Senior Rachael Pyle utilizes her culinary skills to cook homemade chicken noodle soup.

College is right around the corner for the Class of 2016. With this upcoming milestone comes excitement and more freedom, but also an increase in the responsibility placed upon senior students’ shoulders. Now is the time to begin preparation for college life.

Cooking, grocery shopping, doing the laundry: all practical skills crucial to living life comfortably. Often times, teenagers become accustomed to their parents providing for them. Everyday tasks such as cleaning, budgeting and preparing food are all accomplished by those who take care of them. Mastering the basics of  culinary art now will prove to be useful in the future as we must provide for ourselves the nourishment required to think clearly and achieve those high As both now and in college.

“When I’m living by myself I can be healthier because I don’t have to stop at fast food restaurants and I’ll shop for myself, and I won’t be gaining extra weight from the ‘freshman fifteen’, regain another 15 pounds from starting college because you’re eating so poorly,” Senior Rachael Pyle said of cooking for herself.

Daunting at times, cooking can be made an easy chore if tips and simple, healthy meals are sought out. Even when dining in, it is vital to our health that we choose nutritious meals. Collegerecipes.com is a helpful source that provides instructions on everyday tasks such as “Cooking bacon in the oven”, “How to cook over easy, medium and hard eggs” and more. Step-by-step process are provided, as well as visuals to follow along with.

Although it may take practice at first, and food may turn out wrong or even burnt, the basics are a great place to start. If you continue utilizing this skill, who knows, maybe you could star in your own cooking show one day.

How to cook bacon in the oven (steps taken from collegerecipes.com)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil/parchment paper
3. Lay the bacon strips across the sheet
4. Bake for 12-17 minutes (time varies depending upon thickness desired)
5. Remove the pan when crispy enough for your liking
6. Place bacon on a plate, place a paper towel underneath to absorb grease
7. Allow to cool down, and enjoy your bacon!