Dinner Party on a Budget

zippychick

ive merged this with our dinner party budget thread

these links may also help

Dinner Party ideas?!

Show Jamie How To Cook On A Budget Champagne Contest

Starters

Fail-safe dinner party puddings

Pudding and dessert recipes

cheap tasty puddings

Zip:A

CharlieRabbit01

Hi all

I'm having some friends over for dinner, total group size 6.

I'm on a tight budget and have a vegetarian coming too so plan is to do Mediterranean pasta, ingredients as follows:

Jar tomato pasta sauce

Courgette

Red Onion

Peppers

Tomatoes

Pasta (spirals or other kind)

Cheese for grating on top.

the problem is, I'm a lazy cook, when I do this for myself and OH i just buy a stir in Mediterranean sauce, so I have no idea on quantities for my group.

Can anyone help with how much of each item I should get, I know pasta is roughly 100g pp.

Chris25

it really depends on how hungry you'll be & if you'll be serving anything else, I suppose.

I think I would probably use a couple of jars of pasta sauce (you can always stretch it out with a little stock or milk, if too thick or not enough), 1 economy pack of mixed peppers, 3 red onions & 6 small courgettes. I don't think the tomatoes are essential, especially if on a budget.

You'd probably get a better response on the OldStyle board http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

CharlieRabbit01

Chris25 wrote: »

it really depends on how hungry you'll be & if you'll be serving anything else, I suppose.

I think I would probably use a couple of jars of pasta sauce (you can always stretch it out with a little stock or milk, if too thick or not enough), 1 economy pack of mixed peppers, 3 red onions & 6 small courgettes. I don't think the tomatoes are essential, especially if on a budget.

You'd probably get a better response on the OldStyle board http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

Thanks, everyone coming are small built women not big eaters, we will be having snacks to nibble on whilst playing some board games.

CharlieRabbit01

Hi all

I'm having some friends over for dinner, total group size 6.

I'm on a tight budget and have a vegetarian coming too so plan is to do Mediterranean pasta, ingredients as follows:

Jar tomato pasta sauce

Courgette

Red Onion

Peppers

Tomatoes

Pasta (spirals or other kind)

Cheese for grating on top.

the problem is, I'm a lazy cook, when I do this for myself and OH i just buy a stir in Mediterranean sauce, so I have no idea on quantities for my group.

Can anyone help with how much of each item I should get, I know pasta is roughly 100g pp.

It was suggested I try here for advice.

Meadows

Portion size depends on what an individual eats & how hungry they are, for me 40g is enough for hubby I do about 120g (dry weight).

Steve059

Firstly, are we sure that the cheese is suitable for vegetarians? Some is produced using rennet, which comes from animals.

Secondly, may I offer this as cheaper DIY alternative to the jar of sauce. I have served this to a vegetarian professional cook, and she was most complimentary.

TOMATO PASTA SAUCE

More properly called Napolitana sauce. This is the basis for lots of other pasta sauces. It can also be blended and used on a pizza or in a calzone.

Enough for pasta for 2

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves of garlic
2 onions
1 tablespoon of olive oil
400g tin of plum tomatoes
140g tin of tomato puree
2 teaspoons of mixed herbs

METHOD

Peel the garlic and chop it into tiny pieces. Peel the onions and chop them into tiny pieces.

Put the oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion. Fry the garlic and onion for about 4 to 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Stir frequently to stop it sticking.

Open the tin of tomatoes. Put the juice into the pan. Chop the tomatoes while they are still in the can (it’s easier than chasing them around the pan). Put the chopped tomatoes into the pan.

Add the tomato puree and herbs. Stir thoroughly.

Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Cook for another 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use basil or oregano instead of the mixed herbs.

Add a glass of wine and cook for a bit longer. Or drink the glass of wine and cook for the same time.

For Arrabbiata sauce add ¼ of a teaspoon of chilli flakes or chilli powder.

TIPS

Plum tomatoes can be used either whole or chopped. It is difficult to stick chopped tomatoes back together again if you need to use them whole.

CharlieRabbit01

alternatives more than welcome as long as its on a budget.

CharlieRabbit01

Recipe sounds great, lurking somewhere in the back of a cupboard i have a mini chopper too so i dont end up including finger tips in my meal!

Though my friend is vegetarian, she is a little naughty at time and eats jelly sweets (such as haribos) and she loves cheese, which like me is naughty as she is a veggie and i'm lactose intollerant.

Steve059

CharlieRabbit01 wrote: »

alternatives more than welcome as long as its on a budget.

I'm retired, so everything I do is on a budget. A tin of tomatoes is approx. 30p. The tin of tomato puree has, unfortunately, overtaken this and is now approx. 35p. However, it not only adds "tomatoeyness", but also thickens the sauce, so you don't have to reduce it so much and therefore end up with more.