First Term Survival

… is definitely a learning curve for both the student and the parent. As a student it's probably mixed feelings – “yippee freedom - do as I please” to the realisation - nay horror, that the production of food and laundry isn't the work of the respective fairies! As a parent it's resisting the temptation to phone or message every day or even “I was just passing and thought I'd pop in to see how you were” despite the fact that it's a 150mile round trip!

If you took my advice and invested in a slow cooker, here's another vital recipe, requiring no expertise at all other than may be knowing the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon measure – might be an idea to add a set of measuring spoons to the essential kit list.

Pulled chicken

4 large chicken breasts

2 tbsp Worcester sauce

½ tsp chilli

pinch of cayenne

250ml tomato ketchup

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsps lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed or 1 tsp garlic paste

125ml maple syrup

Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker – low setting. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended.

Pour over the chicken and cook for 6 hours. Shred with two forks and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Serve the chicken and sauce in brioche buns - aka slider rolls or burger buns if preferred, with coleslaw.

Alternatively you can buy individual bags of frozen rice that can be microwaved in 2/3 minutes.

The ingredients for the marinade are easy to stash staples, some of which you've already got on your “suitable for a small space” list – even lemon juice is available in small bottles!

I've made this many times and there's plenty of marinade to cook 6 chicken breasts – great economy – leftovers can be frozen – you'll be lucky!

The fast fix ...fishfingers

This “fast fix” has been passed on many times over the years. If you are lover of salt and vinegar on fishfingers it makes them perfect for spreading on a submarine roll. The first step is the fishfingers are microwaved. See Guidance Notes below. Quick, easy and another candidate for a late night snack.

Easy to make in minutes and easier still on the budget!

The ultimate fishfinger sub

1 x submarine roll

tartare sauce or mayo

tomato ketchup

4 fishfingers

Salt and vinegar

2 x cheese slices

Assembly

Spread one half of the sub with tartare sauce or mayo and the other with ketchup.

Microwave the fishfingers, break them up, add salt and vinegar. Place on the bottom of the submarine roll, add two cheese slices, complete the sub by adding the top half – ensure you are armed with kitchen roll – devour.

Guidance Notes

You can buy fishfingers as cheaply as £1 for 10 – total

weight 250g i.e. 25g per fishfinger. There are larger

ones out there

A microwave container – without the lid – is ideal

for cooking

Based on 4 x 25g fishfingers microwave on medium

for 1 minute, then turn, repeat and then a final 1 minute

total cooking time of 3 minutes

If your fishfingers are larger then adjust your timing

accordingly at 1 minute intervals and test with a fork

to see that the fish is white and cooked thoroughly

I did try and warn you that this would not be pretty from our point of view – what we have to grasp is that this is life but not as we know it!

The submarine slob …

… with meatballs and tomato sauce

It's no coincidence that these recipes are repeated. Their usefulness knows no bounds. Check out “Hooked on cooking – the main event” for both recipes.

I appreciate that this might be rather long winded for your newly installed fledgling to want to produce but it would hit the mark for you to make at home and deliver, frozen.

The meatballs and tomato sauce are the most flexible ingredients – to explain myself :

Bag and freeze a batch of meatballs -

don't overload the bags – it's better to pull

out two smaller bags if needed than to waste

them

Do exactly the same with the tomato sauce in

small pots or sauce bags

Add a packet of spaghetti or pasta of choice

to your “staples suitable for a small space” list

I have two ideas, one for a late night snack, the other for a speedy meal.

Create a superior sub. Take a submarine roll and toast lightly then spread with the defrosted tomato sauce. Add defrosted meatballs to suit the appetite. Garnish with grated mozzarella, ordinary cheddar cheese or cheese slices as the budget allows. I'm assuming for the sake of this exercise that the ingredients are in the freezer in Halls. If preferred they can be warmed through – if they are taken straight from the freezer and defrosted thoroughly they'll be warm in any event.

Create a meal – defrost the meatballs and tomato sauce. Place both in a saucepan and heat through thoroughly whilst cooking pasta of choice. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Easy and economical for a “batch cook” and a delivery of home cooked food when the funds are beginning to run out.

Versatile me thinks!

What goes with …

… the Cheat's Chilli?

Who doesn't like a “toasted” sandwich? This “scaled down” version is the perfect accompaniment for the chilli.

Croque Soldiers

4 slices of medium sliced wholemeal bread

2 tsp Dijon mustard

**75g (3oz) Gruyere cheese (grated)

2 slices of ham

30g (1½oz) unsalted butter

Spread ½ tsp of mustard over each slice of bread.

Spread half the cheese on two slices of bread followed by the ham, remaining cheese on top. Sandwich together with the other two slices of bread.

Cut into thick soldiers – 4 per two slices of bread – in half and half again.

Heat the butter in a frying pan until foaming – fry your soldiers for 1-2 minutes on each side so that the cheese melts.

If you are making heaps of soldiers you can pop them in a pre-heated oven on a baking sheet – 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for a minute or two but it's my experience that using pieces of kitchen equipment that can be avoided is preferable – too much like hard work and complicated!!

Can't think of a downside to this “side suggestion”.

**I appreciate that Gruyere is expensive – mature cheddar cheese is just as good.

Cheat's Chilli

More ideas for speedy suppers that won't break the student bank and useful additions to any repertoire – this recipe definitely qualifies since it only takes 20 minutes.

Cheat's Chilli

650g minced beef (minced steak if the

budget will allow)

glug of rapeseed oil

*½ tsp each of cumin, coriander

and cinnamon

*500g carton of passata

*1 can of red kidney beans

60ml sweet chilli sauce

l large onion, finely chopped

1 Knorr garlic flavour pot

*¼ tsp chilli powder

Only piece of kit required – a large frying pan.

Heat the rapeseed oil, add the onion and garlic and soften on a moderate heat for 2/3 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chilli and cook to allow the spices to release their umph!

Add the minced beef and break up and mix thoroughly to ensure that the mince is browned. Add the passata and the sweet chilli sauce, mix again, finally add the beans – bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally .

Variations

Add 50g of dark chocolate broken into small

pieces and drop into simmering chilli to enrich

Use spiced mixed beans instead of red

kidney beans

Add 150g of diced chorizo (reduce the amount of minced

beef to 500g). Fry off the chorizo first until it begins

to crisp and set aside - the rapeseed oil is not necessary since

you're making use of the oil released from the chorizo – continue

with the recipe adding the onion, garlic and spices

as above, add the chorizo back when the mince is

browned

Add a topping of sour cream

If this doesn't disappear it'll be a miracle. If by some chance there are any leftovers, freeze portions in the microwave boxes.

P.s. Those ingredients marked * can be added to your “staples suitable for small space” list!

What comes next …

… suggestions for “staples suitable for a small space” - stuff that won't deteriorate and doesn't necessarily need a fridge so won't come to any harm stashed in a small box in the bottom of a wardrobe.

The magic of a chicken – this recipe is why I suggested investing in a 3.5L slow cooker – it's the perfect size for a whole one.

Slow cooked whole chicken

1.5kg chicken

1 chicken stock pot/cube

generous sprinkle of mixed herbs or

garlic Italian seasoning

2 tsps of garlic paste

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and, if you are using a stock pot, mix the garlic and stock together and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with herbs. Switch your slow cooker on low and leave it for 8 hours.

The resultant juices give you approximately half a pint (300ml) of stock – or in this case dunking juices.

My serving suggestion is to leave the cooked chicken where it is in the slow cooker – definitely rustic – it can either be broken up with fingers or slice the breast if you must – tear and share bread to dunk into the juices. As a contender for an easy “green” side there's the outdated iceberg wedge with a dressing or dip of your choice – you don't have to make the dressing/dip – blue cheese or Thousand Island are probably the most popular. If the iceberg wedge is too much, Little Gem lettuces are the ideal size for “cups” to fill with pieces of chicken.

I know I don't need to point out that you can pick up a whole chicken for around £3 if you shop smart.

You can now begin your “staples suitable for a small space” list with :

Knorr seasoning paste – garlic flavour pots

Knorr chicken stock pots

Garlic Italian seasoning or mixed herbs

It will get easier.

University or bust …

… or is it starve!

I have it on good authority that living in Halls and being responsible for what you eat produces all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff.

Now I don't want you to lose sleep but here's a glimpse of real life “a la Halls”.

“I was well stocked with food drops that would shame the Army. Defrosting some pre-portioned chilli or a piece of steak was amazing and possible easier that a pizza to heat through and far tastier. But there were days after the food had run out and instead of heading to the supermarket for some fresh stuff it was either pasta, beans and cheese or the ever popular angel delight and crisps. In my defence the supermarket was 6 miles away due the amazing (lack of) planning of the Halls of Residence and the only shop could charge what they wanted for “Happy” bread. Happy seemed to be a euphemism for white flour, a lack of taste and a shelf life that rivals any of the ageing rockers still refusing to leave the stage!

Eggs were quite popular, as were beans.

There were some interesting meals, I cooked a lot of chicken in tomato soup as some kind of shortcut to a sauce base, add mixed herbs and job done.

Lots of cheese was melted onto bread, meat and bagels and there was the incident with the microwave and ketchup – results in green smoke – don't ask.”

My overwhelming memory is making shed loads of individual sticky toffee puddings. The boy had no idea that they contained dates!

Sleep well!