Feed a family of four for £20 a week challenge

moments_of_sanity

Wow is all I can say to the wonderful people who have taken the time to think of recipes, write down the ingredients and price them! Whilst they are not of use to Nursemaggie i know we will have people who are struggling look on this thread and be able to make use of your ideas. You are all fantastic! :j

I don't cook a lot of different meals as we tend to be 'plain' food eaters but I will certainly be trying some of the recipes suggested over the next few weeks and passing your extensive lists/recipes to my eldest DD at University as I know they will help her.

BB, I hope they get your ceiling fixed very soon. We had a leak in our bathroom pipes about 18 months ago and needed a new ceiling so I can certainly sympathise with you predicament.

Cake4brains

Hi I'm a lurker but just wanted to pop on and say thank you to Newshadow for that great post. I love the idea of a base recipe and adding extras for different dishes. I'm definitely writing all that down. Thank you so much for taking the time out to write all that x

downshifted

Let me echo those who have come in here to thank people who are putting themselves out to try to be helpful - you are kind and patient people :-)

As someone who has previously worked in a job centre I know the system can be cumbersome and difficult - however, with the right attitude and application it is unnecessary to be sanctioned more than once or twice - you just have to be adaptable and work the system, as it is only you who suffers if you don't.....unless your mother bails you out of course ;-)

patchwork_cat

The average GP has 1250 patients, not 20000! Sausages are 66p/lb, not £3 even at Morrisons. As you had a son at 48 who is nearly 21, you are about 68 and therefore eligible for free bus fares, so the cost of transport to Aldi should not be an issue. If you were a nurse do you not get an NHS pension on top of your state pension?

moments_of_sanity

Just a heads up...in tomorrow's Daily Mirror or Daily Record for this in Scotland there will be a voucher for £15 off a £75 spend. The voucher is valid until the 24th December.

Whilst I appreciate not everyone will have £60 available to spend in one go, for those that can use it before Christmas Eve, you could potentially get yourselves a few days 'free' food.

The voucher is for Aldi's

Fruball

moments_of_sanity wrote: »

Just a heads up...in tomorrow's Daily Mirror or Daily Record for this in Scotland there will be a voucher for £15 off a £75 spend. The voucher is valid until the 24th December.

Whilst I appreciate not everyone will have £60 available to spend in one go, for those that can use it before Christmas Eve, you could potentially get yourselves a few days 'free' food.

is this at aldi?

moments_of_sanity

Fruball wrote: »

is this at aldi?

Doh, sorry! Yes it is and I will edit my original post

NewShadow

I had an OH who was obsessed with having meat with every meal (and i mean 3 times a day), so I learned to bulk to the extremes and as long as the texture and underlying flavour is right, its almost impossible to recognise that a meal has hardly any meat in it.

I'm not going to cost these up as I can make them all much cheaper than the supermarket by taking a trip to the market and bulk buying spices.

Just to illustrate that it's the flavours/spices that make a meal and it doesn’t have to be just mince to stretch food out using a base - Good and cheap (for me with my store cupboard - you might have some initial outlay, but its all fairly cheap) ways to use up roast meat include:

Moroccan-style harira
8 portions

Ingredients:
200g onions, finely chopped
1tbsp garlic (or 2 cloves)
400g cooked chickpeas,
400g diced sweet potato (optional)
2 tins tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3 - 5 tbsp lemon juice
500ml stock
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp mint
1 tsp paprika
¼-½ tsp cayenne pepper or chilli powder
200g Shredded leftover roast

Fry onion. Add the garlic, then the chickpeas, sweet potato and chopped tomatoes. Add the spices and lemon juice (but no salt). Sir and warm through. Add the stock and a ½ teaspoon of salt. Boil and then simmer 20 minutes. Add 1tsp coriander, mint, paprika and cayenne. About 5 minutes before the end, add the leftover roast. I also add any veg - peppers or cooked potatoes, or sultanas. Serve as is or with a spicy couscous.

Freezes well.

Vietnamese Noodle Soup - This is a bit of work, but well worth it.

8ish portions

Ingredients:
200g shredded leftover roast
400g onions, fine diced
300ml coconut milk
300g shredded carrot
300g shredded cabbage
400g sliced mushrooms
8 nests of wholewheat noodles

Marinade:
2 tsp palm sugar (or honey)
1 tsp salt,
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic
2 tbsp fish sauce (or a few drops of Worcester sauce, a splash of soy, and a splash of lemon juice)

Caramel sauce:
8 tsp sugar
300ml boiling water

Combine the marinade ingredients. Add the diced meat and onions to the marinade and stir well. Set aside for a few minutes while you make the caramel sauce.

Make the caramel by heating the sugar in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Leave, without stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. Then reduce the heat, stirring constantly until the sugar begins to melt and become a golden brown colour. (try not to burn…) Add boiling water to the sugar and bring to the boil. If the sugar hardens at first, it will melt again after a few minutes.

Drain the meat and add to the caramel sauce. Add the coconut milk and warm through. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced and thickened.

Make noodle soup by simmering a couple of star anise and a cinnamon stick in about 3 cups of water per portion for about 10 minutes (or use 5-spice), then add chopped mushrooms, fine sliced carrots, a vegi stock cube per person, shredded cabbage and noodles. Top with 2ish tbsp caramelised meat after serving up.

The meat freezes well after caramelising, then can be pulled out for salads/soups as needed.


Monday Pie - Either use leftovers from sunday or pre cook the veg to make this a super quick winter warmer.

8 Portions

Ingredients
800g potatoes, thinly sliced
200g shredded leftover roast
200g red lentils or soya mince
300g diced onions
200g shredded cabbage
200g diced carrots
2 tins baked beans
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp Gravy powder
2 tsp Worcester sauce
2 tsp Flour
(optional 100g Cheddar cheese, grated)

Par boil the tatties. Fry the onions, cook the carrots and cabbage till tender. Stir all the ingredients together and top with the potatoes. Bake for about 20 minutes. Top with cheese (if using) and bake until bubbling.

Freezes well.

slow cooked casserole

8ish portions

Ingredients
200g shredded leftover roast
200g Onions, roughly chopped
2 tsp garlic
500g Swede, diced
500g Butternut squash, diced
500g sweet potato, diced
Head of celery, diced
Leek, sliced
200g Pearled barley, lentils or soup mix
2 tins tomato
2 tbsp worcestershire Sauce
1tsp paprika
1lt stock

Fry the onions. Add the vegetables and spelt grains and fry for 5 minutes. Add meat, spices, worcestershire sauce, tomatoes and stock. Transfer to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 – 9 hours.

Freezes well.

I will say - Osem beef soup powder (around £4 for a 500g a tub in weightrose) is the best beef stock I've ever bought - 1tsp per person is enough to make a completely meatless meal taste rich and meaty.

HTH

katkin

Thank you :T NewShadow those are wonderful recipes and to our tastes at home. Really clever, I'm going to give them a bash.

Butterfly_Brain

Murphybear wrote: »

I recently discovered this thread, it's brilliant

BUDGET CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Got this from this month's Good Housekeeping magazine (money saving tip, got subscription as present;)

This year’s GH budget basket, which includes the overall cheapest items across all supermarkets, is 3% cheaper than last year's!

Now in its sixth year, Good Housekeeping's annual Christmas dinner survey compares the prices of 11 key Christmas dinner items across all the major UK supermarkets, to find out how cheaply you can buy them, and from where.

Unlike the individual supermarkets' own budget basket comparisons, we only use fresh veg prices, we compare the same items each year to give a true reflection of whether prices are going up or down, and we don’t use pro rata prices. In other words, we calculate the total cost as a consumer would.

For example, if a supermarket only sells mince pies in packs of six we multiply the pack price by two


THE ULTIMATE BUDGET BASKET

- Lidl Braemoor Turkey, £9.99
- Co-op Maris Piper potatoes, 1.5kg, £1.50
- Sage and Onion Stuffing, Morrisons, Asda,Tesco, 2x 85g, 30p
- Aldi Sprouts, 750g, 49p
- Aldi Carrots, 1.2kg, 49p
- Tesco Parsnips, 750g, 90p
- Tesco Everyday Value cranberry sauce 185g, 50p
- Sainsbury’s Basics Christmas pudding, 2x 454g puds, £2
- Brandy butter Aldi and Lidl 200g, £1.49
- Sainsbury's Basics Mince Puffs x8, 65p
- Christmas Cake: Iceland Large Iced Fruit Bar, 800g, £3

Basket total: £21.31
Total per person: £2.66

I appreciate that most people won't want to shop in half a dozen different supermarkets but it gives some ideas on not breaking the bank for Christmas dinner. More details on their website

I presume from the pricing that this is for 8 people?

You can cut it down even further if you look around:

- Lidl Braemoor Turkey, £9.99
Farmfoods 4kg turkey £7.95 ( I bought one today )
- Co-op Maris Piper potatoes, 1.5kg, £1.50
Local greengrocer 60p
- Sage and Onion Stuffing, Morrisons, Asda,Tesco, 2x 85g, 30p
- Aldi Sprouts, 750g, 49p
- Aldi Carrots, 1.2kg, 49p
- Tesco Parsnips, 750g, 90p
Morrisons 69p
- Tesco Everyday Value cranberry sauce 185g, 50p
- Sainsbury’s Basics Christmas pudding, 2x 454g puds, £2
- Brandy butter Aldi and Lidl 200g, £1.49
- Sainsbury's Basics Mince Puffs x8, 65p
- Christmas Cake: Iceland Large Iced Fruit Bar, 800g, £3

Basket total: £21.31
Total per person: £2.66

Basket total £18.16
Total per person £2.27 :j