Mince quantity question (stretching and portion sizes)?

coldcazzie

The other week I bought a 900g thingy of mince from the supermarket (I usually buy it from the butcher) and got 1 lot of chilli and 1 lasagna for all of us (2 adults and 3 children) plus a small lasagna for just me and him which is in the freezer for a later date.

I always put loads of veg in my lasagna (peppers, mushrooms, celery), plus bacon and sometimes a couple of chicken livers too. Chilli is obviously done with lots of peppers and beans (although I admit I pick the beans out as I can't stand the texture, but it doesn't taste the same if it's cooked without them).

Petlamb

That size I'd split into 4, doing a meal out of each for the 2 of us (big eaters).

Depending on what I make, I'd likely be creating 2, sometimes 3/4 portions out of those though - eg chili gets us extra.

mrsmadmand

Wow some of you REALLY make it go a long way! I thought I was being frugal trying to get 3 portions out of it! :rotfl:

I will bulk out my basic mince with veggies (usual suspects with mince - onions/peps/m'rooms/celery/carrot/whatevers about to go out of date!) and then portion up from there to make spag bol/chilli/cottage pie) but I know I do have a tin of red lentils in the cupboard.....can I add these or are they the wrong type of lentils? I admit to being a bit of a "virgin" when it comes to lentils. Cant even remember why I bought them now!!!

Cheers everyone - constant source of useful advice as always!

mummyroysof3

out of a 700g pack i get a cottage pie for us 5 and a potion for freezer(or my lunch next day) and a chilli, spag bol or lasagne for 3

JRsrule

Hi there

hope you don't mind me joining in please :-)

I used to get 2 meals for two out of 800g, roughly thinking along the lines of a pound of mince per meal. Then I realised that I was wasting money, especially as I sometimes used to end up throwing the last bit of bolognaise or shepherds pie away...! I'll be using your suggestions, all money saving tips always very welcome.

Anyway, just wanted to say thank you to JulieGeorgiana for your quote

People spend money they don't have, on things they don't need, to impress people they don't like...

I wish someone had told me that years ago! Well, I don't do it now anyway, (I can't, really....) so secretly I like to impress myself instead by NOT spending on stuff I don't need.

I'm going to copy and paste that saying into my calendar at work so that I see it every day!

x

Tink_04

out of a 750g pack I got 6 adult portions and 4 childrens portions of spag bol today - I make it all up and portion it to freeze for dinners through the week

3v3

HannahIOW wrote: »

I would probably get two meals for two people out of that, I normally do anyway. Most on here can probably get at least twice that, it amazes me really.

So a portion of mince each is 200g? That's the equivalent of 8oz each per meal (or, a "half pounder" in burger terms).

In cookery books from around 1960's, the recommended "allowance" when buying meat for one meal was 4oz off the bone and 6oz on the bone (by that standard you are eating double the amount )

In the '80's when calculating how much meat to buy per portion, it had increased to 6oz off the bone to 8oz on the bone. (So, by that standard you are consuming one and a half times the amount).

Just saying; not judging.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Be careful of sharing the information regarding bulking mince out.

DD2 assisted with the complete demolition of a cottage pie this weekend. I really packed it out, carrot, peas, handful of oats, tomatoes, gravy, the lot - and did over double portions (I usually use 250g for 2 meals plus 1 in the freezer, but because DD1 was visiting and she was very hungry, I did a whole 500g pack of lean mince - well, after feeding the cats their bit, probably nearer 400g).

Afterwards, DD2 asked what went in the mince. So, seeing as she has been eating it for about a year without complaint, I mentioned the oats. (I don't do lentils because they don't agree with me in the slightest, despite my liking them)


She has now decided that she doesn't like it anymore, because she knows her father wouldn't stand for adding extra stuff to his meat (6'5" of I-must-have-12 to 16oz-of-pure-lean-meat-at-every-meal).


So now 250g will do 1 meal for me, 2 in the freezer and her sitting looking miserably at a plate of potato and carrots.

meg72

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Be careful of sharing the information regarding bulking mince out.

DD2 assisted with the complete demolition of a cottage pie this weekend. I really packed it out, carrot, peas, handful of oats, tomatoes, gravy, the lot - and did over double portions (I usually use 250g for 2 meals plus 1 in the freezer, but because DD1 was visiting and she was very hungry, I did a whole 500g pack of lean mince - well, after feeding the cats their bit, probably nearer 400g).

Afterwards, DD2 asked what went in the mince. So, seeing as she has been eating it for about a year without complaint, I mentioned the oats. (I don't do lentils because they don't agree with me in the slightest, despite my liking them)


She has now decided that she doesn't like it anymore, because she knows her father wouldn't stand for adding extra stuff to his meat (6'5" of I-must-have-12 to 16oz-of-pure-lean-meat-at-every-meal).


So now 250g will do 1 meal for me, 2 in the freezer and her sitting looking miserably at a plate of potato and carrots.

I bet it wont be long before she changes her mind lol

mrsmadmand

Well I didnt add the lentils as I'm still not sure they would be ok. But I have managed to get - 4 portions of cottage pie, 2 portions of chilli (maybe 3 if I can bulk it out a bit more tomorrow), and 3 portions of spag bol out of my original pack of mince. These are all adult sized portions so can be divvied up again for my 2 DD's.

It may not be as much as others get but I'm very happy as its WAY more than I have done in the past! Thanks everyone for all your tips and hints.