My food budget has halved! Need lots of help please, including veggie recipes!

lightisfading

Cheeselady wrote: »

Oh thanks for such great info, am definitely going to try the pasties, just have a couple of questions on the recipe if that's OK? When you add a bit of water and gravy powder, do you just sprinkle the gravy granules on, or do you make it up with water first? Also how much do I need to use? Not sure I understand 'water to bind' or double the recipe, sorry have not made pastry since I was in school, lol, does that mean if I don't add water I need to double the ingredients? Oh and how many does that recipe make? Thanks!

The safest way is to make up a VERY concentrated gravy and pour that in. I'm usually lazy and just sprinkle them on and add a splash of boiling water, but you have to be careful they dissolve properly. You just want to flavour the 'meat' and make it moist, if it's really wet it will make soggy pasties!

Sorry, my instructions are rubbish and I was rather tired so speaking gibberish

Cut up 100g of hard vegetable fat (ie not butter (expensive), not lard (meaty eww!), but in the same paper wrapper) into cubes. Rub in 200g of plain flour til it resembles breadcrumbs. If you have a food processor, use that, just whizz it for a few seconds at a time. Add in a splash of COLD water at a time, mixing as you go, until you can form it into a ball of dough. Knead quickly with your hands to make a smooth dough, wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for 1/2hr to rest. Sprinkle flour on your worksurface and rolling pin, roll it out nice and thin, cut round small plates to make circles, put some filling in the middle, press the sides together to make a pasty shape and crimp round the edges (use the end of a spoon or something to make indents all the way round to make sure it's sealed properly). Wherever possible use a beaten egg to brush round the edges prior to sealing, and brush over the top to make a nice golden pastry Poke a hole in the top of each pasty with a fork prior to baking. I do almost everything on about 180-200*c with no ill effects

I *think* this amount makes enough for about 4 pasties if I remember right (long time since I made it!), or a quiche base with a bit left over - double all the ingredients if you want to make more. Just remember twice as much flour as fat and you'll be fine You can freeze pastry so you could make up twice as much and freeze the leftovers if it's too much (or make the frugal standby jam tarts

Oh that sounds a good idea with the burgers, haven't a clue how to make home made wedges though, could you talk me through it please?

The way I do it is to cut up potatoes into wedges (leave the skins on, theyre tasty and good for you!) ... or any other shape you fancy. I often just do big cubes or chunky chips because I'm rubbish at getting evenly sized wedge-shaped wedges!

Stick em in a microwave safe bowl, drizzle a couple tablespoons of oil (optional, but they taste better ) and toss to make sure theyre all coated. The season - you can do just salt and pepper, or you could use a cajun or mexican seasoning mixture, or we like paprika and a bit of garlic powder . Shake it all up to coat and then nuke for a few mins, just til they *start* to soften.

Spread out on a tray and bake til crispy and golden About 20-30 mins I'd guess, but I never time anything!

You can omit the microwave stage, but I find it easier to get wedges that are cooked all the way through if you do micro them.

Cheeselady

Primrose wrote: »

Rose Elliott's book "Not just a load of old lentils" contains a lot of interesting and inexpensive vegetarian recipes if you can find it in your local library. She has also written a number of other very good vegetarian cook books. We are by no means vegetarian in this house but find a lot of vegetarian recipes using pulses & beans of various kinds mean that you simply don't miss eating meat, and meals can be a lot cheaper too.

Thanks for that, will have a look in the library see if I can find some of her books. :T

Cheeselady

lightisfading wrote: »

The safest way is to make up a VERY concentrated gravy and pour that in. I'm usually lazy and just sprinkle them on and add a splash of boiling water, but you have to be careful they dissolve properly. You just want to flavour the 'meat' and make it moist, if it's really wet it will make soggy pasties!

Sorry, my instructions are rubbish and I was rather tired so speaking gibberish

Cut up 100g of hard vegetable fat (ie not butter (expensive), not lard (meaty eww!), but in the same paper wrapper) into cubes. Rub in 200g of plain flour til it resembles breadcrumbs. If you have a food processor, use that, just whizz it for a few seconds at a time. Add in a splash of COLD water at a time, mixing as you go, until you can form it into a ball of dough. Knead quickly with your hands to make a smooth dough, wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for 1/2hr to rest. Sprinkle flour on your worksurface and rolling pin, roll it out nice and thin, cut round small plates to make circles, put some filling in the middle, press the sides together to make a pasty shape and crimp round the edges (use the end of a spoon or something to make indents all the way round to make sure it's sealed properly). Wherever possible use a beaten egg to brush round the edges prior to sealing, and brush over the top to make a nice golden pastry Poke a hole in the top of each pasty with a fork prior to baking. I do almost everything on about 180-200*c with no ill effects

I *think* this amount makes enough for about 4 pasties if I remember right (long time since I made it!), or a quiche base with a bit left over - double all the ingredients if you want to make more. Just remember twice as much flour as fat and you'll be fine You can freeze pastry so you could make up twice as much and freeze the leftovers if it's too much (or make the frugal standby jam tarts


The way I do it is to cut up potatoes into wedges (leave the skins on, theyre tasty and good for you!) ... or any other shape you fancy. I often just do big cubes or chunky chips because I'm rubbish at getting evenly sized wedge-shaped wedges!

Stick em in a microwave safe bowl, drizzle a couple tablespoons of oil (optional, but they taste better ) and toss to make sure theyre all coated. The season - you can do just salt and pepper, or you could use a cajun or mexican seasoning mixture, or we like paprika and a bit of garlic powder . Shake it all up to coat and then nuke for a few mins, just til they *start* to soften.

Spread out on a tray and bake til crispy and golden About 20-30 mins I'd guess, but I never time anything!

You can omit the microwave stage, but I find it easier to get wedges that are cooked all the way through if you do micro them.

Wow you are an absolutel star, feel like I have my very own online cookery teacher on board! :rotfl: Thanks so much, I will let you know how I get on, will probably be next week I make them, as I need to get some more basics such as flour and margarine! Can't you tell we used to live on ready meals! :rotfl:

Ianna

Hey mate, here's some cheap veggie recipes that I love:

Vegetable bake with crunchy topping
Lancashire hotpot
Moroccan vegetables and chickpeas

My basic MSE trick is to add chickpeas, barley or some kind of beans to everything and make it go further. Good luck!

got-it-spend-it

EstherH wrote: »

Do you mean a 300gm pack of quorn mince or are there bigger ones somewhere? It always seems so expensive to me compared to mince, does it go much further then?

Yep, a 300g bag. I use the mince as an ingredient rather than a base but its still tastes good and gives a bit of texture.

Cheeselady wrote: »

Oh that sounds a good idea with the burgers, haven't a clue how to make home made wedges though, could you talk me through it please?

As lightisfading says, but I don't bother to microwave them.

They're good with mixed herbs sprinkled over, or paprika or chilli powder.

My DH is desperate for me to try the pasty recipe!

lightisfading

got-it-spend-it wrote: »

My DH is desperate for me to try the pasty recipe!

Wouldn't call it a recipe, more 'insane cravings for nasty meat products cause some inventiveness'

MrsRogers

Roasted Veg and Pesto is another nice veggie meal

We aren't veggie but love this now and again

In an oven proof dish place all your left over veggies out of the fridge.. You know the stuff you may be tempted to bin .. like bendy carrots or broccoli that looks past its bestn I put in everything I can find onions, garlic, peppers etc...
Chop so evenly sized for cooking.. drizzle over a little olive oil, salt & pepper put in oven for about 25min.. when veg near enough cooked before cooked I empty a tin of tomatoes over and a table spoon of pesto mix about and sprinkle on some cheese and put back in oven until toms are warm and cheese is crispy mmmmmmmmm...

Make a lovely roasted veg meal and uses up left over veggies:j

Cheeselady

Well I made the wedges last night and they were lovely! I didn't microwave them first, but they cooked OK, I kept moving them around and flipping them, and it worked a treat. I just used oil, salt pepper and some mixed herbs. So that's one success! Also made up the ASDA soya sausage mix, and put them in the oven but they were a little bit dry, so will brush them with a bit of oil next time, they were OK with some ketchup though. So that meal for 3 of us cost about 50p each, so very pleased with that, and thanks again for telling me how to make them! :T

Also thanks to everyone else for the recipes, I'm overwhelmed at the response I've had on this thread, you are all fantastic, I'm now enjoying making the meals instead of just shoving a ready meal in the oven.

gailey_2

I have 2 little ones and they eat mostly veg, hubby loves his meat so for hubby we opt for cheaper cuts

sainsburys thigh/leg mix 1.99

either do chicken casserole with it as slow cooking means the meat just drops off with mash.

Other day had some reduced legs 89 p a pack covered in oil and cajun seasoning so was tasty and simple.

With the thighs or wings I roast, strip of meat and make chicken cornish pasties times 8 they so tasty got recipie in jaimies america book might do more and freeze.

Hubby gets lots of sausage casserole as thats normally cheap or on offer.

Mince I stretch out one pack to more than 1 meal with red lentils and veg so allows 1spag bol for all family and chili con carne or shepards pie.

Sometimes just add bacon to pasta to add a touch of meat.

we love omlettes with ham, cheese and veggies with cheap oven chips/wedges.

I do buy quorn at 1.50 in farmfoods to make quorn curry but also make veg curries with potatoes, frozen cauli, onions and whatever else I chuck in.

Made brocoli and cauli bake other day with frozen veg 1quid a bag.

pasta bakes always a hit.

Tried veg lasagne other month was nice.
Fish especially frozen cheaper than meat find farmfoods cheapest.

been going to farm foods and morrsions for bread and milk as they chepest at the moment.

Do hunt reductions find bigger supermarkets have more generous reductions on fruit and veg than meat.

Lush recipie for mushrooms chop and fry in butter for few mins, add cream and siummer, add parsly then grated chese on top serve on toast.

Do downshift try onw brand, value

once did paxo and lentil burgers as suggested on here.
Bubble and squeek too with garden cabbage

making own chutneys and jams
baking more biscuits, cakes and tarts

foraging tonnes this year cherries, plums, blackberries,sloes, elder, nuts and apples to make tarts and crumbles in huge chest freezer.

Dried pasta, rices alwasy good standby

kids like savoury rice just rice cooked in stock the drained and veg added normally frozen peas/sweetcorn.

Love rissotos

Homemade pizza cheap and easy

have started making own bread

own pasta sauces from cheap passata 25p for value one in morrisions.

Butterfly_Brain

Cheapest place for quorn stuff is Farmfoods and Iceland usually have good deals n quorn as well