Takeaways

gemsaysdontdodebtkids

I make my own curries from scratch. Two spoons balti paste (about £1 for a whole jar!), some diced lamb/chicken (£3), a can of tomatoes (40p) and a big bunch of chopped coriander (70p). Brown rice (80p).

Less than £5 all in, feeds two easily.

I only use olive oil to cook it all in, so it's way healthier than takeaway curries. And if the boyfriend wants peripherals e.g. poppodoms, then he has to provide them himself (from M&S on the way home from work!)

I also make this amazing chicken dish, for when we have people round, that's really cheap. 4 chicken breasts (£4), bunch chopped basil (70p), a can of tomatoes (40p), one ball mozzerella (£1), some grated parmesan (50p for a little pack from M&S), flour, 2 cloves of garlic, salt. Mix the flour and grated parmesan in a bowl, coat the breasts, fry until brown, lay in oven dish. Fry garlic in olive oil, add chopped toms and chopped basil. Heat through. Pour over chicken in dish. Cover with sliced mozzerella. Bake in 150C oven for 30 mins and serve with pasta.

It's less than £2 a head. Everyone loves it too.

elantan

thanks for that neko was starting to panic a bit there

BettiePage

Why not just tell him the truth?
You can't really afford/justify £4 on rice. If he wants it, let HIM pay for it, after all he is on £50k with more disposable income than you have.

Conrad

NekoZombie wrote: »

He thinks I'm crazy. he actually snickered when I went to cook the rice as usual, hence why i ordered it instead. :mad: Talk about peer pressure!

When I first met my wife I was a little hard up and her previous partner was a city stock broker who earned about £200,000 pa (in 1995).

I simply told the truth and she had to lump it - she called me tight at first - her ex used to do things like buy the whole pub a beer, I couldnt compete with this.

Now she realises I was right to have stuck to my guns and she respects me for it. Luckily we have a very comfortable life now.

Love always understands.

Headintheclouds_3

NekoZombie wrote: »

I completely agree with all of this!! I think home-made always tastes far better, but my OH just sees it as hassle. Its like banging your head against a brick-wall. Love the happy meal idea though!

Definitely! I was hoping you'd say that - takeaway is second choice to home cooked food every time.

Think someone has already mentioned the OS board but I have to give it a thumbs up too - there's a pizza recipe on there (eating for a few pence or something) which is soooo easy to make, much healthier than the ones you get from shops, and you can add whatever toppings you want, rather than be restricted by what the pizza place has on the menu.

As far as currys go - unless you're lucky enough to have an absolutely fabulous curry house nearby I always think that takeaway ones only ever taste okay when you're pickled on booze. Home-made curry is gorgeous, and so quick to make - sure you need to buy the spices, but you can get recipe books from your local library and once you've mastered them you can knock one together pretty sharpish.

Mmmm *mouth watering*

JET34

sammy115 wrote: »

Please, please give me your recipte for KFC! I love the stuff but never buy it and nobody else likes it.

Sorry off topic, but am on a diet and all this talk of food is making me hungry!:rotfl:

No problem it's not quite the colonal's recipe but it's close
I can't quite claim it to be my own recipe but:
I first soak the chicken in milk then I coat it in either Tex's coat and bake or I mix Plain flour and tex's/Dunns River chicken seasoning you can put the mix in a plastic bag to coat the chicken. you then placed the chicken pieces on a warm baking tray at 200c/Gas 6 for 30 mins or until ready.

Tex's coat and bake Is about £1.50 ish may be less and you get loads - 300g
so is the chicken seasoning and you can get in in most supermarket's I hope this help's.
JET

helping_hubby

We try and avoid take aways now unless it's a mystery shop. I made my own chinese the other night, well not exactly what most people would like for a chinese, but I like it:
Mini chicken fillets diced, dipped in tempura batter and deep fried (yum - the chicken is so tender)
Home made egg fried rice
Some veg (not stir fried cos hubby doesn't like them stir fried)
and shop bought sweet and sour.

The equivalent would have cost £12 at the local takeway.

I also make homemade pizza...even the Pizza express shop bought ones are dead easy - 9 minutes in the oven - quicker than a takeaway.

Would also love to know how to make a KFC like chicken piece...must go hunting on google. (edit: I see you beat me to it!)

chocolatefish

Or you can make your own seasoning / crumb mix for chicken - I usually use flour and breadbrumbs, dried oregano and / or thyme, some smoked paprika, salt and pepper, maybe some garlic powder or grated lemon zest etc. Just dip the chicken in milk or egg, then in the breadcrumbs, back in the egg / milk and back in the coating mix, patting off the excess. Place on a baking tray, spray with oil and bake (or you can do it on the flat plate of a BBQ). If you leave the skin on there is more that enough oil to crisp it up. If you are using skinless chicken, you might need to spray on a wee bit more oil to get it crispy. Excellent with coleslaw, salad and sweetcorn! Hey presto healthy home made KFC. You can use the same kind of coating for fish as well - just change the seasonings.

"Am I being really uptight about trying to cut back spending wherever I can?"

No, but you are trying to live a different lifestyle / mentality from your OH and that's going to be difficult. Posts like yours make me very very glad that the OH and I are on the same page when it comes to money. It must be so hard to reconcile such different positions in a marriage. I'm guessing that the takeaways thing is only one example of this difficulty - what about paying for holidays? new toys or stuff for the house? future pensions / income? Are you going to end up living in an unheated room while he heads off to a retirement pad in Spain? We are one of the 'it's all our money whoever earns it' couples, so the idea of seperate finances in a marriage is not one I can get my head around easily. I'm guessing you feel that your debts are your problem for you to sort out? I just can't imagine being in a relationship where the OH says - it's your problem, you sort it out and don't expect me to help you or change my lifestyle. That's not fair. When one half of a couple has problems, it affects the whole family and surely everyone has to pull together to improve the situation.

Spendaholic_Chick

HOw about becining a mystery shopper and doing only the pizza jobs? I'm just waiting for one now from Papa John's :-)

NekoZombie

Spendaholic_Chick wrote: »

HOw about becining a mystery shopper and doing only the pizza jobs? I'm just waiting for one now from Papa John's :-)

Ooooh! Do tell how.

I love this sort of stuff. Before I'd come on DFW boards, I'd never heard of quidco or pigsback. Couldn't be without them now. :j