*urban 75 student cook book.

[Ellie23]

with a family we don't do this very often now, simply not enough and it's easier to start from scratch, but tinned stewed steak in gravy is quite nice, cheap too. You can throw in an assortment of chopped fresh veg or some mixed frozen veg, top with mashed potato (or sliced potatoes) put in the oven and cook till browned. Decent meal for one person for less than £1.

Bacon and eggs, beans too if you like, is quick and filling especially if you have some fried bread with it.

Chilli for four servings ~ pack of mince, cook that and drain off any fat or yukky liquid. Then add drained contents of a budget tin of kidney beans, a tin of tomatoes and pack of chilli mix (lazy me!). Cook some rice. Can have some grated cheese and sour cream and chives with it if you're feeling rich.

 

[Lisarocket]

All these recipies are really cheap and basic......

Before i became a veggie i used to make a huge corned beef hash, which would feed me and my mates for a few days.

You need:
an onion
a tin of corned beef
some potatoes
tin of tomatoes
some dried mixed herbs


Thinly slice corned beef, onion and peeled potatoes.
Alternately layer corned beef, onion and potatoes in an ovenproof dish.
Pour tomato (with mixed herbs, salt and pepper in) over the top. Shake dish so that the tomato mix goes through the layers.
Leave in oven for ages till it looks cooked and everything has gone a bit mushy.
Eat....

It actually tastes better than it sounds, especially the second day you heat it up and it's really cheap

Basic tomato sauce for pasta etc.
Onion
Garlic
Tin of tomatoes
dried mixed herbs (preferably italian)

Fry onion and garlic together, add tomatoes and herbs. You have a sauce that will go with anything...well, mostly pasta.

If your feeling flush you can add peppers (put in after garlic and onion and fry a bit before adding tomatoes), mushrooms and/or courgette.

Add a tin of tuna and some dried chilli powder for a nice tuna sauce.

add some Lea and Perrins, mince (or veggie mince) and you've got a spag bol sauce.


Matt's cauliflower cheese. Matt, who i used to squat with made this:

One cauliflower
Tin of macaroni cheese
Some chedder
a carrot
an onion

Cut the cauliflower into manageable chunks and par boil. fry the onion, chop the carrot up small.

Put cauliflower in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle carrott and onion evenly over the top. Add tin of macaroni cheese. Grate chedder over the top.
Put in oven till it looks cooked and the cheese on top is melted and browned a bit.

 

[crimethInc]

Righ I'm starting uni next month and reckon I could do with some. quick easy and CHEAP!!! recipes to get me by student life.

so what was your favorite student grub, whats your favorite 15minute wonders.

I will get all the recipes and print em out and use that as my cook book when i get to uni save me nicking my mums!



dave

my everyday meal at Uni..

Breakfast;

-Porridge + Sugar + Banana (total cost 30p/cheaper if you use water not milk in porridge)

Lunch;

Rice, Vegetables (from lewisham market- dead cheap), soy sauce. (cost 1pound)

Dinner;

Pasta + tinned can of tomatos + whatever veg is around + many herbs & pepper (cost 1pound)

Dessert;

Fresh Fruit (stops you from getting scurvy, which some at Uni seem to suffer from).

Add cheese, denominations of dead animal etc if overdraft is anywhere near year 0 .

 

[Passdout]

As I have been waffling on about Pie and Mash, here is the recipe for the Parsley Liquor.

This is a recipe for the famous green gravy that is served with the East End (London, UK) speciality of Pie, Mash and Liquor.

Ingredients

25 Gram Butter (1 oz)
25 Gram Plain flour (1 oz)
300 ml Water (10 fl oz)
4 Tablespoon Chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Teaspoon Malt vinegar, optional

Method

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the water or stock. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Add the parsley and seasoning and vinegar if using.
Serve with a minced beef pie and mashed potatoes.
Note:

You can use chicken stock in place of the water

Serves 4

http://www.hub-uk.com/foodpages36/1797.htm

 

[Ozric]

Morrocan Style Chicken on Cous Cous

It's been a long time since I've been a student but this recipe should fit the bill, cheap, quick, easy and tasty:

2 chicken fillets
1 chicken stock cube
Olive oil
1 tblsp Apricot Jam
1tsp Ground Cumin
4oz frozen Green beans
1 tsp Ground Coriander
12 olives

Couscous about 6oz plus olive oil, and fresh coriander or parsley to garnish if liked.

Slice the chicken into pieces and heat oil in frying pan about 1 tablespoon. Add chicken and sprinkle with spices. Turn over and cook quickly on other side. Add half pint of boiling water to pan with stock cube, jam and beans. Prepare the couscous according to directions. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes and add chopped olives. Season carefully with ground pepper and if necessary more salt, it does depend how salty the stock cube is.
Test chicken to make sure it is cooked, fluff up the couscous and divide between two plates. Spoon the chicken and beans on top and garnish with fresh coriander if liked. Ready to enjoy in less than 20 minutes!

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

have a look here: http://www.beyondbakedbeans.com/

I've got the book (the veggie version) and I'm sorted; I can cook loads of different meals now. You do need to keep your cupboards stocked though if you're gonna make some of the more interesting meals on a regular basis, and buy some vegetables at least once a week. There's a list of essential stuff to keep in your cupboards, e.g. spices, stock, tinned tomatoes etc

It cost me about £6 off amazon...

 

[haggy]

tuna surprise:

chop onion (lots of garlic optional)

meanwhile boil pasta + drain

add olive oil to pan + cook onions, add a tin of tuna (drain well if in brine) and as much green pesto as you can afford

throw the pasta back in and stir up. add lashings of black pepper

if you have a tomato - chop it and add just before serving

depending on the pasta cooking time, should take only a few minutes. it's very nice and i still cook it when i'm lazy/skint


if this is too extravagent, there's always:

cook pasta and stir in some tomato puree thinned with boiling water

 

[past caring]

kebab

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

I cooked spiced lentils with tomatoes and cream, with pilau rice & naan last night

Night before it was aubergine & pea curry w/rice & naan

then Moroccan spiced chickpeas with spinach, w/naan bread

then what I call Tatty eggspin (parsee-style potatoes with eggs and spinach)

night before that chunky italian style veg soup

I'll post the recipes when I can be arsed!

 

[fractionMan]

A mate at uni invited me over for his 'fantastic' home made curry. He got a tin of economy potatoes in brine, added chilli powder and served with a proud flourish.

edit: Why do people ruin perfectly good pesto by adding mayonaise/tuna/whatever? Weirdos.

 

[tom k&e]

edit: Why do people ruin perfectly good pesto by adding mayonaise/tuna/whatever? Weirdos.

Because most shop bought pesto is horid shite?

 

[happytobe...]

ok. I did a search on omlette and surprisingly no one has written anything soo...

-If there's only one of you go for about 2/3 eggs depending on how thick you want it.
-Beat these a lot (it makes the omlette nice and fluffy)
-chop up anything like peppers,mushrooms..anything that goes softish when you fry it basically.
-Fry them in a pan (with butter or olive oil)
-Put some salt and pepper in the egg...however much you want.
-chuck your fried veggies(not too done,they'll cook a little bit with the egg) into the egg mix and then pour this into your frying pan.
-Cook on an average heat(about gas mark 6) on each side for five minutes and then however much extra you need until the omlette can be cut with a knife and is slightly bouncy.

Serve with potatoes and a bit of salad. All good
I made that for the first time the other day; just chucked together what I could find. It was yummy

I know its really easy, but you know...every little helps.

 

[susie12]

simple & obvious but nice - leftover boiled spuds sauteed in oil, mix in beaten egg - cheap yummy breakfast. Broccoli boiled and served in cheese sauce,optional hard boiled eggs - cheap & good for you

 

[Stobart Stopper]

Here's a simple way of making chicken taste nice, and it's easy. Take 4 pieces of chicken with bones left in, melt 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 50g of butter in a casserole dish, season the chicken pieces with salt and black pepper and when the oil and butter is sizzling add to the dish, simmer slowly for 30 minutes then take chicken out and put in a baking dish and cook on gas mark 4 until the juices run clear.

 

[Disco Squirrel]

Moroccan Stew

1 large Sweet Potato - peeled and chopped
1 large Carrot - as above
1 tin of tomatoes
1 parsnip (optional)
1 pinch of saffron
1/2 tsp of dried ginger
1 1/4 litres of veg stock
1 courgette
2 peppers
1 large bunch of Coriander chopped.


Chuck in the potato, carrot, tomatoes, stock, saffron and ginger into a large pot. Season. cover, bring to boil and simmer for around 35 - 40 mins. Add Courgette and Peppers, boil briefly for 2 - 3 mins and then simmer for a further 30 mins. Add chopped Coriander 5 mins before serving.

Serve with Couscous and/or lamb..

 

[emwilk]

Is this just a northern thing....?

Get a tin of baked beans, a tin of corned beef (chopped up, obviously) and a chopped onion, mix it all up in an oven dish.

Top with mashed potato (and cheese if you like).

Put in oven til it's the horrid sounding mixture in the bottom is hot and mash is going a bit golden browny.

Get some bread and butter rocking with it! Muchos cheapness, it's GORGEOUS and fills you up SO much!!

And/or....

Do some jacket spuds (5 mins each in microwave if you have one/can't be arsed waiting for them to cook in the oven). Cut in half legthways, scoop out potato leaving shells. Mash potato up with some corned beef or cheese then fill the potato shells back up with the mixture. Stick in oven for a while...

Classic for when you come in pissed and starving! Hot or cold! You could even leave them on the lowest heat in the oven when you go out and they'll be just perfect when you get in!

 

[sojourner]

This is my dhal recipes, nicked off a proper indian (aka my mum):

Boil the lentils till you can crush a grain without any hard stuff. Fry some onion, when translucent add some garlic and ginger, stir for a sec, then add a chopped tomato. The add a teaspoon of paprika, and half a teaspoon each of cumin, chilli powder, tumeric, coriander and garam masala. Once the spices are fried off a little, stir it into the dhal and stir. Add green chilli, salt and vinegar to taste. Serve with chapatis, or whatever bread you've got lying around.
.

Just like to say that I'm gonna have a go at this tonight - found all the required spices in me food cupboard whilst having a sort through. I haven't got any ginger, but I have got some galangal powder and it's much the same thing. Can't wait to taste it

Thanks Xanadu's mum

 

[kained&able]

my favorite thing i keep making is giant yorkshire pudding with stuff.

Get and random meat you have lieing about (suasages,chops, possibly some mince) and cook it. Chuck a load of veggies(carrot, baby corn, green beans, garlic) into a frying pan and umm fry them untill cooked or it becomes too much effort. Put everything into a giant yorkshire pudding base thingy(should be about 30p) and chuck in the oven for a five minutes.

make some gravy pour it over and season.

If your lucky you might not even need a plate as its all slef contained so a bit of kictchen roll will do you proud.

dave

 

[Nixon]

philidelphia,sweet chili sause and hot pepper sauce has saved me from many hangovers.

another one houmous and hot fresh salsa on toast is ace.makes you fart though...

i live on fucking bread as a student but at least it's nice bread

 

[SubZeroCat]

This is my fairly cheap invention though not quite baked beans cheap.

Red & Orange Pepper and Ricotta pasta (had it last night, was lush).

You will need:

2 shallots
1 orange pepper
1 red pepper
a large handful of cherry tomatoes
tub of ricotta (not all of it though)
Sainsbury's red pepper pesto for added kick
a little bit of stock (bouillon is the best)
salt n pepper
cayenne pepper
tabasco
black olives (sliced)
basil
500g fusilli pasta

(Serves 4)

Chop the shallots finely and fry until slightly golden in a bit of olive oil. Add the chopped peppers and fry for 5 minutes or so. Then add the chopped cherry tomatoes and fry the whole lot til soft. Add 1/3 cup of stock to add moisture. Season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, tabasco and some basil leaves.

Once mushy, pour contents into a blender and whizz until smooth. Add 3 heaped table spoons of ricotta, 2 table spoons of red pepper pesto and juice of 1/2 a lemon and blend.

Once the fusilli is cooked, drain, return to the pan and add the sauce (making sure it's still hot, if it has cooled down heat it up in the frying pan). Add the sliced olives and more basil leaves et voila! Yumminess

 

[Xanadu]

Used to cook this as a student occasionally:

breadcrumbs (stale bread chucked through a food processor, or lightly toasted bread smashed up with something hard)
very finely chopped parsley
finely grated parmesan
freshly ground pepper
one beaten egg
flour
some sort of meat (ethically sourced chicken or pork, but veal if you are posh and don't care enough about animal welfare)
rosemary
olive oil
sunflower oil
some type of floury potato, in 1-1.5cm cubes

rosemary roasted potatoes
boil the large diced potato until you can almost eat the potato on it's own, but it's not breaking up too easily
chuck the potato into a colander, and leave for a minute to drain
chop up the rosemary, and mix with olive oil in a big bowl
toss the potato chunks with the oil mixture
dump on a roasting tray, and crumble some sea salt on top
roast at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the potato is crispy on the outside

schnitzel
mix the finely chopped parsley, pepper and parmesan with the breadcrumbs
if using pork or veal, soak in a very small amount of bit of milk first
hammer out the meat to about half a centimetre thick
drain off excess liquid, sprinkle a tiny bit of salt on each side of the meat, and coat each piece of meat in a very thin layer of flour
pat off any excess flour, but make sure that there is an even coating of flour
dip each piece of meat in egg
dip each piece of meat in the seasoned breadcrumbs
fry in a hot frying pan with sunflower oil until the breadcrumb coating is almost crisp and golden
add a small knob of butter to the pan, turnning the meat in the melted butter
When the breadcrumb coating is actually golden and crisp, drain on kitchen roll

boil some sort of green veg just to be healthy like

goes beautifully with a freshly made, and very thick tomato and basil sauce:
fry some onion in olive oil til translucent, add some crushed garlic, stir and add passata. Add some sugar, balsamic vinegar and tomato puree. Simmer at a low heat for an hour. Add salt/sugar to taste, and lots of ripped up fresh basil. If people don't like bits of onion, pass through a food processor then serve. If you make too much sauce, freeze it.

 

[Dirty Martini]

This is my fairly cheap invention though not quite baked beans cheap.

Red & Orange Pepper and Ricotta pasta (had it last night, was lush).

You will need:

2 shallots
1 orange pepper
1 red pepper
a large handful of cherry tomatoes
tub of ricotta (not all of it though)
Sainsbury's red pepper pesto for added kick
a little bit of stock (bouillon is the best)
salt n pepper
cayenne pepper
tabasco
black olives (sliced)
basil
500g fusilli pasta

(Serves 4)

Chop the shallots finely and fry until slightly golden in a bit of olive oil. Add the chopped peppers and fry for 5 minutes or so. Then add the chopped cherry tomatoes and fry the whole lot til soft. Add 1/3 cup of stock to add moisture. Season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, tabasco and some basil leaves.

Once mushy, pour contents into a blender and whizz until smooth. Add 3 heaped table spoons of ricotta, 2 table spoons of red pepper pesto and juice of 1/2 a lemon and blend.

Once the fusilli is cooked, drain, return to the pan and add the sauce (making sure it's still hot, if it has cooled down heat it up in the frying pan). Add the sliced olives and more basil leaves et voila! Yumminess

Made this today (minus the olives) for me and my two-and-a-half-year-old. Both of us loved it. Cheers

Actually, minus the basil as well, no matter. Some nice salty pecorino grated over too, to cut into the sweetness of the sauce

 

[SubZeroCat]

Cool, glad you liked it

 

[quimcunx]

Chickpea casserole

Tin of chickpeas (or even cheaper buy em dry and soak them)
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
small onion
couple of potatoes (leftovers?) (also optional)
salt
pepper
tomato puree
olive or other oil

chop onion and peppers
soften onion in oil
turn up heat a little and add peppers
fry them a bit
add chickpeas
add potatoes
add tomato puree and generous portion of oil
cook through
eat.

 

[radiohead]

21p fish fingers (4 under grill til they're done)
20p bread (2, marge optional)

place cooked FF's on bread, add salad cream/ketchup/mayo whatever floats your boat, add other slice of bread

consume

lush, cheap, fast, and you don't even need a plate

 

[seeformiles]

One of my favourite cheap recipes stems from being a student in the 80s and it's sooo tasty I still make it today. It is "The Pizza Noodle Naan" and it goes something like this:

Ingredients:

2 Naan Breads
1 packet cheap instant noodles (pref beef or Tomato flavour)
1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
some margerine
herbs
grated cheese

1) Lightly Butter the Naan breads and sprinkle with the chopped garlic
2) Mix noodles, herbs and tomatoes in a pan and once suitably reduced, spread on top of the two Naan breads
3) Top with the cheese
4) Put in medium oven for 20 mins

Even at current prices, two people can be stuffed for about £1.

 

[selamlar]

Proper corned beef hash

Get potato, peel potato, boil potato, cut boiled potato up into bits.
Get onion, peel onion, cut onion up into bits.
Get corned beef, open can, apply plasters to gaping flesh wound on hand, cut corned beef up into bits.
Heat oil in frying pan, add onion and cook until soft. Add potato, corned beef, salt and pepper, chilli pepper if you want. Cook, stirring GENTLY until starts to go brown and crispy.
EAT.

Only problem is how many people you are doing it for. Usual (big) portions call for half an onion, half a tin of beef and 2 potatos per head

Strange Anglo-Indian rice jobby as made by my Gran (old india hand dontcha know)

Basmati Rice
Stock cubes
1 big onion
2 cloves garlic
1 packet bacon
150-200g cheese (any cheese will do although gruyere or something of that sort is best)
Curry powder
Veg oil.
1 tin sweetcorn
Frozen Peas
Assorted other veg if you have any going

Cook rice in vegetable stock. Sling sweetcorn and peas in about 5 mins before it is done. Drain
Cut up onion into bits, cut up garlic into bits, cut up bacon into bits, cut up assorted other veg into bits. Fry, adding tbsp curry powder, until done.
Cut up bread into bits, fry until crunchy
Cut up cheese into bits.
Mix all above together, grate more cheese on top and grill until brown.

Its called 'Calcutta rice' BTW

 

[absinthe pirate]

Hmm i've needed this thread for the past 3 years!

 

[peeches]

Rule 1: Invest in a hand blender.

Soup:

A few handfuls of any vegetables you like.
2 Largeish potatos (or the equivallent in small potatos)
1 leter of stock (from cubes)
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
Splash of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

Roughly chop everything and peel anything that needs peeling. Chuck into a pan with the oil and heat till it sizzles and stir lots. Pour in stock and boil ON A LOW HEAT for 2 hours making sure the liquid level stays roughly the same (it might get less, just put more water in). Blend thoroughly with hand blender. Et Voila: Tasty nourishing soup.

(p.s not reallly suitable for any leafy veg like lettice or spinish. Cabbage would be fine though.)

 

[idioteque]

Apologies if anyone's already mentioned it, but the BBC'S Recipe Finder is great for those days when the fridge is sparse, you've only got a few ingredients in and nil inspiration. Enter what you've got and it'll list recipes for potential dinners. Wonderful.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/