frugal 'special' dinner for 4 adults 2 kids please

brokenwings · 7 September 2005 at 7:21PM

Evening all

( blimey - anyone else remember dixon of dock green? )

Saturday night i have to cook dinner for a special occasion for four adults and two kids - most of whom dislike anything foreign or spicey. I commited to this before my new lifetime money savings commitment and wondered if anyone has any suggestions for a frugal meal everyone will like.

If you had asked me what i was cooking last week it would have been sirloin steak and chips for everyone - with a couple of bottles of merlot - and a tescos finest apple pie with extra thick double cream - ice cream for the kids.

i can bake the apple pie myself instead of buying from the shop.
i do have a slow cooker.
i will try tofind cheap ice cream for the kids at lidls.

are the steaks cheap and ok to eat at lidls? what about the wine?
i have my own potatoes in the garden for chips.

thanks all
appreciate any help as i am new to this but really have to learn new ways asap.

Katgoddess · 7 September 2005 at 7:37PM

Spaghetti bolognaise?

There is a wonderful recipe in the index which uses nutmeg to add a touch of luxury.

You could make it with yummy fresh pasta instead of dried. Serve with garlic bread, salad and parmasan.

You can cheat a bit with the home made pie by buying ready made pastry or even a tin of pie filling.

kingarhu · 7 September 2005 at 7:38PM

In the ultimate money saving move I got two packs of sirloin steak free from Lidl's a few months ago (sell-by date that day, but I just froze them). Sadly they were a bit on the tough side. Fine for me - I'll rough it for a bargain, but I wouldn't really recomend them for guests.

savvy · 7 September 2005 at 7:38PM

hi brokenwings

There's a whole load of recipes on here that may be cheaper than buying steaks! What about a good old fashioned cottage pie, mince will be cheaper and bulk out with vegetables, use your potatoes for the mash.

There are loads of cheap bottles of wine around at the mo, Tesco is doing Soave for around £2.52, Lidl's wines have been fine too.

And what about apple crumble instead...............less hassly!!!

misty · 7 September 2005 at 7:45PM

What about a roast dinner? I love roast dinners and would suit your guests if they don't like spicy. Chicken/Beef is a safe bet. You could pad it out with roast potatos and yorkshires (I have yorkshires with all meat). Ice cream/fruit/ or HM cake to finish. A really good roast dinner is just as special as posh nosh and basically anything I haven't had to cook myself is special.

Pooky · 7 September 2005 at 7:57PM

Lidls do an Australian shiraz - about £2.99 a bottle - (blue lable) and it's fantastic....hubby is a bit of a wine snob but will happily drink it.

Jay-Jay_4 · 7 September 2005 at 8:03PM

I can second that Lidl steaks are tough. I've always bought steaks from the supermarket but am a recent convert to the butcher's shop. If you don't have a butcher then Asda do cheap, decent steak in the chillers, but they're Argentinian and now I'd rather pay a little extra for British meat.

I agree that a roast dinner would be lovely and you can pad it out with lots of veg. A big roasting chicken is only £4 in Asda/Morrisons or Asda also do two medium chickens for £5. If you cooked two you'd have 4 drumsticks, 4 thighs and loads of breastmeat so probably enough for a small pie the day after.

Morrisons do ready-made shortcrust pastry for 79p (obviously everywhere else sells it too but I only know the price of Morrisons). Apple pie sounds good(maybe chuck in a few blackberries if you have any bushes growing near you)Keep some of the pastry for chicken pie the day after.

If you save any left over veg for the day after you'll recoup a little of the cost of the meal.

Asda do their owl label Australian and Chilean wine that starts at around £2.80. It's blummin decent stuff

competitionscafe · 8 September 2005 at 12:34AM

If it's frugal then why not go for one of the cheaper (but just as tasty) cuts rather than steaks (and avoid supermarket steaks - they don't hang [age] them properly so they will usually be tough). Lots of much nicer options - oxtail is very tasty, cheap and will have a tender, melt in the mouth texture if it's cooked nice and slowly. Other ideas: roast pork belly (another good cheap cut, good with chinese/asian spices) or lamb shank (again cook slowly, red wine, rosemary, yum!) or Lancashire Hotpot?.. Your local butcher may have more suggestions...

You can make cheap ice-cream for the kids with condensed milk - much better than supermarket stuff which is probably full of additives.

For wine ideas, try the Wine Finder on Superplonk.com:
http://www.superplonk.com/home/home.asp

angelatgraceland · 8 September 2005 at 1:58AM

My cheapy meal is Macaroni Cheese. Add a couple of onions and a tin of tomato or mushroom soup for more flavour. You could add chips also. I can send you a recipe if you are interested. If you opt for steaks, why not cook the cheap tough ones in your slowcooker in some red wine? Serve with mashed potato or bubble and squeak. If you want to cut down on the cost of a mince dish such as spag bog or shepherds pie, make it with realeat vegimince or half realeat and half mince. Less fat too, with a veggy option if you want one. Yes- I doooo remember Dixon of Dock Green! :cool: :rotfl:

apprentice_tycoon · 8 September 2005 at 6:59AM

Is lasagne and salad a bit too foreign and spicy?

brokenwings · 8 September 2005 at 7:51AM

wow thanks everyone

so many ideas
someone had in their signature that this board is addictive - i am now one of the junkies lol

ok - i am doing pasta with pesto from lidls for the kids and me - with lidls ice cream to follow
for the other three adults ( the seriously 'nothing different' people ) its cottage pie with veg from the freezer.

i have some tins of summer fruit pie filling in the larder so im just going to make a sponge pudding topping to go on that - will top it off with some of the ice cream and a couple of bottles of the aussie shiraz.

thanks again.

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frugal 'special' dinner for 4 adults 2 kids please

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