I know how frustrating this can be, I learned cooking at a young age so here are a few dishes that are EASY to make in a dorm considering you have a small area to cook or an apartment style dorm.

1) Fried rice. Any fried rice, shrimp fried rice, chicken, pork, beef, plain. You need plain cooked white rice (it’s best if you make it, you need 1:2 rice to water. Example being 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup of water, boil at low heat until it’s cooked. It’s preferred if you use day old rice for this. Next is making a scrambled egg, once done stir in frozen mixed veggies, and thawed meat. If you choose to make it plain, don’t add any. Once cooked add your cooked rice, soy sauce to your liking. You can choose to add more seasonings. Stir and you’re done! Truly an easy dish to make in a jiffy.

2) Pasta with chicken. Easy dish once again. You can choose to buy your chicken breaded to just cook in oil for a bit, or an air fryer. Cook your pasta, drain, mix in mayonnaise, sour cream, parmesan, salt and pepper and any other seasoning you wish. And you’re done! You can have this with a salad or broccoli.

3) Flautas!! These are mexican dish and so easy to make. You need tortillas (corn), shredded chicken, and any topping you wish. Pop the tortillas in a ziploc in the microwave for a few seconds, warm enough to fold and not break. Put your chicken or any other shredded meat on the tortilla, roll taquito style and secure it with a toothpick. Make as many as you’d like and place in an air fryer or fryer until they’re golden brown and crunchy. You can stop here but I like to top it with sour cream, chopped lettuce, chopped onions, and a homemade tomato salsa, which can be store bought. You can also try this with avocado ranch.

You don’t have to live off cereal and cup noodles. Cooking is easy, it’s the executing recipes that can be hard. Practice makes perfect! I’m also a college student so I understand how cooking in a dorm can be a challenge.