I've never defrosted anything in my life, nor have I ever had a problem with eating cold Spaghettios from the can or eating a grilled cheese sandwich prepared between wax paper and an clothes iron. My food standards were admittedly low for quite some time, but after being introduced to the George Foreman Grill, I feel the calling to become a fancy French food critic. "George," as I lovingly refer to him, has led me in culinary directions I never thought possible. Cold pizza from three nights ago, folded sideways in George for a couple minutes, magically becomes edible again. Quesadillas filled with whatever I have in my mini-fridge, most of the time just BBQ sauce and cheese sticks, satisfy my craving for authentic Mexican food. A friend of mine even used George to iron their shirt before a big presentation.

Real food seems to be something reserved for holidays and people with functioning ovens. College diets are usually low rent, but I have yet to conform to the ramen eating stereotype. There are entire food groups to be discovered. Just take a look below at what a $40 George Foreman can do.

Breakfast:

The Cougar sandwich (5 minutes).

2 Slices of Bread (white, brown, pita … whatever.) 2 Slices of Ham (99 cent ‘Budding Ham’ at Winco.) 2 Slices of Cheese (cheese sticks can work too) 1 Egg Crack egg in to your one plastic bowl, (if you use your roommate’s, just make sure to clean it before they get home), whisk and place in the microwave for 30 seconds or until it somewhat resembles a scrambled egg patty.

Place egg patty, ham and cheese slices onto two pieces of buttered bread.

Place in Mr. Foreman. Five minutes and viola – brown and toasty.

For those of you who are missing critical ingredients such as bread, don’t fear. This sandwich has been made many times by using just ham slices to contain the breakfast goodness. Feel free to add bacon, a George specialty, to your sandwich too. If you're a health nut, this might not be for you.

Lunch:

The Pita Pit (5 Minutes) Pita bread BBQ sauce Northside chicken fingers Lettuce Canned pineapple (readily available at the Northside Market) Tear apart your chicken fingers.

Throw your little pieces and all your lettuce, pineapple, and BBQ sauce in to the pita.

Grill on George till pita is delightfully warm and toasted. For those of you without RDA, feel free to branch out in to other Pita possibilities like:

– Mexican Pitas: Beans, cheese, beef and sour cream.

– Meditation Pitas: Tomatoes, chicken, salad dressing and spinach.

– PB&J Pitas don’t even need a George to taste good.

– Pita Chips: Cover strips of pita bread in olive oil and toast on George till they turn into chips.

Dinner:

Mandarin House (20 minutes) 2 chicken breasts Teriyaki sauce Assorted frozen veggies Instant rice Defrost chicken (difficult for those are not patient like me, but necessary).

Cut chicken in to strips and put in to plastic bag with teriyaki sauce, then leave to marinate for no less than a couple hours.

Place chicken strips on grill for about 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Follow directions for your instant rice correctly. Put rice in your bowl.

Place chicken in your bowl.

Grill assorted veggies until they are warm and yummy. Put veggies in your bowl.

Eat the contents of your bowl and rejoice you have not just spent $20 on food for one meal.

Dessert:

Bananas of Goodness (10 minutes) 1 Banana Butter Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup Cut banana lengthwise (banana boat style).

Spread some butter on both sides of banana. This is more important than you think – I tried skipping it and my bananas caught on fire.

Sprinkle a small amount of brown sugar or maple syrup on banana.

Place on Georgey. Cook until they are warm and about to turn to mush.

Let them cool off. Another important step – I tried skipping this one too and I burned my mouth.

Visit Georgeforemancooking.com for more details and recipes.