Cheap meals

debbym

Have to admit Sarah this is our favourite cheap meal too- only we use tinned tomatoes instead of fresh! Not only that since the sauce cooks in the time it takes to cook the pasta it is great when you get back home late and the kids are starving! Usually on a Monday hence the first variation...
We also do the following variations:
use left over meat from roast or bacon or sausages instead of tuna
use tinned pulses for veggie option (asda do tinned kidney beans for 18p)
add crushed clove of garlic and/or spoonful of pesto for extra flavour
use leftover cooked veggies in the sauce (mash to disguise if necessary!) my dd likes it with broccoli- at age 3 she hasn't discovered yet it is supposed to be yucky! lol
serve it with baked spuds or rice or plain couscous instead.

debbym

pasta sauces with no tomatoes...

I'm assuming you have your own combo of meat/pulses/veggies to make the bulk of the sauce and just want to add some liquid....

Try using "cream of" style soups, mushroom tends to go with everything - but don't allow to boil as it will separate out - likewise if frozen

good old Cheese sauce - we do an easy version just milk and cornflour - bring to the boil then stir in grated cheese. We do a "smart version" sometimes if I get chicken breasts on BOGOF. chicken/ leeks/ broccoli/ mushrooms/ blue cheese sauce

cream cheese sauce - stir in a small tub of cream cheese (like philly except the own brands are usually cheaper) add a little milk if too thick and stir until it melts, plain or garlic ones are good and doesn't matter if it is full or half fat.

when my kids were little babies and we were pureeing stuff for them to eat we used to add this to pasta too- obviously I'm talking pureed veggies here not the full spag bol or whatever , best ones where broccoli/ apple and parsnip (nice and creamy)/ leek and sweetcorn, jjust add a little water or stock if too thick. Good way of using up any excess veg you have if you grow it yourself since it freezes beautifully.

vanoonoo

dorry wrote:

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!!

of course we want to know the recipe!

Curry_Queen

Wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the storecupboard challenge thread but considering it was also a cheap meal using left-overs maybe here would be ok

I'm trying to clear some space in my freezer ready for my slow-cooker arriving so I can batch cook meals and freeze them, so decided to use up some fishy odds and ends today ... a third of a bag of cooked prawns, a piece of smoked haddock and a white fish fillet ... along with a sorry looking leek, half each of a white and red onion and a bowl of mashed potato left over from yesterday ... and made a yummy fish pie!

I first poached the fish in a pint of milk with a couple of bay leaves and some dill (also from freezer) then removed it and flaked it, saving the milk to make the bechemal sauce. I gently fried the onions and leeks in butter before adding to the sauce along with the flaked fish, prawns and a couple of chopped hard-boiled eggs to bulk it out a little and seasoned with salt n pepper. Once it had all heated through I poured it into an oven-proof dish and topped with the mashed potatoes (which I'd re-heated in microwave and added a spoonful of creme fraiche to make them soft and fluffy) then bunged it all in the oven for half an hour till potato had browned.

It was delicious to say it had all been made with left-overs

elona

one heart felt tip - never do what I was daft enough to do - never ever say you are using leftovers or clearing the freezer as they will turn their noses up at the food.
Never say something was a freebie or a really good bargain for the same reason.

The only people I can safely say this too are hubbie and eldest daughterwho are sensible.

r.mac_2

lol@elona

this is so true!

fazer6

The other day I was planning to do mash but couldn't be bothered to peel potatoes, I microwaved them and scooped out the insides. I fried some onion and added that and a bit of cheese to the skins which went in the oven with the casserole. My other half absolutly loved them so my lazy money saving ways stumbled upon a tasty dish.

winkle1

I find homemade soup extremely cheap and easy to make and very filling, good for lunches too.

pavlovs_dog

another nice sauce for pasta (tinned tomato free zone )(can be expensive, but you can stretch 1 tin out to feed 2-4 people, if you are clever)

take a tin of chunky chicken in white sauce (value of course - asda's is nice).
add petite pois/peas
sweetcorn
baby carrots

also, chopped fried onion/mushroom/peppers etc if you are so inclined.

this sauce can then be served

mixed with pasta
jacket potato covering
with mash, and veg(brocolli etc)
top with pastry for a quick and easy pie
with chips

the list is endless!

the more veg you put into the sauce,the more filling it is and the further it goes. also,serving it with hearty carbohydrate foods (spuds, pasta,rice) really fills you up...and dont forget a big piece of bread for mopping up!!!!!

also....

cook a few beefburgers and chop them into small chunks (the better quality you use, the nicer the dish gets, but the economy ones are still more than edible)

next, finely chop and fry an onion. add garlic. when frying is almost finished, add a glug of lea & perrins and a drizzle of honey (chef's measures!!).stir, and give a few more minutes. into this, add as many tins of beans as necessary to bulk it out (in accordance to number of mouths to feed). then, into this, stir in the beefburger chunks. continue to heat through until pipng hot, then serve with grated cheese and crusty bread.

delicious, warming and filing:D i looove this dish^(cowboy hash its called in our house)

again, this also goes well with jacket potato,waffles etc. adding diced and friend potato is also a good way of bulking it out cheeply.

Curry_Queen

Another cheapie meal tonight courtesy of my youngest picking up my penny-pinching ways ... (while at the shop getting milk earlier he noticed a packet of sausages reduced to 10p, so took the initiative to buy them for me )

So I've made his fav dish - stovies - which is dead cheap to make anyway and feeds loads of people! There are a couple of different versions, depending which area of Scotland you go, but I make mine using sausages and potatoes (chopped into bite-size chunks) cooked in a beef stock with plenty of pepper!

Actually, this is another great contender for the slow-cooker thread too