With summer quickly approaching, students may find themselves home alone, scrounging for food. Rather than starve until their parents return or settle for fast food and microwaveable meals, homemade onion rings can serve as a quick and easy way to satisfy teens’ mid-afternoon hunger.

Before cooking, gather these needed ingredients:

1 large yellow onion
1 cup of cold water
1 large egg
1 cup of flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cooking oil for frying, lard or beef tallow

Onion ring preparation:

Step 1: Preheat oil to 365 degrees on stove for frying.

Step 2: Peel the large onion.

Step 3: Place onion on cutting board and cut off the end roots, then slice vertically into centimeter-thick circles.

Step 4: Use fingers to poke out the center of slices into individual onion rings.

Step 5: Once the rings are separated, mix remaining ingredients into a batter of flour, water, egg, salt and pepper.

Step 6: Arrange the batter and onion near heated oil. Use a pair of tongs to singularly dip onion rings into batter with caution.

Step 7: Be sure to fully submerge rings, as batter is thin. Remember to place dipped rings into pan of oil only a few at a time to eliminate clumping. Flip when golden brown.

Step 8: Remove finished rings from cooking and place on paper towel to dry and serve.

This snack provides a simple, crunchy treat to sustain one’s appetite at any time of day in only 15 minutes. They can be served for one person, or you may double the recipe for party appetizers. These onion rings can be enjoyed by themselves or complimented with ranch dressing, ketchup or mustard for added flavor.

For more fun and easy recipes, visit the Dec. 8, 2009 article, How to: Banana pancakes, more than breakfast.