Whats cheapest - cook from fresh or ready meals?

OrkneyStar

I'd say cooking from scratch is normally always cheaper, although it does take a wee while to build up your store cupboard of spices, herbs etc...........although supermarket own packs are often cheaper (you can buy in bulk in some places but at first you want a good range)....I'd say get basil, oregano, coriander, ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg to get you started, and some good chilli powder and curry powder.
I find that vegetable soups/stews/curries are cheap and cheerful, and you can add some meat to it if you have a family member who loves their meat!
I agree with thriftlady that some of the older cook books have cheaper recipes in, and even some of the modern ones you will find you can adapt (eg my jamie oliver choc tart calls for highest quality chocolate, I find it cooks/tastes just as well with value plain choccy!).
hth and all the best!

andygb

Following on from the excellent post by OrkneyStar, these are the "essentials" which I keep in a dark, dry cupboard:
Dried herbs and spices
Parsley, sage, rosemary, oregano, herbes de Provence, bay leaves, curry leaves.
Cinnamon sticks, cinnamon powder. turmeric powder, cumin powder, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, cardomon pods, five spice powder, garam masala, tandoori masala, madras masala, paprika, black peppercorns, white pepper finely ground.
Fresh herbs
Basil, coriander, rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme.

We usually have fresh lemons and limes (dried limes as well for Persian food), a good supply of different chillis, half a dozen tins of chopped tomatoes (never let the stock dwindle, great for all kinds of sauces), low fat Greek yoghurt, various sauces - Worcester, sweet chilli, soy.
We also keep fresh garlic bulbs (I usually crush a couple of bulbs, and keep the pulp in a jar in the fridge), and fresh ginger.
Once you have these, then they last a long time, and you can replenish the stocks when necessary. Once you have marinated your own chicken tikka, or sticky pork ribs, you will never buy ready made stuff again.

Andy