Student cooking: Chicken on Pasta

I've been observing the eating habits of students living overseas. Most of them have BAD eating habits.. I mean MOST (don't get me wrong).. not all. It's either junk food or eat out. McD or Pizza Hut would be the most popular names when it comes to eating. It may be the cheapest among all eat out places but seriously. It's not that cheap when accumulated together. Honestly, sometimes I would have McD too but that's only when I got tempted like a pregnant woman. And when there's cooking, it's INSTANT Noodle.

When I ask this question, "Why don't you cook?" The answer I get mostly is "No time."
HAHA!! To me, "No time" is just a synonym for "LAZY".
I'm a student myself and 90% of my days in overseas, I cooked. And I don't cook in bulk that will last for one week. I always cook and eat on the spot. That's because I want it fresh and I like variety. And I'll try NOT to use the microwave oven. because I'm a health freak.

I understand that cooking, to most students, are time consuming and there're lots of work. Preparing the ingredients, cooking, and washing the utensils. Students can't waste too much time on cooking... they need to use the time to play games and watch movies do their assignments and study.

I'm lazy myself. Those who know me know that I can sit in front of the television the whole day.
When I cook, I'll try to make something that takes the least time and uses the least utensils. But of course, it has to be healhy. After a while, I just got used to it and it actually makes me think a lot for creativity and taste. That's why I'm smart. =D.

So recently, I've given a thought. Maybe I should just share with the rest of the students. I wanna help reduce obesity and definitely I don't want McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC or Maggi to earn so much every year. I'm not cooking luxurious food like the homemakers do. It's just simple food, as long as it's Healthy, Simple and Time efficient.

I'll start of with the Chicken on Pasta one which I've been doing quite a lot in Spain because I finish work late.

How you cook the food really depends on the amount you eat and according to taste. What I'm giving here is according to my taste. I'm just giving ideas. =D.

Ingredients:
2 pieces of Chicken (Thigh, Drum, or Breast from the supermarket)
1 Tomato
Pasta (Preferably angel hair because takes the least time. It's better to break it)


Marinades:
2 tablespoon of Soya Sauce
1 table spoon of Sugar
Pepper
*No use of complicated spices unless you want to add some other stuff yourself. It's creativity



Utensils
2 plates (One for eating and one for marinating)
1 medium size pan (Non stick is the best) (I used this to boil the pasta as well. That's why I break the pasta)
1 knife
1 pair of fork and spoon
1 chopping board (not necessary. Usually I cut the ingredients on the plate. Yepp.. I'm lazy)

Steps:

1. Put water to boil in the pan. When water is boiled, add the pasta and let it cook. Stir once in a while.
2. At the time when you start boiling the water, start de-boning and cutting the chicken into pieces (*cooks much faster because there's more surface area). Then, marinade the chicken. Also, slice the tomato.(*If lazy, buy the readily de-boned chicken)
3. By the time the pasta is cooked, the chicken should be marinated or at least de-boned and cut. If not, just off the fire and continue marinating your chicken.
4. Drain the water from the pasta. (*Because I used pan, there is not much water to drain out. Just pour the water slowly and push back the pasta from dropping out using the fork. With this method, it's impossible to drain out all the water. Just let it be. As long as it looks like there's no water, it's enough.)
5. Put aside the pasta on a plate (*You'll be leaving the pasta for a while so it's good to have a little bit of water so the pasta will not dry out and stick together after you finish cooking the meat)
6. Rinse and dry the pan on fire and start cooking the meat. Remember to make sure there's no water in the pan before adding oil. It's IMPORTANT. Throw everything in including the excessive marinade and tomato (*tomato reduces the sizzling and minimizes the amount of oil droplets from flying everywhere).
7. Once the chicken is cooked, pour onto the pasta and it's READY for eating.

 Time Consumption
Preparing and Cooking (20 - 25 minutes)
Eating (10 minutes)
Washing (5minutes)

Nutrition

Protein and fats (chicken)
Vitamins and fibre (Tomatoes)
Carbohydrates (Pasta)

See... the total time used is only about 40 minutes and that includes eating and washing. Real fast for a healthy meal and much much cheaper. Seriously!! Stop eating junk food and instant noodles. There're other food too, which I'll post from time to time. Enjoy! And one more thing.. who says guys can't multitask??