After spending hours binging Netflix, going on your fifth walk of the day with your family, or scrolling on TikTok until your fingers hurt, it is often hard to find something to do during the quarantine. You run out of shows to watch and suddenly a cooking show comes on! A French-inspired five-course meal fills your screen and you think, how hard could that actually be? After trying step one, you have now deemed it impossible and you find yourself ordering a contactless, delivered pizza right to your front door. Easy right? Actually, there are a few recipes I will list that will make quarantine a lot more delicious for you and your family.
 

The first recipe will be a super simple pancake recipe. Although boxed pancake mix or even Eggo’s seem like the way to go, there is a pancake recipe that takes five minutes to prep and ten minutes to cook. Just as long as scrolling through TikTok when you first wake up.

Begin by obtaining the following ingredients:

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour 

• 2 tablespoons of sugar 

• 2 teaspoons of baking powder

• 1 teaspoon of salt 

• 1 egg (beat before mixing)

• 1 cup of milk

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil 

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. After these ingredients are mixed, create an indent in the middle of the mixture and add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bring a griddle or frying pan to medium heat, oil or butter the pan and scoop a knuckle size portion of batter onto the griddle or pan. Wait until both sides are golden brown and enjoy!

Tips for making these a little more fun: Add some fresh fruit either on or in the pancakes to give them some flavor, or even a drizzle of honey for a little extra sweetness.
 

If pancakes aren’t your favorite or you find yourself sleeping past breakfast time, the next best choice (and a super easy one at that) is Mac and Cheese! A family favorite for many years.

Obtain:

•  1 box of pasta of your choosing for mac and cheese (personal favorite is penne!)

• ¼ cup of butter

• ¼ cup of all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon of salt

• 2 cups of milk

• 2 cups of shredded cheese (try a three-cheese blend or Mexican for some extra flavor!)

In total, this recipe will take 30 minutes, with ten minutes to prepare and around 20 minutes to cook. Begin by cooking the pasta until it is al dente. Make sure not to overcook the pasta because it will cook more later. Melt the butter in an additional saucepan and stir in flour and salt for five minutes. Then mix the milk into the mixture while stirring at the same time until it is smooth and expect to see bubbles. Add the cheese last and throw a little extra in if you’re feeling extra cheesy. Finally, combine the pasta and cheese melt together, making sure to fold the pasta into the cheese sauce instead of mixing around. 
 

These two recipes are personal favorites that have been cooked in my household countless times during this quarantine. If you find yourself struggling for ideas on what to cook, remember, google is always one click away with a world of recipe opportunities.