Students are reaching a point in the semester where many still have meal points but are growing tired of the standard fare. Read on for some creative ways to use up those points and eat well! All of these recipes can be made solely with ingredients from the C-Store located in Hamilton “Ham” Center.

Bougie Macaroni and Cheese: This is the creamiest, dankest mac and cheese you’ll ever have: Metz’s mac will never taste the same. From this smattering of humble ingredients, you’ll make one of the best dishes you’ll eat all year. Make up a batch solo and eat the leftovers for a week, or better yet invite some pals over and cook it up together. After tasting this, thesis student Cannzana StockWil remarked, “This definitely tastes like a real meal compared to typical microwave mac and cheese. It’s nice to have this kind of a meal once in a while! It’s so amazing to know that these wonderful flavors are available at the C-Store.”

Ingredients:

• 1 pound macaroni (you can use penne or anything else if they don’t have it)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup or 8 ounces) butter
• 4 cups milk: use whole milk for better flavor
• 1/2 cup flour
• 8 ounces of cheese, shredded: I recommend a combo of gruyere and smoked gouda. If you don’t have a cheese grater, fear not! Just thinly slice the cheese and you’ll be okay.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dijon mustard/ground nutmeg (optional)

Necessary supplies:

• 2 pots
• Whisk/spoon
• Knife/cheese grater

Boil a large pot of water and add a healthy dash of salt. Meanwhile, in another pot, melt butter over medium heat and add the flour. Cook for about two minutes, whisking or stirring constantly, until it starts to smell nutty and turn a pale brown color. Then, slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Add some salt and pepper to taste; a spoonful of dijon mustard and/or dash of nutmeg will kick it up a notch, but isn’t necessary. Once it starts steaming and bubbling, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes until it begins to thicken. Make sure to stir at least every minute or so! At this point, your water is probably boiling so you can put in your pasta—unless you like mushy noodles, cook it a minute or so less than the package recommends, since it will finish cooking in the sauce. Add in the cheese to the sauce once it’s thick enough and stir until all combined. Taste for seasoning and add more cheese if needed. Finally, drain your noodles and mix them into the sauce over low heat for a minute or so. You can bake this in a pan with some panko on top if you’re really extra, but I enjoy it straight out of the pot.  

Doritos Locos Nachos: I accidentally made these one day when I wanted to make nachos but the C-Store was out of normal chips. You can use any kind of Dorito, but my favorite is nacho cheese: the flavors meld with the real cheese and create a flavor you never thought you would taste before. Cheese-wise, I recommend cheddar, monterey jack or smoked gouda, but you can use anything you want. The result was something even better than I expected: imagine a Doritos Locos Taco but actually crunchy and with fresh and crispy real cheese. Add some of the Taco Bell hot sauce packets you’ve been hoarding, et voilà! Actual food—which you made yourself—that tastes delicious!

Ingredients:

• Doritos
• Cheese
• Beans (optional)
• Salsa or Taco Bell hot sauce packets (optional)

Necessary supplies:

• Baking sheet
• Oven
• Knife/cheese grater

Spread out Doritos into an even-ish layer on your baking sheet. Add beans if you want, and sprinkle some cheese on top. Bake in a 420 F oven for 5-10 minutes until desired crispiness is achieved.

Pop Tart Ice Cream Sandwich: This is a treat for those nights. I would not recommend eating an entire sandwich alone or in one sitting, but they do keep remarkably well in the freezer.

Ingredients:

• Pop tart of your choice
• Ice cream of your choice (suggested pairings below)

Suggested pairings:

• Strawberry pop tart and birthday cake ice cream
• S’mores pop tart and moose tracks ice cream
• Chocolate Chip pop tart and cookie dough ice cream
• Cinnamon pop tart and cappuccino crunch ice cream
• Sundae pop tart and chocolate ice cream
• Blueberry pop tart and strawberry cheesecake ice cream

Necessary supplies:

• Plate
• Spoon

Let the ice cream soften outside the freezer for a couple of minutes: your walk through the humid Florida swamp back to your room should suffice. Spread it out nice and even onto one side of the tart and pop the other half on top. If you eat this now—and you’ll be tempted, I’m sure—the ice cream will ooze out and go everywhere: it needs some time, at least 10 minutes, to firm up in the freezer. After that, you can take it out and devour at your own pace! (But don’t forget to put the ice cream away.)