I've got loads of questions/queries/problems!

Gingham_Ribbon

southernscouser wrote: »

I thought Dolmio would be more ingredients than that!

I put herbs and stuff in anyway so basically I'm paying £5 just to put 2 tins of tomatoes in that cost about a quid?

I could whack some puree in aswell! :think:

Yup! LOL I buy napolina tomatoes when they're on offer because they're lush, but any will do just find.

kunekune

This could be renamed the 'different ways of making spag bol' thread! What I put into mine in no particular order is:

500g mince
4 rashers bacon, finely chopped
if I've got it, some chopped chicken livers
1 very big onion
2 large carrots, chopped finely
2 sticks of celery, chopped finely
1 red pepper, chopped
1 large courgette, chopped
2 tins chopped tomatoes
same quantity again of beef stock
glug of tomato puree
glug of garlic puree
glug of red wine if there's some around
good sprinkle of mixed italian herbs
salt

If I've got more veg, and it needs using, I'll put more in - this is the minimum. This does spag bol for 2 adults and 2 children on day 1, mixed with penne and baked wich cheese on top to make a pasta bake for 2 adults and 2 children on day 2 (or lasagne) and on day 3, I add some ground cumin, ground coriander, a generous helping of chilli powder, and some tinned kidney beans. Instead of pasta, serve with rice and a handful of tortilla chips (or maybe some wraps).

mudgekin

Very fast cooking is my trick for frozen green beens, and a chopped clove of garlic in the water. Even after draining there is enough garlic left that when you add a knob of butter that are delicately flavoured rather than overwhelmingly garlicy as one in my house doesnt like strong garlic flavours.

Not going to add any more to the spag bol sauce as there are so many great posts on that one :rotfl:

newlywed

southernscouser wrote: »

I thought Dolmio would be more ingredients than that!

I put herbs and stuff in anyway so basically I'm paying £5 just to put 2 tins of tomatoes in that cost about a quid?

I could whack some puree in aswell! :think:

I prefer to use passata (sieved tomatoes) - less lumps and always seems to be more flavour, more like a jar type sauce. But a bit more expensive (still nowhere near Dolmio prices though). The kids like it with lots of basil in and a smidge of garlic. You can also buy passata with basil and garlic already added

Catwoman_Kent

Tescos Economy Pasta sauce is less than 40p a jar. Its perfectly Ok to use. I tend to add some basil and garlic to it and, imo, its better than Dolmio.

MadMonkey

Meal planning never worked for me - i never felt like eating whatever was written down for that day !

What i do now is keep a list of all food in freezer, fridge, cupbaords and then make a list of "meals" available and then i choose which meal suits for that day.

I make spag bol sauce by boiling carrots, parsnips, courgettes until soft and then adding to tins of plum tomatoes and then using a stick blender to whizz it all till smooth. I then add herbs and freeze it in silicone muffin trays. I use this sauce for spag bol, lasagne and as a pizza topping although you need to add tompuree and simmer it to reduce it for pizza topping.

Means my kids get 5 a day without knowing !

Really cheap as well.

southernscouser

I cooked meatballs tonight. I know it's just like spag bol :rotfl: but I did my own sauce. :T

Was a bit vinegary (2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar). Just to double check, tablespoons are the big ones you cook with aren't they?

But, get this. I had to simmer the sauce. :j Was really nice and works out at just over £1 a portion.

Gonna really try from next week to mealplan. Got loads in my freezer including about 11 meals already cooked and frozen so gonna start using that up.

I had some more questions but they've slipped my mind for now! :doh:

kunekune

Well done (though I'm not quite sure why you put balsamic vinegar in!!!). Cooking properly is worth it, it is not just cheaper, with less chemicals, it tastes better, and doesn't take much longer.

I should make one confession. I sometimes use a bought sauce - not Dolmio, I hate Dolmio, but Lloyd Grossman does some quite good ones. What I do is use ONE jar of the sauce, and then eke it out with stock and a bit of tomato puree. You don't lose much flavour and it is faster than simmering. It should still cook for at least 15-20 minutes with the mince in it, so that it all kind of comes together.

And one other idea: I read recently that a lot of italian recipes for ragu (ie, sauce) have a bit of cream added at the end. Might be nice. And possibly a bit of full-fat milk would probably work the same if you added it while it was still simmering...

kunekune

Oh, and with meatballs, what did you add to the meat? You don't need 100% meat. I usually use breadcrumbs (from stale ends of loaves) but oats, couscous and even rice work equally well.

donner_kebab

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

Yup! LOL I buy napolina tomatoes when they're on offer because they're lush, but any will do just find.

Ooooh those ones were on offer in Asda the other day...2 tins for a quid! Or 96p a tin! I picked some up! Tesco were doing a 4 pack for half price too! They are yummy! xxx