ideas. We need to make sure our kids need to know how to cook, so they can feed their brains.
Are there any recipes for the micro cooker?
Buttery Dill Carrots
1 lb (450 g) baby carrots
(about 3 cups/750 mL)
¼ cup (50 mL) water
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) All-Purpose Dill Mix
1∕8 tsp (0.5 mL) salt
Place carrots and water in Large Micro-
Cooker®. Cover and microwave on HIGH 6
minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender; drain.
Add butter, dill mix and salt; toss gently.
Yield: 6 servings
U.S. Nutrients per serving: Calories 45, Total Fat 2 g,
Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbohydrate 6 g,
Protein 1 g, Sodium 120 mg, Fiber 2 g
Cook’s Tip: Dried dill weed can be substituted for the
All-Purpose Dill Mix, if desired.
Quick Mashed Potatoes
1½ lbs (700 g) unpeeled
red potatoes, cubed
¼ cup (50 mL) milk
Salt and coarsely
ground black pepper
Optional mix-ins such as butter, pressed garlic
cloves, cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar
cheese or chopped fresh parsley.
Place potatoes and enough water to cover
into Rice Cooker Plus. Cover; microwave on
HIGH 10–12 minutes or until potatoes are
tender. Carefully remove inner lid and drain
water. Add milk to potatoes; mash potatoes.
Add salt, black pepper and one or more mixins,
if desired; mix well.
Perfect Pasta
8 oz (250 g) uncooked
angel hair pasta
1½ cups (375 mL) chicken
broth
½ cup (125 mL) water
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp (15 mL) Lemon Pepper Rub (optional)
Break pasta in half. Combine pasta, broth
and water in Rice Cooker Plus. Microwave,
covered, on HIGH 6–8 minutes or until pasta
is tender. Carefully remove lid. Add butter,
parsley and rub, if desired. Toss pasta using
Chef’s Tongs until butter is incorporated.
Serve immediately.
Speedy Pearl Couscous
1¾ cups (425 mL) chicken
broth
11∕3 cups (325 mL) uncooked
pearl couscous
¼ cup (50 mL) toasted slivered almonds
1∕3 cup (75 mL) chopped fresh parsley
Pour broth into Large Micro-Cooker®;
microwave, covered, on HIGH 2–3 minutes
or until boiling. Add couscous; microwave,
covered, on MEDIUM (50% power) 5–7
minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Stir in almonds and parsley.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
2 medium sweet potatoes
(about 12 oz/350 g each)
½ cup (125 mL) milk
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
Pierce potatoes in several places with a fork;
place on paper towels and microwave on
HIGH 14–16 minutes or until potatoes are
very tender. Transfer potatoes to Cutting
Board; cool slightly. In Micro-Cooker or Classic Batter Bowl,
combine milk, butter and salt. Microwave on
HIGH 1–2 minutes or until hot. Cut potatoes
in half lengthwise; carefully scoop flesh into
batter bowl. Mash until smooth.
I cook my sweet potatoes inside the micro cooker and they turn out wonderfully
Smoked Gouda Grits
3 cups (750 mL) chicken
broth
½ cup (125 mL) heavy
whipping cream
1 cup (250 mL) uncooked quick grits
4 oz (125 g) smoked Gouda cheese, grated
Place broth and cream in Large Micro-Cooker®.
Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3–5 minutes
or until hot. Add grits; cover and microwave
on HIGH 4–5 minutes or until thickened. Add
cheese; stir until cheese is melted.
Quick Polenta
2½ cups (625 mL) water
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
¼ tsp (1 mL) coarsely
ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2∕3 cup (150 mL) yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp (30 mL) heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
Place water, salt, black pepper and pressed
garlic in Large Micro-Cooker®; cover and
microwave on HIGH 3–5 minutes or until
water is steaming. Slowly whisk in cornmeal.
Microwave, covered, 2–4 minutes or until
polenta is tender. Whisk in cream and butter.
Yield: 4 servings
which is the micro cooker
Thank you for pointing out that you want to make sure you have microwave-safe bowls. My sister is moving into a dorm and needs to get kitchen supplies. I’ll have to help her find the best ones for her.
There is a whole Microwave Cooking section on the website and in addition there are glass and silicone containers for storage and reheating! A Cozy is super important to not burn the fingers but please make sure to check that the batting inside of it is microwave safe or they can catch fire. #beenthere Have any questions about the products, just ask!
The Micro Cooker wasn’t actually in the blog post; that is the Pasta Cooker. There are 3 sizes of Micro Cookers; they come individually or as a set! They are black with a white opaque lid! They’e be perfect for college dorms/apartments also! The set is #100041. Do you have any questions about use & care of them?
This is GREAT! Sorry I didn’t see it sooner I would have shared it sooner!
I am wondering what the bagel item shown in the cover page.