The Student Room Group

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Reply 1
You're lucky... I wouldn't even know how to do a jacket potato... What is it 3 hours? On what heat? :p:

But then... I'm catered for the next year so I don't really care yet.

Try something pasta-ish, or a rice dish, nice and easy...
Pasata is very easy.

Croque monsieur are good too.
Chop up thin slices of him (make them small, so the word "stringy" could apply to them) and put them on some cheese, which is on some lightly toasted bread.

Shove under grill. Wait for cheese to bubble.
Add tobasco or worcs sauce if wanted.
Reply 3
The easiest recipe ever:

1) Click the "search" button
2) Type in "recipes" or "food" or "cooking"
3) Read the 8 million threads that come up
4) Cook something!

The messageboards on MSE are good, particularly the Old Style one.
Reply 4
My advice is Pasta. Not only is quick, easy to cook, its also really cheap! About 60p for 1 kg! Plus it can basically have almost anything added to it! It got me through my first year!
You can do infinite variations of pasta, stir fry and salad for virtually no cost at all.
Reply 6
Yup, stir fry's my fav. Just throw veggies, meat, spices, whatever into the pot & stir w/ some oil. Make some rice to stretch it.
Reply 7
maybe get a cheap cookbook? i got a student one last year for a couple of quid, there's quite a few on amazon

you could also try http://www.yumyum.com/student/ it's a bit naff but looks ok for basics.

lou xxx
visit the Bath forum!! we got recipes galore...well.... a couple anyways :biggrin:
Bath Recipes! Cheap and Easy!
Omelettes
Noodles
Macaroni Cheese
Spaghetti
Chicken

"How to Boil an Egg" has so many cheap studenty recipes, it's a great book!
Reply 10
easiest pasta sauce:

1) heat tablespoon olive oil in saucepan
2) add finely chopped onion, fry for about 5 mins
3) add crushed garlic clove (how many depends what flavour you like), finely chopped depending on how strong you like it (finely chopped = strong)
4) add jar of pasata or tinned chopped tomatos
5) now add anything else like mushrooms, peppers, bacon, meat, etc
6) leave it simmering for 15-20 mins while you cook the pasta in a large pan, with pinch of salt

serve =)
Oh i like that sauce. Here is a basic cheese sauce:

1. Put 2 tsp flour in a bowl and mix with a little of the 150ml milk to make a paste. (best to start off with very little milk and add).

2. Bring remaining milk to a boil in small pan, then pour it into the bowl, stirring all the time, to mix in the flour.

3. Pour all mixture back into the same pan, return to heat and bring back to boil, stirring all time until thickens.

4. Beat in 12g butter, salt, pepper and a pinch of mustard and 75g grated cheese. (weight before grating, so much easier).

5. Stir until cheese has melted in, and then serve over pasta/spaghetti.
If you go on BBC food they have a great recipe search. You can put in a search term like pasta and get loads of great recipes. Some are simple, but it's nice to experiment sometimes and stretch your skills. Learn to cook a stir fry.

Heat a vegetable oil / sunflower oil
Add strips of raw chicken fillet (not too large)
When all sides are white, add some veggies (for a veg like carrots slice diagonally to cook it quicker)
They should cook in about 5 mins, should still have some crunch
You can add some sesame seeds if you like

Cook on a medium to high heat, and stir regularly because it will stick / burn. DO NOT LEAVE THIS UNATTENDED WHILE COOKING UNLESS YOU TURN HEAT OFF. (Cos it can burn or smoke easilly and you need to be there to turn the heat down)

Eat it plain, or add a soy sauce, oyster sauce, packet sauce, sesame oil or something like that.

Very cheap because it's just veg and chicken or you can use fish / beef / pork whatever. But be careful that meat is cooked through. Sauces and stuff can be expensive but if you like them and don't use too much it will be OK.

Rice and noodles are cheap too.

A good way to cook rice

Get a pan and put in a serving of rice (remember it swells when it cooks)
rinse it a few times to get rid of any dirt / some starch
Add enough water to just cover the rice
Bring to the boil on highest heat
When boiling, turn pan down to lowest heat setting
Leave for about 10 mins

Resist temptation to open pan before
If it boils over, remove for heat while it settles down and then put it back
Rice does not need stirring, does not get sticky and is cooked to perfection and is fluffy.
Reply 13
Oh crud. I just realized that I'm not going to have a clue how to cook in metric measurements.
Reply 14
Earlham
Oh crud. I just realized that I'm not going to have a clue how to cook in metric measurements.

Well, why don't you buy scales, jugs etc that have both? Then you can use whichever the recipe you're using requires! Or just stick to imperial measurements all the time.
Reply 15
Earlham
Oh crud. I just realized that I'm not going to have a clue how to cook in metric measurements.


Get a few cheap old cookbooks from Oxfam or something - they'll have the old imperial measurements (seeing as I struggle with some of my mum's older books!)
No need for scales or measuring - savoury dishes don't need exact measurements. It's cakes that you have to watch!
Reply 17
Are imperial measurements the ones that we use in the US? (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, etc.)
Reply 18
Earlham
Are imperial measurements the ones that we use in the US? (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, etc.)

Nope. Imperial is ounces, pounds and things.
Reply 19
Juno
Nope. Imperial is ounces, pounds and things.


Oh, we use those. What do you use to measure, say, quantities of spice or liquids? (Am I sounding really dumb now?)