Recreate HUDS Dishes at Home: Seitan Pepper Sizzle and Cookie Bar

From breadmaking to lavish desserts to savory salads, lots of people are trying their culinary hand at a new meal in quarantine. But sometimes a wave of nostalgia hits you out of nowhere and all of the sudden you’re missing the too-bright lights of the Science Center and the strange but addictive flavor of Red’s Spiced Chicken. If you’re craving HUDS or just want to pretend like you’re sitting in the dhall with your friends, check out our recipes to recreate some HUDS staples below!

Seitan Pepper Sizzle

Even with all the time on our hands to research, we’re still not sure what seitan is made of (what even is cooked wheat gluten anyways?), but the seitan pepper sizzle still remains one of our favorites!

Ingredients:

1. 8 oz Seitan (cut into thin strips)
2. 1 small white onion (sliced)
3. 1 red bell peppers (sliced)
4. 3/4 cup marinara sauce
5. 1 clove garlic (minced)
6. 2 tbsp Olive oil
7. Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add olive oil to a nonstick pan. Cook the seitan and garlic with a pinch of salt on medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until the seitan is golden brown. Add onions and red bell peppers and sauté until the vegetables are tender. Add the marinara and then cook the mixture until the stir fry stops looking watery and the sauce is sticking to the seitan. Transfer into dish and then serve.

Cookie Bar

The HUDS cookie bar is an absolute classic — it’s the guilty pleasure we all wish we had right about now. If you’re looking to recreate its magical yumminess as much as possible while you’re ~social distancing~, check out the recipe for a deliciously chewy cookie bar below!

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2. ½ tsp salt
3. ¼ tsp baking soda
4. 1 12 oz. bag of semisweet chocolate chips
5. 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
6. 1 cup dark brown sugar
7. 1 cup granulated sugar
8. 2 large eggs
9. 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8x11 baking pan with butter. Line it with parchment paper, leaving one or two inches of overhang off two of the sides (this will make removing the cookie bar easier once it’s baked). Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and chocolate chips together until well mixed and all chocolate chips are coated with flour. Using a handheld mixer on medium-high, cream the unsalted butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Then add the vanilla extract. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Bake until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean (besides maybe a bit of melted chocolate), about 30-35 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool, remove from the baking pan, cut into 24 squares and serve.

Of course, feel free to adjust these recipes to your taste or to reflect whatever you have in the house. Once you’ve made your ~HUDS treats~, we recommend eating them while sitting down and reminiscing nostalgically about being on campus. Happy cooking!