Krusteaz Cinnamon Crumb Cake

I'm sure many of you have seen this in your local grocers baking aisle, and wondered what it would be like to try. This brand's selections are a little different than the average Betty Crocker box recipes. Krusteaz has a variety of muffins and cakes, as well as lemon bars. All of which can be seen on their website, here.

I picked the cinnamon crumb cake because I assumed you cannot really go wrong with cinnamon!

The cost factored into my choice as well. Around 2 dollars for this box. Another great feature about this mix is that the only thing you really need that is out of the ordinary is 1 egg. The other ingredient is water which of course, costs nothing (essentially)!

My only complaint is one that many college student would have regarding this recipe: time. Not time in baking, but time in prep. You see, in the box contains 2 different packets, one for the mix, the other the cinnamon topping. You have to alternate the layers at least two times. And when making muffins like I did instead of a cake, this got a little messy and time consuming! However, I do have to say it was worth it in the end result!

Overall, I would recommend this to college students as an alternative to brownies or cookies when baking. The price is a little more expensive than a cake mix, but when factoring in the icing, eggs and oil you would need in those recipes, the cost almost evens out. This cake could also make a great breakfast on your way out the door for class! So next time you are down your local baking aisle, don't be afraid to pick up an unknown box. You never know what you might find!

South of the border - On a budget

This week, I decided to try my hand at cooking a low cost meal in my apartment. When looking through the grocery story I stumbled up "Complete Meals", by Betty Crocker. What first attracted me to this product was the price. It was only three dollars! - If I could get a whole meal for five, for less than a value meal at McDonald's, then I was sold!

The second thing I was attracted to about this meal was the easiness of it. Everything I needed to prepare the whole meal was in the box, with the exception of two cups of water, and a little bit of milk. There are more variaties than just this one available, but Mexican food sounded good at the moment.

Upon opening the packaging, I came across 4 different, distinguishable items to incorporate into the dish. The instructions were very easy to follow. You essentially dump all of them into a casserole dish with the water and bake for around 35 minutes.

Around five minutes before the end of the cook time, the recipes calls to start mixing the "cheese sauce" with the milk. After removing the dish from the oven and letting it sit a minute, it tells us to pour the mixture over the meal.

Here was the final product:

I'll admit, it is not very visually stimulating, nor did it resemble the box, but in its defense its taste was great! My only complaint over this meal was that it was not really satisfying as a main dish, and served more of a "side dish" role. One idea I had to make it a little more hearty was to put the cooked ingredients in a tortilla, or a green pepper to stuff.

Overall, this product was a wonderful find! I am still eating the remnants of it today, and it has been 2 days since I cooked the meal. It is wonderful for college students since it lasts long, but it would also feed up to five people if you had a few friends over for a meal at your apartment. Since the cost is low, it would be easy to add a few items to spice it up some, and make it look more expensive than it really was. I would definitely try this item again in the future. For more information regarding this product, and others like it, please click here.

The Panda Invades Edmond

For the next 10 weeks, I will be blogging about budget friendly ways to eat as a college student. I will be trying both new restaurants, as well as meals you can make in your own apartment. After they are tested, I will write a report letting you know if it is worth trying in the future. 

This week, I went to Panda Express. A new one has opened in Edmond and some friends and I decided to go. I had never been there before, but many people have told me great things about it! Many who I had mentioned it to told me to try the orange chicken, which ended up being delicious. 

Here is my evaluation of Panda Express:

• Price - I paid 5.75 (excluding tax and a drink) for 2 entrees, and a choice of chow mein, or rice. This price is fair compared to the other Asian restaurants near the area such as Pei Wei which can cost up to 10 dollars. 
• Variety of foods - I felt that there was a good variety of entrees, a total of about 10 to choose from.  There were many different variations of chicken and beef, as well as more unusual items like pot stickers. 
• Serving sizes - Like many other Chinese restaurants, they have heaping portions. This is not a place you would want to go to if you were on a diet, however they do offer a children's meal (which happens to be cheaper). I felt satisfied when I left, and had just enough room to manage to eat my complementary fortune cookie. 
• Atmosphere - It was nicely decorated and had a variety of seating options. The pictures on the walls were interesting, and not generic restaurant art like you see in many places today. 
• Service - When I walked in, I was greeted warmly.  However, when I was asked for my order, I felt rushed. Since I had never been there before, I wanted to scope things out, but I felt like the employee helping me wasn't giving me much slack. However, on the up side, they readily answered any questions a customer might have. 
• Cleanliness - The counters and table tops were both clean, but I did notice the trashcans were overflowing some. I think this may be due to the dinner rush hour, and not to sub-par employees.     

Overall, I had a great experience at Panda Express and would definitely return there in the future to eat. I felt like the price I paid was great in comparison to the amount of food I received, and at the end I felt satisfied. I would recommend this place for college students, because you get more food than you would at other restaurants for the same price. To find a Panda Express in your area, please click this link. Hopefully your experience will be a great as mine was!