Student cooking can still be good
I still have a cookbook produced by the UEA student's union. Most of the recipes are quite edible and bear a passing resemblance to the real thing. They also have the benefit of being pretty cheap to make. The most complicated recipe was this spag bol which I make the same way to this day (16 years on):

1/2 pound mince
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1 tin of tomatoes
1 tiny tin of tomato puree (or ketchup if you are desperate)
stock cube or gravy granules
oregano or mixed spices

Brown the mince and fry the onion & garlic. Drain fat. Mix the rest of the stuff in and cook for 20 mins. Meanwhile cook the pasta for 10 mins and serve.

If you want to get fancy, you can add sliced mushrooms, olives, grated carrot, red wine and olive oil. Any combination makes for a rich and delicious spag.

Same sauce ingredients plus kidney beans and chilli powder make chilli con carne.

The constituent ingredients add up to less than a jar of sauce and taste much better. For extra points, freeze a few portions for later.

I reckon learning and cooking 4 or 5 different meals will save you a fortune over your life. I also find that I far more enjoy eating food I've made myself than I do eating ready meals. Even if the food I make is terrible, I still look on it as a learning experience.
(MagicMoose, Mon 26 Jan 2009, 14:16, Reply)