Meal for two for 50p. Suggestions?

Penny-Pincher!!

computerwoman wrote:

:xmastree:Hi everyone great recipes thanks I'll be trying some of these, firstly I spend £60 a fortnight at tesco's, why because I'm on IB and only get £86.75 aweek to run a 2 bedroomed house, and pay all the bills, my son is on JS as we live in a seasonal town and there's no work in winter, so he gets £45.50 aweek, which he does contribute almost all of it to the house keeping, without any thought for himself,

Have you checked to see if you are entitled to any other benefits...DLA???

PP
xx

chrisontheup

I lived in Scotland for a few years and took to heart their soup making philosophy. In its most simple form this involves putting some cheap cut of meat, could be chicken, could be bones (Morrisons very often sell packs of bones - or even better cultivate your local butcher who will give them to you), onions, then whatever veg you have to hand, carrots, swede, parsnips etc etc. Then you need something to thicken the soup up, this could br potatoes, pearl barley or red lentils (two or three potoates or a couple of handfuls of barley or lentils) . Put into a large pan, cover with chicken stock (cube will do) and cook, long and slow until you have a panful of hot, thick broth. At this stage remove the bones and cut up any large pieces of meat, adjust the seasoning. And that's it.

You can go all fancy if you like and brown the meat and onions first and this does give a good flavour.

This will make a huge potfull and served up with some crusty bread is an ideal winter warmer. Any leftovers will freeze for another day. If you shop cannily this should cost less than 25p per portion.

Red lentils - these aare a great filler, they cook down to practically nothing, they are good for you - try adding them to mince dishes to pad the meat out.

The other thing they do a lot of in Scotland is Macaroni Cheese and this is really cheap and easy to make. Just cook macaroni (or any other pasta shape you have to hand. Make a cheese sauce, spicing it up a bit with a little bit of mustard, mix togther with the pasta and serve.

A tin of pichards is really cheap and you can mash them up and mix with mashed potato (about equal amounts) make into fish cakes. Don't fuss about breadcrumbing them, if you coat them with a little flour and fry them carefully they will be be lovely and crisp and golden.

Hope this helps:rudolf:

Bogof_Babe

Sounds good Kerching (I could substitute vegetable stock to make it veggie, couldn't I?).

I just wondered whether you could parboil or microwave the potatoes first, then slice when cool enough to handle before assembling the recipe as described. The point being to cut down on the cooking time, which is the dearest part of this suggestion!

Bogof_Babe

kerching wrote:

I've never thought about the cost of energy for cooking before.

Neither had I until it became ridiculous, but now I always avoid using the oven if there is an alternative. Pity, we often used to do jacket spuds, and they are not the same in the microwave.

bendabomb

flufff wrote:

You then have to add on milk,tea,coffee,drinks,cereal,bread,sugar.If you have kids you cant deny them odd biscuit after school.Then petfood.

I like the idea of feeding the kids with pet food. Not sure how social services would view it though!

computerwoman

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Have you checked to see if you are entitled to any other benefits...DLA???

PP
xx

yes and they keep saying I'm not entitled to anything else so I guess thats that thanks anyway

dianna8106

hi i love this thread anyone got a budget version of a sunday dinner my huby really enjoys one with all the trimming but also steak which bumps up the cost!
please keep the recipes coming
diana

jcr16

um not sure about how to do a budget sunday roast. but how about doing less of the trimming's so u can then make it do 2 roasts instead.

ie wrap ur own sausages in bacon and have just 1 each, hm yorkies are very cheap, tesco do a value stuffing for 13p which is really nice. make it a bit more special by serving carrots with butter and rosemary melted over them,

as for steak have never had that with a roast so not sure if there a cheap way of doign this , unless u don't have it i suppose.

computerwoman

dianna8106 wrote:

hi i love this thread anyone got a budget version of a sunday dinner my huby really enjoys one with all the trimming but also steak which bumps up the cost!
please keep the recipes coming
diana

years ago when I was little and my step dad was out of work money was tight my mum would do all the veg and yorky puds but could'nt afford the meat, I still do this today even though they have both passed away now, in the 70's meat was expensive, well actually I think everything was expensive, no pound shops in them days, but you don't have to have meat, just tell your husband its healthier eating day and don't use meat.

Maz

This sounds, well, not very nice but is actually gorgeous (and very cheap!)

Mash some spuds.

In a casserole dish, layer the spuds with baked beans and cheese finishing off with spuds with cheese topping. Bake in the oven 'til the cheese on top is all browned and crispy. *slurp!*

And what about the old favourite, corned beef hash? Cheap as chips (probably cheaper if my local chippy's prices are anything to go by)