By now, everyone worldwide has been affected in some way by the coronavirus. Cooking is an important skill, especially during the age COVID 19; it saves you lots of money that is normally spent on takeout, and is a safer solution than eating food handled by other people. It is also something that can help pass the time spent home. Here are 3 of the easiest meals to make during quarantine/ the extra time spent at home.

According to countryliving.com, the easiest and most tasty meal to make out of the 3 is the cauliflower mac and cheese. This recipe has a minimal amount of steps, and the ingredients listed are items that are easy to acquire. The average time this meal takes to prepare and serve is said to be about 30 minutes. As a beginner chef, this meal was very fun and easy for me to make. It took about 17 minutes to prepare the dish and 15 to heat in the oven. It turned out perfect and tasted amazing! My whole family enjoyed it, even my brother who is a very picky eater. They described it as a light and cheesy pasta, with just a hint of the cauliflower taste. Out of the 3 meals, I rank this dish as #1.

The next recipe on the list was for oven-roasted pulled pork. This meal has the most required steps out of all 3 on the list and takes the longest to prepare and cook. The average time for this dish is around 4 hours, likely because it requires quite a bit of time to roast. I had my mom help me make this meal and it took us about 15 minutes to prepare and 4 hours to roast in the oven. When served to my family, they weren’t exactly as impressed as we hoped. They described it as slightly too dry and noted that the sauce tasted too much like vinegar. I agreed with them on every point. I don’t think I would make this dish again due to the effort it took to make and the poor results we received. Out of the list, we collectively rated this dish as #3.

The final recipe listed was for extra flaky biscuits. These biscuits were easy and fun to make and only took an hour with preparation and baking. My family and I loved how these biscuits turned out; they were brown and flaky and tasted great on their own and even better with butter and jam. My dad described them as tasting similar to the Pillsbury biscuits but with a nice homemade touch. I would take the time to make these again. My family and I rated this recipe as #2.

I have no prior cooking or baking experience, and I was surprised to find out how simple these recipes were to follow and make. If you choose to give these dishes a try, you won’t be disappointed!

Recipes:

– Cauliflower mac and cheese

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. olive oil, divided, plus more for baking dish

1 lb. cavatappi or other short pasta

1 medium-sized head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cored and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 oz. extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 tsp. mustard powder

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs 

1/2 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add cauliflower, garlic, and onion. Season with salt. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add 4 cups of water and simmer until vegetables are very soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 cups cooking liquid; let cool slightly.

Combine vegetables, Cheddar, Parmesan, mustard powder, and cayenne in a blender (depending on the size of your blender, you may need to do this in two batches). Purée, adding just enough reserved cooking liquid to get mixture moving, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add sauce to pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Toss together panko, parsley, and remaining tablespoon oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over pasta. Bake until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes.

–Oven roasted pulled pork

Ingredients

1 tbsp. ground cumin 

1 tbsp. ground coriander

1 tbsp. paprika

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 7-pound bone-in, skin-on pork butt or shoulder, cut into 3 pieces

1/2 c. apricot jam

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

4 jalapeños, seeded and thinly sliced

Thick-sliced white bread, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°F. Combine cumin, coriander, paprika, 5 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a bowl. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place pork on baking sheet and rub with spice mixture. Spoon jam on pork and turn to coat. 

Scatter onions and jalapeños around pork. Cover with aluminum foil, crimping edges to seal. Roast until pork shreds easily, 4 to 5 hours.

-Mile-high flaky biscuits

Ingredients

4 c. all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for working

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut up

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles small peas. Stir in buttermilk with a fork until dough begins to form a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead 2 or 3 times, gradually adding additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.

With floured hands, pat dough into a 1-inch-thick circle. Cut dough into fourths and stack one on top of another. Roll stacked dough into a 1-inch-thick circle. Repeat procedure 3 more times. Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter to cut biscuits, pressing scraps together once. Place biscuits, slightly touching, on a baking sheet. Chill 15 minutes.

Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.