Singleton without a slow cooker!

Kellerina

Hi,

I live on my own and don't have a slow cooker (the money isn't there to buy one!). Money is really tight but I do try hard to eat healthy. I have been having issues with losing weight due to medication I am on and so need to make sure I still eat properly even though funds are very tight.

I am quite new to the forums so apologise if I have missed obvious posts that are already there to help me and not sure what I am doing yet!

I would like to see if I can get some recipies that I can make in bulk and freeze (without a slow cooker) and soups possibly but don't yet have a blender, hoping to get one soon.

Ideas, ideas, ideas

CCP

I'm a fan of 'rubber mince' - take a pack of mince and stretch it with vegetables and lentils - I reckon I can get six to eight meals out of one pack, used as spaghetti bolognese, lasagne / pasta bake, chilli, curry... As the meat is mixed with so many veggies it's pretty healthy, too (although pasta and chilli is less healthy for me as I always smother it in grated cheese - that's not essential, though! )

A whole chicken or other large piece of meat is another good one - it seems expensive when you buy the meat, but it can last all week if you cook it into other things, and the bones can be used for soup.

(BTW, I'm assuming in the above that you're not a vegetarian - if you are I'll think again!)

Soup is a really good idea, too - I find it really useful for using up all the odds and ends of vegetables which are getting a bit past their best and that I wouldn't really want to eat as they are. The one bit of advice I would give is to spend a bit more and get a decent quality blender - when I wanted one a couple of years ago I chose the cheapest possible model and it never really worked properly - a bit of a false economy, really! :rolleyes::)

Kellerina

Brilliant thanks, gotta get some bits tonight so mince will be one of them! Love it savoury as that can last a while. Anyone with recipies for soups or any others I'm grateful til I can get a blender!!!

freightexec2009

Hello,

I am always looking to money save on food, and find making things difficult. I have found the chef Nigel Slater is fantastic, does a show on telly weekly. He does something called a "tidy friday pan fry", pretty much throw anything together from your fridge. May find a good soup one on there, think there is a bean one http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/recipes/queryengine?templatestyle=refine_by_1_gg&config=db&attrib_26=keywords;oper_26=%3D%3D;val_26_1=%2Bdig;preferred_range_length=&page=1&pagesize=15&orig_kw=dig

thriftlady_2

Owning a slow cooker is not a requirement for eating on a budget;) It is perfectly possible to cook any slow cooker recipe in a conventional oven- just do it at a lowish temperature for 2-3 hours. It will probably taste better, the juices will have concentrated and you won't be left with loads of liquid to thicken.

Try these threads

Batch Cooking Ideas

Batch Cooking For One

seraphina

I do wish that this forum would get over slow cookers sometimes, I can't stand the wretched things! Slowcookers != OldStyle!

Mince can be done a multiple of ways - you can just freeze the cooked mince and then defrost a portion to make spag bog/cottage pie etc rather than having to freeze it as a meal in itself IYSWIM.

A whole chicken also lends itself to multiple meals - search rubber chicken and you'll find lots of threads.

Don't overlook things on toast - mushrooms and beans on brown bread is a good nutritious and cheap meal. Doesn't have to be baked beans - you can try chickpeas and any other kind of pulse.

CCP

To be fair, a lot of people do find them very helpful - I think if you're really busy and short of time they can be a brilliant way of making sure you still get a decent meal at the end of the day.

I've never owned one myself and can't see that it would be particularly useful for me, but I wouldn't object if one was to magically turn up in my kitchen - I'd just be forced to play with it to find out what it could do. ;)

Kellerina - soups are wonderfully easy to make - just heat a splash of oil in a large plan, add chopped veggies, cook until starting to go brown, then add stock and cook until the veggies are soft. If you've got a blender you can zap it at this point to make a smooth soup - if you haven't, just leave it as it is, as a chunky soup. (If you want it a bit thicker, take a few spoonfuls of veg out, mash them with a masher or a fork, and stir back in.)

There's almost no limit to what veggies you can put in your soup - some work better than others, obviously, but most things seem to turn out edible. (I did carrot, red pepper and lentil this week - it's quite sweet (a bit too sweet for me, tbh), but it's a very pretty colour, and the lentils make it really thick and substantial.)

Rebekah24

I am el singleton also..altho boyfriend often comes to eat my soup lol

Make a lot of soups, little stews also mainly. Goes a long way, can get lots of cheap veg offers, make up batches and freeze it up

You dont have to use a blender..i hate blended soup.. tesco do a stick blender for under a fiver if you like em smooth

Hope thats some help hun

thriftlady_2

CCP wrote: »

To be fair, a lot of people do find them very helpful - I think if you're really busy and short of time they can be a brilliant way of making sure you still get a decent meal at the end of the day.

Absolutely- I'm sure they're a lifesaver for people at work all day or who have small children underfoot .

But the OP (and I mean no offence at all Kellerina:)) has in common with many other people new to the forum got the impression that (to quote Seraphina) Slow cookers = Old Style and it 'aint so!

I know, I know I'm always banging on about this but it does nark me:p:D

bigsmoke

Hi fellow singleton!

i'm also a huge soup fan - one of my favourites (and super cheap) is spicy lentil: fry a chopped large onion with some garlic (1 or 2 cloves) and 1 tsp of cumin seeds until the onion is soft. add 4 oz red lentils for 2 mins. add 1 pint of veg stock, simmer for 15 mins. then add a tin of chopped tomatoes (or passata) and simmer for a further 30 mins. blend if you want to or eat chunky - i tend to do half an half!

this is also a really good 'sauce' for other soups - i often make a big chunky vegetable soup and then add a portion or two of this lentil one at the end, gives you a lovely thick tasty 'sauce' to the veg soup.

and i have one of those really cheap stick blenders too - seems to work fine for me.

i'll keep an eye on this thread for ideas for myself (i don't have a slow cooker either and tend to not get home until quite late in the evenings, so survive on a mix of dead quick meals or things from teh freezer that i've stocked up at weekends)

bs x

Seakay

Slowcooker recipes can be made in the oven - combining with several batch cooking recipes can make it even more worthwhile.
Bring to the boil on top of the stove and then put into the oven on it's lowest possible setting for 5-8 hours as required.
With gas this would be gas mark a quarter or lower, not sure with electric.
Plan well and do several recipes at once to fill your oven up.

Look out for "Leave it to Cook" by Stella Atterbury - written before slowcookers were invented it is full of old fashioned but tasty recipes, tips for packing your oven for maximum use and ideas for all meals.
http://biblio.co.uk/books/65142906.html

Would also suggest Cheap and Easy by Rose Elliot - a vegetarian cook book but useful because all recipes are simple to make using seasonal and inexpensive ingredients, with notes on nutrition and instructions for altering each four person recipe to suit two or one if you want to.