When it comes to living in a new environment with new people or with those you have chosen to live with, it can, at times, be a bit awkward quite different to living with your family. One way to break the ice is through food. Depending on the level of cooking ability here are three different dinner recipes that you could make for with your house, however be careful and check out allergies and varying dietary requirements your friends may have.

Beginner: Chilli

This can be either: mild, medium or hot depending on the jar of sauce used.

All you need is (serves 4):

• Mince 750g
• Uncle Bens (or equivalent) chilli con carne jar
• Can of baked beans
• Rice to serve

1. Brown off the mince
2. Add the sauce and the baked beans
3. Leave to simmer, and cook the rice alongside.
4. Once the sauce is done, serve with the rice and the meal is complete.

Intermediate: Fajitas

Always tastes great, and if you feel more adventurous make the seasoning yourselves.

All you need is:

• Chicken
• 2 Peppers
• 1 Onion
• Fajita meal kit
• Guacamole
• Cheese
• Sour cream

1. Slice chicken, pepper and onion
2. Follow instructions on the packet and add the seasoning
3. Once cooked, serve in a tortilla wrap and feel free to add guacamole, cheese and sour cream to your liking. Enjoy!

Expert: Roast dinner

This is often said to be one of the main things many students miss from home, I know I did, and when its cooking it smells amazing!

A good way of doing a roast dinner as a student is in one dish. This recipe is found through good food, but all you need is:

• A chicken
• 1 lemon
• Butter
• Dried mixed herbs
• 750g potatoes (roast size)
• 500g (approx.) carrots
• Olive oil
• 100g frozen peas
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1tsp marmite (adds flavour)

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/775657/onepan-roast-dinner

You can have whatever vegetables you want with it, and you can choose which meat you’d prefer, that’s what makes a roast dinner so versatile.

Trust me, it is wonderful!

When it comes to living with new housemates, don’t expect everyone to get along, in my case I initially only got on well with one of my house mates, the others we’d hold conversations with one another, but as a house we didn’t really gel very well. Other houses I knew of all got on really well. But don’t worry; you can cook with your other uni friends instead of your housemates, if you find you don’t all gel. In the 2nd and 3rd years you choose who you live with, and food is always a great way to come together and just relax, as university can be incredibly stressful.

Have fun cooking and enjoy it!

Thanks for reading

Annabel 🙂