June 22, 2017, by Chloe

Two Easy Student ‘Recipes’

A reoccurring theme in my most frequently cooked meals is that they don’t involve specific ingredients or measurements. That’s because I hate cooking from recipes.  I prefer just to assess what I have in or what I’m in the mood for and then just chuck it all in the pan. I buy a lot of the same ingredients every week based on how versatile they are for cooking, such as onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. At home I eat a wider variety because we make meals for more than one person, but at uni I try not to buy ingredients if they will only work for one meal.

Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese is a well-known student staple, and for good reason. Mince is one of the cheapest meats around, meaning it’s easy to bulk cook and freeze portions for later. Spaghetti is also super cheap; I bought a packet for around 20p when trying to save money towards the end of term.

However, one problem with batch cooking Bolognese is that you soon become fed up of it. So to get through it, I like to mix up what I serve it with, i.e. swap the spaghetti for pasta, salad or jacket potato (which works surprisingly well). Whilst at uni I also like to make it with Quorn mince unlike at home where we make it with beef. I love using Quorn as it can be cooked from frozen, meaning it cooks in half the time.

Roasted Vegetables

One of my favourite dishes to cook at uni that is ridiculously simple and requires barely any cooking skills is roasted vegetables. Sometimes I’ll have it with chicken roasted with garlic and herbs. Most of the time I just add roast potatoes and far too much gravy. It’s perfect for when you’re craving vegetables and healthy food but also feels really comforting.

This dish will work fine with practically any veg you have in.  I usually roast onion, pepper, tomatoes, courgette, butternut squash/parsnip/carrot, mushrooms and broccoli. Then I add whole cloves of garlic, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and sprinkle some mixed herbs over the top. Once you’ve chopped all the veg it’s a dish that requires little effort, making it perfect for exam season.

A lot of students worry about cooking but these two recipe ideas are a great place to start. The most complicated step is prepping the veg. After that, you’re good to go!

 

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