cheapest way to make....

mummyroysof3
mummyroysof3 Posts: 4,566 Forumite
edited 30 August 2011 at 5:57PM in Old style MoneySaving
i love making mild chicken curry, sweet and sour chicken/pork and spag bol but would love to find out how you oldstylers make them cos i bet it will be alot cheaper than me...would like to learn how to make chilli to that would be mild enough for the kids to try

any help welcome..many thanks:D

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Have a Bsc Hons open degree from the Open University 2015 :j:D:eek::T

Comments

  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129
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    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to [email protected]. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
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  • TrixieB
    TrixieB Posts: 704
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    I tested my kids out on a tin of tesco value curry sauce - it was something like 4p at the time! - before spending a lot more time on making curry from scratch, just to make sure they liked!
    Trying very hard to be frugal and OS - just plodding on and doing my best!
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  • mummyroysof3
    mummyroysof3 Posts: 4,566 Forumite
    thanks squeaky..by the time ive finished reading them i wont have time to cook it :rotfl:

    will broach hubby about trying the tesco value sauce, i currently use a jar which is between 80p-£1
    Have a Bsc Hons open degree from the Open University 2015 :j:D:eek::T
  • Miss_J
    Miss_J Posts: 399
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    B&M's do pataks curry sauces (in tins) for 29p. Usually make mine from scratch but seeing as B&M is so cheap and totally delicous (Korma) I've been buying it from B&M's rather than making it.
  • LolaLemon
    LolaLemon Posts: 958
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    edited 23 August 2011 at 8:00PM
    My spaghetti bolognaise... learned in school, 14 years ago.

    Boil kettle, approx 2 or 3 cups worth of water.(1 cup for tea while I'm cooking)
    Brown mince, drain fat. Take off the heat.
    Roughly 1 tablespoon tomato puree, mix it so that the mince has a coating, add garlic, either fresh, dried chopped garlic or the puree, mix in. sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar, Crumble stock cube, season, mix.
    Add chopped veg - I use whatever is in house, normally onions, carrots, mushrooms and peppers, add 2 tins of chopped it plum tomatoes mix, put back on heat, add water, depending on the tin tomatoes u might not need a lot of water... u want enough to cover everything so the veg will soften.
    Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer until the veg is to ur liking.

    I also add mixed herbs before I add the tomatoes

    I also taste it a lot, and add whatever I feel is missing... mostly garlic or pepper for me.

    Recently used my sc for make this, done everything the same but left it cooking for 4 hours and tasted great.
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  • Spendless
    Spendless Posts: 24,081
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    For your mild chilli, just buy mild chilli powder from where the spices are, make it however you do yours, mince, onion, kidney beans tomatoes, and add a small amount of mild chilli powder eg 1/2 tsp or 1tsp depending on how 'hot' you think they'll eat it. You can then increase/decrease from there. The flavour gets stronger the longer it is left.
  • cooking-mama
    cooking-mama Posts: 2,069 Forumite
    when my girls were younger i used to add baked beans(sauce included) instead of kidney beans to my chilli,i think the baked beans made a sweeter therefore milder chilli sauce.
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  • joehoover
    joehoover Posts: 146
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    Spag Bol and chilli I use the same basic mix, just swap mushrooms in spag bowl for kidney beans in the chilli, and add the chilli powder/spices/fresh chillis also.

    I also tried using quorn mince, worked really well and cheaper than mince, I had bad results with Sainsburys own brand quaron mince though, didn't have the meaty texture which Quorn has and felt too soft, was cheaper still but a waste as it was so bad, meat is best but I do only use lean steak mince, there is too much fat in cheaper mince and for personal taste I don't like it. It's all about piling in flavour, worth having a few storecupboard things to help pile on flavour. Buy bags of herbs and spices from corner shops or local food stores, cheaper than supermarket tiny jars, just put them in an old jam jar and label them. Fresh chillis I freeze as a good chilli should have some fresh and powder chilli, they give different tastes.

    I use red or white onions whatever I have, very finely diced (I hate large slithery bits of onion, fry in some vegetable oil medium heat, add some salt to stop the onion burning. Add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. Then I add the mince and brown slightly, I then add the other ingredients before it browns too much so it will absorb the flavour more. A beef oxo stock cube and some dried oregano and a small pinch of chilli flakes, season with salt and pepper. Add a glug of worcestershire sauce (Sainsburys just started their own brand one at half the price) and a glug of red wine (any cheap stuff, I buy a cheap bottle just for cooking) Add a tablespoon of tomato puree. Then a tin of peeled plum tomatoes, and squish them to break them in the pan (I hate chopped tomatoes as the skins rise to the surface and gross me out) Stir and bring to boil. I sometimes add dash of water (using the empty tomato tin to get all the juice out) if too thick. When boiled, reduce to simmer. I then add chopped mushrooms. I cook lid off for at least 1 hour stirring occasionally until the sauce is reduced, should be a nice thick ragu. If you leave and reheat the next day you will have even more flavour. I finish with some chopped flat leaf parsley. When buying this, take out of packet (or better get a massive bunch from a corner shop/grocer. Wet some kitchen towels and wrap around the stalks, it will keep much longer in the fridge this way. I serve with tagliatelle as it holds the sauce better than spaghetti.

    This beats a shop bought sauce or ready meal any day, so full of flavour. For a chilli, I would use the same but add the kidney beans nearer the end, I would also add a chopped chili to the onion and garlic at the start and some chilli powder, teaspoon of cumin and coriander at the beginning of adding the tomatoes, add as you go and taste as the heat will develop as you go.

    This is also similar to my shepherds pie mix, I omit the chilli and mushrooms and add grated carrot and peas, and cook the same way, when done, add mash on top and bake in the oven. 3 recipes using the basic same method of cooking and ingredients, just tweaking them slightly.

    Any leftovers of either recipe you can freeze for lunches or use a as topping for jacket potatoes. Leftover chilli I add to leftover tortilla wraps I ahve in the freezer, deforst and make enchillades.
  • v mild chilli for my kids is;
    dry fry about 300g of mince beef, add small shake of onion powder and pepper, add 3 tins of toms, a shake of italian herbs - allow to simmer for about an hour to reduce the toms down (glug of olive oil helps make the sauce go yummy but omit if you want to minimise the fat content).
    add a small tin of baked beans (I wash the tom sauce off but youcould leave it on) then add 2-4 tablespoons (add to taste) of sweet chilli sauce - the sweet dipping sauce is good but i buy litre bottles from the chinese supermarket for about £1.50 - and a small shake of cinnamon = makes it go sweet and just very slightly spicy, and makes a very warming tea served with crusty bread made in the bm!

    got my mouth watering now, think i will have to make it for tea!
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  • tessie_bear
    tessie_bear Posts: 4,898
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    hi....with regards to making dishes cheaply i buy the ingredients when reduced for example a chilli made with reduced mince/onion/peppers/dented tinned toms/kidney beans....if u can freeze the first 3 ucan wait until u have collected it all together

    i also find student cook books have recipes that have been pared down to the bone so are fairly cheap

    there is an excellent list of recipes on the front page of the grocery challenge due to rosiebens hard work that might be worth a look

    hth
    onwards and upwards
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