Recipes for really bad times?

Butterfly_Brain

I have quite a few cheapo recipes that I use when times are tough and I can stretch meat out for days.

A few things that we always go back to are :

Soup and pudding night, which is a homemade soup with croutons, toast fingers or bread followed by a rice pudding, fruit sponge of some sort (Basically you put fruit in the bottom of a dish and top it with a sponge mix when it comes out of the oven, dust with icing sugar and serve with custard, it works well with fresh, frozen or tinned fruit if using frozen fruit, defrost it first or your sponge will be soggy) Then there is the good old fashioned crumbles, steamed sponges with syrup or jam - I cheat and just put a dollop of treacle or jam in the bottom, top with sponge and bake in the oven-yum

I can highly recommend the slimming world tomato soup recipe it tastes just like the big brand one does

2 tins tomatoes, 1 tin baked beans, 1 tin carrots, pickled onions (6 small silverskin OR 2 large pickled onions)
Put everything in a pan including the carrot water simmer for ten minutes then blitz with a hand blender, it is as easy as that, don't forget the onions they are crucial to the taste!

Potato curry pasties

300g potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
100g frozen peas
2tsps oil
1 sliced onion
½ jar of 20p curry sauce
Home made SC pastry

Heat a large pan of water, add the potatoes, then cook for 8 mins until just soft. Add the peas 1 min before the end of cooking time. Drain, then set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion until soft and slightly coloured.
Add half a jar of the curry sauce then fry for a few mins more.
Carefully stir in the potatoes and peas, trying not to mash them, then leave to cool.

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6

Roll out the pastry into a large square shape
Cut into 4 squares, then cut each one in half so you have 8 long rectangles. Place 4 of them onto a baking sheet, brush the edges with beaten egg and place a quarter of the filling down the centre of each. Top with the remaining pastry, then pinch the edges together to make a sealed parcel. Brush with more egg, then bake for 20 mins until puffed and golden. If cooking from frozen, bake for 30 mins. Serve with fresh green salad.

It is very tasty if you add a tbsp of mango chutney to the sauce, it is then turned into coronation potato pasties.

You can use anything you like in these pasties, if you have some chicken add that etc.

Egg and potato curry is another standy simply, diced potatoes as above, a diced onion, 1 large tomato, diced, boiled eggs that have been cut in half -I use ten for five of us but you can use just five eggs plus a 20p jar of curry sauce.

Cut the potatoes into large dice and boil for eight minutes until just tender, fry the onions then add the tomatoes and potatoes. put the eggs in, add the sauce and simmer for ten minutes, serve on a bed of rice.

I add some cooked broccoli to mine and it is also nice with cauliflower.

Sunflower1227

I know home made soup is the best, but FREE soup is good too. The is a coupon on the New Covent Garden site for £1 and the soup is £1 in sainsburys at the moment, print a few coupon off and get a few cartons in, they freeze well.

Great for a a quick meal, soup and a sandwich

Or use as a sauce

Elsewhere

Has anyone posted a recipe for Portuguese Bread Soup? It's surprisingly good and very cheap

http://www.food.com/recipe/acorda-alentejana-portuguese-bread-soup-471989

Towser

Have an egg chips and beans day of the week.
Have a spaghetti bolognese day of the week made with at least 5 tins of tomatoes a batch load can work out really cheap.

Make the most from Aldi's meat offers and Veg Super Six and meal plan around those. Good honest fayre.

I am going to watch this thread with interest as food has always been one of my biggest spends annually.

camNolliesMUMMY

Thank you for posting people keep it going!! I'm putting my recipe book together!!!

decided tonight to have spag bol but ran out of spaghetti only a few sticks left so the kids had those with the bolognaise and we are having it with a spud and salad, half will be saved to turn into a chilli or chilli shepherds pie? as I have so many potatoes.

I think I was over thinking it all when I originally started and went into panic mode, but with a few good ideas under my sleeve I'm good to go.

so keep those ideas coming xx

HOWMUCH

Our Heron shop has 750g tins of chunky apples for pies or crumble it's 99% fruit they are Del Monte and only 49p. They have 4 tins of chopped toms for £1 too.

camNolliesMUMMY

HOWMUCH wrote: »

Our Heron shop has 750g tins of chunky apples for pies or crumble it's 99% fruit they are Del Monte and only 49p. They have 4 tins of chopped toms for £1 too.

Thank you I'm going to pop in when I've finished cleaning a clients house this afternoon!
I've just chucked my corned beef hash in the slow cooker and realised their were no beans in the cupboard!!!! Opened the fridge and I'd got half a tin worth in their so in it's gone to make the dinner.
I've used a very basic recipe off nigella's site http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/corn-beef-hash-3908
but I've added 1tsp of bouquet garni to it. It's a slow cooker friendly recipe too.
So far so good.

Hope everyone's having a good day x

camNolliesMUMMY

It wasn't a heron foods, it was something called Fenton foods, however they had some cheap bits in there. Il check the website again for my nearest store.

HOWMUCH

camNolliesMUMMY wrote: »

It wasn't a heron foods, it was something called Fenton foods, however they had some cheap bits in there. Il check the website again for my nearest store.

? Was it Fultons Food I'm on the edge of Yorks/Notts border.

Lance_De_Boils

happilymarried2013 wrote: »

HI CamNOlliesmum.

I'm glad you're doing so well.Come Friday you'll be half way there.
On Sunday I made a Breakfast Spainish Omelette that cost me about £2 to make.

4 sausages
frozen mushrooms
tomatos
bacon pieces
8 eggs - they were on offer for £1 (free range too - might get some more)

I put the ingredients in the oven minus the eggs for 20 mins, then whisked and added the eggs for another 20 mins. We had 4 servings of that

I'm enjoying the recipes on here - thanks all

Love the sound of your omelette. I will try it
I have some peppers lurking at the bottom of the freezer so I will stick them in.