As Pioneers across campus make the transition back from enjoying Mom’s cooking over break, they face the age-old college student struggle of finding easy, healthy recipes to make on a budget.

Between classes, seeing friends and other responsibilities, devoting the time to not only making decent home-cooked food, but also spending hours scouring the Internet for recipes, can be a daunting task. Add in the withdrawals from the comfort cooking of family and coming home to peanut butter sandwiches for the fourth time this week can become especially unsatisfying in the chilly Colorado winter months.

Attempting comfort food recipes doesn’t have to be hard or intimidating; especially with soups or skillets, it can be as easy as throwing a few ingredients in the pan to make a warm, hearty, satisfying dish (with every busy/ broke college student’s dream—leftovers).

Below are four easy go-to comfort food ideas that have been tried, tasted and approved for the cold winter months. One never-fail idea for comfort food is chili, but it doesn’t have to be the same-old. This white bean chicken chili has only five ingredients and gives a Mexican twist on the traditional. Everyone loves a bowl of jambalaya or gumbo with cornbread on a snowy day, and this recipe is versatile and gives the spicy kick Coloradans love. Next, a cold sandwich steps up to a winter comfort favorite when thrown in a pan or on a Panini press. There are virtually endless possibilities for paninis, especially with this fried egg grilled sandwich recipe. Finally, these Snickerdoodle bars are perfect with ice cream for dessert and with coffee the next morning.

White Chicken Chili

(courtesy of gimmesomeoven.com)
– 6 cups chicken broth

– 4 cups cooked shredded chicken

– 2 (15-oz) cans Great Northern beans, drained

– 2 cups salsa verde

– 2 tsp. ground cumin

– Optional toppings: diced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, chopped green onions, sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips

Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, beans, salsa and cumin to a medium saucepan, and stir to combine. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 5 minutes.

Chicken and Shrimp Jumbalaya

(courtesy of weightwatchers.com)
– 2 tsp. olive oil

– 1 medium uncooked onion, chopped

– 1 medium green pepper, chopped

– 8 oz. uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), cut into bit-size pieces

– 28 oz. canned stew tomatoes, un-drained

– 12 oz. uncooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined

– 1 tsp. Italian seasoning

– 1 tsp. hot pepper

– 4 cups uncooked brown rice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to high heat. Add onion and pepper; cook, stirring, until crisp- tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in chicken; cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients except rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in rice; continue cooking until liquid is almost absorbed and rice is thoroughly heated, about 2 minutes.

This recipe can be made in various ways with combinations of chicken, sausage, and/ or shrimp.

Spicy Fried Egg Sandwich

(courtesy of cheaprecipeblog.com)

– 2 slices toasted multigrain bread

– 1 tbsp. chipotle mayonnaise (mix the mayonnaise with a little bit of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)

– 1 fried egg

– 1/4 avocado, sliced

Layer ingredients and enjoy.

Snickerdoodle Bars

(courtesy of backforseconds.com)

– 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)

– 2 cups brown sugar (packed)

– 2 eggs

– ½ tsp. salt

– 2 tsp. baking powder

– 2 tsp. vanilla extract

– 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

– Topping: 1/8 cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt, and mix well. Add the baking powder and flour, a little at a time, and mix until incorporated. Spread into a greased 9×13” pan.

Mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over cookie dough. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out with fudgy crumbs.

Look out for more recipes from the Clarion throughout the rest of Winter Quarter, Pios. It’s time to get cooking.