home cooking is blowing budget

lil_me

CAJUN SPICE MIX
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1/4 Cup of salt
2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. paprika
1-1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. freshly ground white pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Multiply quantities to make bigger batch.

Must agree at first I did think, wow, this is costing me much more, but has already been said it's sometimes the initial purchases which cost loads. Now I have more basics in from scratch cooking definately goes further. Sometimes things are more expensive than some things I used to buy, but what matters to me more is I know what's going in our food.

MRSMCAWBER

Hi Adiscomber

I had exactly the same thing...my hubby used to say that my meals were too big....so i cut them down, yet if there is a casserole on or a batch of chilli he has to have more!!!....so now the lid goes back on and i shove it back in the oven out of the way - before i tell him dinner is ready... - if he doesnt see it he cant eat it LOL
Nnd lil_me...thanks for that recipe...i have so many herbs n spices, but dont like buying "blends/mixes" so now i can make my own :-)

lil_me

Only thing I find with that is I have to grind some of the herbs/spices down a bit further, as I prefer it like a powder, also making your own means you can adjust quantities.

Know what you're saying about portion sizes, sometimes etes are bigger than bellies! (inc mine) I'd rather put less on the plate, offer extra if required than waste what's been 'fiddled with' on a plate. Dogs of course not my friends as they get less scraps

I think portion sizes also comes in when cooking from scratch, for example what I have now is chilli and rice, would have paid 4-5 times the amount I have to make it for the same 'portion' size from ready meals.

Also depends what people are cooking, if they are cooking a lot of meals with expensive ingredients it can work out much more expensive.

Chipps

Addiscomber wrote: »

. Otherwise if I have, say, cooked a double quantity, with the aim of freezing one for later, the second one will just disappear.

That happens in our house, too. I have to hide the second helping!

Seriously though, - to the OP - are you factoring in "planned leftovers"?

ie. if you are cooking potatoes one day, plan to cook double & make 1/2 into mashed potato for a cottage pie, to give one example.

It does help to have some form of meal plan in place. At this point I must confess that I have - well, perhaps not quite fallen off the OS wagon, but am certainly clinging on to the tailboard with my fingertips! And my current meal planning is more in the lines of "what concoction can I make today ?" at the last minute. With a couple of unplanned trips to the supermarket for extras I need. In consequence the bills have gone up and I am just getting myself back on track again. Which is why I started reading this thread for inspiration!

dronid

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

Hi there Dronid
you have just made me laugh...

Glad to hear it - always glad to make someone laugh :rotfl:

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

and feel inferior in the "chicken stretching"department

Tut! Never inferior! I have to say, you're doing pretty darn well there at the moment! 18 meals out of one chicken is pretty darn good. Most of mine are bulked out with other things!

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

he has just walked away, shaking his head, laughing and declaring "why do i get the feeling you are going to see that as a challenge?" lol

Variety is...;)

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

and thankyou for the inspiration

Always a pleasure to be appreciated!:D

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

My sister in law only uses the chicken breasts and gives the rest to the dogs AARRGH

:eek: AARRGH! I just can't understand people who deliberately waste food. The dark meat is better in curries, stews and pies anyway!

Anyway, thanks for the supportive comments! I'm quite good at chain cooking - making things keep going for ever and bulk cooking, but sadly hubby tends to not really notice as much as he might.:think:

Penelope_Penguin

misspenny wrote: »

we have been trying to cook from scratch more often dp is really getting into baking from home, but this week shopping came to £71 not inculding baby milk which was out of stock so 2 boxes of that would have added £10 to the bill, i thought cooking from scratch would save us money usual spend is £50 max.

what am i doing wrong

Bet you're not doing anything *wrong* possibly feeding your family better quality fresh ingredients. How many are you? £81 a week isn't bad for a family, thought there are many here who do a brilliant meal plan on less I agree, lets have a look at what you bought, and what your meal plans are, then we can help more :beer:

Penny. x

MRSMCAWBER

Hi Dronid
I love cooking and hate waste... so my sister in law makes me want to scream... she has been known to cook a lasagne (not that she likes cooking)... 18yr son comes in...i cant eat that - hes body building!!! 11 year old daughter comes in awww i wanted meatballs..and hubby comes in and he wants a salad, so what happens??? they all have something different - made by mum and the lasgne goes in the bin!!!!
When we have visitors or family staying...i cook one thing and we all eat it....and i never have any complaints im really lucky as my hubby will eat anything..apart from apricots....and is usually happier with my concoctions LOL
I think that chicken breast is nice whilst its hot, but once a chicken goes cold the brown meat is soo much tastier..anyway next time i get my chicken im having "A BIG UN" and lets see what else i can get out of it :-)...you have me started....LOL

milkydrink

I'm amazed about the chicken going in 18 meals.
I buy 2 cooked chickens between 4 (if we have daughters boyfriend) or 3 (if just us-then we will have a bit left over for sandwiches).
A large chicken would do us 4, doubt we would get sandwiches out of it, but we are greedy !!!!!!s:D

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there kimevans
I have just read your post and realise that people think i can stretch a chicken further than i can LOL...
when i say 3 roast dinners...i mean 3 plates not 3 seperate meals:-)....as we arent exactly dainty eaters !!!
so i can get 9-servings plus a big batch of chicken n sweetcorn soup....which isnt bad going...
I used to use virtually a whole chicken at a time...for a sunday roast and then it got picked over....until decided to stop wasting money, and joined the MSE family....now im just a bit more organised...and the soup is addictive, and costs nothing but leftover chicken, a tin of sweetcorn and a couple of storecupboard bits - my hubby would live on it if he could :-)
But im going to start buying the bigger chicken so i can get more meat to the bone and make it go further...well chicken is my favourite LOL

natzini

A question for everyone-when stretching a chicken, do you just refridgerate the cooked chicken (off the carcass) and then add to dishes when necessary (obv heated right up for hygiene reasons!)?
How long will the chicken meat itself last? I.e if I cooked a chicken tomorrow, how long do you think it'd last meat wise?