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What six recipes would you teach a teen about to head off to university??

86 replies

loveyouradvice · 08/02/2020 17:44

Love your thoughts....

I'm thinking a two or three pasta sauces, a chocolate mousse, a vinaigrette and a simple cake ....

What would be your top six??

OP posts:
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 08/02/2020 19:17

Chilli
Spag bol
Vegetable soup
Macaroni cheese
A basic veggie curry that's easy to adapt
Omelette

LettyFisher · 08/02/2020 19:17

a vinaigrette?! Really?

I lived on crisp sandwiches when I was at university.

My kids know how to cook spag bol, chilli (meat and bean), stirfry, prawn laksa, various curries, scrambled eggs, various pasta sauces, a roast dinner as well as weirder favourites we've collected over the years. They can all use a recipe book.

Left to their own devices, they cook super noodles

BrigitsBigKnickers · 08/02/2020 19:19

Chicken thigh tray bake- peppers, onions, garlic, little potatoes ( par boiled) chuck in the oven for 45 mins.
Spag Bol ( make a big bucketful and freeze in portions) also nice the next day with mash on the top ( sort of shepherds pie) and veg.
Bucket of chilli ( freeze in portions)
Stirfries with noodles ( the little sachets are great for this)
Chicken fajitas or the Nando's lemon stuff - leftovers make a nice lunch the following day too.
Roast chicken- again- leftovers will do for the next few days
Meatballs in jar of sauce with onions- cook in slow cooker ( yes this is a great thing to buy)
Get them one of the foreman grills- my DD used hers all the time at uni.
Hunk of ham cooked in coke in the slow cooker ( can get these from Aldi/ Lidl for about£3.50) Lots of leftovers for sandwiches and salads.
Bangers and mash
Pasta with bacon and pesto

cheesewitheverything · 08/02/2020 19:21

Both my dc knew how to cook lasagna by the age of 14 and it's still their party piece for friends years later. Any pasta recipe is useful, but knowing how to make a good cheese sauce from scratch is what my ds says has always impressed girlfriends!

Sorph · 08/02/2020 19:29

Depends on how much money they will be living off. If it's standard loan I wouldnt expect they'll be cooking more than chicken pasta rice and noodles. I'd start with what ingredients are cheap and make meals out of it. Tuna pasta, sausage and mash, chicken curry etc quick cheap convenient. Wouldn't hurt to learn how to cook a roast I remember them being a big gathering where we all pooled in to make it an occasion. X

goingoverground · 08/02/2020 19:33

if they have enough fridge and freezer space < this is a big issue. There is no point batch cooking when you only have half a freezer drawer.

My DC were pretty competent cooks before they went to uni but we did a run through of cooking for one and meal planning so spare ingredients and leftovers don't go to waste, for example:

Mix a standard 400g packet of mince and a large chopped onion, take a quarter to mix with herbs and breadcrumbs to make bifteki (or a burger), add garlic puree and cook the rest, take a quarter and turn into cottage pie, add a tin of chopped tomatoes then split into 2, add herbs to one portion when you reheat it to make spaghetti bolognese, add beans and chilli powder to make chilli.

Similarly, we did the whole Mumsnet roast chicken thing:
Sunday roast/chicken Caesar salad/Thai and Indian curries/stir fry/chicken & mushroom pie/chicken fried rice/chicken soup etc Obviously not all from the same chicken!

A packet of sausages made into sausage and mash/cassoulet/toad in the hole.

We also did variations on basic tomato and cheese sauces to make multiple different dishes, a simple vegetable soup base where you can substitute the main ingredient (if you can make tomato soup, you can make butternut squash or Jerusalem artichoke soup), the basis for different casseroles ie how to brown meat, which vegetables need precooking or adding at the last minute.

noideaatallreally · 08/02/2020 19:34

fajitas
stew
gravy
shepherd's pie
curry
eggs - fried, boiled. poached and scrambled

ragged · 08/02/2020 19:36

I'm Shock at concept my teen would let me teach them. Teenagers know answer to everything, of course. Don't want or need my help.

My now twenty yo is getting interested in cooking, thinking ahead when he has his own home. He will learn to cook things he likes to eat.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 08/02/2020 19:39

Omelette
Bolognese
Jacket Pot

Where to buy pesto who the fuck makes it
Where to buy pot noodles

Strandliv · 08/02/2020 19:40
  1. stir fry
  2. spaghetti bolognese
  3. curry
  4. baked potato with anything
  5. omelette
ivykaty44 · 08/02/2020 19:40

Omelette how to make a fluffy omelette
Cottage pie
Curry using paste, either home made paste or from a jar
Meat free chilli
Porridge or soaked oats to start the day
X

BigFatLiar · 08/02/2020 19:43

Will he/she be cooking for himself/herself or will they be in shred accommodation sharing the cooking?

Cooking for one can be a pain with quantities. Get a cookbook (or two) for students/singles.

homemadecommunistrussia · 08/02/2020 19:43

I told mine to go on you tube. Grin

Originalusernameunavailable · 08/02/2020 19:44

Rather than recipes maybe think about methods.

TorysSuckRevokeArticle50 · 08/02/2020 19:50

If you can teach the basic methods they can apply those to more and you can potentially send them with a notebook that has a few good recipes in.

Eggs in all forms - boiled, scrambled, fried and poached
Potato - mashed, boiled, roasted
Roast - basic principle that it needs to be cooked long enough and low enough heat to get the middle, then whack up/uncover at the end to crisp skin/fat. Baste and add the right fats, flavours etc
Veg - stir fry, steam, boil, microwave, roast
Meat - think cheap cuts - mince, pork loin/chops, chicken drumsticks

Once they know roughly how long a bit of meat or veg takes to cook and how to do it they can start improvising.

AdaColeman · 08/02/2020 20:10

DS was quite a keen cook as a teenager, used to make the Sunday roast when he was about 14/15, so I never had this problem. I think I’d teach methods rather than individual dishes.
How to make a basic white/cheese sauce (lasagna, mousakka, macaroni cheese)
How to make a meat ragu, (Spag Bol, pasta bake etc)
How to make a rich tomato sauce, (lots of dishes start with this)
Basic soup making.
Egg cookery, of course!

I’d also encourage them to keep a small basic storecupboard, a few herbs & spices, instant noodles, maybe scone mix depending on cooking facilities available. I’d be surprised if there was freezer space available for batch cooking, but perhaps there is these days.

LisaSimpsonsbff · 08/02/2020 20:17

My mum taught me to make a bechamel sauce before I went to university and it's a really fond memory - I think of it every time I make one!

If you want one to make friends then pancakes is good - come Pancake Day then the man or woman who can make them properly is very highly sought after. Everyone else in my halls bought mix and were astonished when I demonstrated how easy it is to make pancakes from scratch...

RB68 · 08/02/2020 20:25

I would go:

Bolognaise
Curry and breads (from scratch as so cheap)
Pizza from scratch including base
Chilli - if they like it
Roast dinner with trimmings

Desserts I would go

Cake (to eat as a "teatime" cake or birthday but also as a dessert - also how to do in microwave in 2 mins, but I would also show how to make variants with choc, vanilla, lemon drizzle etc)
Mousse - to be honest I would never have this one myself but if they love it then go for it
Some sort of fridge dessert like rocky road

I would also make sure they could make
White sauce and understand how to change it for diffrent dishes
Mashed, wedged and roast potatoes
Scambled eggs (and by same measure omlette)
Porridge
full english breakfast
how to prep and cook assorted veg
The principles of soup!

FoamingAtTheUterus · 08/02/2020 20:30

Chorizo pasta

Bean chilli

Mixed bean enchiladas

Chicken stew

Fritatta

Isitactuallyme · 08/02/2020 20:32

Scrambled egg/omelette
Chili
Spag vol
Chicken curry
Stir-fry
Shepherd's pie

ironicname · 08/02/2020 20:33

Bolognese
Chilli Con Carne
Fajitas
Easy chicken curry
Roast Chicken
Stir Fry

RB68 · 08/02/2020 20:33

I agree pancakes too - how they can be sweet or savoury wld be good too although I hate savoury myself DH happily has with cheese and ham like a wrap

Also agree re baked potatoes and how these can be done in advance int he oven with other meals for next day and just reheated

1990shopefulftm · 08/02/2020 20:38

I got some strange looks baking cake when I was in university accommodation so I wouldn't say it's a necessity.

I would say it's skills that are important to teach like how to know meat is cooked/how to defrost it and when food is still edible. If they can know what meat should look cooked and how to cook rice, potatoes and pasta and the rest should follow.

FlowerArranger · 08/02/2020 20:39

Stirfries, definitely !

In particular how to vary them by using

  • different meats, fish and seafood, as well as vegetarian alternatives such as tofu
  • different vegetables, and how to deal with heir differing cooking times
  • different favourings, spices, marinades, such as Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern etc.

Also different carbs to serve them with, such as rice, pasta, egg noodles, quinoa, lentils....

Stirfries are so versatile and delicious - and quick.

katy1213 · 08/02/2020 20:43

Chocolate mousse would be low down my list - but simple lemon drizzle/chocolate cake is a great idea for forging friendships! How about apple crumble for a cheap, filling pud?
Soda bread also very cheap and easy.

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