Student Batch Cooking Question

ukclare

sonastin wrote: »

Teach him how to make his own pizzas - there's a whole thread on here somewhere dedicated to how to do it. I use my breadmaker to make the dough but I know its easy enough by hand

I use the bread maker to mix to dough for bases. There is usually enough for 3 bases so I use one and freeze the other two - they take up almost no space, like storing records! I use cornmeal (costing very little) to stop the base sticking instead of oil. Very cheap and definitely cheerful! Ketchup makes a good base (or a mix of ketchup and BBQ sauce) and leftovers can go on the top!

becs

When we do cottage or shepherds pie just make it as usual and freeze. We to just stick it in the oven and cook straight from frozen for about 45mins-to an hour. We also freeze left over mash as I never have got my estimates right for how much to do when making shepherds pie! I usually heat tat through note hob and dain off the "defrost" water as it starts to reheat.

hilstep2000

I bought my son these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Students-Sausage-Beans-Cookbook/dp/0572026218/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339438021&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Pasta-Pancakes-Ultimate-Cookbook/dp/1844007332/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339438090&sr=1-7

Owain_Moneysaver

mountainofdebt wrote: »

T(If he gets into his 1st choice, there are 2 large fridge freezers between 8 of them so he should at least get a drawer)

That means 7 other hungry students on the prowl at 2 a.m. looking for munchies.

adelight

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

That means 7 other hungry students on the prowl at 2 a.m. looking for munchies.

Most students don't eat other people's food, especially not UFOs (unidentifiable frozen objects ) in opaque tupperware or marg pots.

I just graduated and always had a fridge shelf and a reasonable amount of freezer space. Tell him not to bother with frozen chips, frozen veg etc, get used to wedges (take exactly the same time) and tinned veg. It saves freezer space for valuable things like meat whoopsies and batch cooking. Almost everyone else I lived with felt the need to freeze bread, even when they ate half a loaf a day, which again wastes valuable space. It's worth checking for whoopsies when he passes shops in the evening.
Avoid freezing the simple part of meals like the carby bit, just tonnes of unseasoned meaty sauces that can be defrosted, flavoured and whacked on top of pasta, rice, whatever.

If I remember correctly Lidl tinned tuna is very cheap, even cheaper than brands when they're on half price or less. It's really solid and not slushy like most vaguely cheap tuna.

I know this sounds awful but if he's a drinker he might want to consider keeping a stash of cheap booze in his room. So often we would only go as far as the corner shop to get last minute drinks and it can cost double that of getting value vodka and lidl beer. Of course this isn't a good idea if he doesn't have much self control when it comes to drinking.

Lacemaker

Hi there,
Firstly ,congratulations to your son, and to you for helping to get him there.He is embarking upon an adventure of his making and I wish him every success and happiness.
I graduated 26 years ago and wouldn't like to even contemplate what I ate, but more pertinently, the last of my first three graduate this summer.If it helps, these are my reflections.Student ovens are filthy,even at the start of the year, and as it progresses baking trays are often used for direct heating on and not always cleaned, therefore: stuff that can be re-heated in a micro or pan is better.
These are the items that I packed mine off with at the beginning of every semester :
Tinned tuna, Pasta, Pasta sauce, Oil, Pesto, Tubes of garlic ,Peanut Butter,Toilet Rolls, Bacon, Sausages, Chicken Breasts (individually bagged for freezer), Biccies, Dishwasher tabs, toothpaste, Baps, beer.
Further to Adelight's post, one of my sons and friends had a novel approach to partying at the end of term when money was tight, :rotfl:"Fivers In". Find the cleanest bath in hall, all throw in a fiver, a couple go down to buy up B*rg$a!n B%%ze, fill up the bath and you can guess the rest rest!::rotfl: