Bored of diet, need new recipes

Judgeneo

Judgeneo

Judgeneo

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Joined
15 May 2010
Posts
10,111
Location
Out of Coventry
Basically, I'm a student. I can cook. But I've just been eating the same stuff over and over again.

At the minute my diet consists of:

Lots of home made chilli
Plain pasta + whatever sauce is on offer
Potato wedges
Occasional pizza
Fajitas
Ham sandwiches
Sometimes sausages
Bacon and onion stuffed jacket potatoes (gorgeous but take ages)
When cold, soup.

So I'm looking for new things to eat... I'm not adverse to 'proper cooking' or spending ages in the kitchen if it will taste good.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can make? I like to cook in big quantities so I can warm it up again the next day or two, and I'm lactose intolerant.

Does anyone have any ideas? Or is anybody in the same predicament?
 
beans on toast...seriously very nutritious for next to no money.

i used to get a whole chicken, cook it on the sunday. and use the other parts left for all other meals in the week.

Students tend to forget about hams also, boil them for a few hours, delicious meat and dead cheap.

just my 2 pence.


rotters
 
Judgeneo said:
Basically, I'm a student. I can cook. But I've just been eating the same stuff over and over again.

At the minute my diet consists of:

Lots of home made chilli
Plain pasta + whatever sauce is on offer
Potato wedges
Occasional pizza
Fajitas
Ham sandwiches
Sometimes sausages
Bacon and onion stuffed jacket potatoes (gorgeous but take ages)
When cold, soup.

So I'm looking for new things to eat... I'm not adverse to 'proper cooking' or spending ages in the kitchen if it will taste good.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can make? I like to cook in big quantities so I can warm it up again the next day or two, and I'm lactose intolerant.

Does anyone have any ideas? Or is anybody in the same predicament?
Click to expand...

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/jools-s-favourite-beef-stew
http://www.foodforfriendsyeah.co.uk/2009/10/01/moroccan-lamb-tagine/

Both of those are pretty easy and take a long time to cook so you can prepare them early and then leave them to heat up for ages and not worry about them. They also make loads and it tastes just as good the next day. Made them both plenty of times as a student and theyre delicious. (plus you can finish off the wine once uve opened it!)
 
from what you've listed it sounds like you can "cook" as well as I can.

so as a student you're on a pretty tight budget.
When I was a student Morrisons did 2x 20kg sacks of rice for £12
Get those and learn to like rice.

Oh and real ale for all other essential vitamins and minerals
 
Basic tomato sauce:
1 tin chopped tomatoes, 1 table spoon tomato puree, 1 clove garlic (crushed/grated/thinly sliced), 1 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper.

Fry the garlic and tomato puree then add the other ingredients and simmer for at least 20 minutes. To that you could add an onion, some diced carrots, mushrooms, chillis, a glass of wine... and it'll always taste better than a store bought sauce.


White sauce: (pasta bake, topping a lasagne)
2oz plain flour, 2oz melted butter, 1 pint milk.

Over a gentle heat mix the flour and butter to a paste, add warm milk a few drops at a time making sure to beat out any lumps. Once all the milk is added allow it to simmer for a few minutes to cook the flour. To this you can add cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper if needed, you could infuse the milk with spices or vegetables.


Wine/cider sauces:
Veg of choice, meat of choice, herbs/spices of choice, seasoning, 1/2 bottle of wine/1 pint cider, 1 stock cube/jellied stock.

Fry your veg, meat, add spices/seasoning, then pour in your booze and stock. Bring it to a simmer and then let it cook for half an hour. Then in a separate bowl take a table spoon of plan flour and add an equal amount of melted butter to make a paste (roux). Add some of your wine/cider sauce to the bowl and mix thoroughly to get rid of any lumps. Then pour this mixture back into the pan, stir in, simmer for a few minutes to cook the flour.



When I started learning how to cook I used these basic sauces as a jumping off point. To them you can add whatever meat, poultry, fish, veg you've got lying around (more or less). Youtube can be useful if you get stuck or need some new ideas.
 
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jp_bl_68 said:
Wine/cider sauces:
Veg of choice, meat of choice, herbs/spices of choice, seasoning, 1/2 bottle of wine/1 pint cider, 1 stock cube/jellied stock.

Fry your veg, meat, add spices/seasoning, then pour in your booze and stock. Bring it to a simmer and then let it cook for half an hour. Then in a separate bowl take a table spoon of plan flour and add an equal amount of melted butter to make a paste (roux). Add some of your wine/cider sauce to the bowl and mix thoroughly to get rid of any lumps. Then pour this mixture back into the pan, stir in, simmer for a few minutes to cook the flour.
Click to expand...

This also seems ideal :)

Cheers people
 
Bread and butter pudding, just experiment with putting different stuff in it, instead of the traditional (like raisins) try savouries like cheese or sausage.

Lasagne or quiche are also (pretty) good for you and keep you going for an age
 
I cant cook, but I've noticed some people are throwing dairy ideas at you ...

Guys, the OP is lactose intolerant. You trying to give him the runs? :P
 
Gary* said:
I cant cook, but I've noticed some people are throwing dairy ideas at you ...

Guys, the OP is lactose intolerant. You trying to give him the runs? :P
Click to expand...
Ooops :p

I didn't notice that last night. You might be able to switch regular milk for soy and butter for I Can't Believe It's Not. A few non-dairy suggestions:


Meatballs:
500g minced beef, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 beaten egg, pepper, breadcrumbs.

Mix the meat, eggs, garlic and pepper with your hands. Add enough breadcrumbs to bind the meat together and absorb any excess egg. Shape into golf-ball (or slightly larger) sized balls. Refrigerate for an hour. Brown them off in a frying pan with a little oil (you're not looking to cook them through just get some colour on them). Bring your tomato sauce to a simmer and add the meat. Fifteen minutes should be enough to cook them through.


Tagine:
Mixed veg, garlic, seasoning, meat of choice (chicken on the bone or lamb's neck work well), about 5 teaspoons of ras el hanout (spice mix, Sainsbury's sell it), dried apricots, coriander, stock.

Fry an onion, the garlic, add the meat and veg and spice mix, brown the meat, pour over enough stock to just about cover everything, let it simmer until the veg is almost cooked then add the apricots and coriander. I'd serve this with couscous and rose harissa (Sainsbury's should have this).
 
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I know that it doesn't fit the cook enough to last a couple of days thing but how about simple things like stir-frys which don't take to long to cook.

Also currys are pretty simple. for example a Keema style mince one was posted here the other day (and it's simple to find alternative recipes for this online).

Google will find recipes for either or both, or with currys you can cheat and use a jar.

As it's coming up on summer you could consider different salads, e.g. bean or rice ... again a quite search returns various recipes but it's more fun to look at a few then make up your own varients including things you like .... although given that it's the British summer coming up then you may want to consider going back to soups :p
 
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