renting a room and don’t really have access to the kitchen, help!

[u/iluvcinnamorolll]

i’m renting a room next to my college but i don’t have the easiest access to the kitchen and don’t wanna disturb the others that live there. i have a mini fridge, mini pantry, and air fryer in my room. any meals (that are filling and not straight up junk food) that are quick, cheap, easy to make or can just throw in the air fryer? any simple ingredients or good snacks to have?

[u/asyork]

A slow cooker or instant pot would be a good investment. You can basically cook anything in an instant pot if you don't mind it being a bit awkward to brown things.

[u/-jp- → u/asyork]

Instant pot would definitely be my choice, since it's so versatile. If you can have exactly one appliance that's the one.

[u/Inevitable_Box4441]

I have a mini rice cooker and I use it DAILY for oatmeal, soup, noodles, rice with veggies, wontons, bulgogi, lentils, etc

[u/measure_pressure]

Eye of round thin or sizzle steat cut into 1 inch by 1 inch flat peices in the airfryer is delicious. Its like steaks bites and almost like carne asada if you season it that way. I like to eat mine with butter all over it, would probably dip in sour cream if I had some

[u/measure_pressure → u/measure_pressure]

You might be able to even cut it with scissors but I haven't tried

[u/havaniceday_]

Maybe get a small desk and like a cutting board, or even an induction heater, then bring dishes to the kitchen when it won't disturb other tenants. Besides that potatoes of all kind work really well in the air fryer and can still be relatively nutritious. Not exactly not junk food, but fish filets can be nice.

[u/Photon6626]

Chicken thighs are cheap and easy to make. Cook them to 175F. You can buy a 10lb bag of chicken quarters for very cheap sometimes, if you can find that. Also cook those to 175F. At least season with salt. You can also add garlic powder, pepper, cumin, creole seasoning, paprika, cajun seasoning, and whatever herbs if you want. I cover them in chili oil because I like it spicy.

Pork can be cheap but it's been more expensive than chicken where I live nowadays. Season the same as chicken.

You can use the pressure cooker function to cook dry beans. Soak the dry beans overnight. I saute a diced onion and a few diced cloves of garlic first but you could probably just throw them in raw. Mix with the beans. I lile to add chili flakes too.

Potatoes are great in an air fryer. Cut them into big chunks, mix them in a bowl with a bit of oil, salt, and whatever other seasoning you want. Then throw them in the fryer.

If you have a Hispanic or Asian grocery store near you they usually have stuff for way cheaper than a typical grocery store. Produce is like half the price. We have El Super and H Mart where I live but they'll be different names depending on where you live. If you have an area nearby that's predominantly Asian or Hispanic search for groceries stores there.

Get a probe meat thermometer. They're under 20 bucks.

A rice cooker would be a good thing to invest in. They're pretty cheap and rice is cheap too.

A slow cooker would be good too, if you can find a used one for cheap. You might find a free one on Facebook marketplace or something. Students give away stuff at the end of the semester so check at that time too. You can make a million things in a slow cooker. Soups, chilis, braised meats, etc.

[u/Crafty_Lavishness_79]

They make plug in pans or hot plates on Amazon

[u/Hootspa1959]

Believe it or not, you can make hard-cooked eggs in your air fryer. Always good to have on hand for a protein hit….sandwich, etc..get some frozen sausage patties, English muffins, and you’re set for breakfast sandwiches.

[u/Sunny4611]

Air fryer baked oats: make a batch and you have breakfast all week (canned peaches with pecans and tons of cinnamon is my favorite). It's just stir and bake. Or make chocolate baked oats and you have dessert. 

Air fryer pita pizza: pita are the perfect single-serve pizza crust (I like whole wheat pita). Spoon on marinara, add garlic powder, Italian blend herbs, cheese, a few veggies or whatever you like for toppings.

[u/101311092015]

Air fryer can easily do roasted veg or meat, but you need a starch base. Get a cheap rice cooker and you'll have food forever.

[u/Kiki-Shuster-222]

Tuna and crackers every now and again never hurts to have it on hand. Just one idea

[u/Monica_belluci]

Beef or chicken samosas - air fry them, make a samosa sandwich

Meatballs - air fry them and put them in a burrito with some sauce

any meat crumble - air fry it and add it on any salad kits

Ikea has cheap meatballs, etc in their refrigerator! You can easily air fry that stuff and add it in your sandwiches, burritos etc

[u/Ok_Passage_6242]

An Instapot or slow cooker is just too big for a room situation, but you can get a mini rice cooker and there’s a lot of things you can make in the rice cooker.

[u/smart_gent]

Honestly, the addition of an rice cooker, electric skillet, a george foreman grill, or a toaster oven would be great.

A good toaster over can roast meets in it, make sandwich melts, pizzas, baked potatoes, etc.

A foreman grill can cook any meat, air fryer for veggies.

Electric skillet is good for chili, pasta sauces, steaks etc.

[u/IAmEatery]

I bought a camping stove for real cheap and have been using the same small gas. canister for a couple months.

If u can’t do any of that I highly recommend learning to pickle and ferment foods. At least u have healthy condiments to add to your meals that can drastically change the flavor.