3 course meal from my cupboards

crispycreme_2

Just wondered if any one could help withideas?
I havelast minute over night guests tonight & not alot of money. I have quite a bit in already ( as taught to me from you all in my last threads)
I just want to spend minimal on dinner tonight & breakfast tomorrow.
Before hand, I would of spent anywhere from £20 + and I this is my 1st dinner party since my LBM. Really only have a few pounds, if that, to spend on this. I think I've got planning my budget down, thanks to this site. Haven't done this yet though.
Thank you!

crispycreme_2

Sorry, I should give details... there is me, DH & our 3 DC. Our guests are 2 men who like their food, one doesnt eat meat, (religion) only fish.
Here is a list of what we have in:

Freezer;

2 loin lamb chops
2 gammon steaks
chicken thighs
braising steak
ff butcher sausages( carribean/ thai curry/ hot & spicy)
tuna steak,
white fish fillets
sliced mushrooms
sliced leeks
diced sweet potato
green beans, peas
sliced cabbage
corn on the cob
broccoli
sliced apple
summer berries
grapes

Cupboard; 2 pks of pasta n sauce, bag of new pots, eggs noodles,lasagne sheets, pasta, macoroni, jasmine rice, few pks of chicken tonight bake bags, swartz curry bake bag, custard powder, jelly sachet, lloyds grossman curry sauce, heinz lemon marinade, sharwood stirfry sauce,condensed mushroom soup, various herbs & spices, baking goods etc. (Most this food is from approved food- thanks there to this forum again)

Have salad in the fridge too, iceberg lettuce, tomato, spring onion, cucumber.

[Deleted User]

Breakfast - Homemade fresh muesli

porridge oats
dried fruit
fresh fruit
lemon juice
brown sugar
plain yoghurt (I use low fat supermarket own greek)
little milk
nuts if you have them

put a couple of tablespoons of ordinary porridge (rolled)oats per person into a big bowl then add a tablespoon per person of dried fruit (chopped if large) and this can be sultanas, raisins, chopped dates, chopped apricots/prunes etc. prepare and chop any fresh fruit you happen to have or grate apples and add to the bowl. Add in a tablespoon of brown sugar per person, a squeeze of lemon juice,nuts if you're using them, moisten it with milk until it's to your liking in texture and give it a really good mix. Leave it to stand for a few minutes for the flavours to blend and serve it with a spoon of plain yoghurt on top and sprinkled with a little more brown sugar.

Dinner will really depend on what you have in store but cheap and easy options are there

starter - Tuna and Sweetcorn Coctail on shredded lettuce

Tin of sweetcorn
tin of tuna (drained)
mayonnaise
shredded lettuce

combine first 3 ingredients, season with black pepper then put shredded lettuce into the required number of bowls and split the tuna mix between them. Serve with brown bread and butter

Main course - Pancakes with chicken and mushroom stuffing - you can make pancakes from storecupboard ingredients and the filling could be made from 2 large chicken breasts cooked ones) and a punnet of mushrooms in some condensed mushroom soup, I would serve this with buttered new potatoes and a dressed green salad.

Pudding - nothing easier than a plate of the wonderful soft fruits and stone fruits that are at thier best just now (also at thier cheapest) served with some whipped cream.

Having been that thrifty with the food already it would leave you slack in the system to buy some nice coffee, chocolates and a bottle of wine to go with it all.

Hope that helps, Lyn xxx.

Dragon_on_roller_skates

Just to run with MrsLurcherwalker's breakfast idea ...

Breakfast trifles look pretty and are very easy to prep. Layer oats (or museli), yoghurt and summer berries in individual serving glasses. Finish with a layer of yoghurt, then decorate with a few berries and a squeeze of honey drizzled over. They can be knocked up the night before needed.

They look far more impressive than they cost and they're much less work than a cooked brekkie!

gayle1

chicken pie hows ure pastry making?

crispycreme_2

Like the pancake idea, think the dc will enjoy them too ( other then my ds2, hes so fussy)
Breakfast trifles sound delicious..
My pastry making is amateur, have only done it twice ever..
Am happy to give it a go though. One of our guests doesn't eat meat unless its kosher. So Probably have to stick to fish/ veg etc.

[Deleted User]

CRISPYCREME I've a veggie pancake filling recipe

Country Pancakes

fry a punnet of sliced up mushrooms in some butter and 4 large skinned and chopped tomatoes too with some dried mixed herbs and seasoning then season it to taste. Use this as the pancake filling and put the pancakes into an ovenproof dish and cover them with 1/2 a pint of homemade cheese sauce mixed in with a small carton of plain yoghurt, then sprinkle them with more grated cheese and cook in a moderate oven until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling.

Dragon_on_roller_skates

Just had a thought (as it's on my menu plan for this week!) - how would tuna cassoulet go down? I use this recipe:

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/26529/tuna+cassoulet

(I often use stale bread whizzed up in the food processor, rather than panko breadcrumbs, and it still tastes good!)

crispycreme_2

They look great, could tuna steak or white fish be used? (have these in my freezer)

Wonders if country pancakes could be a starter of sorts...

Dragon_on_roller_skates

Tuna steaks do work! I've not tried it with white fish, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Might even be more child-friendly that way?!

SailorSam

I made a banana loaf for after my tea last night. I put apples and a few grapes in, just 'cos they were there. So i suppose you could do something similar with your apples; grapes and summer berries.