Cheapest way to feed 5 boys!

zippychick

Right, I am having friends to visit for the weekend from accross the water ( London etc). There are 4 coming over and staying in my house all weekend - Friday and saturday going home on Sunday.

I am in the process of cleaning my house from top to bottom and have already done quite a bit! I am hoping to take the Wed and Thu off before hand so i can do some preparation befor ehand and finish my cleaning!

We are going for a fry the Friday morning , so I will be needing to feed them Friday night , Saturday lunch and Dinner and Sunday lunch. Well im guessing i will anyway as we are all pretty skint and trying to save money!

My brother will also be around all weekend, as will one other friend so I will basically have the job of feeding 6 boys for two dinners and 4 for breakfast-lunch!

I would be a bit reluctant to make HM bread as what if they dont like it and stuff? Besides, i cant see one loaf going far with that many blokes and two breakfast/lunch style meals. So i will have a couple of bought loafs in for them coming over (much to my dismay)

What I am wondering is how much do i take on and do myself and whats the cheapest way to feed them? I will be leaving the house on the Friday morning to go meet them so would be good to have something in the SC before I go - so it is ready to come back to.

Do i make a couple of cakes or batches of buns? What can i prepare in advance? Do i buy the stuff in for a home made fry on the Saturday, or wait until they are here, and get them all to chip in? Or should i just buy the dinner stuff for the Friday and Saturday, and we can work the rest out?

Don't get me wrong, i am so excited at having them over. I just would be the kind of person to spend a heap just to make them feel at home , so am trying to be sensible and economical about it. I would be very generous and normally woulnt think twice about spending a fortune on food and stuff for them! Money is tight (as for us all ) so I have to be sensible.

So how far do I extend the hand of hospitality? What do yous reckon? Any advice or suggestion?

Laura

greenbee

I don't think you should be worried about giving them HM bread - I'm sure they'll be very impressed!

I'd suggest that you cater for breakfasts and one evening meal (as the host), and tell them that you're happy for the other meals to be in your house to keep costs down, but you'll all need to get involved in the cooking and chip in for the ingredients (although you can offer them access to your storecupcoards, but remember, you have to eat for the rest of the month!). I'm sure they won't be expecting you to feed and water them for the whole weekend. Could your brother contribute to your preparations?

I'd get in the basics for breakfast - milk, juice, cereal, bread, butter, marmalade etc. If they want more than that, they can chip in, both financially and by helping with the shopping & cooking!

You'll also need to have plenty of tea/coffee/milk in - and make clear if there is anything that's off limits (or better still, pack it away somewhere, so it doesn't get used by accident).

Have a big casserole in the SC (something like sausage casserole made with lots of veggies and beans, so there is plenty of it, but the meat isn't too expensive), and serve it with jacket potatoes and some green veggies (broccoli maybe?). If you want a pudding I'd go with something simple like apple pie and cream/ice-cream.

A couple of cakes or some HM biscuits would be nice to have around, and cakes you can always freeze if they aren't used. If you've got stuff ready that you know you can do something else with if necessary, it means you won't be worrying about it.

Most importantly, have a fantastic time!

hamstercheeks_2

home made soup for the friday night? with bread rolls

sat morning - bacon butties and french toast?

lunch - lots of sarnies and a big bowl of pasta made with leeks/courgettes/peppers and garlic and double cream-this is fab and some salad

sat nite - you could pub a roast in the slow cooker on the sat morning and serve with roasted potatoes n veggies

or you could make a huge pot of chilli and serve with rice and tortilla chips

sunday - mince n tatties:T
and a cheesecake fromMOrrisons - all own brand cheesecakes are £1 just now, may i recommend the mandarin:p

blueberrypie

I feed six boys every day :-D

Some good ideas above, others off the top of my head include a slow-cooker lasagne (pad it out with lentils if you want), a big pot of spag bol (again, pad out the mince), etc. Toad-in-the-hole is filling and always goes down well here. Baked potatoes are just as easy to do in bigger quantities, and you can offer a selection of toppings: cheese, bacon, sour cream, baked beans etc. If you do a chili or something of that kind one day, you could use the leftovers on top of the baked potatoes the next day.

Big pots of stuff are easier, faster and usually cheaper than "individual portion" type stuff. And avoid anything that requires extra work for extra numbers, like peeling potatoes.

HTH

blueberrypie

hamstercheeks wrote: »

and a cheesecake fromMOrrisons - all own brand cheesecakes are £1 just now, may i recommend the mandarin:p

No Morrisons in Northern Ireland :-(

Maybe zippychick could get her visitors to bring some cheesecakes with them! LOL

BARGAINHUNTER!

big pot of chilli con carne and if they are still hungry what about a couple of homemade microwave treacle sponge puddings and custard? That will fill them up!

daska

Basically if you can increase the liquid volume and the fat, they'll feel fuller on less!

If they're only with you for a weekend then it's a treat so puddings 'don't matter' - you can bulk out with the cheaper, sweeter things such as rice pudding (cheaper made with water and cream than with milk...)

So, my receipe for success would be
- copious cups of tea/squash - every time they come in for a snack give them a drink while you 'look for something'.
- make a vat of soup and another of rice pudding
- get them to sit down well before you serve and present them with large drink.
- add dumplings to everything.

hamstercheeks_2

blueberrypie wrote: »

No Morrisons in Northern Ireland :-(

Maybe zippychick could get her visitors to bring some cheesecakes with them! LOL

sorry never noticed that:mad:

Deans_2

That slowcooker can really be your best friend!
1 Make a huge pot full of chilli - add loads of veg (diced carrots, peppers, etc) and kidney beans, borlotti beans etc. Serve with rice, salad, wraps and grated cheese - will go down a treat.
2 Overnight put mixed veg, or leek & potato soup in the slowcooker - will only need to be blitzed before serving and with some HM bread will be a real treat.
3 Jacket potatoes, slices of pizza & coleslaw
4 Steak and ale in slowcooker - serve with roasties and veg.

Good luck and hope this helps!
D

hamstercheeks_2

blueberrypie wrote: »

No Morrisons in Northern Ireland :-(

Maybe zippychick could get her visitors to bring some cheesecakes with them! LOL

well what about a good old Irish Stew?? for one of the meals - bulk it up with veggies

Penny-Pincher!!

Dinners-

Spagbol (Make with a 1kg bag mince, 2 onions, 2 tins toms (value), garlic clove x 2, value dried spag x 2+ 3 value garlic breads)=£4.00??

Sausage, Mash, Cabbage & Onion Gravy (12 Sausages, spuds, cabbage & 2 onions)=£4.00??

Breakfast-

Beans on toast & juice

or

Toast & Preserves

or

Bacon & Egg Butties

HTH

PP
xx