Red Thai Beef Curry and Quinoa

Red Thai Beef Curry and Quinoa

Super healthy and super filling! I'm a huge fan of Thai's curries and enjoy changing up the main meat to keep things exciting (I live a very sad life). The recipe is simple: slice the beef nice and thin, keep the sauce thick and throw in lots of healthy vegetable friends. Here's what you need:

(Serves 4)
1 x Pack Beef Frying Steak*
1 x Large Sweet Potato
1 x Onion
1 x Courgette
1 x can Coconut milk
2 x tbsp Red Thai Curry Paste
360g Quinoa**

*These are always pretty good value. Tesco's version here
**Tesco's version here

Total: £7.79
Per Serving: £1.90

Cooking Instructions:

• Fry the chopped Onion in a frying pan until soft
• Add the thinly sliced Beef Steaks and Red Thai Curry Paste for 2 mins. Then add the Coconut Milk, mixing all ingredients, and cook for 3 mins. Transfer to separate pan/oven dish
• Gently fry the diced Courgette and Large Sweet Potato until soft, then mix with previous ingredients
• Transfer to the oven (or cook on a low heat) until curry has reduced to a thick sauce
• Serve with cooked Quinoa.

Bargain!
Minimal washing up, minimal effort and great taste. This is perfect for throwing together for flatmates or freezing portions for lunch. Plus you now know what Quinoa is - but remember to pronounce it right when telling others (Keen-wah). Enjoy!

Italian Steak Supper

Italian Steak Supper with Garlic Flatbread

Lets be honest, steak isn't something which you would expect to appear on a healthy student cooking blog: it's delicious but high in saturated fat, and it's commonly thought of as being an expensive luxury. However I've thought of a way of getting around it, inspired by a recipe in Ideal Home Magazine. This dish is light, summery and full of fresh vegetables - the Garlic flatbread is completely optional, as the dish stands well on it's own as well.

Things you'll need:

Serves 2

• 2 x Frying Steaks*
• 2 x small Red Onion
• 1/2 Courgette
• 10 x Cherry Tomatoes
• 2 x Handful of Rocket
• 1 x Flatbread**

* Because you end up cutting the steak into slices, you don't need to worry too much about thickness, and standard frying steak will do (and is the cheapest option). Try Tesco's option, which can work out under £1 a steak!

** If you would like to have some carbohydrates with the meal, try one of these which we split between 3 people.

Price overall: £3.17 (£3.50 with Flatbread)

Per portion: £1.59 (£1.75 with Flatbread)

Cooking Instructions:

(If cooking a flatbread, preheat the oven before you start and cook according to packet guidelines.)

1. If you have one, use a griddle pan. Otherwise a regular frying pan will do. Heat some oil in the pan. Cut the small Red Onions in two and place in the pan. (If you have some skewers they will help hold the onions together if you slide them along it, if not then don't worry.) Turn the halved Onions every 1-2 minutes to brown all sides.
2. Slice the courgettes thinly and lengthways (as in the picture above) and add them to the pan alongside the onions. Cook for around 3 minutes on each side until they have that nice charcoaled effect. 
3. As the pan fills up, remove the slices of Courgette, place on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Once you have space, add the cherry tomatoes. Keep moving everything around so each item is browned all over. 
4. Once your Tomatoes are cooked and removed from the pan (under the foil) add your Steaks. Cooking time is dependent on how you like your steak cooked, but stick to this as a guideline: 1 1/2 minutes each side - Rare. 2 minutes each side - Med Rare. 2 1/2 minutes each side - Medium. 3 minutes each side - Well done. 
5. Take everything off the heat and slice the cooked Steaks into strips. Place a handful of Rocket on each plate and top with your Courgettes, Tomatoes, Red Onions and Steak.

There you go! This is a real throw-together salad, with a nice mixture of hot and cold ingredients which work really well. And at this affordable price, it makes Steak student-friendly!

Beef Stroganoff

I've altered this usually high-in-fat meal to a lighter AND cheaper version. Taken from the Philidelphia website (here), this recipe is tasty, quick and easy. And each ingredient has a cheap supermarket alternative in both full fat and light options, so perfect for students!

Things you'll need:

Serves 2

• 2 x Beef Steak*
• 1 x Onion
• 1 x Baby Mushrooms Pack
• 75g Light Soft Cheese
• Splash of Milk
• Tbsp Dijon Mustard (Optional)
• Brown Rice (Optional)
• Mixed Vegetables (Optional)**

*I use Tesco stir-fry beef (here) 

** Mixed Vegetables are cheaper bought in the frozen packs (here)

I replaced the refined white carbs with brown rice, but this can be served with mash or chips too!

Price total: £5.28

Per serving: £2.64

(Excluding optional items)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Fry the chopped Onion in and large frying pan until soft, then remove from pan.
2. Fry the sliced Beef until brown, then add the Mushrooms until the juices run out of both. Then return the Onions to the pan.
3. Add the Splash of Milk and allow the mixture to reduce a little.
4. Stir in the Light Soft Cheese and Mustard (Optional).
5. Serve with accompaniments of your choice

Another reasonably priced, easy peasy recipe suitable for students! You can also freeze a portion of the Stroganoff for another time if you are only feeding one. And this recipe fits with lots of different accompaniments, catering for all tastes and preferences.

Beef and Vegetable Casserole

This recipe takes some time to make, so perfect if you have some extra time on your hands (which most students do, let's be honest!) The actual preparation takes no time at all, but the slow cooking makes the beef really tender and tasty. I took this recipe from BBC Good Food (here) and didn't need to alter it too much as it's really simple and packed full of goodness (5 of your 5 a day!)

Things you'll need:

Serves 2-3*

• 1 x Pack of Casserole Beef (Steak or Diced)
• 1 x Onion 
• 1 x Carrot
• 1 x Leek
• 1 x Garlic Clove
• 2 x Celery Sticks
• 75g Mushrooms
• 500ml Beef Stock
• 2 x tbsp Tomato Puree

* This may seem like too much, but to save the awkwardness of only using half a carrot (etc), make a big Casserole and Freeze the other portions for a later date!

Price Overall: £5.71 (Approx)

Per Serving: £1.90 (3 Servings) 

Cooking Instructions:

1. Add a splash of Olive Oil and Fry the chopped Onion, Leek, Carrot, Celery and Garlic in a large saucepan and cooking gently for 5 minutes. Add the Mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes until transparent but not browned. Remove all vegetables from the pan and set aside.
2. Add a splash of Olive Oil and gently fry the diced Casserole Beef and then brown all over. Then return the vegetables to the pan and add the Beef Stock and Tomato Puree. Simmer on a low heat for 1 1/2 hours until tender.

Ensure that you check on the Casserole every 20 minutes or so, making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan and keep everything moving - the last thing you want to do is burn it! Feel free to leave it to cook for longer if you want the beef to be more tender. Serve with Mash Potato! A super cheap student dish and a great replacement for those Sunday Roasts you might be missing!

Get your 5-a-day Beef Stir Fry

Beef Stir Fry

This super quick stir fry is healthy, cheap and easy. For students, it's perfect. Chicken is also an option if you're not a big red meat fan, but alternatively, beef is a nice change from Chicken! Also, If you do enough Veggies with it, you don't need the noodles. This recipe doubles as a no carb, low fat, light dinner.

Things you'll need:

Serves 2

• Thin Cut Sirloin Steak (Chopped into thin slices)
• Tenderstem Broccoli 
• 1 Pepper
• 1 Onion
• Stir-Fry Sauce (Optional)*
• 1 x Noodle Portion (Optional)

Price per serving: £2.85/£3.40 with Optional Items.

As with any Stir Fry, you can add other vegetables to get your 5-a-day such as Carrot, Pak Choi, Asparagus or Mushrooms.

*WATCH OUT when using ready-made Stir Fry sauces, check the nutritional information as some are high in salt or sugar (such as Chinese sauce or Sweet Chilli). 

Instructions:

1. Gently fry the Chopped Onions for 1-2 minutes
2. Add the Beef strips and continue to fry on a low heat to avoid the beef going too dry. Fry for a further 2-3 minutes until beef is coloured.
3. Turn up the heat slightly and add the remaining Vegetables and toss in the pan continuously until soft. Then stir in the ready made sauce (Optional).
4. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to packet instructions (Optional) and then add to the stir fry and mix together.

A Stir Fry should be a staple student meal, as you can pack in as much Veg as you want and it's so easy and quick. Another option (which can sometimes turn out cheaper but not always) is buying the ready prepared stir fry vegetables, which saves time on prepping the food!

Spicy Meatball Ratatouille

Spicy Meatball Ratatouille

ORIGINAL RECIPE

A super cheap, carb-free dinner for any time in the year. I can't remember how exactly I came up with this dish but it probably originated from the Italian classic: Spaghetti and Meatballs. If you love a bit of spice in your food, this meal is for you!

Serves 2-3

Things You'll Need:

• Pack of 12 Meatballs 
• 1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 Courgette
• 1 Onion
• 1 Pepper
• 1 Chilli Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Oregano (Optional)
• Basil (Optional)

Overall Price Approx (Tesco): £4

Per Serving: £1.30

Cooking Instructions:

1. Fry the Chopped Onion in Olive Oil 
2. Add the Meatballs until browned
3. Add the sliced Courgette, Pepper and Chilli and fry for 2 Mins until soft
4. Add the Tinned Chopped Tomatoes and Season with Oregano and Basil (Optional).
5. Leave to Simmer for 10 Minutes until the Meatballs are cooked through and the sauce reduces to your taste.

To fill you up more, this meal goes very well with not only Spaghetti but also Ciabatta Bread warmed through in the oven! A cheap delicious student meal for those who enjoy spicy food!