Old-Style Cooking for One

Hiya

As part of my new year's resolution to get rid of as much of my debt this coming year as possible, I want to find out the best way to spend less on my shopping. At the moment this is (along with going out and idle spending, both of which I know I need to rein in) one of my biggest areas of spending.

I'll eat almost anything. Problem is, one of the cheapest foods you can get is tomatoes and tomato-based food; I'm allergic to tomatoes. :( Does anyone have some other good ideas for quick, easy and cheap things?

(suggestions for lunches and breakfasts are also welcome; I don't like breakfast cereal - it makes me feel physically sick to eat it with milk/yoghurt and without moisture it's just plain awful - and I want to find a way of spending less money at work, where I seem to be spending silly amounts of money at lunchtime and on snacks.)

All ideas welcomed. :)
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Comments

  • Chickenless Chicken, veg and Noodle soup:

    You will need:

    1 packet of chicken flavour instant noodles (with the flavour sachet)
    3 mushrooms
    Half a can of sweetcorn
    A knob of butter
    Soy sauce
    Chilli sauce (optional)

    1. Cook the noodles using one and a half times the recommended amount of water, and for half the recommended cooking time
    2. Slice the mushrooms thinly and fry
    3. Chuck the mushrooms and the sweetcorn into the noodles and let it cook for the rest of the recommended cooking time
    4. Add a knob of butter, let it melt, add the soy and/or chili sauce
    5. Simmer over a very low heat for 2 minutes.

    Total cost - about 30p! :money:

    And from my student days - the infamous 20p meal (although nowadays, it's more like the 50p meal!)

    Two slices of Value bread (about 4p, dunno what it is in new money)
    One can of Value beans (9p)
    Some grated Value cheese (7pish)

    Toast bread, cover in cooked beans. Grate cheese over the top, stick under grill. Add pepper or Worcester Sauce to taste.

    On a serious note, I've found it's not what you cook, it's where you buy it from. Try some of the suggestions in this thread:

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=110684
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129
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    Hiya :)

    If you check out the MEGA Index sticky at the top of the Old Style forum and browse through the Cooking section you'll find all sorts of ideas listed under "Inspiration" and also "Lunches" that will be of help - not to mention a handy section on using up leftovers.

    Menu planning is also listed in there and can be a great help in reducing food bills.

    Apart from that, the Old Style Recipe Collection has plenty of meal ideas in it and don't forget to browse the vegetarian section even if you're not vegetarian because some of the meals there are delicious and can, at the very least, be used as great side dishes.

    You can find these Recipe Collections in my signature any time you see it or...

    ..you can use the Indexed Collections link in the Blue Bar at the top of every page which looks something like this:-


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  • Iguana
    Iguana Posts: 1,779
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    Try Delia Smith 'One is Fun'

    There is also Cas Clarke 'Grub on a Grant'.
  • Get yourself a slow cooker and try out some of the numerous simple and mostly healthy recipes found on this wonderful site.

    Whatever is left over can usually be frozen or blitzed in a blender to make soups.

    Things like spag.bol, curry (I gave up on the brown rice idea and now buy frozen rice in portions which microwave in 3 mins) also you can do things like a sweet 'n' sour chicken/pork or whatever, -all can be done in the slow cooker for extra tenderness and very little preparation.

    You will only be restricted in what you do by the size of your freezer!
  • Ticklemouse
    Ticklemouse Posts: 5,030
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    You can use apple juice in favour of milk on cereal. I prefer it on muesli but I'm told it can be quite palatable on other cereals. Value/Lidl AJ is about 40p max per carton
  • The cheapo breakfast is porridge.
    If you can stand milk you can try the old Victorian working man's breakfast of thick milk, which is hot milk (skimmed milk is fine) thickened with flour or cornflour.
    Scrambled eggs or poached eggs are cheap, as is the James Bond breakfast of a boiled egg with a few rounds of wholemeal toast with marmalade or jam.
    My own fave brekkie is devilled kidneys, which don't cost that much.
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  • I will happily post you some recipes - just to clarify, do you have access to a freezer?

    In the mean time, here is idea no. 1

    Buy a packet of bacon - or better still, find somewhere with a BOGOF and buy 2. Bacon lasts AGES if you don't open the packet. But let's assume you buy 1 pack from Lidl at approx £1.20. Here are 3 meals at 40p a meal for the protein.

    Use 1/3 of the packet and do the following.

    Cook some pasta. While it's boiling, cut your bacon ration into little bits and fry with some garlic. Add whatever you've got from the following (although I've listed them first, add the liquid ingredients last): cheap pasta sauce OR cheap curry sauce, (not more than half a jar of either of these) Or milk,OR cream AND olives, cabbage, mushrooms, peppers.

    Add to pasta, combine and enjoy.

    Idea no 2 involves splashing out on an egg and producing Bacon and Egg.

    Idea no 3 - bacon sarnie.

    And as a bonus, Idea no 4.......An even simpler pasta idea - cook bacon, combine with pasta, break an egg over the lot and stir well. (The hot pasta cooks the egg - this is really authentic Italian stuff). :rudolf:
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  • mah_jong
    mah_jong Posts: 1,284
    Mortgage-free Glee!
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    As a single, I think the advice given so far is great. So just to underline things!!!.....

    breakfast ...what better than porridge, I have tried it in various guises...with fruit,milk , syrrup and of course the scottish way ...with salt!!! I have decided plain is fine for me!!
    For lunches I tend to favour soup, I saw a link here for a site devoted to soups and its great!!

    http://www.soupsong.com/iveg.html

    i now tend to my soup of anything lying around for a 2 days of more!! Make a pan and then freeze into single portions.
    I use my slow cooker a lot again freezing into single portions. It makes delicious meals out of the cheapest cuts. Made chicken and pineapple recently and was soooooo scrummy, !!!
    Think ahead and plan thats my advice!
  • skintchick
    skintchick Posts: 15,114
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    It is harder without using tomatoes, but you could try exchanging a thick gravy made with stock cube, little water and herbs/spices where you would normally use toms to make a sauce, eg for with pasta.

    White sauce is nice - flour, butter, milk basically so cheap but you do have to make it.

    To go with the bacon and pasta idea: I mix an egg with some creme fraiche or cream, some milk, seasoning, then mix in over heat with bacon and pasta for cheats' carbonara. Is lovely.

    I don;t eat brekkie - I start my lunch about 10.30 and eat it throughout the day!
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  • Another bacon option is to peel and thinly slice some potatoes, chop up some lean bacon, chop some garlic, add anything else you like really - grate some cheese.

    Get a jar of one of those pasta or 'potato bake' style sauces. (Pasta bake ones with a tomato base are usually much lower in fat). Layer all the ingredients in a well greased/buttered ovenproof dish, pouring a little of sauce over each layer - and top off with the cheese.

    Cook in a HOT oven for an hour with some foil over the top to stop the cheese burning - then for a further 30 mins to get the cheesy topping browned and bubbly - and enjoy.

    This can also be frozen. You can microwave it from the freezer but I tend to thaw it first.
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