Girl Dinners for Busy Students

Nobody falls victim to ‘girl dinner’ more than an overwhelmed, overworked student. So here are four super easy ‘girl dinners’ that will actually provide you with a nutritious and scrumptious meal while keeping the rough-and-ready pizzazz of an authentic girl dinner.

Mix ‘n’ Match Pasta

This is a fully customisable meal guide based on the ingredients you already have at home! Pick your pasta, protein, and vegetables, add our easy tomato sauce, and hey presto!

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp sugar

Choose your protein:

• 500g ground beef, turkey or lamb mince
• 500g diced boneless chicken
• 500g ground tofu, tempeh or other plant-based
• 500g shrimp, cleaned and deveined
• 500g chopped sausages

Choose your vegetables:

• Bell peppers
• Courgette
• Mushrooms
• Spinach or kale
• Broccoli florets
• Cherry tomatoes
• Asparagus

Additional toppings:

• Parmesan cheese or vegan alternative
• Fresh basil or parsley, chopped
• Grated mozzarella cheese

1. Prepare your tomato sauce.
2. Boil your pasta of choice until al dente. Drain and set aside, drizzled with some olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
3. Cook your protein.
4. In the same skillet, sautée your vegetables.
5. Combine and garnish.

Quick and Easy Naan Pizzas

Rapid, comforting, and idea! for late-night feasting, you can’t go wrong with naan bread pizzas. Perfect for when unexpected guests need something to eat (as it’s fully customisable) or you don’t have the mental capacity for anything else.

• 2 naan breads
• 150g tomato passata
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1-2 packs of mozzarella, drained and roughly torn 50g grated mature Cheddar

Topping suggestions:

• 1 red onion
• 30g pitted olives
• sweetcorn
• chorizo
• bacon lardons
• green pepper, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to gas 6/200°C/fan 180°C. Pop in a large baking tray or two to heat up.
2. Spread the passata and puree over the naans and sprinkle seasonings of oregano, basil, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
3. Top each with mozzarella and Cheddar cheese. Then comes the fun bit – just grab whatever you’ve got and pop it on top! These naan pizzas are a great way to use up pesky fridge hogging ingredients.
4. Transfer to the hot trays and bake for 12-15 minutes until the naans are golden and crisp and the cheese is nice and melted.

Chicken/Tofu and Rice

Who are chicken and rice?

They’re meal prep royalty.

If ‘gym bro’ foods had a Us Weekly, they would always be on the front cover.
There are lots of variations to this, but here is a basic recipe. These portions will last you for several days, leaving you more time for student shenanigans!

• 600g boneless, skinless chicken breast or extra-firm tofu
• 270g uncooked long-grain white rice
• 700g chicken/vegetable broth
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp each onion powder, cumin, thyme, oregano
• 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
• 200g mixed vegetables
• 1 tsp lemon juice fresh parsley, to garnish

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Bring it to boil with chicken broth and butter. Reduce to a simmer and cover until the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork and remove from the heat.
2. Season the chicken/tofu with paprika, onion powder, cumin, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook in a skillet until browned and cooked through.
3. Toss the garlic and mixed vegetables with butter/oil and salt and pepper and either roast or stir-fry until tender and slightly caramelised.
4. Return the vegetables to the skillet with the chicken/tofu and add a dash of lemon juice.
5. Spend a quarter of an hour finding the lids to your tupper-ware, then divide up your rice and chicken/tofu. Let the rice cool before refrigerating.

Potato Fritters with Bacon and Cheese

• 4 rashers bacon or substitute
• 2 peeled potatoes, grated
• 25g grated mature Cheddar
• 60g plain flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated salt and pepper to taste oil to fry 100g frozen peas
• 125g broccoli

1. Squeeze moisture out of the grated potato with some kitchen roll or a tea towel.
2. Fry the bacon until your desired level of crispiness is achieved. Set aside on some kitchen roll to soak up excess oil.
3. Meanwhile, boil the broccoli. When done, replace the broccoli with the peas to simmer. Put about four-fifths of the broccoli in a mixing bowl and put the rest on a covered plate or sealed container to keep warm. Drain the peas and add about a quarter to the mixing bowl, storing the rest in the warm container.
4. Sautée the onions and garlic until they become more transparent and aromatic.
5. Blitz the greens in the mixing bowl with a stick blender or mash with a fork. Add the egg, flour, grated potatoes, cheese and sautéed onion and garlic, along with any seasonings. Mix well.
6. Slowly spoon the mixture into a frying pan in batches, flattening into 1cm-thick discs, frying until golden brown on both sides, like you would a pancake.
7. Optionally, you can poach, fry or scramble some additional eggs at this point to top the fritters.
8. Serve the fritters topped with bacon and the reserved broccoli and peas on the side.