Cooking for your friends

Cooking for your friends can be a daunting task, but it doesn't need to be stressful or expensive! Here are some tips and recipes for pleasing the masses on a budget...

Roast Dinner

You can't go wrong with a British classic!

My friends love roast chicken, which is perfect as its quick to prepare, and takes care of itself in the oven. All you need to do is add a few ingredients & cover with foil (remove for the last 30 mins). I usually go for a traditional combination of lemon, thyme & garlic, but you can try anything! Spices like garam masala with ginger & chillies adds some heat.


Top tip: Aldi do a great roast in a bag chicken, no prep needed. 

 While your chicken is cooking (this usually takes 90-120 minutes) prepare your veg. I usually have roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips & broccoli. You can even buy prepared or frozen to save time.

The last step is just to make the gravy. Simply combine juices from the roast, vegetable water, cornflour & herbs.

Pour piping hot gravy on before you serve to make sure everything is hot.


Roast ham is another crowd pleaser - exact same process except boil the ham for an hour, add honey & roast for 20 mins.

Roast dinners are easily within a student budget:

Chicken: £1.63 each (6 people)
Ham: £1.67 (5 people) - Aldi
Keep your left overs, there is usually enough meat to make another meal. The chicken carcass can also be boiled to make stock.

Fajitas 

I won't bore you with how to make these, but they are super quick, easy and never receive any complaints! If you shop smart it's only £1.64 each to buy a kit, chicken and accompaniments in Aldi (between 4).

Turn them into enchilada's - add cheese, salsa & bake for 20 mins.




Beef Burgers




I have taken inspiration from a fab cookbook. Only 0.97 each (2 people) & goes down a treat!
Thanks for reading

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