Recipes for really bad times?

FrugalWorker

Right so including today, there are 25 days worth of meals to be made

Breakfast - I'd focus on Toast or porridge. A bag of porridge is very reasonable. I like to add a spoon of jam or chopped apple and or cinnamon.

Lunches - For my money, home made soup based on ys or the specials. Aldi/Lidl/most super markets have some veg that is very reasonable. Potato and onion soup isn't bad! Good value if you're getting a sack of spuds!

Dinners - some of this won't be quite right as we can't actually see what you have and don't know what size portions. I was just counting it out approximately so you'd think about how many dinners are taken care of already!
Chicken nugget dinners *3 (at least for the children), say jacket spuds for yourself and OH for those days
Chicken thighs * 2 dinners
Drum sticks - 1 dinner (minimum)
lamb - 1 dinner (I'm guessing here)
Diced lamb - 1 dinner
Eggs - make frittata (or fry them, or what ever you like) - dinner by 2
Corned beef - Make hash - 1 dinner

So 11 dinners with the basis sorted, you may need some veg to finish them off.

So you're short about 14 dinners, some veg for lunches / dinners and breakfast.

I would focus on spending money on milk / fruit (special offers) / veg (special offers) / porridge for breakfast / dinner by 14.

I like to make up a big batch of mince sauce - so mince / tin of tomatoes / bit of tomato paste if you have it /onions/lentils if you can get away with it to bulk it out. I serve this with pasta.
The second day, I add in a tin of beans and a little chili powder serve it with rice and it's called chili.

Just reading back over one of your posts - left over chicken pie:
I make it with a white sauce (make a roux from butter and flour, SR is fine and then add in milk and whisk) I like to add chicken a bit of left over ham, some mustard + veggies (I'd like peas or leeks, but what ever you have that will cook quite quickly or just par boil the veg before adding to pie). I've topped my last one with puff pastry - I'm sure your filo will do fine. I've used mashed spuds in the past and to be honest I think these are probably handier as I don't have to cook them separately.

camNolliesMUMMY

FrugalWorker wrote: »

Right so including today, there are 25 days worth of meals to be made

Breakfast - I'd focus on Toast or porridge. A bag of porridge is very reasonable. I like to add a spoon of jam or chopped apple and or cinnamon.

Lunches - For my money, home made soup based on ys or the specials. Aldi/Lidl/most super markets have some veg that is very reasonable. Potato and onion soup isn't bad! Good value if you're getting a sack of spuds!

Dinners - some of this won't be quite right as we can't actually see what you have and don't know what size portions. I was just counting it out approximately so you'd think about how many dinners are taken care of already!
Chicken nugget dinners *3 (at least for the children), say jacket spuds for yourself and OH for those days
Chicken thighs * 2 dinners
Drum sticks - 1 dinner (minimum)
lamb - 1 dinner (I'm guessing here)
Diced lamb - 1 dinner
Eggs - make frittata (or fry them, or what ever you like) - dinner by 2
Corned beef - Make hash - 1 dinner

So 11 dinners with the basis sorted, you may need some veg to finish them off.

So you're short about 14 dinners, some veg for lunches / dinners and breakfast.

I would focus on spending money on milk / fruit (special offers) / veg (special offers) / porridge for breakfast / dinner by 14.

I like to make up a big batch of mince sauce - so mince / tin of tomatoes / bit of tomato paste if you have it /onions/lentils if you can get away with it to bulk it out. I serve this with pasta.
The second day, I add in a tin of beans and a little chili powder serve it with rice and it's called chili.

Just reading back over one of your posts - left over chicken pie:
I make it with a white sauce (make a roux from butter and flour, SR is fine and then add in milk and whisk) I like to add chicken a bit of left over ham, some mustard + veggies (I'd like peas or leeks, but what ever you have that will cook quite quickly or just par boil the veg before adding to pie). I've topped my last one with puff pastry - I'm sure your filo will do fine. I've used mashed spuds in the past and to be honest I think these are probably handier as I don't have to cook them separately.

Wow thank you so much for taking the time to do that for me.
I do have a quarter of a bag of value oats left, a quarter box of tesco a own ready breK and two boxes of value weetabix.
Hubby has aldis version of shreddies.

Il be noting down everything that's going to help. Il try and stuck to farm foods to run to when milk n bread run out as well as odds and sods.

Thank you very much x

camNolliesMUMMY

Il be baking the leftover roast dinner pie in filo pastry and I've got plenty of gravy leftover from chicken juice and water I used to boil from mixed veg and swede. The gravy was yummy so I may chuck that in the pie? Or do you recommend to serve it ontop of the pie and make a roux for inside the pie?

FrugalWorker

camNolliesMUMMY wrote: »

Il be baking the leftover roast dinner pie in filo pastry and I've got plenty of gravy leftover from chicken juice and water I used to boil from mixed veg and swede. The gravy was yummy so I may chuck that in the pie? Or do you recommend to serve it ontop of the pie and make a roux for inside the pie?

If you have the gravy, I'd stick with this given it's yummy and leave out the roux/white sauce.

Money_saving_maniac

Pies and pasta will be your friend this month along with Yorkshire pudding.
The flour content makes them filling and usually men will wolf them down without question.

Cheese and potato pie, mean chicken, leek and veg pie (hunt the chicken lol)

Onion potatoe and bacon bake - sliced spuds, sliced onion, 4 - 6 oz value misshaped bacon cut up small and be mean with it...pour over white sauce, dot with butter and sprinkle with a mean portion of cheese.

The rest of the packet of bacon gets cut up and fried off as the base for a bacon and tomato pasta sauce.

Lentil curries are great but expensive if you have to buy the spices to start with.

If you have the time to make a bread dough, home made pizza is CHEAP and also loads better than bought ones. And they freeze well too. Onion, a red pepper, half a pack of Lidle peppered salami on each and a sprinkling of cheese. You make the tomato sauce for the base yourself out of a tin of cheap tomatoes and whatever herbs you've got in. I like to add some tomatoe puree to it to thicken it up. My OH has been known to make this using cheap tomato ketchup as the base!

MandM90

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Lemon Dahl serves 4

6 oz dried split red lentils (picked through and rinsed)
1 pint water
2 tablespoons margarine/butter/ghee
1 small onion sliced
1 clove garlic crushed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoonfuls of lemon juice
chopped fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Put the lentils into a saucepan with the water, bring to the simmer and cook until they are completely tender (add more water if needed) 20/25 minutes. Mash well. Heat the margarine/butter/ghee in a frying pan and saute the onion and garlic in it for 5 minutes to soften them, stir in the spices and cook stirring for 5 minutes, add in the mashed lentils and mix in well. Stir in the tomatoes and lemon juice, season to taste with salt and black pepper. garnish with the coriander leaves to serve.

Dry Carrot Curry (Aloo Gajjar)

8 oz diced peeled potato
8 oz diced peeled carrot
1 - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon chilli powde2 teaspoons cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
salt
4 fl oz water

Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the cumin seeds until they 'crackle'. Add the carrot and potato and fry gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add all other ingredients and cook over a low heat until the vegetables are tender and the mix is 'dry'

Cucumber Mint Riata

Greek yoghurt
mint sauce concentrate
3" piece of unpeeled cucumber grated
seasoning
1 clove garlic, crushed

Mix all ingredients together.

Hope you enjoy them, Lyn xxx.

Lovely! We will be trying these! :T

suki1964

I love rosemary chicken, the chicken thighs are ideal or you could use the drumsticks

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8159/rosemary-chicken-with-tomato-sauce

I just cut up a few thighs small, skip the capers and use anchovy paste and I serve with cous cous or brown rice

Here's another site which is pretty inspirational

https://web.archive.org/web/20121227062226/http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/index.html?

[Deleted User]

Hi there I have PM'd you about some recipes that are pretty good. Just going out so I'll check back tonight when I get home. Hope what info I've sent will help you most of the recipes are from around 50p upwards

Cheers ,don't fret you will get through the month I remember moving house in 1972 and my OHs income then was £122.00 per month and our brand new mortgage was £60.00.We had a 2 and 4 year old and things were really tight.Our money pit of a Victorian semi was the only house we could afford at the time and we went from £4 guineas a week rent to £60.00 per month just for housing costs.By the third week of the month I was counting how many slices of bread there was left to get through until my OH got paid :):) But we managed it and I have never been so pleased to have my small cupboard of basic tins and stocks as I was that winter.Its the 4th today so the month is starting to go down already .
Good luck honey we have all been there at some point in our lives
JackieO xxx

happilymarried2013

Hey camNolliesMUM,

Keep an eye open for all the yellow stickers available in the SM. if you have a Big A near by you'll be surprised what you can pick up on a Sunday PM about 3.

Find yourself a Home Bargains or a B+M, I made a corned beef stew for £1.80 which fed the husband and myself for 2 days. £1.75 for a tine of corned beef and 5p for a mixed bag of veg

Weirdly, tinned rice pudding is nice and filling - you can get OB one for 15p.

I hope your hubby's pay is sorted soon and you catch up with everything. sending you hugs and best wishes. xx

RAS

Hi

As above; keep your eyes pealed for yellow sticker goods.

For basics, the cheapest bulk food is pasta - get some budget/basics from any of the supermarkets - spaghetti at less then 30p per 500gm and penne or fusilli at 35p-40p.

Each of those is 6 servings so may do 2 meals for your family. Use the little bit extra to make pasta salads for lunches.

Even if OH does not like sausages, if you find them yellow stickered, just remove the skins and make meatballs or use as mince.

Cheapest fats are lard and hard margarine for cooking or rape seed oil from Lidl at 89p.