Getting through January

milliemonster

Ok, so its 4 weeks on wednesday until I am paid again and we are going to have a very tight couple of months as we're having our oil boiler replaced (V expensive) so saving hard.

This means that after all our bills are paid this month we have £200 left for food and anything else that crops up (I don't want to dip into our savings at all if possible as we should have had the boiler done months ago but kept dipping into savings which is why its not been done yet)

This £200 only has to cover meals for 4 of us, 2 adults, a 16 year old girl who eats like a horse and will eat anything and a 12 year old boy who doesn't but is a bit fussy.

I'm not one for making different meals to please fussy eaters so it has to be something that we can all eat. I do meal plan but its difficult at times due to fussy 12 yo and I'm getting a bit bored of the same things.

For example, fussy 12 yo loves spag bol, I can take it or leave it, but I usually do it at once a week and its always from scratch (sauce made from tinned tomatoes/passata and herbs) Daughter has announced she no longer likes chilli con carne (I suspect she is bored of eating it week after week as its unusual for her to say she dislikes any food) fussy 12 yo hates curry so I don't do it often as he just picks at it and it ends up wasted, he also won't eat pulses and lentils so I can't bulk up stews and things like that with those.

So I need new ideas, we have tended to have things like roast chicken and veg (we never have chicken left over to stretch to more meals, we have big appetites), spag bol, HM fish pie, HM Pizza, fajitas, beef stew done in the SC, we don't do salad this time of year as I just like warming food (I'm always cold!)

On the plus side, we have loads of leftovers, we had turkey, beef and gammon over xmas and have sliced and portioned up all the remainders which have been frozen ready to use for meals, we have plenty in the cupboards and pantry, I always cook from scratch if I can. We like pasta (but not with fish, so no tuna pasta bakes please!)

So can anyone give me new ideas of main meals with meat or fish, that aren't going to break my budget for the month and that aren't going to recommend making a portion of minced beef last for 3 meals (as a 500g portion of minced beef would only do us for one meal)I have substituted minced turkey or pork for the beef before now as its cheaper

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YORKSHIRELASS

Hi

I have a 15 yo and a 17 yo so similar ages to yours and your families tastes sound similar to ours. I couldnt make 500g of mince stretch to more than one meal either!

We like mince hotpot done in the sc. You basically do your mince as if you were going to make shepherds pie. Peel spuds and slice, blitz in the microwave in a dish of cold water for 8 minutes then layer up in the slow cooker with the mince. Good with a few Yorkshire Puds and veg.

Along the same vein is Aloo Keema (mince and potato curry), also great done in the slow cooker. Will happily share my recipe or have a look online. You could make it very mild.

Do you make pies? Your xmas leftover meat would go quite a long way in pies, I have some enamel pie plates that are good. I make a chicken, leek and bacon pie in a white sauce that always goes down well.

What about pulled pork? Might be stretching your budget but you can pick up a joint of pork shoulder for £3.50, enough for all of you. Use the slow cooker, you get absolutely loads of meat. Or just slow cook the meat, shred it and serve in crusty bread rolls with potato wedges, salad, maybe apple sauce and stuffing.

I do potato bake with sausages or sliced gammon. Peel potatoes, slice and layer with a sliced onion and a little bacon if you have it. Pour over a pint of white sauce and cook in the oven for 2 hours.

What about meatballs? I must admit I cheat and buy Li@l own meatballs nowadays. Chuck in the sc with a jar of cheap pasta sauce and leave on low for a very easy and tasty tea.

I will have a think and see if I can come up with any more. If you want me to expand of any of these ideas just let me know!

happy35

The cheap meals i make are carbonara using leftover gammon, risotto or a paella type dish using rice, chicken,chorizo,tomatoes veg and Mexican spices

Also make quiche, chicken or mince pie as good for stretching mince, I split 2 packs into 3 if making a pie.

As u already cook from scratch you will be doing well with your budget, but like your house there are large appetites in my house.

I am thinking of making scotch eggs and making the paupers bacon hotpot again for a change

emmad5689

I need tips too so will follow you, i'm saving for Disney so need all the help I can get, what about chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon?? I do that one quite a lot as I can miss the cream cheese out for my fussy daughter but I cook them wrapped in foil in the slow cooker so she gets a lovely tender chicken breast and we serve with new potatoes and beans, whole thing costs about £5.50 for the 4 of us with left over potatoes xx

FrugalWorker

Can I suggest that you let people know what food you do have. They may be able to make suggestions based on that.

- If you don't have left over chicken, buy a bigger one, you'll have left overs then. The bigger ones will have proportionally more meat.

- Focus on lots of soups, keep pots of it going. Swedes on special in lidl, this week. Parsnips/carrots/brussel sprouts and broccoli in Aldi. Curried parsnip soup is nice, carrot and parsnip soup, roasted root veg with carrots/parsnips/swedes + chili. So if someone is hungry - you have cheap / healthy food always there.

- For me, keeping within budget means being prepared. Having packed lunches made, keeping a diary of my spends.

Can you use Eggs for dinner 1 night a week - E.g. a homemade quiche using up some of that left over ham with aldi broccoli? Maybe have a starter of soup first if you think the family will not like the reduced meat.

I do a shepherds/cottage pie with left over lamb/pork + lots of veg. I don't always top it with potato but may use other root veg depending what I have a looks nice.

Stir fry with chicken/pork. I make my own sauce. I love this as it's a very quick meal to prepare.

You said you don't like beans - or your son doesn't like beans, I will say that generally people don't notice the beans in homemade bean burgers.

Okay so a big of work, but spinach and ricotta pasta. My husband makes me ravioli from scratch, but I'd guess you could make a lasagna along the same lines.

I use chorizo and a tomato based sauce with pasta for a quick dinner. With Chorizo a little goes a very long way.

I try to eat more veggies than meat more for health than economic reasons. I also make a point of cooking a larger amount one day so I've left overs for the next day - though they do tend to be changed a bit for the second outing. Anything that makes dinner the second day a bit quicker to get plated up is good.

Islandmaid

I,ve got teens, who get bored of certain foods, so I get them to help with the meal planning - it 'Mummmm, not spag Bol agaaaiiin' - I then give the traditional, This Is not a restaurant speech and ask them to come up with some ideas

We spend between £250 and £300 pm for 2 adults and 1.5 teens (DD eats 2/3 times a week with us) and eldest son comes over 2/3 times a month and they all eat like they,ve never seen food before

YORKSHIRELASS

I didnt think about chorizo recipes because its expensive, but then again as Frugal says you dont need much.

You can make a chicken and chorizo pie with very little meat, or chicken jambalaya. Both popular here.

I tend to avoid recipes where you need whole chicken breasts, chops etc. I find that we can eat 6 or 7 chicken breasts between us if we have them whole. Chicken breast gets diced into very small pieces here!

My eldest isnt keen on soup but we do a soup and pudding night sometimes. Something like veg soup, crusty bread and then spotted !!!! and custard. Sounds odd but it goes down well!

Talking of puddings these can be good for filling everyone up and dont always have to be unhealthy. Fruit crumbles, rice pudding etc.

Oh and yes, quiche is a good idea.

DH likes liver so I sometimes do a liver and bacon casserole and cook a few sausages for the kids who arent keen. Also look for diced turkey thigh which is cheap and really tasty.

I feel quite inspired myself now!

CapricornLass

I tended to pack out meat with veg - plenty of it! Not the expensive stuff necessarily, but with humble root veg. That enabled me to reduce the meat portions slightly = more left over for another meal. You will need to take a gentle approach though, and make the reduction gradually, otherwise you will be deafened by the complaints about the lack of meat.


For some reason, Vegetable lasagne always went down very well, even among the committed carnivores. It will mean a lot of chopping and peeling, though, even if you cheat and use stuff out of the freezer and tins. I try to put in 8-10 different sorts, and also just keep the cheese for the top.


Another one I do is Potato Pie. You need largish potatoes, which you boil in their skins until soft and then peel (let the cooked potatoes cool a little before you peel - the skins seem to come off easier and in larger pieces. Also, it saves your fingers getting burnt.) Slice and put a layer into a buttered dish, then add a filling, put another layer over the top, cover with white sauce. You can scatter breadcrumbs on top of the white sauce for a more interesting topping. The filling can be anything which your family will eat - sliced chorizo/bacon/cold leftover meat, sliced boiled eggs, anchovies (although I know you don't like fish). You can also add a few peas/other cooked veg or some herbs if you have them to hand. Cook at about 180 - 190C for about 30 mins or until piping hot, and serve hot with some green veg or salad. It really is an adaptable dish.


If you want to pad out mince a bit further, add 2 tbsp. of oatmeal/rolled porridge oats to 500g of mince. This is known as Scotch mince in our family and the oats will swell and add more bulk. Add potatoes, onions and maybe a carrot or two, with some beef stock, and the whole lot can been cooked in a pan on the stove. However, don't get tempted to put more than this in, otherwise you will have mince-flavoured porridge - yuk!

jlhmd666

emmad5689 wrote: »

I need tips too so will follow you, i'm saving for Disney so need all the help I can get, what about chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon?? I do that one quite a lot as I can miss the cream cheese out for my fussy daughter but I cook them wrapped in foil in the slow cooker so she gets a lovely tender chicken breast and we serve with new potatoes and beans, whole thing costs about £5.50 for the 4 of us with left over potatoes xx

Do you add water to the slow cooker or just put the foil wrapped chicken in there, thanks.

allybee101

Kedgeree is nice, and can be made in a good quantity. It is filling too. It does have a few components but you can do some ahead of time like the eggs.

Soften diced onion till golden. Cook smoked haddock (we poach it in milk/water in a frying pan) and then flake it once cool enough to handle.
Boil eggs (1 each, or 3 for 4 of you perhaps), peel and chop into medium- small chunks.
Cook rice, and in the last few mins add some frozen peas.

Once the rice is cooked and drained mix together the rice, peas, fish, onion and eggs in a big pot and serve. We add a bit of tomato ketchup on top too or you can use soy sauce etc.
You don't need a massive amount of fish as it's flaked up, so it's not like serving a portion of fish each. You could try 2 or 3 portions of fish between the four of you. The eggs and veg also bulk it up.

Do stir fries with rice or noodles go down well with kids? Plenty of variety in these with different sauces, protein and veg.

pavlovs_dog

if the kids will eat fajitas, what about enchilladas? The wraps will help fill them up and you can get away with smuggling extra veg in (e.g. grated carrot) as they won't be able to see the filling so well.

If they eat chilli, add some extra beans and use it as a filling for burritos. Again, finely grated carrot will disappear. Beans (even baked beans) add bulk. Sweet potato works well too.

sausage casserole - by chopping the sausages into chunks it is easier to disguise how many sausages you've actually used per person. Root veg will help to make this cheap and cheerful