Student Cooking: Old El Paso Enchiladas

One of the things that I found most daunting when moving to University was definitely the notion of cooking for yourself! As I prepare to move back to Bangor on Tuesday, I decided that it would be a good time to start sharing some of my favourite recipes or meals that I like to make during term time and share recipes that anyone can have a go at! If you have any requests then please let me know! 

As I mentioned in this post me and my boyfriend decided to have a go at making our own Enchiladas at the weekend and having had previous success with their fajitas kits we thought that this kit was most definitely worth a try!

The kit itself contains soft tortillas which stand up on their own and are considerably less messy to eat on a date night than traditional enchiladas as well as herbs to add to your sour cream and a sauce for your mince. The only additional ingredients we needed where tomatoes, lettuce (both of which were already in our fridge), mince, grated cheese and some sour cream- a fairly simple and shopping basket. 

First off, mix your herb sachet in with the sour cream and set aside in the fridge for later (We used a sachet from McDonalds, cost 20p)

Next, chop the tomatoes into thin slices and also set aside in the fridge for later. 

Heat up a small amount of olive oil in a pan and add in your mince for browning (We used a 500g pack of beef mince from Aldi costing £1.99)

Once your mince is brown, add in the sachet of sauce and stir through until coated evenly. 

Then stir in 50g of grated cheese (We used pre-grated cheese from Aldi, costing £1.49 for 250g).

Next heat up your tortillas in the microwave and part fill with the beef mixture. 

Finally top with some shredded lettuce, your sliced tomatoes and sour cream from earlier and then sprinkle with cheese and Instagram to your hearts content. 

The kit itself cost £2 (on offer from £3 in Sainsburys) and the rest of the ingredients cost us £3.68 meaning that it was £5.68 in total for us both and there was even enough left over for his tea on Monday night bringing it in at around £1.90 a portion; this is slightly more than my usual teas cost but for a date night or in favour of getting a take away its definitely a more budget friendly option! 

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Thoughts on Third Year

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In a little over a week I will be packing up my parents car, saying goodbye to my boyfriend, family, dogs etc and heading back to Bangor for my third year. I should be excited, but quite frankly I am not. For the past month I have felt a pang of dread knowing that my long summer holidays are almost up and I am going to have to face reality. 

I didn't really enjoy my second year very much and the highlight (and probably the only thing that got me through) was my Field Trip . Third year doesn't have any such trips and the amount of hard work it is going to involve is starting to overwhelme me. Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly happy to complete work in the Library, do the extra reading and so forth; the problem lies in the fact that I picked the wrong degree and as a consequence find many of my modules boring and uninspiring. Luckily, I was able to pick my modules this year and I have managed to select those that I at least find somewhat enjoyable. Right now, my mindset is that finishing this degree is a means to an end of getting to where I ultimately want to be: doing my PGCE. 

I got a First in both my first year and second year overall and so there is almost the expectation from friends and family that I am going to get a First overall for my degree; I am less convinced and think that it is more likely to be a mid 2.1 due to my lack of interest in the degree and the fact that my modules this year are a lot more exam based and there is less coursework to boost my overall grade. 

I am sorry if this post comes across as a moan and or a rant but I really just needed to get it off of my chest and put it out there that not every student enjoys their degree and is passionate about what they are reading. I also wanted to let Freshers know that if you are not enjoying your degree, course or University then you should stick it out until Christmas, but if things havent changed then you should probably seriously consider whether you are doing the degree that is right for you. I had doubts about my course very early on in my first year and I wish now that I had taken the advice I was given and left: £27,000 of tuition debt alone is not something to be taken lightly. 

Has anyone else gotten to this stage in their degree and realised that it probably isn't right for them? If you have any advice then please do comment and let me know :) 

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