Cheap meals

elona

I just made a massive vegetable curry for under £1. I used the slow cooker
Stewpack of carrots,parsnip,turnip and onion( reduced to 49 pence))
Few potatoes from sack
extra onion
tin tomatoes
curry powder.
red pepper (lurking in veg. rack )

Started it off in microwave to get liquid hot and veg slightly softened then tossed it all in slow cooker and left for hours.

Just tried it and really tasty - even dear husband liked it!


Another cheap idea is a large home made yorkshire pudding with vegetables and gravy - husband loves this as well and feels that he is being spoilt!

Costs hardly anything and there was a whole thread on how to make perfect yorkies on this board.

culpepper

cowboy beans from the feed your family for £5 a day book
Basically..Fried onions,add kidney beans (soaked or tinned),peppers,mushrooms,tinned tomatoes.
cook.
Serve with rice or baked potatoes

Add mince and chilli powder if you like.Cheaper without though.

crana999

Chilli made from tin tomatoes, tin (or soaked & cooked dried) kidney beans, tin sweetcorn, chilli sauce (or similar source of chili!), bit of powdered coriander & cumin if you have them, served with rice.

pasta with almost anything

my friend's "Peasant pasta": soaked & cooked dried green lentils, tin tomatoes, some chillis, some onion if liked, served with pasta (wholemeal is good) and grated cheese if you have any

vanoonoo

elona wrote:

I just made a massive vegetable curry for under £1. I used the slow cooker
Stewpack of carrots,parsnip,turnip and onion( reduced to 49 pence))
Few potatoes from sack
tin tomatoes

we seem to shop the same elona! it was one of those stew packs that I used for my curry except i'd used the carrots with the slow cooker turkey and as I had the sauce donated i didnt need onions or curry powder this time. heehee.

vanoonoo

Judi wrote:

I am trying to come up with some main meals that are relatively cheap to cook, just for a bit of inspiration really and a kick up the derierre to give my moneysaving a good start.

The only things i can think of at the moment is :

Liver and onions.

Cottage/shepherds pie

Toad in the hole

Fish Fingers

any other ideas that i can add to my list?

i use lots of pasta, rice and potato to keep my costs down. oh and 8p noodles!

tiff

I'd say we are about 50% vegetarian now. Because I had to cut down the shopping bill I tended to cut back on meat for some reason, but no-one in this house has really noticed (apart from the flatulence problems!!) A lot of the cheap meals are veg based and as long as you vary the menu you never get bored. I wouldnt want to go completely vegetarian as I love sausages and bacon too much.

I must look out for those stew packs, I automatically steer away from them thinking it must be cheaper to buy the veg separately.

ashmit

Don't forget fishcakes - mash and a tin of salmon or tuna - you can fry some onions to mix in with them or something if you're feeling extravagent!

student100

Macaroni (or other pasta) & cheese

Pasta carbonara

Omelette

Egg/cheese etc on toast

Jacket potato and stuff

Pancakes - American style ones usually because they're easier to cook. Very filling & cheap snack!

Mince-based dishes (spag bol/cottage pie/chilli with rice/tortillas etc)

other pasta stuff...

(can you tell I'm a student? )

Quackers

Macoroni cheese with tuna & sweetcorn added. Veggie me has it with peppers, mushrooms & courgettes. Cooked and served on the side

couscous is nice with a veggie pasta sauce. Add some sausage to hubbies plate.

Cheese & onion pie - mash potato, cheese and cooked onions all mashed together with some sliced tomatoes on top and cooked in oven.

I hardly ever have omlettes - mainly 'cos I wont cook eggs although I love eating them (dont ask!) but all those egg adverts on tv have got me thinking. Anything in cupboards can be added to an omlette to make a meal.

Jacket potatoes - cook and scoop out filling. Mix with butter, cheese and anything else you have in - mushrooms, leeks, bacon etc and put back into skins and put back in oven for 15-20 mins - gorgeous.

tiff

This is the recipe I used for sweet and sour pork. It was the first time I've made it (used to use Uncle Bens sauce but not any more) and it was so easy. I used some cooked pork I had in the freezer left over from a large joint I was given. All the other ingredients I already had in the cupboard. Its an American recipe so measurements are in cups, you can get these measuring cups in Tesco.

Sweet and sour pork (or chicken)

1 lb pork
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pineapple juice (from tin of pineapple chunks)
20 ounces pineapple chunks in juice
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons cornflower
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 green pepper sliced
1 onion chopped

Brown pork in oil in large pan. In a separate pan combine water, vinegar, brown sugar, cornflower, salt, soy sauce and juice from pineapple: cook until clear and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add sauce to pork, cook over low heat for about an hour until pork is done. Add pineapple chunks, green peppers and onion. Continue cooking for 2 minutes longer.

This was the recipe I followed but obviously adapted it a bit because my pork was already cooked.