Simple Meals for The Simple Student Summer

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ExigeEvan

ExigeEvan

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I know there's already a recipe/cooking thread but this is abit more specific.

I've only got 2 weeks of college left and them I'm off for 8 weeks. The first few weeks I'll be home alone to fend for myself (well by uni student sis will be here but she falls out of bed about 11am, eats lunch about 3pm.) and then I'll be home alone completely for 2 weeks about midway through. While I would like to live off beer for that time, it's not probable, or particularly desirable.

I have very limited cooking skills, basically, I can boil an egg, do a fried breakfast, cook pasta and am able of chucking stuff in the oven (Pizzas etc) but I'm sick of eating pasta + sauce/cheese + ham or ham and cheese toasties.

So I ask you GTP for some simple, easily made recipies that are moderatley healthy and tasty.

I await eagerly.
 
Ravioli is one of my favorites. I cant cook either but this is sooo easy to make you cant really go wrong, tastes good too.

- Boil a saucepan of water and add a tablespoon of salt.
- When it boils turn the heat down so its simmering.
- Put the Ravioli in. Do it slowly so hot water doesnt splash on you(speaking from experience:dunce: )
- Leave the Ravioli to simmer in the water for about 3 mins and then drain the water
- With the Ravioli back in the saucepan without the water add some tomato puree or whatever sauce you fancy.
- Mix it up and put it on a plate.
- Grate some cheese and add pepper if you want.

Sorted for lunch :)
 
I love this thread. I am in the same situation except I'm off until August 31st or so. So I wanna be able to make food but I don't wanna eat the same thing the whole summer.

My meal for today :)

Wheat bread with mayonnaise, ham, turkey, American and swiss cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, some mustard and some spice and I'm done for now :D
 
Stir-fry is a great way to make a relatively healthy and easy, great meal... Get a couple of chicken breasts (skinless), marinate in soy sauce (or Lee & Perrin if you prefer), or just add it later... You'll need some veggies to slice, carrots, peppers, onions, mushrooms etc.... a couple of green/red chillis makes a great addition too. Buy some Sharwoods Egg Noodles (which cook in boiled water in just three mins)... To cook, put some oil in a wok (or deep pan, if you don't have a wok) and add some chopped chillis and chopped garlic... this cooks really fast so don't hang about. Add the chicken and then add your veggies and stir-fry it... chuck in the noodles when it's all cooked to your taste, and then throw in some soy sauce and Robert is your mother's brother... (p.s. it helps if you have a gas hob for stir-fry, but it's not essential)

Another easy thing to try is Salmon.... buy a couple of salmon fillets and wrap them individually in tin foil with a slice of lemon... oven cook them (should take about 15-20 mins in the oven at 200 degrees). Boil some new potatoes and some veggies, like green beans, brocolli and chuck on some butter/marg to serve...

My favourite to experiment with is Chilli... get some good steak mince, two tins of tomatoes, plenty of veg, real chillies (to slice), garlic, chilli beans (optional).... serve with rice (optional), on it's own, even on toast (great for left-overs) or on a baked potato... Cook the mince with chopped garlic, chillies (two small chillis will be more than enough!) and onions, then add the chopped veg once the mince is brown (red/green peppers, mushrooms)... let it simmer and add salt and sugar (even chocolate) to balance out the bitterness of the tomatoes... allow it to thicken, you can help that by adding tomato puree... make a big pot of that and you can freeze what you don't eat 👍 I lived on chilli for ages! ;) - alternatively, spaghetti bolognese is pretty much the same, but without the chillis! Put it this way, I'm a lousy cook and I even I can make a great chilli!
 
ExigeExcel
I know there's already a recipe/cooking thread but this is abit more specific.

I've only got 2 weeks of college left and them I'm off for 8 weeks. The first few weeks I'll be home alone to fend for myself (well by uni student sis will be here but she falls out of bed about 11am, eats lunch about 3pm.) and then I'll be home alone completely for 2 weeks about midway through. While I would like to live off beer for that time, it's not probable, or particularly desirable.

I have very limited cooking skills, basically, I can boil an egg, do a fried breakfast, cook pasta and am able of chucking stuff in the oven (Pizzas etc) but I'm sick of eating pasta + sauce/cheese + ham or ham and cheese toasties.

So I ask you GTP for some simple, easily made recipies that are moderatley healthy and tasty.

I await eagerly.
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The first thing you need to do is to buy a cookbook. I've been in and out of the food service fo over 30 years and the first thing you want to do is say YES I can cook. If you can build, read think you can cook.
If you like chicken it's easy take some chicken breast preheat oven to 400 place chicken in a big deep pan add some cut up potatoes, carrots, celery, and some onions (some seasoning if you like) bake in oven until chicken is done (cut into chicken if juice is clear then it's done) vegs you should be able to cut with a fork. You can use your favorite meat (pork-beef) instead of chicken.
If you like corn-on-the-cob aa easy way to fix is to buy corn (in husk) cut silk sticking out off heat in microwave (with husk on) for 5 min(single piece) take out of microwave you will need a towel for this part cut the husk so it will come off hold corn with towel as it is very hot the husk will come right off. Best corn I've eaten.
Something else is to buy a outdoor gas grill great for steaks, chicken or any type of meat you like.
Tell us what type of food you like so we can help you better.
 
Slick Rick, good simple suggestion, will try it. Though still fundamently pasta and sauce :lol:

Flerbizky, The ingedients list alone is enough to scare me off that one!

Touring Mars My girlfriend made us one the other day and I was quite surprised how simple it was for a relatively good result. Though it was more of a fusion of things simply chucked in a wok, added to that some "Spanish Sauce" from Tesco and served with rice. The salmon is an idea I may use, minus the broccoli. And the Chilli and spaghetti bolognese are both things my parents make fairly regularly for the family and we usually freeze the chilli for later consumption anyway.

OpelGT1969 I was hoping to use my sisters "student guide to cooking" this summer but she has left it in the house she's in next term. We do have a rather antiquated cook book that I've used several times, but usually to make pancakes or fairy cakes (Sold awesomly at Blue Peter bring and buy days :lol: ). Chicken appears to be the meat of choice at present so I'll definetley be cooking that more often, but I'm not a fan of the corn on a cob.

What kind of food I like, hm. If I had to rank my meats in order of preference chicked would be last, but only because I don't like it when it's on it's own. It must have a sauce with it to make it worthwile.
I'm not a huge fan of my veggies but I tend to make up for that by eating lots of fruit. I'm not a fan of tomatoes (But will eat them in or as part of a sauce), strawberries or cherrys incase that's any use.
I do like my spicy food.

PLmat91 I imagine all the supermarkets have sold out of their ready meals already :D
 
ExigeExcel
Flerbizky, The ingedients list alone is enough to scare me off that one!
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Thing is - 90% of the list is stuff that already is (or should be) in the kitchen cabinet. Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, Sugar, Garlic, Chilis. What I need to buy when making the dish is: Fresh Cilantro, Thai Basil, Lemongrass and chicken.

Get to work ;-)
 
Subway.

Why cook when someone else can do it for you? By the time you buy things like rice, pasta, vegetables, sauces etc, you're up to the price of a quality foot long.
 
Casio
Subway.

Why cook when someone else can do it for you? By the time you buy things like rice, pasta, vegetables, sauces etc, you're up to the price of a quality foot long.
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Not to put a damper on you Casio, but if you think a bit more, with the rice, pasta, vegetables and sauces, you are able to use them more often than the price of the Subway. I mean, with rice, pasta and sauces, you're buying for the whole product itself that can be used time and time again. Vegetables...well, you ususally just buy what you need.

Subway, you're basically buying for the convience of someone to *make* something for you to eat a bagette of whatever is in it. But you can't have it more than once.

Just a sticking point with me, no offence. :)

Submerged.
 
Costco has good frozen ravioli. Just stick it in boiling water as long as it says, then throw their seasoning on it. Done. Add sauce if you want.

Spaghetti is obvious

I do frozen chinese food. I pick up a bag of orange chicken from the grocery store and follow the bag instructions (stick in the oven for 20 minutes). Then you just have to make rice (instant rice is easy, but I use a rice maker). Add peanuts or stir fry frozen veggies.

My favorite chicken recipe is pretty easy. You need parm cheese and bread crumbs from the grocery store. Put a chicken breast in olive oil then dunk both sides in a mixture of parm cheese and bread crumbs. Stick it in the oven for like... 15 minutes? and it's good to go.

Fajitas are good. You can get some skirt steak or flap meat from the meat section, cut it up with some cooking shears (you need those) and pour soy+oilve oil+garlic powder on it. Let it sit in that for 30 minutes, then fry it up. Add tortillas, canned refried beans, shredded cheese, salsa, spanish rice (from an instant bag), and you're good to go.

Beaf burritos are easy too. Get a log of ground beef and a wooden spoon. Use the spoon to mash the beaf around in a frying pan until it browns and crumbles... when it does*, add beef burrito seasoning (from the grocery store) and water. When it thickens, serve it up on tortillas with salsa, beans, rice, cheese, etc.

*you should drain the grease at that point, but you don't absolutely have to.

I like to cook steaks too.. and fry hot dogs... and... man do I eat anything healthy?
 
Flerbizky
Thing is - 90% of the list is stuff that already is (or should be) in the kitchen cabinet. Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, Sugar, Garlic, Chilis. What I need to buy when making the dish is: Fresh Cilantro, Thai Basil, Lemongrass and chicken.

Get to work ;-)
Click to expand...
Did I forget to mention that my flare in the kitchen is genetic?

Casio
Subway.

Why cook when someone else can do it for you? By the time you buy things like rice, pasta, vegetables, sauces etc, you're up to the price of a quality foot long.
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It's healthy aswell because the nearest one is about 30 minutes walk away :dopey: But alas no, £5 on a footlong would buy one hell of a lot of pasta/rice/potatoes etc.

Danoff
Fajitas are good. You can get some skirt steak or flap meat from the meat section, cut it up with some cooking shears (you need those) and pour soy+oilve oil+garlic powder on it. Let it sit in that for 30 minutes, then fry it up. Add tortillas, canned refried beans, shredded cheese, salsa, spanish rice (from an instant bag), and you're good to go.
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I'll probaby try something similair to this.
 
If you're feeling particularly unhealthy, you could go with Mini Microwave pizzas:

A packet of English Muffins (stay with me on this, I'm sure you can get English muffins in Wales... just don't let anyone see you)
Tube of tomato puree
Grated cheese, whatever takes your fancy
Toppings of your choice

1. Put a squeeze of tomato puree, as much grated cheese and toppings as you like on the English muffin.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes.
3. Consume. (Stating the obvious, but the cheese will be hot. Duh.)
4. Rinse.
5. Repeat.
 
Roo
If you're feeling particularly unhealthy, you could go with Mini Microwave pizzas:

A packet of English Muffins (stay with me on this, I'm sure you can get English muffins in Wales... just don't let anyone see you)
Tube of tomato puree
Grated cheese, whatever takes your fancy
Toppings of your choice

1. Put a squeeze of tomato puree, as much grated cheese and toppings as you like on the English muffin.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes.
3. Consume. (Stating the obvious, but the cheese will be hot. Duh.)
4. Rinse.
5. Repeat.
Click to expand...
Believe it or not, they even sell England tops here now! It's barbaric and disgusting but I suppose that's progress for you.
 
If you have a slow cooker there's a ton of quick and painless things you can make.

For instance, take some chopped up potatoes, carrots, and some chopped up beef, toss them in there with some salad dressing (anything works... but ranch doesnt usually taste great imo. I like Catalina.) and water, and let it cook for 6 hours or so.

Stir it every hour or two... that's all there is to it.

Feel free to replace the chicken breast with chicken breasts or pork, or even shrimp and/or scallops, the potatoes and carrots with whatever is in those drawers in the bottom of the fridge, and the salad dressing with beef broth or some sort of soup... It all works. Very easy to improvise (and I'm by no means a master in the kitchen)

Another favourite is chicken breasts with cream of mushroom soup, and green/yellow beans and carrots or brocolli, etc, ...and maybe extra mushrooms if you like em. Can top the chicken with some grated parmesan cheese when you serve it.



On the same lines as some of Danoff's suggestions, tacos/burritos are pretty quick and if you make too much, it'll taste just as good a day later with reheated hamburger. Get an Old El Paso taco kit, ground beef, salsa, lettuce (or salad in a bag as I do, so I don't have to chop it up), and sour cream (if you're a fan). The box will tell you how to do the rest.
A trick if you don't like the taco shells breaking all the time is to wrap them with a soft taco on the outside.


Can also do hashbrowns. Not really healthy... kinda greasy, especially if you top with a bit of grated cheese like I do and cook it in the same pan as your bacon - but it's quick, easy and tasty. When I'm living in my dorm and on a budget, hashbrowns become meals all unto themselves.


Perogies!
Get some storebought ones - best by far are the cheese and potato stuffed (though you may be noticing by now that most of the stuff I make involves cheese or potatoes in one way or another).
Boil em, fry em a bit just to get the a bit crisp, and eat em. takes 10 or 15 minutes, easy. Another staple of my diet when I'm at school.



And last but not least.....
Microwaved hot dogs.
 
Hamburger Helper is quick and easy to make, and the recipe is on the box. Likewise for Shake n Bake for chicken and pork. Lots of things along these lines.
 
My suggestion: Get a barbeque. Well worth it, IMHO, because it's easy and fast.
And keep in mind that you really don't have to do as the cookbook says. Try what you think would taste good. At the very worst, you simply have to start over again.

For example (and keeping in mind that I'm not experienced in the kitchen), a few weeks ago I took some boneless chicken breast from the freezer and let it thaw. Mixed up a glaze from whatever was in the cupboard (consisted primarily of butter, fresh squeezed lemon juice, garlic, and a little of whatever spicy seasonings I could find), and fired up the BBQ. Toss the chicken on, and fire up the stove. Boil some water, put some linguine noodles in, and put some alfredo sauce in an saucepan, or nuke it. Check on the chicken, flip it, add some glaze. Repeat.
If you're feeling especially fancy (like I was at the time), grate some fresh Parmesan onto the pasta when it's on your plate.
It turned out very well, and certainly much better than I was expecting.

One thing that I will reccomend, is to remember: Quality over quantity.
Use good ingredients, and you'll get better results. The fresher the better, of course. It may cost a couple dollars more to get what's right, but you'll thank yourself when it's on the plate.

As an afterthought, I will add that for the little effort it takes I would make extra when possible. Lunch, leftovers, whatever.
 
If you're looking for something healthy and cheap, just make a salad. Vegetables are relatively cheap and you could get quite a few salads out of one head of iceberg or a bunch of romain and spinach. If you like ham or chicken on your salad you could just buy some cheap lunchmeat and chop it up. Also you said you can boil eggs; chop up some boiled eggs and sprinkle on top. Depending on the type of salad dressing you like, you can buy packages of self mix dressing which is simple to make and cheaper than buying a bottle.

Also someone had mentioned a stir-fry. You can save time and probably a little money if you look in the frozen section. There are usually bags of mixed vegetables specifically for stir-frys.
 

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