Shopping, meals and other tips!

troll35

Other alternatives to soya mince when bulking out meat dishes are lentils and oats. When dry frying mince or stewing beef I add a good handful of oats. They soak up all the juices and also help thicken the gravy.

Babies just woken so can't add any more:rolleyes2

flufff

If moneys tight I'll go shopping every other day.Taking heed of whats in my cupboards trying to use things up.I'll only buy whats on my list and use a set amount.
When i left my old house 10 years ago all i had in freezer last day was a rhubarb crumble!We had eaten everything else!

seraphina

I plan out a list of meals for the week, taking into account what nights we're in, whether I'm at home for lunch etc. At dinnertime we then have whatever we fancy from the list of meals we've planned for.

I also try and get an extra meal out of a week's shopping - so for example, if I get ingredients in for four dinners, I come up with a fith from storecupboard/leftovers/spares etc. This way shopping gets moved back a day and you can save yourself weeks' worth of shopping over the course of a year.

Edinburghlass_2

I just shop

Becles

wanna-be-mortgage-free wrote:

Your ideas are great, I like the carbonara one, would you share the receipe and is there a low fat version?

The best recipe is:

3 egg yolks
284 ml pot of single cream
black pepper to season
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
4 rashers bacon, chopped into pieces
few mushrooms
packet of fresh pasta in shapes of your choice!

Boil the pasta.

In another pan, fry the bacon and mushrooms.

Beat together the egg yolks, cream, pepper and parmesan.

Drain the pasta and mix it in with the bacon and mushroom.

Pour the egg mixture over and cook for 3-4 minutes while stiring, until the egg sets.

That's enough for 4, so adjust accordingly!

You can cut costs by using cheaper cheese grated finely, and by using dried pasta. I've also bought bacon mis-shapes in Lidl before which were dead cheap.

You could calories by using low fat cream and cheese, but I've never tried that, so don't know what it would taste like. Maybe something like low fat Philidelphia would work instead? Experiment time!

It's a lovely dish and I really enjoy it. We're having it tonight :j

Becles

black-saturn wrote:

Just wanted to ask Becles why she predicted my thread was going to end in an argument and I would also like to add that I was the one who asked for it to be closed, it was not the board guides decision.

It's just a pattern I've noticed. People raise comments in the thread that are percieved as an attack on you, then it descends into an argument until you or someone else closes it.

Would like to keep this thread argument free, so people can post constructive comments and pick up tips from each other. :T

black-saturn

That carbonara looks very fattening and there doesn't seem to be many vegetables in it. Is there are more healthier version? Can you also use grilled bacon? Theres so much fat in bacon I'd rather grill it than add to the fat by frying it.

Becles

I never add fat to the pan when I fry bacon. I just chuck it in a hot pan! I've never tried it with grilled bacon. You could try that, or cooking it on a griddle or George Foreman to cut fat.

To be honest, I never pay much attention to how much fat is in a meal. We're all lean and nobody needs to diet, so I think it balances itself out over the week. The other food we've eaten today has been low in fat, and we've had our 5 portions of fruit/veg already, so the fat content of one meal doesn't matter too much to us.

Penny-Pincher!!

That sounds scrummy Becles! The fat content in meat, often makes the meat tast better. If people need to watch their weight the recipe could easily be adpated, or if they love their vegetables, they could serve on the side or add to the dish. I suppose you could also make this dish into a lasagna....that would be nice with some garlic bread:D

I personally swear by a menu plan as I am not disciplined enough to just cook something later. I would forget to get something out the freezer, or if feeling ill that day, would opt for a take-away as this would be easier for me:o......well....at least Im honest;)

Normally have "comfort" food meals. Our weeks are made up with:

Roasts
Shepards Pie & Veg
Chops, mash and veg
Lamb Stew & dumplings
Curry & Rice
Toad In Hole, Spuds & veg
Chilli Con Carne & Rice
HM Fish Pie
Lasagna & salad
Egg & Chips
Spagbol
Omelette
Pie, spuds & veg

blah...blah....blah

HTH

PP
xx

Trow

Carbonara doesn't generally have veg in it - thats a pretty typical recipe becles has posted - but you could always add some if you wanted to modify it and lower the fat content. You might be better with a tomato based pasta sauce for that though.