Help! £40 to feed family for the month

johanne

maman wrote: »

Just tip the mushrooms in (whole or sliced, no matter). I've been bulking out the bolognese sauce (and chilli) for so long now I'd never go back to just plain meat and onion. I'm definitely going to try the lentils in the spag bol too. I don't think chilli needs it perhaps as I put in loads of pulses with the veg.

Two other things: I always buy value bags of peppers and slice and freeze any I haven't used fresh as soon as they start to go a bit wrinkly looking. A handful of these is another good addition to the sauce mix.

If you always used sliced peppers you can buy bags of them frozen in asda and sainsburys (asdas bag is better value though per kg last time i checked ) i use them for anything were i need mixed peppers but dont need the "crunch" factor. Fine in stir frys, casseroles etc etc

And as someone else mentioned you can buy big value tubs of fresh mushrooms and slice and freeze the ones you dont use too again for stir frys, bolognese etc etc... you can also buy them ready sliced and frozen in the supermarket too. Id guess they would last a while as youd only be using a handful or so at a time.

miggy

I was over at my neighbour's and thought I heard the word 'crumble'...?!
Only joking, LOL.
Well done!
A bit late now but I was going to say, it's worth making a big batch of topping at one go as it keeps well in the fridge - as long as the margerine in it stays in date, at a guess. Then you can make crumble again at a moment's notice.
It's also something that can be extended using oats, but I have to admit I haven't made it with lentils.
Come to think of it, a savoury crumble with lentils... anyone tried that? Any ideas what else could go in it? Would it work?
And I'm sorry to say I have really let the side down. I used various ingredients I already had - onions, carrots (oh, they were from a new bag), Worcestershire sauce, sausage, quorn, tinned tomatoes, potatoes, celery - and made casserole for tea. I FORGOT THE LENTILS! However, for what it's worth, I can confirm it's possible to make casserole without lentils, it's just not the same.
Will try harder next time.

wendy+5

What a fantastic thread! Well done!

the_harrys

Definitely!
Been reading this through my attack of insomnia this morning, very inspiring.
I have just started on the DFW road and had been feeling quite chuffed to have reduced my grocery budget from £120+ to £75 this week, but I can see there is still loads of potential for saving more.

I know I've a packet of lentils in my cupboard, but so far have only used them to fill a beanbag toy DD1 made for DD2!

patentgirl

mummysaver wrote: »

Hiya, think it was me who said about the cocoa powder, but I add it to chilli, gives it more depth of flavour. Never added it to bol, what was it like?

You can stretch it all even further if you add peas and sweetcorn, or just half a pack of frozen mixed veg! I currently have a remoska absolutely full of cottage pie, could only just fit the mash on the top! I used a 400g pack of mince, 2 handfuls of oats, 2 handfuls of red lentils, half a pack of frozen mixed veg, sprinkle of garlic powder, pepper, mixed herbs, water and some gravy granules for taste and to thicken it up. Must have cost about the same as a single ready meal as the mince was reduced!

trust me to get it wrong to be honest only added a bit so couldnt really taste it will try it with chilli though
congratulations on the crumble mbaz hope it was good worth the wait, the lasagnes went well with the leftover spag bol, frozen one for next week, think I am going to try the sausage casserole in slo cooker with dumplings for later think someone put recipe on earlier on just off to scroll backxx

suzywoozy_3

I add cocoa to bolognaise sauce, also just a tiny bit of cinnamon, you shouldn't actually taste either they just give it more depth, body, whatever.

I tend to stretch my mince with oats, lentils and carrots too, recently I bought some very cheap aubergines and baked them in their skins (while I was cooking something else) mashed up the insides and added it to my mince mix went down brilliantly.

When I had a courgette glut I just bunged a couple in the food processor and added that to any mince meal (mine don't like veg in their meat, this way it looked like herbs!!!), I often do that with any left over veggies.

mummysaver

Miggy - casserole WITHOUT lentils, now that's a revolutionary idea! lol! Almost like the_harrys using lentils for stuffing material!

Patentgirl - good luck with your sausage casserole, now that is one you can bulk out a lot! If you can't find a recipe on here just shout, I'm sure there are lots of versions that people have tried. I sling a pile of stuff in the sc and it's so easy!

Suzy - I grate courgettes into tom sauces, or you can just blitz them in the sauce, I usually have loads of them as my friend's oh seems to grow them in industrial quantities! Aubergines are great as well, I chop mine into small pieces and they sort of melt down as you cook them in things, an nobody notices a tiny bit of aubergine skin in bog mixes!

I love this thread, everyone has so many good ideas about how to stretch food. I used instant mash last night to top the cottage pie and ds loathes instant mash, I love it but then I have cheap tastes! Anyway I made it thicker than usual, added herbs, garlic granules, salt and butter with the normal water, popped it on the top and then made sure it was really browned and crispy and he didn't notice! In face he said it was really nice, so as a quick cheap standby (Asda 15p instant value mash) it's a success!

Mbaz - did you all enjoy the crumble?!

Edit: Miggy, you can do a savoury crumble with lentils, it's just called a gratin! lol!

always29

mbaz - you are an inspriation! Just read the entire thread - fab!


Am now inspired to deal with last weeks apples, walk to the shops through the forest to forrage for other sweets & treats etc

One thing I don't think I've seen mentioned here which I use to bulk out lasagne / chillis and the like is dried soya mince, is a swine to get hold of but did get some in tesco's the other week (about 90p for 500g bag, lasts yonks). Although I should imagine that lentils are more nutritious if other veg aren't added to the mix

raphanius

My obsession with beans and lentils will increase now I am in possession of Rose Elliots Bean Book. It looks fab. thanks to whoever recommended it.

Just in time too....got my sick pay this week...£18!!!!! Spent £10 already on gas. Fortunately we are stocked to the rafters with tinned and dried food plus I have been squirrelling away chillis, bolognese and curries all week. (Lentils included.)

SuziQ

Just a thought on watering down milk.

Semi and skimmed milk have slightly more calcium as they have only the FAT content reduced.

When you water milk down you're reducing ALL the nutrients including calciumwhich is not only bad for children-women need calcium to prevent osteoparosis.This is on the increase in this country and treatments don't work nearly so well as prevention,which includes regular weight bearing excercise which helps the bones incorporate the building blocks to strengthen and replace bone,the building blocks come mostly from milk in the british diet. Part of my Health Visiting diploma was nutrition and I have always been interested in it as it has such a huge impact on our health (for instance,starving ,akes the body release adrenaline which increases stress,makes the body systems acidic and can raise cholesterol-not relevant to watering milk down but an indication of how imprtant nutrition is.