I am definitely not alone when I say I took my dad’s roast dinners for granted. Although I was taught to cook from the age of around 14, being able to relax in the knowledge that someone else is cooking your food is something you don’t quite appreciate until you go to uni. If you’ve never cooked before, it can be stressful to have to rely on yourself to make everything. This can lead to two things: ordering takeaway every day or eating nothing but pesto pasta. Below are some easy but really great meals you can make at uni!
- Enchiladas. These are so, so delicious and a great dish to make lots of leftovers with or to have as a flat together. You can buy the kit from a supermarket and all you need is chicken and some onions. You can also have some veg on the side if you wish (if you’re a student, give frozen vegetables a try!)
- Fajitas. Another Mexican dish, but one which is much easier to make than Enchiladas. These are also a really good one to share with your flat or some friends, but you can just as easily make the mix and then put it in tupperware to eat over the following days. You don’t even need to buy the kit, you just need some wraps and spices if you want to make it homemade.
- Stir fry. A classic meal on a budget and a perfect one for if you have a bunch of vegetables that are about to go off. I personally prefer using fresh vegetables rather than the pre-made packs, but they are convenient, cheap, and just as healthy.
- Cajun pasta. I discovered this one quite recently and it is my latest obsession. For the sauce, you’ll need a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tub of soft cheese, cajun spice and garlic. You can add some cooked pasta, chicken and veg. Obviously this is on a student budget so to avoid having to buy a bunch of spices, get the chopped tomatoes and soft cheese ‘with herbs’ version, or ‘with garlic’ so it adds more flavour. You won’t want to buy an entire shaker of cajun spice, so you can use the ‘cook in a bag’ spice mixes. Trust me, it’s amazing.
- Mexican rice. An easy way to spice up some microwave Mexican rice is by adding some meat, vegetables, and a ton of spices. Again, using frozen veg is good for the students with a tight budget.
Some extra tips:
- Batch cook. This will save you money and hassle – you’ll be relieved to have a meal in the fridge ready for you if you’ve had a busy day.
- Cook as a group. You can split the cost of the ingredients and it’s a nice way to be with everyone, especially at the beginning.
- Cook at the same time as everyone else during fresher’s week. You want to get to know your flatmates – I’m praying for next year’s first years that you won’t have to experience two lockdowns during the year, but in case something like that happens, you want to get on with them. Make the effort: if you decide they’re not your kind of people that’s completely fine.
- Be realistic about what you’re buying. If you have a sweet tooth, get a few sweet things and don’t deprive yourself. Also don’t go to the supermarket hungry, because you’ll buy more!
- Shop at the cheaper supermarket. It might be really tempting to buy from a more ‘well known’ store or one which you used at home, but it’s really not worth it. The food quality is always fine, it’s far cheaper, and you can usually get all the same things. If you really need branded things, then do a smaller shop at the more expensive one.
