Super easy cheap recipes for teenager

[hangsangwitch]

My sons friend has been made homeless by his mum. A long history of violence from his stepdad and mums alcoholic behaviour made for a really toxic and unhappy home life. She threw him out last summer and he lived with another friends family for a while and is now in a bed sit flat with limited cooking facilities. He has absolutely no clue how to feed himself or shop for food. He is on a very low wage apprentice wage.

He has his dinner here once or twice a week, and we buy him food. I’m trying to get him more self sufficient and teach him and so need your help to give him ideas that are 1. Cheap but very filling and 2. Super super simple. Simple as in he can’t seem to get the hang of peeling a potato!

For example, this week I’ve shown him how to cook frozen sausages, instant mash and gravy and frozen peas.

God love him he’s clueless, poor and has a teenagers appetite!

What facilities does he have in his bedsit? Hob only, microwave, oven?

Pasta and jar of sauce
Omelette with onions, peppers, ham and cheese
Fried egg and chips
Beans/egg/mushrooms/spaghetti hoops on toast
Pizza and coleslaw/salad

Can you say what 'limited cooking facilities means'. No point in giving recipes that need an oven if he doesn't have access to one.

Pasta with a jar of sauce.
Jacket potatoes with salad
Oven chips and pizzas
Beans/egg on toast
Stir fries

Yes, this!

He has a 2 ring job, small fridge freezer, kettle and microwave.

Do you have anything like this in your local
area?

Could he stretch to buying an air fryer so he has more options?

My son at uni does a big serving of pasta, chucks some frozen broccoli in the same pan and adds some pesto and grated cheese.

I think he has access to an oven in the kitchen of the house, but he prefers to use the 2 ring job and microwave in his room.

Its the lack of any disernable skills or food knowledge that’s the main issue tbh. My lads have grown up seeing us cook and they have been able to rustle up things since very young. I don’t think this happened at home.

Actually I’ve just remembered! A neighbour of mine gave him one. I completely forgot.

Fry 250g minced pork, add some veg (frozen peas, grated carrot, tin of sweetcorn), crumble in a microwave rice sachet (already hot) and add a stir fry sauce (ready made or if he's feeling adventurous, a spoonful of garlic, ginger and some soy sauce).

My first year student ds lives on variations of this.

is the microwave a combi thing? if yes, that's as good as an oven.

tbh show him how to cook rice and pasta, boil potatos. show him how to make a simple white sauce.

tins are your friend for cheap veg (get him a tin opener)

I have 3 teens. they regularly cook. some of what they regularly fo:

• omlette or scrambled eggs
• toasties (can be made in a pan bit dc have microwave toastie makers)
• pasta & jar sauce
• curry & rice
• chilli (with or without meat)
• endlish breakfast

Two rings + microwave

I would start with teaching him the basic principles - he needs to eat protein + carbs + veg/fruit.

Teach him:
Basic tomato sauce
Cheese sauce
Basic curry

Teach him how to cook:
Pasta
Rice
Potatoes

And also eggs are amazing.

As he has an airfyer frozen breaded chicken or fish and chips.

spag bol, curry (jar of sauce, chicken or chickpeas, onion and maybe a pepper and rice), creamy tuna pasta (tin of tomatoes, onion, garlic, mixed herbs and some cream or creme fraiche), macaroni cheese. Beans on toast, baked potatoes. Tins of chilli/dahl/stewed steak can be quite cheap from aldi etc and could be eaten with rice, baked potatoes or instant mash etc. Omlettes, egg fried rice, scrambled/fried eggs. Also tupperwears to put leftovers in fridge or freezer for another meal.

Curry using a jar of curry sauce

When he’s at yours, teach him how to brown mince and onions, which he can turn into spag Bol or chilli.

Frozen mash is brilliant. £1.50 from Tesco, heats up in minutes and is tasty. He can have that with fish fingers and peas or put it in the mince for a simple shepherds pie.

Basic fry up - bacon, eggs, beans, hash brown (frozen)

Pasta and a jar of sauce with grated cheese

Yes we are working on the pasta/rice/spuds/eggs + protein + veg formula.

Walking round Morrisons and getting inspired.

The thin frying steaks are cheap and easy to cook

• steak and mushroom baguette
• steak with chips and peas
• chop it into strips for a stir fry with veg, noodles and jar/sachet sauce

I never peel potatoes, vitamin C is in the skin.

Beans, wholemeal bread, cheese, bananas, tubs of coleslaw.
Don't forget seasonal raw food too when fruit and veg are cheap.

Orzo & peas - cook orzo, add peas towards the end, drain and then grate in cheese. So cheap and easy and my kids love it (as do I).

Or dahl - www.bbcgoodfood.com/user/9109/recipe/red-lentil-dahl
So cheap, easy and delicious

My son at Uni on a budget often seems to have the following:

cooked breakfast (at any time of day) bulked out with toast.

Omelette with peppers (he doesn’t eat cheese).

Pasta and homemade tomato sauce.

Sometimes he does a bolognaise or a chilli and puts the remainder in the fridge to save cooking a full meal on day 2.

Jar of lidl Indian type curry sauce with chicken and veg.

chicken with herbs and rice.

He is lucky he has you.

Can you get him some staples? Like olive oil, mustard?
Tin of green lentils, warm through. Fry one finely chopped (red preferably) onion, chopped carrot and celery in a pan. Add to lentils, add some feta and stir through a vinaigrette ( olive oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, mustard). This could be more than on night.

With left over onions (tend to get in a pack!) And carrots and celery, you could make a tuscan stew (like minestrone but has beans as well.