Make It Mediterranean...

This idea was shared with me by my friend Sebastian who also enjoys making different things at the dining hall.  Here he made a delicious Mediterranean humus platter with different veggies and even topped the hummus with some feta and olives.  

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...

Topped With Tenderloin...

For this salad I started by adding feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, cauliflower, and crunchy noodles to my combination of lettuce and spinach.  Then I topped it with some spicy turkey tenderloin they had available at a station.  Finally I dressed it with their light olive oil vinaigrette, my favorite dressing they have!

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...

I'll Make You Banana Waffles, Pretend Like It's the Weekend Now...

While this may look like a normal waffle, I assure you it is not.  Here I added some banana slices to the batter before pouring it on to the waffle iron.  The addition of banana made this waffle made it seem like a gourmet breakfast you would find at a restaurant!

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...

Got Guac?

Today was grilled cheese bar at the dining hall.  An already creative idea on their part to add bacon and tomatoes to an other wise classic sandwich, I decided to make it even better when asked by my friend Ejim what he could add to it.  With gourmet grilled cheese all the rage in restaurants and food trucks (shout out to Roxy's) I knew just what would make this sandwich even better, avocado.  Because our dining hall does not offer sliced avocado, one can just add guacamole from the burrito bar to give it a twist.  

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...

Fro Yo Fake Out...

This idea comes from a friend who wanted to give her fro yo a healthy twist.  While I know we are all obsessed with Angora and Mix, we all can't necessarily afford it every night.  So if you want a way to make the dining hall fro yo a little bit tastier, add some fresh sliced bananas on top of vanilla fro yo and hot fudge.  There are an endless number of interesting toppings you can add too like cinnamon toast crunch, granola, fruit loops, and peanut butter to make your fro yo seem a little classier.  

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...

Have You Tried Sundried?

This idea is an addition to my first sandwich that I ever made for my blog.  A sandwich favored by many of my followers, I saw something one day that I thought would make it even better, sundried tomatoes! If you have never tried them you are missing out.  They can make a great addition to salads, pizza and now to sandwiches.  Here I added them to the spinach, turkey and cheese I had previously made to make it even better.  

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...

Quaker Oatmeal vs. Dining Hall Oatmeal

The only oatmeal I ever really ate at home was the Quaker oatmeal that you made from the little packets from the grocery store.  So when I got the oatmeal at the dining hall for the first time, I was a little disappointed in how it tasted.  It lacked that sweet taste I was so used to.  Even though they provide toppings to add to it I could never quite get it to taste as good.  So today I decided to try to recreate my favorite Quaker flavor, apples and cinnamon.  To make it, I cut up about half of a red delicious apple to add into my oatmeal that I had already mixed cinnamon, brown sugar and maple syrup into.  With the addition of the apple, I will say I got pretty close to what I was hoping for.  

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...

Hungry for the Holidays Already...

For this sandwich I decided to use the idea of one of my favorite meals that I get to eat only once a year.  This of course is thanksgiving dinner, and every year we have tons of left overs that we put into sandwiches, like I'm sure most people do.  I tried to remake this by using the cranberry spread, that I doubt anyone in the dining hall even knows is there.  I added this to the multi grain bread, turkey and swiss cheese I had already asked for.  I then had it pressed to be warmed up.  All that was missing from this leftover dinner was the stuffing!

And that's how you make the dining hall tasty...