Easy Meals

These are a great mid afternoon snack, super easy to make and cheap at the same time.

Ingredients:

Large Bunch of kale

Coconut oil (substitute for Olive oil, or rapeseed oil)

Pinch of salt

Pre heat the oven 180 degrees. Shred up the Kale into smallish pieces. Heat the oil and salt in a pan on a medium heat. Add the Kale into the pan and cover in the warm oil on the heat for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and spread evenly out on a baking tray covered in greaseproof paper. Leave to cook in the oven for roughly 10 minutes, they made need slightly less or more. Take out of the oven when they are a darker green color and crisped up. Remove from the greaseproof paper and leave to cool on some kitchen roll for a little while. And then enjoy munching away at these treats. They will keep perfectly well for a few days in a sealed container . 

Chicken, Lemon and Tarragon Salad

SOOooooo... the HSB team have handed in our dissertations now and there's no more excuses not to look after ourselves!

Try this yummy fresh lemony, chickeny salad!

These ingredients make enough for three meals so pop the rest in the fridge and try with couscous for lunch!

Ingredients

1 pack chicken breasts

1 lemon

1 tbsp dried tarragon

1 red onion, sliced

All the salad stuff you want! ( We went for lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and avocado) 

Instructions

1. Pop the sliced red onion in a pan and cook until it starts to soften.
2. Chop the chicken into big chunks and add to the pan.
3. Squeeze over the juice of one lemon and the tarragon
4. Leave to cook for 10 mins and prepare your salad
5. When the chicken is cooked through and starting to go golden, the onion is soft and the lemon juice has all cooked away, serve with the salad!

Chorizo, Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Risotto

Try this great one-pot-wonder that can get everyone in your student house cooking together. The result is a fantastically satisfying dish that will beat a pot-noodle any day!

Ingredients (Serves 3) 

2 cloves of garlic, crushed.

1 onion, finely diced.

2 red peppers, deseeded and diced.

Risotto Ingredients

1 stick of celery, finely diced.

1/3 of a butternut squash, deseeded and grated.

100g cubed chorizo sausage (you can also leave the chorizo out if you are vegetarian)

250g Arborio risotto rice.

1 litre warm chicken stock.

50g grated parmesan (optional)

Olive or sunflower oil for frying.

Salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Gently fry the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic in oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan until soft but not brown.

2. Add the cubed chorizo and fry, stirring occasionally, to release the flavoursome oils. If you like it a bit spicy add half a teaspoon of paprika, and a couple of dashes of tabasco, or a sprinkling of chilli powder!

3. Then add the grated butternut squash, and cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

4. Next, stir in the rice to coat in the delicious oils, and sauté for 3 minutes until the edges of the grains begin to turn translucent.

5. Now add your first ladle full of stock, and stir until almost absorbed.

6. Stir in the next ladle of stock, and repeat as the rice absorbs it. Continue this until the rice is a creamy consistency, and still has a bit of bite when you taste it! You may need more or less stock, dependent on how soft/firm you wish the risotto to be!

7. To finish, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and a knob of better to give the dish a rich, velvety texture!

Cost per portion: 56p. This just goes to show that eating good quality, fresh home-cooked food doesn’t have to break the bank!

The final result!

James’ Top Tips:

If you have a leftover Parmesan rind hanging around in the fridge, put it into the risotto when you start adding the stock. It will give the rice even more flavour!

Add a splash of red or white wine to the sautéed rice to give an even greater depth of flavour. The rest of the bottle is now primed for Jesters pre-drinks!

See More: http://www.wessexscene.co.uk/author/james-reid/

Grilled Spicy Haloumi and Orange Salad with Tzatziki (James Reid)

This spicy, tangy and refreshing salad is perfect for a chilled summer evening in the garden with cider and mates! The Tzatziki (a Greek style yoghurt and cucumber dip) is fresh and cool, so compliments the warm Haloumi perfectly. Give this quick and easy summer dish a go!

Ingredients (Serves 3)

250g Pack of Haloumi cheese (sliced into half centimeter slices)

2 Large oranges (segmented)

3/4 Cucumber (grated)

Handful  Cherry tomatoes (halved)

½ pot Natural yoghurt.

1 Large clove of garlic

1 bag Mixed rocket, spinach and watercress.

1 tsp Paprika.

1 tsp Cumin.

Pinch of dried chilli flakes.

Pinch of pepper.

Splash of olive oil.

For the Tzatziki

1. Grate the cucumber and squeeze out any excess water, as you don’t want the Tzatziki to be too liquidy.

2. Combine the cucumber with the yoghurt.

3. Add the crushed garlic clove, pinch of pepper and some chopped chives or parsley and stir well. Don’t add any salt to this, as haloumi is already a very salty cheese.

For the grilled Halloumi

1. Combine the paprika, cumin and chilli flakes together, and a little olive oil.

2. Generously coat each slice of the cheese in the spice mix.

3. Place on a metal tray and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.

 For a quick salad dressing:

1. Combine a splash of vinegar with the juice of some of the orange segments and good glug of olive oil. Season slightly.

 And finally….

Layer the salad with the cooked Haloumi, tomatoes, and orange segments.

The finished product

Spoon some generous dollops of the Tzatziki all over.

Add a couple of splashes of the dressing and enjoy!

Cost per person: £1.81

James top tips!

Bread that is going a bit stale is perfect to turn into croutons!

Chop the bread into small cubes, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs and then oven bake until crispy and add to the salad to give that extra bit of texture to the dish.

Sticky Chilli and Ginger Marinade

Marinades are a quick and easy way to make meat so much tastier without adding lots of fat! Here's one we made up last night!

Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic, put through a garlic crusher or chopped into small pieces
• 1 chilli, chopped into small pieces
• 1 piece of ginger (ours was about 4cm long) chopping into small cubes
• handful of fresh coriander, torn up
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• Splash of lime juice

Instructions

1. Put all of the dry ingredients into a pestle and mortar and grind up until they make a paste (if you don't have a pestle and mortar, chop up really small and give them a bit of a squish with the back of a spoon of your chopping board).
2. Stir in the honey and lime juice and that's it!
3. Put your meat into a dish and cover with the marinade, if there doesn't seem to be enough add a splash of water
4. cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 30mins before grilling, the longer the better! We had this on pork chops with carrots, broccoli and brown rice, yum!

Student tips

• Ginger, chilli and coriander can all be bought as dry spices. It wont be as fresh tasting but will last much longer for next time you want to make the recipe!
• This will work with whatever meat you have or you could even try rubbing onto vedge then roasting!

Broad Bean Pea and Feta Couscous- Guest blog from Manger Sans Frontieres 

We are very excited to have our first guest blog from the team behind Manger Sans Frontieres, stay tuned for more.

"The concept is simple: we are five medical students who love cooking for each other, eating without boundaries; and we want to give each other fantastic meals day in, day out. Often we don't have a great budget, but this doesn't stop us cooking great food!"

Broad Bean Pea and Feta Couscous

A very quick and tasty lunch or dinner. When making couscous I tend to sprinkle in some stock powder (e.g., bouillon powder or a bit of a stock cube crumbled in) before covering it with boiling water to steam. A mugful of dried couscous is enough for one hungry person - or perhaps two if it's going to be served alongside other things. 

Also, feta can be quite expensive. Look out for other varieties of 'brined cheese'. I found a brined cow's milk cheese in the international food store here. It's very similar to feta and is literally about half the price!

couscous - one cupful
stock powder - half a teaspoon
broad beans - frozen, a small handful
peas - frozen, a small handful
feta - about 50g
a shallot - or you could use spring onions or some v. finely chopped red onion
fresh herbs - I used parsley and dill because that's what I had to hand, but mint would be perfect 

Pour one cupful of dried couscous into a bowl, add the stock powder and cover with one cup of boiling water (the water should cover by 0.5cm or so, I'd say). Cover the bowl with clingfilm or a plate that fits well and leave for 10 mins or so. 

While that's steaming place the peas and broad beans in a pan of boiling water and cook until tender (only 4-5 mins) and then drain. Very finely chop the shallot / red onion (or some spring onion) and chop the herbs. 

Once the couscous is ready, fluff up with a fork and slosh in a little olive oil if you like. Add the peas, beans, onion and herbs to the couscous and crumble in the feta. Fold it all together and plate up!

To see more recipes visit  here

Tuna and Balsamic Salad
This may sound a bit dodge but trust us, it tastes amazing!

Ingredients

• 1 can of Tuna
• 1 Carrot
• Couscous
• Balsamic vinegar

We also added: 

• Fresh coriander
• 1 large tomato

Instructions

1. Cook as much couscous as you want (the packet should have instructions and serving quantity suggestions)
2. Grate your carrot and mix it all up!

This is so simple, tasty and much better for you than mayo!

Student tips

Add whatever salad vedge you have! Red peppers also taste amazing with this :)

Guest Blog!!!
Hey Guys!
We're very excited to have our first post from guest blogger Macro Mitch.
These chicken burgers don't only taste amazing but are just £2 a burger!

Macro Mitch is a free-running chef extraordinaire, providing healthy, delicious, protein packed recipes and exercise advise to help you have a more exciting and healthy diet
Check out Mitch's Blog at: http://macromitch.com

Low Fat Sticky Chicky Burgers

• • Prep Time
  • 15 Minutes
   
• • Cook Time
  • 30 Minutes
   
• • Yield
  • 3 Burgers

A good burger is hard to beat. Seriously, there is such a simple pleasure in a chunky, juicy, meaty burger that is packed full of flavour. Sadly this usually means lots of fat and even more calories. A lot of store bought burgers also have wheat flours or breadcrumbs in the mixtures to help thicken them which means I can’t eat them either (due to avoiding Gluten).

I ate one burger on its own, then had the remaining two for dinner with rice and some mixed cauliflower and broccoli. So happy with how these turned out, enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Breast Fillets (260g)
• 1 Small Onion (70g)
• 1/2 a Red Pepper (50g)
• 1/2 a Green Pepper (50g)
• 30g Sweet & Mild Clear Honey
• 2tsp Cinnamon
• Salt & Pepper as Desired
• Nutrition Info
• 151kcals Calories
• 21.1g Protein
• 13g Carbs
• 1.6g Fats

Instructions

• 1.The first step is the caramelised onions. Finely chop your onion, add it to a pan with a little oil and cook them for around 5 minutes (until they begin to soften)
• 2.Chop your peppers into small pieces and throw them in a mixing bowl. Add in 1tsp of cinnamon, half of your honey (15g) and a little salt and pepper and mix it all together.
• 3.Chop the chicken breasts into chunks, put in a food processor and blitz to a paste. Transfer to the bowl with your peppers and seasoning. 
• 4.Your onions should have begun to soften by now, turn the heat down low and add in the remaining 15g of honey and 1tsp of cinnamon and mix. 
• 5.After 10 minutes add a splash of water to the onions so they turn nice and soft. Cooking for about 15 minutes then remove from the heat. 
• 6.When the onions have cooled add them to your burger mixture and stir it all together.
• 7.Line a tuna tin with some cling film and add a third of your mixture into the tin patting it down and forming a burger shape. Repeat with the remaining batter until you have 3 equal sized burgers. If you don't have a spare tuna tin you could always try rolling these by hand but be warned the mixture is sticky!
• 
• 8.To cook add a little oil to a pan, on a high heat cook the burgers on each side for 1 minute to seal their shape. Turn to a low heat and cook for 10 minutes or so flipping occasionally, making sure that the chicken is fully cooked before removing from the heat. ENJOY!
• *Students tips*
• - Use one whole pepper rather than two halves to keep the cost down
• - These cost around £2 a burger- eat them with left over veggies or whole grain rice and make them last three days!
• - Don't fancy three big burgers? Mould them buy hand and make mini burgers! These would be easy to freeze and have the rest next week!
• - Chicken thighs are often cheaper than chicken breast- they take longer to trim off the fat but we all love a bargain!
• - If you don't have cinnamon try another spice or herb, Chinese five spice could add a nice bit of sweetness!
• 
  
• 
  
• Healthy KFC!!

This healthier alternative to a KFC is also a lot tastier, cheaper and only takes 30mins!
This recipe makes 2 portions costing just £2.50 each!

Ingredients
250g Chicken/ Turkey Breast (chunks/ strips whatever you have will all work well)
1 bag of pre-dried bread crumbs (if you have some old crispy bread chuck it in a blender!)
1 egg
Sweet potato (sainsbury's 2 for £1)
1 can Heinz 5 beans
Salt and pepper
Drop of oil

Directions 

1. Wash the sweet potatoes and cut off the hard ends and nobbly bits. Chop into chip shapes leaving the skin on. Arrange onto a plate so that there are not overlapping and cook in the microwave on high until squishy. If you are cooking 2 potatoes you might need to repeat with a second plate. Heat your over to about gas mark 8.
2. Once the potatoes are soft put on baking tray with a splash of oil and salt and pepper and mix around. The high heat will make the sweet potato chips nice and crispy but keep an eye on them so they don't burn (shpuld take about 20mins)
3. Crack an egg into one cereal bowl and mix until all yellow. Put the bread crumbs, salt and pepper into another cereal bowl ready to dip.
4. Cut the fat and skin off your chicken and chop into strips. Dip the chicken into the egg then into the bread crumb bowl and cover it all over. Repeat until all the chicken is coated.
5. Your chips should be nearly done now so the quickest way to cook the meat is in a pan with a splash of oil. Cook on one side for 5 mins then flip, remove from the pan when golden and crispy on both sides. Chop the thickest piece in half to make sure it's cooked right through. To be healthier lower your oven to gas mark 6 and cook for 30 mins, flipping half way through.
6. Heat your beans and when the chicken and potatoes are all crispy plate up- yum!

Bean and Bangers One-pot

Sausages can be healthy too...We love this simple recipe from the BBC that's perfect on a student budget! This recipe makes 4 portions at just £2 a portion!

Ingredients 

1tbsp olive oil

8 Pork Sausages

2 carrots, halved lengthways and sliced

2 Onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2x 410g cans mixed beans in water, rinsed and drained

1 chicken stock cube mixed in 400ml boiling water

100g frozen peas

2 tbsp mustard

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the sausages. Cook for about 6 mins turning occasionally until brown on all sides then remove and put on a plate.

2. Put the carrots and onion into the pan and cook for 8 mins, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft.

3. Add the vinegar to the pan and stir in the drained beans. Pour in stock and put the sausages back in. Cook it all on a low light for 10 mins.

4. Add in the frozen peas and cook for 2 mins until heated through then take off heat and add the mustard.

Student Tips

- This recipe feeds four, half the mixture to save money or portion it off into freezer bags and eat over the next few weeks!

- don't have red wine vinegar? Try Lea & Perrins or BBQ sauce for that tanginess!

- Don't worry about the mustard if you don't have any- just throw in plenty of pepper.

Courgette Pasta and Prawns

Hi Guys! Welcome to our first ever recipe post!

Today we are reinventing a student favourite- Pasta!

Courgette pasta

A Great substitute for a carb overload. All you need is a courgette and a peeler! Give it a go!

Ingredients: 

• Prawns (many as you want really!)
• 1 Courgette
• 1 fresh chilli, chopped
• 4 Spring onions
• Rocket 
• 1 clove  of Garlic
• Handful of Coriander
• Little bit of olive oil
• Little bit of Salt
• Little bit of Pepper

- If you fancy it a bit soupy like I did also add:

• 1 Chicken stock cube mixed into 200ml Boiling water
• 2tsp flour

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a pan
2. Take your courgette and a peeler and peel away until the whole thing is in long thin strips
3. Add the spring onions, chilli, garlic and half the coriander. Cook until onions soft and garlic cooked- be careful not to burn it! Burnt garlic is naaaat good!
4. Throw in the prawns and courgettes. (If you're going for the soupy version this is the time to add the stock)
5. Keep on a medium heat until prawns pink and courgettes soft- this should take about 3/4 minutes but make sure those prawns are cooked through! Add the flour (If needed to thicken the source), taste and add your salt, pepper and the other have of the coriander
6. Just before serving, stir in the rocket so heats but doesn't wilt completely 
7. Eat!!

Student Tips

• King prawns are lovely but can be a bit expensive for a student budget! Any prawns will work find or try substituting for chicken, pork...well any meat really! If you are using another meat still add it at stage 4 but don't add stock until meat is cooked through to be safe!
• Rocket can also be pricey- you could try cabbage? Or just leave it out!
• Any vedgies can be added to bulk this up! Search your fridge and use those leftovers!

Happy Cooking :)

Love HSB Team