Best Packed Food?

Phoenix Wright

Hi all,

First of all, I am a terrible cook with a very limited knowledge about cooking and ingredients in general. I am also a final year student heading into a very busy period and I badly need to spend long hours at the library so I'm looking at going there from 9am-11pm during the weekends leading up to the exams.

I take regular breaks and usually work over the course of the day, but I'm sick of eating snacks from the vending machines or being forced to come home to eat dinner altogether.

Does anyone have any recommendations for meals that I could cook the night before and bring to the library? I don't have access to a microwave unfortunately.

dee_mc

Do you have access to a kettle? If so, hot cous cous with cold cooked meat or fish and raw or roasted veg stirred through could be thrown together in minutes and would be warm and satisfying on these cold days?
Or a thermos full of soup (maybe with some pasta in) or stew would be warming and instant.
I bring a little insulated bag to work with me with yogurt, almond butter, apples and veg eg carrot sticks and celery sticks - nice things to munch on. A little pot of nuts would be good too for an energy boost.
In summer I just bring a salad including cooked noodles with a simple soy based dressing, and on colder days I've been known to set it on a radiator to take the chill out of it!

Dizzyblonde

Rice salad that can be eaten hot or cold:
Sauté diced onion and peppers in a little olive oil, add the rice and stir until it's coated with oil, then add twice as much chicken stock as rice and a handful of frozen peas. Season with salt & pepper, add some turmeric for colour and a pinch of chilli powder if you like it spicy. Cover and simmer until the rice had absorbed all the stock, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the pot.

Noodle salad:
Stir fry some mangetout, green beans, sliced peppers and sliced onions for a few minutes. Add crushed garlic and grated carrot and stir in for a minute, then add a good dash of soy sauce, a small amount of sesame oil and a dash of lemon juice. Stir in some cooked medium egg noodles and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds (I toast them in a the dry pan before frying the veg).

Couscous and chickpea salad:
Cook the couscous in stock, add a drained can of chickpeas and stir in roasted veg and/or any raw veg you like and a dash of olive oil and lemon juice.

*If you add some cooked chicken, turkey, cheese or a tin of tuna to any of the above they'll make a good dinner.

I like jambalaya cold. It makes enough for four dinners but you could freeze it in portions:

4 large chicken breasts, diced
100-150g of chorizo, sliced , depending on how much you like
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons of cajun spice
250g of rice
350ml of chicken stock (roughly a mug full of hot water and one stock cube)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
a handful of frozen peas (optional)
olive oil for frying

Heat a large pan or pot with a lid and gently fry the chorizo in a small amount of oil for a few minutes until it browns slightly and releases oil,
then take it off onto a plate.
Add a bit more olive oil and the onion and red pepper to the pan and fry until it softens.
Add the garlic and chicken and fry until the chicken is sealed. Add the chorizo and cajun spice and stir it for a minute.
Add the rice and stir, then add the tomatoes and stock. Stir well, then cover the pan and simmer gently for about
25 minutes until the rice is tender.

*If you're using the frozen peas, throw them in a few minutes before the end.

Phoenix Wright

I can honestly say I've never heard of cous cous or chorizos, but both of you have given me good ideas and I would thank you more than once if I could. I have no access to a kettle either, but I do have a thermos. I will definitely give jambalaya a shot over the Christmas holidays, no doubt I will mess it up but it sounds like it could be worth a shot

dee_mc

If you want simple recipes with good, clear directions and lots of info on ingredients, substitutions and basic cooking methods, you can't go wrong with the Smart Cooking books. They're not cheap (around €20 each) but they're absolutely brilliant. Maybe you know a secondary school student studying Home Ec who might have a copy you could borrow, or you might pick one up in a second hand bookshop.
Good luck with the study and bon appetit!
Couscous is lovely cold too by the way, so consider making some up at home and bringing it in a lunchbox with some other bits for a filling meal

arian

Dal/dahl/dhal curry in your Thermos and some rotis/chapatis?

Loads of recipes on the web, but this was mentioned on here recently (I haven't made it myself), though I can't remember by whom (sorry):

http://minimalistbaker.com/spicy-red-lentil-curry/

OldMrBrennan83

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dee_mc

Patww79 wrote: »

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Without veering into food safety advice, what I tend to do is to cook the rice at dinner time, assemble the salad and leave it in the fridge overnight, then keep in an insulated lunchbox/bag until lunchtime.

OldMrBrennan83

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dee_mc

Patww79 wrote: »

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I've finally found a decent flask that has a good enough seal to keep my coffee hot from 9am to afternoon, but for food I think the expensive ones the scouts use are your only man. Might be worth looking at outdoor shops/websites for a good offer. Nothing worse than cool soup

rubadub

Patww79 wrote: »

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they can vary a lot between brands. A tip is to preheat the flask by pouring in boiling water first, and microwave or heat up your stew so its boiling when you put it in, far too hot to eat. Flasks can also be wrapped up in a small towel or jumper or something which helps hugely.