The Feed 2 for As Little As Poss Challenge!

EagerLearner

Sounds lovely!
I am off shopping today, only need to get a few things as we got the big Tesco delivery this week with the 'chunky' stuff.
Getting 2 x fillets trout (£1.90), jars of red peppers from LIDL (£1.30 each I think), bread (£1.30ish) and some extras like potatoes, salady bits etc.
Hoping to get away with under £15 spend for the week.
One great meal we had this week is 2 x poached eggs each, cous cous and salad. Approx cost £0.36 for eggs (they cost £0.49 for 6 at the veg market), £0.10 for cous cous and £0.40 for the salad = £0.86 dinner for the two of us (£0.43 each) and healthy too!
We will be able to save £40ish into our ISA this month due to shopping savings and other bits and bobs!

Sallygirl

Onion, bacon and potato hotpot is one of our standards - except in a heatwave. I got the original recipe from "The Pauper's Cookbook" by Jocasta Innes. This serves 4 but as there are only two of us, we eat it again next day with a different veg or maybe a sprinkle of cheese on top to ring the changes a bit. Like stew, the flavours seem to mingle even more and it always tastes better on the second day.

4 onions - 20p
4 potatoes - 30p
4 to 8 ozs bacon, depending on how much you've got - approx 25p if using a pack of cooking bacon fom Tesco
1 pint milk - 28p
2 oz flour - 4p
2 oz marg - 6p
salt and pepper (and a pinch of nutmeg too)

First, make some white sauce. Melt marg, stir in flour, add cold milk and stir until it thickens. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Peel and slice the onions thinly. Scrub and slice the potatoes thinly. (I don't peel mine.) Cut up bacon into small pieces, trimming off any any rind and extra fat.

Use a casserole with a lid. Fill it with alternate layers of onion, potato and bacon, ending with a layer of potato. Pour over the white sauce.Give the casserole a good shake to distribute the sauce evenly. Put the lid on and bake at gas mark 6, 400'F for one hour. Take the lid off and bake for a further hour at reduced heat gas mark 4, 350'F.

I've tried microwaving this to shorten the cooking time but it tasted really bland. I do microwave the leftovers on the second day and that is fine. I've also tried taking shortcuts with the white sauce and doing a cornflour sauce and that just doesn't have the same depth of flavour either. So I keep to the above recipe now. The flavours develops incredibly with the long cooking.

That makes 4 portions at 88p total plus salt and pepper plus your choice of veg which equals 22p per person plus veg

lynzpower

On the menu chez lynz this evening
HM burgers and trimmings

half a pack of mince 75p
HM bread rolls 10p max
lettuce from the garden ( this is now free having paid for itself weeks ago - value lettuce seeds constant cropping 38p)
2x frozen corn cobs 20p
value pots made into HM wedges 20p
usual selection of condiments etc - Im not goin to cost these!

EagerLearner

Managed to spend just £10 at the open market this morning, including chicken, fruit, veg, eggs and supermarket bits like parmesan, sweetcorn, basil and panninis. Have lovely home made pannini just now for both of us with parmesan, basil, sundried tomatoes, olives and a few bits of mozarella, with olive oil drizzle... figure £1 total (£0.50 each) for both as a special treat. Now how much that would have cost in a bar or cafe!
Thanks for the recipe ideas - over the next few weeks will stop making anything bulky as summer seeeeeems to be trying to appear!

msmicawber

I've got Jocasta Innes's book as well, Sally, and that hotpot has been a staple in our house for 20 years!

A very cheap meal for those with plenty of herbs and spices in their store cupboard is Channa Dhal. You can soak and boil your own chick peas or just get a can from the supermarket for a few pence.

Can of chick peas (or 6 oz of dried chick peas, soaked and boiled)
1 pint water
0.5-1 oz butter or marg.
1 med. sized onion, chopped finely
1 inch root ginger chopped finely
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
0.5 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
0.25 - 0.5 tsp chili powder
1 tablespoon fresh coriander

1. Heat the butter in large saucepan, add cumin seeds & cook for 1 min.
2. Add onion, cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally.
3. Add ginger & cook for another 5 mins.
4. Blend all the other spices with 2 tablespoons water to make a paste.
5. Add passte to pan and cook for 4-5 mins stirring constantly.
6. Add chick peas and rest of the water and bring to the boil.
7. Simmer until chick peas are soft (between 10 & 30 mins depending on type of chick peas used).
8. Sprinkle the fresh coriander over the top before serving.

Should have said - this serves 2, and works out at about 25p each when served with rice.

Sallygirl

I've really appreciated this thread and reading everybody's good ideas for keeping the budget in check. Isn't it amazing how big a variety of meals are on this thread and at 25-30p per head too.

msmicawber - I really like my Pauper's Cookbook and have used lots of the recipes. It is just that I sometimes disagree with Jocasta Innes about what a pauper can afford......

Penny-Pincher!!

EagerLearner wrote: »

Sounds lovely!
Getting jars of red peppers from LIDL (£1.30 each I think=quote]

Are these the roasted ones? If so, they are delish, although I drain them on a bit of paper towel first. Ideal in a roll or salad.

PP
xx

Uniscots97

My friend taught me how to make this. It should be called Bangers and Bows but she said you just use the cheapest pasta available.

I know this is meant to be for 2 people but this is her recipe and it fed 2 adults and 3 children (large portions). So any leftovers (if there's 2 of you) could be reheated for lunch the next day.


500g pasta (penne, macaroni whatever is cheapest) 15p
1 onion 10p (?)
1 pepper 30p
3 link sausages pre-grilled and sliced (or square) 6p (frozen sausages)
bit of cheese 20p
bit of butter 5p
bit of flour 1p (?)(used Tesco value)
1/2 pint milk 15p


Pre-cook your sausages and once cooked slice and leave to one side. Cook your pasta in a pot of boiling water along with the onion finely chopped. Meanwhile make a cheese sauce using the butter, flour, milk and cheese. Once the pasta (and onion) is cooked drain and add the chopped pepper and stir through. Then stir through the cheese sauce and sliced sausage. Put in an oven proof dish and put in the oven on a medium heat for about 20mins.

This worked out at £1.02 to make and that fed 2 adults and 3 teenage (younger) children. So roughly for an adult portion it 25p per portion.

EagerLearner

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

EagerLearner wrote: »

Sounds lovely!
Getting jars of red peppers from LIDL (£1.30 each I think=quote]

Are these the roasted ones? If so, they are delish, although I drain them on a bit of paper towel first. Ideal in a roll or salad.
PP
xx

Yes - they're great and I use them in pasta, over trout fillets, in salads, in meat sauces and more Considering 1 x plain red pepper can cost up to £0.99 locally, I'd rather buy a jar full of nice roasted ones :T

Sallygirl

Multipurpose Meatloaf

I've made this recipe with both pork and beef mince and it is good either way. I've also made this loaf with a little bit of minced bacon in it. It is good served hot with potatoes and veg or cold with salad. Any remaining leftovers make a very tasty sandwich to take to work, too. And if we've had too many bills that month, an extra slice of crumbed bread and an extra egg mixed in will stretch the loaf to an extra couple of helpings..... There is no salt or pepper in the recipe so you can add that if you like it. The original recipe came from one of Shirley Goode's wonderful books.

Glazed Meat Loaf

1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
8 oz minced beef (or pork)
2 slices wholemeal bread, crumbed
1 onion, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, well scrubbed (or peeled) and grated
1 tablespoon brown sauce (spicy, fruity or bbq)
1 egg, beaten
1 dessertsp tomato puree
1 heaped teasp honey

Mix together apple, carrot, mince, breadcrumbs, onion and brown sauce. Stir in egg and mix everything really thoroughly. Press into loaf tin. Blend together the honey and tomato puree and spread over meat mixture. Cook at gas mark 3, 325'F, 170@C for one hour and then cover with foil, turn out the heat and leave in oven for a further 15 minutes.

I reckon the cost for this to be about £1.20 plus the cost of some salad. It is really tasty. I find this quantity will do a good four servings plus enough over for sandwiches for lunch for the next day. If I've stretched it (see above) then the cost per serving goes down.
S : )