No money,no food?

livinginhope

Hi all,Please help,having a really bad day,checked bank this morning and got
7p available balance :eek: to make matters worse it's shopping day,I've been using up all the bits in the cupboards and really don't have that much to play with,got a paying guest staying at the moment and have to cook a meal totally braindead today as I'm panicking
Can you give me some ideas for the cheapest meal with the least ingredients,not pasta as we've had that 2 days on the trot.
Thanks in advance. :A

Ticklemouse

Baked potatoes and toppings to suit taste and budget? cheese, beans, salad?

What about a shepherds pie type thing? You can bulk the mince out with oats, lentils and add veg/beans very cheaply.

Ajax18

I agree, you could use potatoes. You could do a nice German style potato rost:

Peel potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. Then cut into ca 1 inch thick slices and put on a roast thingie with vegetable oil and whatever spices you have as well as sliced onions and, if the budget allows garlic and red peppers, and put in the oven for ca 45 minutes or until baked through on a fairly high temperature setting. They are lovely. Serve with fried eggs or veg in butter on the side, whatever you have really.

You could then serve it with a yummie carrot salad:

Grate as many carrots as necessary and also grate one apple in and add 1 teaspoon of sugar and a little oil. Sounds weird but tastes great and carrots are dead cheap!

Hope that helps...

COOLTRIKERCHICK

whats bits and pieces have you got left in freezer etc...i am sure there will be someone here who can help you make a gourmet meal.....i have loads of ideas from the recipes that are posted here........good luck.......

gwinnie

Do you have any flour? You could make pies or pasties or a quiche?

Pulses can make nice meal soups or stews.

if you have any rice, you could do special fried rice. Secret is to boil the rice, then let it cool completely. Meanwhile, chop onions, garlic. Fry these then stir through the rice. Add some soy sauce. Peas or beans, if you have them, add a bit of green, If you have any eggs, make an omelette, cut into strips and stir through before dishing up.

My favourite cheat is to use a shop bought pasta sauce, dilute down, heat through, and voila soup! Serve with bread and butter for extra bulk. If you add lentils, it becomes a vegetarian stew etc.

newlywed

My mum always did rice onions and potatoes....
Put rice in the bottom of a greased ovenproof dish. Then one sliced onion layerd on top, then layer of sliced potaotes (one big one should do it). Pour made up chicken stock to the level of potato. Cover with lid or foil and Gas Mark 5 for 50 mins.

Some rice, one onion and one large potato can feed 4!

usually serve with some meat or some sort.... sausages or chops.

Punky

Eggs are cheap and versatile. An omelate with your favourite filling (cheese, mushroom, peppers etc), Eggs Benedicte, scrambled egg on toast, etc.

When I first started work and ran short of money at the end of the month a Baked Potato with a variety of fillings was normally the cheapest and best option.

livinginhope

Thanks for the quick responses.
Have taken deep breath and pulled out the cupboards,seem to have a glut of dried lentils,pearl barley and soup/stew mix,problem with these are they all need soaking overnight,what is the minimum time they can be soaked for?I'm very wary about skimping on the soaking after watching that's life as a child talking about how sick you can get from unsoaked beans/pulses,it's amazing what stays in your mind lol.
found quite a bit of flour and some manky peppers and even mankier mushrooms,thought I might make H/M pizzas but with my blankness can't remember the recipe for pizza base,anyone?
the German thing sounds yummy,had something similar last year,so will do that tomorrow.
Found 16 frozen sausages,dated November but I'm sure they will be fine!!!
tahnks again

Ajax18

Pizza dough:

The quick version is flour, water and baking powder + pinch of salt and pepper. Just put in flower and baking powder first and then add water until the dough has the right consistency

Pizza base:

I usually put oil and tomato paste together and add a little pesto, basil, pepper, paprika, chilli powder and vegetable bouillon. Whatever spices take your fancy really.

I usually find it easier to spread the paste on the quick dough if I bake the pizza dough for 10 minutes before spreading the paste.

culpepper

pearl barley doesn't need soaking.I use it in stew and add it at the beginning then after about 30 mins its nice and soft.
You could do toad in the hole with some of the sausages(I use 8 for 4 people) .
You could also ring your bank and ask for a temprorary overdraught of say £20 just till next pay comes in but obviously that means you're £20 short on the next pay.

angelavdavis

What about making some fahita-style pancakes? Mix Flour and Water, add salt and pepper to make a batter that coats back of spoon (if you have an egg add that too, but not essential).

Boil up lentils in stock made with cube (twice stock to lentils). They shouldn't need soaking first.

Mix tin of tomatoes, chopped pepper and mushrooms. Add boiled lentils, season with dried herbs and/or spices. Make this in advance to let everything infuse. Heat up before putting pancakes together:

Put knob butter and oil into good heavy frying pan, add two tablespoons of batter into pan and fry off pancakes.

Two ways to serve:

Either add lentil/pepper/mushroom mix into middle of pancakes and roll up.

or

Make a stack with the pancakes, pancake first, mix spread thinly and then pancake, until you have used up mix, finishing with a pancake. Cut cake into four to serve.