Thursday, August 13, 2015

College Survival 2015

The Results are out!!!  

Many of our young students will be heading away over the next month or so having to fend for themselves for the very first time and even if they are not heading away they may not be on the family meal time plan so also may need to fend for themselves at times.

The trap many young people fall into is getting into really bad habits from day one, eating convenience and fast food as their main diet.  This is very costly and can lead to very tired and run down students…  so the trick is to begin now… not the day before they head off …  Also remember this could be a very costly exercise however if you begin now you could end up saving yourself quite a lot of euros!

Survival Tips
  • Go through your food cupboards and put aside any extra ingredients that would form a starter food box examples include
Olive oil,  soy sauce, spices, salt, pepper, sugar, tins of tomatoes, beans, tuna, sweetcorn, coconut milk, curry paste, pasta, rice, noodles, cous cous.  And if you don’t have these as extras look out for Special Offers now and pop some in your weekly shop..

Go through each of these ingredients with them and explain their uses.. 

For example, if they were really stuck and had No other ingredients they could still make a full meal..

Pasta,w tuna & sweetcorn
Egg fried rice w peas & sweetcorn 
Noodles, w eggs

Simple Veggie Curry-  paste, coconut milk, peas, sweetcorn, carrots

Tasty Chilli Bean Ciabattas
Serves 2
1 200g mixed beans drained & rinsed
1 red chilli chopped finely or pinch of chilli flakes
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 med ciabatta cut in half and then quartered

Drizzle a non stick pan with a little olive oil, pan fry the garlic & chilli for 1 min tip in the beans chopped tomatoes into a pan and simmer for 5 mins.. 
Pop ciabatta under the grill and toast one side, turn over and top the 2nd side with mozarrella cheese.
Season bean mixture to taste and pop over the cheese ciabattas …  


  • Student  Accommodation can be sparsely kitted out so check out your pots, pans and knives, colander, chopping boards & food storage boxes  - many of us have the extra pot, pan and lots of plastic food boxes that we rarely use.. put these to good use by sending them off with your college student..   ( A colander is essential to students for pasta, rice, decanting tuna, beans etc.) 

Ask your family, friends & neighbours if they have extras sometimes they are only delighted to do a clear out.. 

  • Take them shopping – many students haven’t a clue about the actual cost of food,  up to now many haven’t had the time or the interest.  Challenge them with 10 euro and see how many meals they can get the ingredients for… Then take the time to go through the aisles and chiller cabinets, for example when looking at chicken, show them how to compare the prices of whole chickens versus, chicken thighs or chicken breasts.   Teach them to look out for specials and be aware of purchasing too much fresh food unless they are prepared to batch cook, soups, curries and freeze them. 
  • If you have family favorite family recipes why not put them together in a notebook or folder for your son/daughter – these are the foods they have grown up with and love and now going away from home they will have the opportunity to “have a go themselves”.
  • Get in and get cooking with them before they head off, up to now many students have done very little cooking and have not to fend for themselves, many still think they can live off college food or convenience a few months of this type of food and you can have a tired, run down broke student who is craving home cooked food on their trips home..   

Soup is a great way to use up leftovers and use up everything in the veggie drawer of the fridge… soup will keep in the fridge for 4 days and it prevents lots of food getting binned and money being frittered away!


Eggs - scrambled eggs, poached eggs,  omlettes  baked potatoes with different toppings, pasta w tuna, pasta w parmesan cheese, frozen peas & bacon, 
How to roast a chicken (great specials on whole chickens)   Bolognese sauce, chilli con carne, shepherds pie, chicken curry, veggie curry and of course stir fries..  


Up on the web…
Some great easy low cost recipes…
Pasta w Meatballs homemade tomato sauce, Asian Chicken stir fries, Egg fried rice, Oven baked sticky lime & ginger chicken….  
Tasty Chilli bean Ciabattas 




Simple Survival recipes

Spaghetti with meatballs


500g minced beef
1 handful of breadcrumbs
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tbls tomato paste
1 tbls of pesto (only if you have it)
2 eggs whisked
Salt & Cracked black pepper
½ cup of flour
Glugs of olive oil
  1. Heat a non stick pan and cook the onion for 1 minute then add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
  2. Pop the minced beef, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, tomatoe paste, pesto & eggs into a bowl.  Use your hands to mix these ingredients well together.
  3. Roll level teaspoons of the mixture into balls and dust lightly with the flour shake off the excess.
  4. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and cook the meatballs in batches, turning frequently until browned all over. Drain on paper towels

Meanwhile make the sauce....

Tomato Sauce

2 cans of tomatoes chopped
1 tbls of olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tbls tomato paste
125 ml veggie stock
½ glass of red wine 
2 teasp sugar
1 handful of fresh basil leaves

500g spaghetti
grated parmesean cheese
  1. Puree the tomatoes with a hand blender or processor.
  2. Heat a non stick saucepan with some olive oil add the onion and cook over medium heat until soft and lightly golden, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pop in the wine and cook for a further minute
  3. Add the tomatoes, sugar, veggie stock & paste to thepan and stir to combine.
  4. Bring the mixture to the boil & simmer for 30 mins.
  5. Pop the meatballs into the mixture and simmer for 15 mins.

Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions…

Transfer the drained spaghetti to a warmed large serving bowl, spoon the meatballs over the spaghetti and scatter with grated parmesean cheese


Asian Chicken stir fry

This is such a simple easy dish & cooks in about 10 mins…  vary the ingredients to whatever veggie you have available. 

1 chicken fillet or thigh per person sliced
1 pepper sliced 
2 scallions sliced diagonally
1 teasp of grated ginger
1 tablespoon  of peanut oil 
1/2 tbs spoon of honey per person
1 tbs  Oyster sauce per person
1 teasp of sesame seeds per person

note:  its easier to use less fat in cooking if you use a non stick pan or wok..

  • Heat the oil stir fry the chicken after 2 mins add the peppers, continue to cook for about 6 mins until peppers are slightly softened.
  • Combine the honey & oyster sauce.
  •  Pour over the chicken & let it bubble up on the wok takes about 1 minute
  • Pop the scallions & ginger into the wok and toss.
  •  Just before you are ready to serve heat the sesame seeds in a non stick pan for about 1 minute to toast them and sprinkle over the chicken when plated..   Serve with either rice or noodles.   


Egg Fried Rice  - serves 4

4 eggs
1 spring onion chopped 
2 handfuls of frozen peas
2 handfuls of frozen corn
(Optional) 1 can of shrimp or cooked bacon or ham
4 cups of cooked long grain rice
2 tablespoons of oil.
  1. Cook the rice in a large pot of boiling water until aldente, remove from heat, transfer to a large sieve and run under cold water until cool.
  2. Shake, shake well to drain any excess water and spread out on a baking tray.  When completely dry and cold you can transfer to a covered bowl and keep in the fridge for 2 days.
  3. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and a little of the spring onion. 
  4. Cook the frozen peas and corn in a pot of simmering water for 3 mins, drain.
  5. Heat the wok over very high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot, reduce the heat, add the egg and very lightly scramble.
  6. Tip in the rice before the egg is set, increase the heat, and stir to separate the rice grains.
  7. Add the corn, peas and any other veggies or ingredients you are using , continue to cook for 1 minute.
  8. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the remainder of the spring onion.

This dish is a complete light meal by itself or is great as a treat with a stirfry or a mixture of Asian dishes.. 


Oven baked Sticky Lime & Ginger Chicken
Serves 2

6  Skinless Chicken thighs
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tablespoon of grated ginger
1 Lime zest & Juice 

Preheat oven to 210 degrees or gas 8
Pop the honey, soy, garlic, ginger & lime into a bowl and combine until smooth .
Add the Chicken Thighs and mix well – if you have some time leave to marinate (can be left covered in the fridge for 24 hours)
 Transfer to a foil lined baking tray or ceramic baking dish and pop into the oven for 20 mins.
Serve with steamed basmati rice and broccoli & sugar snaps peas


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