Seduce Them With your Cooking Skills: Foods To Impress

Food is something that is overlooked by a lot of students. We don't have a lot of time or money to concentrate on feeding ourselves. Frankly we'd prefer to save our money for drinking. But say you want to show off your culinary skills to some potential romantic suitors? The best way to a man's heart and a woman's vagina is through the stomach after all - not literally. These should do it. I've got you covered for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. It's up to you now...

Breakfast

1) Pancakes

Want to show off your culinary skills and enjoy the best breakfast in the world, ever? They're the perfect morning thank you for that thing that you did last night. Plus, they don't actually require a huge amount of effort. Personally I prefer the fluffy American-style pancakes but there are loads of types to choose from. Check out Sorted Food's website. They have a ton of pancake recipe's to choose from. Make them more epic by adding blueberries or bacon, or choc chips. I'm salivating at the thought of them...

2) Porridge

Again a simple recipe, a half cup of oats with milk or water. Microwave for five minutes and there you have it, breakfast! Why not try these toppings from Student Beans's website: some pretty adventurous ones...not sure if I'd go for the marmite one...gross. I tend to stick to syrup, cinnamon or berries. If you can't have milk, try it with almond milk. If you're gluten intolerant - some oat products have traces of gluten even though oats themselves are gluten-free - try making porridge with quinoa.

3) Scrambled Eggs

Eggs, always a great breakfast whether you like them boiled, fried, poached or scrambled. Scrambled eggs do not require much effort at all and are pretty difficult to screw up. in fact, they were the first things I ever learned to cook - I was five. If a five-year-old can do it, you can. Like porridge, you can just mix a cracked egg, milk, salt and pepper in a microwaveable bowl and but into the microwave. Three minutes and you have a nutritious and delicious breakfast.

4) French Toast

Seemingly difficult, but actually simple enough. A step up in the breakfast game from pancakes. Plus a great way to use up stale bread and it's super tasty. Want to step it up in the taste department? Use a bit of sugar or cinnamon in the egg mix used to dip the bread in, or use a sweet bread like brioche, extra sweet and extra Frenchy.

Lunch

1) Grilled Cheese

This recipe from Sorted Food includes a recipe to make your own bread, like you have something to prove to your housemates. Really all you need is cheese, bread, butter and a skillet/frying-pan. Super simple and super tasty.

2) Soup

Let me guess, you bought a load of vegetables at the start of the week thinking you'd be a good little college student and feed yourself right? Only now, they're almost past their best by date. Solution? Stir fry or soup. Either would use up extra veg, but in these cold days it's nice to have a bowl of soup handy. Plus, it's great for hangovers. Pretty much anything can be put into soup. Endless possibilities! I draw the line at Marmite though...

3) Baked Potato

Easily cooked in the oven or microwave; stuffed or unstuffed; always delicious. Treat yourself with a baked sweet potato, so good it's almost sinful, but seeing as it's a potato, it's good for you! Great comfort food. Perfect and simple for cold winter nights and quick enough to make and eat before going out for drinks with your friends.

4) Omelette

Another great way to use up eggs, meat and veg left over in your fridge. A meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. How about making up the mixture and divide it up into a cupcake tin and bake in the oven? Perfect omelette muffins that you can reheat for breakfast or lunch. Saving time for tomorrow!

Dinner

1) Homemade Burger

Burgers are basically socially acceptable sandwiches for dinner. Ditch the fast food version and make your own. Not only will it not be filled with  additives and preservatives and whatever else it is that keeps those McDonald's burgers from going off. Sorted Food are currently doing a #BeatMyBurger challenge across their social media, with various YouTube content creators. Check them out and make your own version. Making your own is a lot more impressive than buying ones from Tesco that may or may not be made from horsemeat anyway.

2) Garlic Potatoes

Is there anything more enjoyable than creamy warm garlic potatoes? Yes, garlic potatoes with both sweet potatoes and regular potatoes included. Perfect accompaniment to steak, sausages or just in a bowl by themselves. Gorgeous and simple. Takes a while, but totally worth it.

3) Pasta Carbonara

All students should be able to make at least one signature pasta dish. Bolognese is pretty popular but if you want o do something a little different try Spaghetti Carbonara. Simple and creamy, great for warming and filling you up on these cold nights and full of bacon goodness. Pair with a nice bit of garlic bread, parmesan cheese and the cheapest white wine you can find. You classy student you.

4) Homemade Wedges/Fries

Nice touch to finish off your burger dish, am I right? Again, like the garlic potatoes, why not add some sweet potatoes into the mix? Sweet god of fries, sweet potato wedges are delicious. Very simply made, just clean and chop up potatoes, drizzle with olive oil and add salt, pepper, and maybe some cayenne pepper/cajun seasoning/rosemary if you're feeling extra fancy. Bang them into the oven and a little while later feast on these deliciously satisfying wedges of joy and happiness.

Dessert

1) Brownies

Always a great crowd favourite. Plenty of recipes of variations: with or without nuts, chocolate chips, with or without weed...or even with cookie dough to get the best of both worlds! Whatever you like. Plus there are loads of really great gluten-free recipes out there too.

2) Cookies

Whenever things got too stressful in college I'd break out the baking goods and make cookies for everybody. There are so many incredible types out there, chewy, crunchy, extra-chocolatey, and my personal favourite: double chocolate salted caramel cookies. Be sure to make a load though because your housemates will eat them all.

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