Cheapest meal

ZLS1984

Thanks I was not sure where to place it, :-)

clutterydrawer

You have to be quite desperate to do this but you can make a pasta sauce by making up a cupasoup with a bit less water. comes out tasting like the sauce on those tinned spaghetti shapes.

I know cupasoup isn't very thrifty but if you have one lyign around anyway...

Also an easy meal to make while camping

ZLS1984

clutterydrawer wrote: »

You have to be quite desperate to do this but you can make a pasta sauce by making up a cupasoup with a bit less water. comes out tasting like the sauce on those tinned spaghetti shapes.

I know cupasoup isn't very thrifty but if you have one lyign around anyway...

Also an easy meal to make while camping

Campbells condensed soups, perfect for pasta sauce. I use chicken, with chicken breast (lol) and add sweet corn and pasta with it. Just add some water not a lot, its not very cheap but handy to have in the cupboard, for when you are using things up.

sb44

Tin of Minced beef and Onions 52p Lidl (Cutlers brand - blue tin)

Tin of kidney beans 14p Tesco (prob same price at Lidl)

Some rice (not sure how much this would work out at, depends how many you are feeding)

Bit of chili powder/crushed chllies from store cupboard

Not the best chili in the world but if you are trying to stretch out the budget it will fill you up and keep you warm if you put plenty of chilis in there.

debsthe1

We used to do chilli using corned beef years ago-
Tin corned beef
1-2 Onions chopped
Garlic
Chilli Powder
Tomato - either tinned chopped or pasatta
Tom Puree

Fry onions, garlic and chilli powder until softened
Add Corned beef (chopped up)
Add Tomato and simmer
season and serve with rice.

A real comfort meal - not sure how cheap this would be nowadays..

SunnyGirl

thriftlady wrote: »

This is from Jocasta Innes' The Pauper's Cookbook and is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.

Potato,Bacon and Onion Hotpot

Slice a potato for each person + one for the pot thinly
Slice a large onion or more if you like lots of onion
Chop up some bacon-as much or as little as you can spare-or you can use ham
Make a white sauce-add cheese if you like
Layer ingredients in a deep oven-proof dish to come half-way up
Pour on half sauce
Layer rest of ingredients and pour over rest of sauce
Cover with lid or foil and bake for 1 hour at 200c then take off lid/foil and bake for another hour at 180c.

I should add that you should end with a layer of potato as it looks nicer,and you can season the layers with pepper(salty already from bacon-but too your own taste obviously)

Serve with a cheap veg like carrots or cabbage.HTH :wave:

What a blast from the past!! I grew up being fed so much from the Pauper's Cookbook it was my Mum's favourite cook book :T She's actually recently bought the updated version as, after a lifetime of my Dad saving very hard for his private pension, the value of it has almost been wiped out in the last 6 months :eek: They are luckier than some, they know, but this wasn't how they envisaged it working out. Fortunately my Mum knows loads of money saving tips, she taught me loads. She's a brilliant Old Styler & would fit in very well here if they had an internet connection - that went as a money saver 6 months ago as they didn't use it much and can use the library connection for free for an hour at a time.

Sorry to waffle on I'll be reading through this thread with great interest later on when I have a bit of computer time as a treat for getting everything done (she says with fingers crossed behind her back )

kerik4

ZLS1984 wrote: »

Campbells condensed soups, perfect for pasta sauce. I use chicken, with chicken breast (lol) and add sweet corn and pasta with it. Just add some water not a lot, its not very cheap but handy to have in the cupboard, for when you are using things up.

I use celery soup as the white sauce for lasagne - can also be bulked out with natural yoghurt or cream etc as well (although not so thrifty then)

greytdog_2

been reading through this and there are some great tips that i will be trying out. I have had to chuckle about the cheese thing though as dont most of us just cut of the mould bits and carry on regardless of what cheese you use? It also made me smile as no one seemed to mind that corned beef and value meat it make of what is power blasted off the bones after the proper meat has been cut off which is why you get a higher fat/grisle content. :rotfl:

GooeyBlob

How about a nice white wine to wash it down with... for 25p per bottle?

Dissolve 1 kilo of sugar (69p, Instore) in a little water, cover and allow to cool. Put 1 litre of orange juice (2 for £1, Farmfoods), 1tsp yeast, 1tsp Pectolase in a demi-john, add cooled sugar solution and top up with tapwater. Insert airlock/cotton wool and leave in a warm place for a few weeks.

There you have it - six bottles of white wine for next-to-nothing, and it tastes great.

tiff

I made some with pineapple juice and it was lovely, very easy and cheap like you said. Apparently Cranberry juice makes a nice red.