Cheap meals

Bogof_Babe

I have just had the yummiest lunch in a long time - good old egg and chips. The recipe was given me from a slimming programme by a member of WW or SW, but I substituted ordinary vegetable oil for the One Cal spray that is meant to be used.

One medium to large potato per person, peeled (or not if you prefer) and cut into chips. Spread out on a large enough upturned pyrex bowl lid, so they are not piled up. Brush with oil (or use the spray mentioned above). I digressed from the recipe by microwaving them on medium-high for 5 mins to cut down cooker time, then put into the oven at gas 5-6. Turn them occasionally, and after about 40 mins break an egg per person into a cup and pour over the chips. Cook for a further 10 mins and serve.

Egg - 20p (large free range)
Potato - 20p
Oil - 2p
Gas for cooking - ???????

Can anyone tell me approx how much it costs per hour to operate a gas cooker on medium heat?

Anyway that was so nice, and with a sprinkling of Lo Salt it went down a treat! Wish I'd made double now - would still be under £1 .

r.mac_2

liz19 -

I know how you feel about tinned tomatoes, sometimes I think I will never be able to eat them ever again! I like to make pasta sauce with half fat creme fraich. chop an onion and saute with a little white wine or a tbsp or two of water. add some chopped pepper and any other veg you fancy add a few tbsp of creme friach and voila.

I also soemtimes add pine nuts or walnuts and chopped ham is good too.

hth

vanoonoo

oh I do those syn free chips sometimes - they are lovely - and you can par boil them first too which speed up the cooking time. if you give them a bit of a shake in the pan when you drain them the sides get roughed up a bit and they go crispier in the oven. I dont put the egg on top but might try that now!

great served with beans too and all that is syn free on a green day with slimming world. so you can have it as many times as you want (cholesterol levels allowing)

vanoonoo

r.mac wrote:

liz19 -

I know how you feel about tinned tomatoes, sometimes I think I will never be able to eat them ever again! I like to make pasta sauce with half fat creme fraich. chop an onion and saute with a little white wine or a tbsp or two of water. add some chopped pepper and any other veg you fancy add a few tbsp of creme friach and voila.

I also soemtimes add pine nuts or walnuts and chopped ham is good too.

hth

that sounds delicious - I'd forgotten about pine nuts - they are fab toasted and plonked in things to jazz it up about. I've got some in a tub somewhere ..... hmmmm .....

MATH

Sarahsaver wrote:

MATH - regarding Tesco's no-show, when that happened to me they refunded the cost of the complete order, hope you are getting the same!?

They delivered yesterday and even had the cheek to upgrade my delivery charge cos thursday is more expensive than Tuesday (when it should have arrived)
I rang them up and explained that a) they had kept me waiting for two days b) I am on day 50 something of no-smoking c) they don't want to mess with me

Got all my shopping for free - thanks for the tip Sarah

123xyz

Anything with eggs is good; eggs are so cheap.

Omlettes, poached egg on toast, quiche (made with supermarket value flour of course at 12p per 3lb bag - it only needs sifting.)

Squidgy

my best pasta recipe (sorry it does contain tomatoes, real ones though not tinned)

6 tomatoes
2 red peppers
small tub creme fraiche
1-2 cloves garlic
salt & pepper
Pasta
cheese

quarter the tomatoes, deseed and roughly chop the pepper, finely slice the garlic. Put in a roasting tin with a glug of veg oil, season and mix with hands to coat well with the oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes (give it a mix after 15 minutes) on 180C (gm4).
while this is cooking boil the pasta and drain. Once out of the oven mix the creme fraiche with the roasted veg (leave a little bit to put on top of the pasta when serving) until it is all mixed together nicely. Add the pasta. Put the pan on the hob to warm through.
Serve with some of the creme fraiche and grated cheese. Should be parmaesan, but I find mature cheddar even better.

Enjoy!

filigree_2

If anyone is fed up with tinned tomatoes, I like using passata for a change. The economy brands (from Morrisons and Asda) cost less than 40p for 700ml, which compares well to cheap tinned toms. The texture is creamier, more like ready made pasta sauces.

Sometimes recipes based heavily on tomatoes taste a bit sharp and acidic, a small spoonful of sugar or honey helps with that.

Pesto is nice on pasta, there are all sorts of varieties or you can make your own. It isn't very cheap, but you don't need lots.

dorry_2

my first posting on this section. I thought I should give a little
back as all i have been doing since xmas was pinching everyones
really good money saving receipes.
I have also cut our shopping bill down by about £ 20 per week?? ( i think)

anyway this afternoon I made spainish omlette, it was really lovely!
and very cheap to make, i think bout 60p each for two.
if anyone wants to know the recipe i will post it later!!

summerday

Here is a pasta recipe I invented while a student, I called it my tuna and pasta concoction:

1. Start boiling up some pasta in a large pan.

2. When it has about 5 mins to go until it is cooked, get your frying pan out and heat a little oil up in it.

3. Add a tin of tesco value (or other economy brand) tuna into the frying pan. Also add several sliced mushrooms (fresh or tinned), and a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved. You could also add some sweetcorn (value range of course!)

4. After you have cooked the tuna and veg for a few minutes, turn the heat off, drain your pasta and add the tuna veg mix to the pasta while still in the pan.

5. Transfer this delicious-smelling concoction to plates or pasta bowls and enjoy!

Hope someone likes it, I did start making it when I was cash stapped and couldn't afford to go shopping but I do occasionally still make it as it's so yummy. Dieters could have it too, just use fry light instead of oil.

Hope someone likes it!

Sarah