Thnigs to cook for students

[mermaidbutmytailfelloff]

DS2 is off to uni in October and we are starting a crash course in cookery. This is for food that is more interesting than baked beans but cheap.

So far -

Spag bol
Chilli and rice
Shepherds pie
Lasagne
Chicken stir fry with noodles
Chicken fajitas

Any ideas for anything else I should teach him? He eats anything - but needs to be encouraged to eat veg.

Ive just made Jamie Olivers sausage bake - will be tucking in shortly. Baking dish, cherry toms, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, bit of garlic (he could use garlic salt as quicker!), and four sausages on the top. If he manages to use herbs then rosemary and basil, if not, no matter. Shove in oven for half hour, swirl round then another 15 mins

Oops...

Then serve with crusty bread and butter. I keep a big bottle of balsamic vinegar in from Aldi, maybes £1? and it doesnt go off.

A roast chicken dinner. Great for chicken for sandwiches and salads for left overs.

Plus show them how to make soup from the carcass and they can eat fantastically on one chicken a week.

Egg fried rice is another one. He could get boil in the bag rice, cook that, then in a frying pan fry peas and spring onions, add the cooked rice and stir well. crack and egg in and as its starting to firm up break it and swirl it into the rice. Cooked and frozen chicken strips from iceland (lush and so so easy) added in too would make it chicken fried rice.

Another good thing would be sandwich fillers. If he can make a big tub of tuna andsweetcorn and a cheese savoury at the startof the week then keep a pack of wraps in, thats lunches all week sorted for pennies.

I was going to suggest egg fried rice too.

Make batches of sandwiches and freeze them. Cheese and ham, cheese and tuna,
Toast as required.

How to make a great baked potato.

How to make an omelette.

If he is cooking only for himself then simple one person meals will be his go-to rather than a sunday roast.

Quesedilla. Two wraps, and invetween then loads of grated cheese, some peppers, onions, etc, put into a dry frying pan til toasted and flip. Cheese melts and sticks it all together. Slice like a pizza and get some squeezy guacamole in for dipping.

Spanish omelette to use up leftovers?

Slow cooker recipe I love chick thighs, tin tomatoes, cubed chorizo, can of drained chick peas serve with pitta bread.

Dd1 mostly cooks just for herself and there's limited fridge/freezer space in most student accommodation too.

She has things like:
veggie chilli - with rice on day one and in a wrap on day two
pasta pesto with cheese, rocket and cherry toms
omelettes and salad
chicken or tofu vege stir fry
veggie sausage casserole - with bread on day one and a baked potato on day two
(bought) fishcakes with frozen vege
Yes to qaesadillas but she makes her own guac!
Simple chickpea curry - lasts two days

Risotto (either bake in the oven or on the top of the stove) a very good way of using small amounts of left overs, such as ham and mushrooms or chicken and peas.

A tin of Marigold Bouillon would be a good item for his "Off to Uni" box.
(Good for do-it-yourself noodles too)

Excellent suggestions thank you. I particularly like the sausage bake (he is sausages number 1 fan)

I think a roast is a good idea actually for a "special celebration dinner" even if it is only a roast turkey leg

Maybe something like peri peri chicken drumsticks or some such? I'm not a meat eater, so don't know much about it but I'm sure it would be easy and pretty cheap!

A good tip is that all the main supermarkets reduce some of their food in the late afternoon / early evening, so if he is nearby a supermarket and finds out its "reduced" time, he will get some bargains especially if he is ready to try anything.

Soups - cheap, filling, easy to make and quite vegetably : )

(I still make some of the soups of my student days)

tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/tomato-soup.html

tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/mushroom-soup.html

tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/curried-parsnip-soup.html

tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/bacon-and-potato-soup.html

and vegetable curries

tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/potato-andor-cauliflower-curry.html

Some great ideas here, thank you. I survived when I was a student on pet mince...my mum was horrified but it never hurt me. Oh and bacon sandwiches and pints of milk!

I think it's worse because he is my baby!

Teach him to make shortcrust pastry, Yorkshire puddings and soup.
He'll be on a budget and these things can make any pile of leftovers into a feast.

Spaghetti Carbonara is easier, cheaper and faster than Spag Bol, imho...

But then I practically lived on that when I was at uni

Soup. Infinite variety.
Pasta bakes of various kinds. (Get the ideas off tins of Campbells soup - or just follow their recipe)
Stew. Again, infinite variety.
All cheap, can be prepared ahead, & will reheat.

I'd say teach him a few veggie meals - meat can be expensive and nobody wants to resort to Quorn mince if they don't have to, it's like eating sponges.

Dahl etc is always good.

curry - tin of toms, curry paste and either chicken breast or could use vegetables instead/as well and onions if available

pan fried salmon

stir fry (with pre chopped veg and chicken)