when is it cheaper to make your own?

weezl74

things I definitely think it's cheaper to make yourself:

Bread, 16.6p a loaf for me

Pastry, Jus roll is sooooo pricey

Almost all processed/pre-package things, with the possible exception of the very cheap pastan sauces/9p noodles (if you like that sort of thing...)

cooking-mama

budgeteer wrote: »

Those main meals are very expensive! There are plenty of main meals you can make much cheaper than shop-bought if you find inspiration from the recipes and ideas on here. For instance, you can buy and chicken and use the breast for your recipes, then use the meat left-over for curries, Chicken supreme etc . Then boil your carcase to make broth and have a tasty chicken broth/stew with potatoes or hunks of whole-meal bread. (If you buy the more expensive Free-range chicken it has so much more flavour and so can s-t-r-e-t-c-h further.)
When it comes to fish, you can buy fresh at Mr M, choose the cheaper fish like pouting fish - a mild white fish for example,or ask the fishmonger. You can freeze their fish as it is fresh not frozen.

...and your soup sounds delicious

Thanks,Ive never heard of pouting fish?,will look for it in Asda or Morrisons next time,I do often buy a whole chicken,but basicaly its divided as ,a breast for me n OH,a leg portion each for the girls,some breast meat left for sandwiches at supper,carcass put into slow cooker for soup and skin and grey bits fed to the dog,Its when making a breast only recipe that i find chicken more expensive,even a portion of lean steak mince is around a fiver these days,its just a shame that cooking from scratch does seem to add up to more expensive than shop bought when using lower fat healthier cuts of meat etc,I do try where possible to buy free range chicken(always buy free range eggs)but at almost £7 for a decent sized family one that only provides 1 meal and a pot of soup,sometimes I have to buy the cheaper alternatives.
Going to Costo on 29th when il stock up on their steak mince and stewing steak,i just bag it into slightly smaller portions than prepacked supermarket stuff then freeze,helps a bit with portion control,must admit we dont eat Gammon joints every Tuesday,its just it was on special offer and im working the next 2 days,so it'l be Frozen fish,or similar for the family Wed/Thurs.
ive noticed a cheapest healthy meals type topic,im gonna have a good look through that,I always try and cook low fat,low sugar and salt free where possible.Unfortunately Healthy and Cheap dont always go hand in hand,but hoping for some good ideas there...im also planning on experimenting with Turkey mince for bolognese/burgers etc,already use quorn sometimes(but only when on special offer cos its expensive too).
Making a breadmaker chocolate loaf to add to girls packed lunches this week,was putting in a cereal bar for snack,but most are full of sugar and expensive,so altho we dont go in for cakes/biscuits in a big way,I usualy try and include a tasty snack for breaktime,so decided to try the chocolate bread..Id better get a move on,theyre gonna be in soon,and ive been here for hours:eek::rotfl:

brokeinwales

so decided to try the chocolate bread

ooh my Mum used to make chocolate bread when I was little. I remember the gorgeous smell....

Not being a real meat eater (as in, not completely 100% strict veggie, but as-good-as most of the time) I actually forget how much meat can cost! Definetly cheaper to go veggie if you're not a committed carnivore.

Newbird

weezl74 - how are you doing bread for 16.6p a loaf pls? care to share with us?

cooking-mama - chocloate bread, whats your recipe for this then pls and how best to serve it? does it need added butter or spread?

Thx Nb

Caterina

Originally Posted by Caterina

The one thing that is DEFINITELY cheaper to make at home and well worth making because it is so much better as well as cheaper, though, is Gnocchi! These are potato dumplings with flour, it is appalling what they cost in the packets and they are full of added stuff. All you need is floury potatoes and flour, that's all. I read somewhere on this thread that they can be also made with Smash-type instant mash but I haven't tried it this way.

Churchmouse wrote: »

And you think you can leave it there ?:rotfl::rotfl:

We want an authentic Italian recipe with timings :D Not Smash, thanks very much !! I spend an absolute fortune on fresh pasta etc. Really should try making my own, but have never tasted gnocchi. Won't order it in a restaurant because I don't know how to pronounce it :o:o

Hey people beware of imitations! Real gnocchi contains potatos and flour and that's that! No eggs, parmesan or gimmicks to keep them together!

Churchmouse, I had written the recipe at one point somewhere on this thread, will look for it and if I cannot find it I shall write it up again.

I am bad at giving quantities and timings because I do things higgledy-piggledy, a pinch here, a handful there.. that's why I shall never be a successful cookery writer, even if I know a lot of recipes!

Will be back soon either with the thread link for recipe or with my own recipe itself, watch this space!

Edited to say: recipe and thread link follow.

Churchmouse, you pronounce gnocchi very similar to "nookie"! I am sure that if you go to an Italian restaurant and tell them you don't know how to pronounce it they will be happy to teach you - so you never need be deprived of the delight that is gnocchi!

BTW traditionally Gnocchi used to be eaten on Thursday.

Caterina

Below is the recipe I wrote (in case peopel do not want to trudge through the whole thread) and this is the link about gnocchi thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1306263&highlight=gnocchi:

You can make gnocchi at home, it is a bit of a lengthy process but really easy and worthwhile - good to involve kids, for them it is a little like playing with playdough!

Here's how:

Skin, quarter and steam (rather than boil so they don't get soggy) 1 kg potatoes, the floury types are the best, check with your greengrocer - King Edwards are good for it.

When the potatoes are cooked mash them finely, the best way is to use a potato ricer and pass them through it twice. Do not, REPEAT DO NOT food process as you will get a mess!

Using your hands, carefully as it will be quite hot, mix the potato mash with plain flour, 00 is best but regular flour will do - it is difficult to say how much you need, start with 150 g and see how much flour is absorbed by the potatoes, and if necessary add some more.

Before you add too much flour it is worth doing a little test, by boiling a small pan of water and dropping in a couple of little dollops (2cm diameter or so) of dough in the boiling water. If the dough disintegrates or goes really pappy and floppy, then you need more flour. If the dollops come up to the surface nice and whole get them out with a slotted spoon and taste them - they should be compact but not rock hard. If they are rock hard you have added too much flour (but hey, you learn to make gnocchi by FEEL not WEIGHT! Consider it a learning experience, eat the hard gnocchi and hope for the best next time!).

Once you are satisfied that the dough has the right consistency, gently roll into sausages of 2 cm diameter, on a floured surface to avoid stickiness, and then cut into short (also 2 cm or so) chunks.

Take each of these chunks gently and roll them with your thumb in the inside of the prongs of a fork, so that one surface is decorated by the fork and the other has a small cavity made by your thumb (hope this is clear, wish I had a camera and I'd show you but you will have to go by FEEL again!).

You can also do this in the inside of a curved cheese grater, and the pattern will be diamonds instead of stripes, pretty!

Let the processed chunks rest to dry a bit then cook in plenty of salted boiling water, IN SMALL BATCHES!!! This is really important to avoid ending up with an almighty mess of potatoey glue.

Once the gnocchi come to the surface, they are cooked, it does not take much more than a couple of minutes. Quickly scoop them up with a slotted spoon and put in a wide serving dish (do not pile them too much on top of each other to avoid sticky mess).

Dress with tomato sauce and abundant grated parmesan. If lazy and can't be bothered to make tomato sauce, dress with butter and parmesan, still great.

Fiddly but worth the effort, once you have the HM stuff to a T you will never want to go back to shop-bought!

Buon appetito

Caterina

Reverbe

Dunno if you will find this relevant to the thread but last night made my own version of mr H curried beans by adding curry powder and sultanas to a tin of Mr S value baked beans - tasted just as nice and was only about 30p- including the 29p for the tin of beans.. I think it is about 60p or so if not more for a tiny tin in stores..

brokeinwales

BTW traditionally Gnocchi used to be eaten on Thursday

I love that! Why?

princesstippytoes

Thank you for the recipe Caterina :T

weezl74

Newbird wrote: »

weezl74 - how are you doing bread for 16.6p a loaf pls? care to share with us?

Hiya NB,

Asda white bread flour currently 61p, sachet of fast acting yeast 5p, 3 tspns salt micropence (I paid 23p for 2 kilos and I only use 11g per batch), this makes 4 loaves in 2lb loaf tins, usually the size of the loaf tin with 2 cms extra height on top after the rise.

HTH

Weezl x