OS summer food

Tink_04

I'm a lover on my SC and can batch cook some great family meals. I make wonderful casserole dishes and can make lovely comfort food ...... But I really struggle come summertime (ok just when it's not -5 outside) to come up with things I can make without blowing my £250 for 4 of us budget.

I find winter I can stretch out my meals and pad out meals with filling dishes but come summer it all gets a bit harder and I find my budget blown on stuff that doesn't keep.

Would love to know any good (cheap) family meals I can jazz up my meal plan with that don't cost a fortune.

meritaten

I love summer as 'Salads' come in countless varieties. They don't have to be just lettuce cucumber and tomato! Rice, Couscous and Pasta can all form the base of a good filling salad and makes up the bulk of the meal. I do like to serve Baked or BBQ'd fish with salad and you can use the cheapest fish you can find - they all taste brilliant!
my personal fave at the moment are the frozen Basa fillets from Aldee. only £1.49 for four - I like to dust them with flour and panfry them in a little butter and oil. With even just a green salad and some boiled new potatoes its a cheap and filling meal. and quick and easy to prepare. When I think of some more of my summertime faves I will post more.

scaredy_cat

you can do pulled pork in your slow cooker, it goes really far and you can serve it with salad in a roll,in a tortilla wrap, on jacket potatoes, with rice, the combinations are endless.

i have also found bulgur wheat a great way of bulking out salads - i refer it to cous cous.

beedeedee

To actually keep salad stuff fresh for a week or two, stand little gem lettuces (or similar) in mugs with a little sugar dissolved in water and also spring onions the same way. Wrap cucumber or courgettes tightly in foil, cheese also. Then you will always have a summery, fresh accompaniment to your main SC meals to hand.

Islandmaid

We,re on a similar budget for 3 and a half adults (DD pops in several,times a week) and I think a summer food budget is okay as long as you have time and want to cook from scratch- we eat HM quiche, frittata, roasted summer veg etc obviously salads, but stir frys are a quick and light option.

We have jacket potatoes with various fillings which, I believe can be done in the SC, and I have cooked whole chickens in the SC, which leave loads of stock for soups etc and the meat is beautifully tender, amazing how much you can get off one bird.

Mushrooms are on the Aldo super 6 at the mo, so mushroom stroganoff will appear on the meal plan soon.

I always pick the brains of the what are you making for dinner tonight thread, I always find something to add to my meal plans.

I try my best to avoid the icecream isle, as that soon adds up, when the kids were smaller, I made my own lollies for them from apple juice or NAS squash.

I hope my waffling helps a bit X

whiteguineapig

if it helps any one
i have just bought some aldi ice lollies that have ice cream in the middle but are frozen out side (different flavours) something like a mivi
8 for 89p,
they'r not the best but we like them (and the price)

PasturesNew

It's difficult without knowing the stuff you have problems with. I increasingly find that the foods people on MSE are eating are alien to me... so maybe you're struggling with things I've never had.

If stuff goes off too quickly, don't buy it. That's how I manage my food stocks and having zero waste. If you buy it, you have to eat it ALL, or leave it on the shelf.

Vegetable quiches keep and can be frozen/defrosted on a whim.
Same with cold pizza slices.

Some things can be whipped up in 10 minutes flat for pennies, such as pasta salads, potato salads and assorted couscous/similar things.

Grated carrot looks good as a side dish - and takes seconds to "make".

So, as a clue, what did you eat yesterday that's too expensive, goes off too quickly, or needs plumping out?

I had a bowl of pasta (60g dry weight), mixed with flavoured coleslaw, a boiled egg sliced and 2 plum tomatoes.

suki1964

Living in a cold wet place has it advantages, summer food isn't something I have to think about often ( same as summer clothes lol )

However on those rare days we will have lighter meals. Mostly salad as the veg with pasta, cous cous or new pots as the carbs, then protein will be quiche, fish, sausages, chicken etc,

I'm very fortunate that we have a wood oven in the garden. i will be lighting it tomorrow and will be spit roasting a chicken. Will also make pizzas at the weekend in it We make a lot of pizzas during the summer as served with a salad they are quick, cheap, filling, and depending on topping pretty healthy ( Tom, anchovies, olives and a few blobs of mozzarella )

Anything cooked outside seems to taste nicer. Even just a BBQ meal of sausages or burgers on a plate with salad and bread rolls will be lovely and won't break the bank

Don't forget, making your own coleslaw , pot salad , pasta salad will save you a fortune. I make enough for two or three days at a time so there's always something there to fill a meal out

pigpen

Just cook exactly the same and serve with salads, rice/pasta/leafy

My lot had hotdogs (as a treat) with leafy salad.

Today I am throwing a lump of pig in the SC and they will get it sliced with cold pasta in some dressing or other depending what I find in the cupboard. probably with tomatoes and cucumber etc

Food is just food we don't have summer/winter food..

Anne_Marie_2

Always make your own side salads as others have said. A bean salad is pretty filling and full of protein too. I make various different ones, but the standard basic is kidney beans (could be any kind of beans), sweetcorn, diced peppers and onion either with a mayo or oil/lemon juice dressing and some herbs or spices of your choice. DD always ate this one from a young age, which is why it became my standard basic one. A big bowl will last in the fridge for several days.

Another involving beans is a tomato and bean casserole with beans, onions, garlic, carrots, peppers and mushrooms (or any veg that you like, depends what I have to hand). Spices can be oregano/Italian seasoning or spice it up with Cajun or Mexican spices. Beans can be any type that you like. Good both hot and cold and freezes well.

Grown your own salad leaves. Can easily be grown in a tub or planter, or window box, even on kitchen window sill if you don't have a garden. Past few years, I've bought some of those growing salads from Lidl when staying with my parents over the summer, and potted them up to keep us going for several weeks. Also Mum always buys those Little Gem lettuce, so I re grow them too. (Cut off base, put in saucer of water until leaves start to grow, then plant up). You can do this with any type of lettuce.
More ideas here http://www.diyncrafts.com/4732/repurpose/25-foods-can-re-grow-kitchen-scraps.

Lance_De_Boils

Tink_04 wrote: »

I'm a lover on my SC and can batch cook some great family meals. I make wonderful casserole dishes and can make lovely comfort food ...... But I really struggle come summertime (ok just when it's not -5 outside) to come up with things I can make without blowing my £250 for 4 of us budget.

I find winter I can stretch out my meals and pad out meals with filling dishes but come summer it all gets a bit harder and I find my budget blown on stuff that doesn't keep.

Would love to know any good (cheap) family meals I can jazz up my meal plan with that don't cost a fortune.

I feel the same as you. Extra dumplings, spuds, beans etc are great, cheap padders in winter. Not so sure about summer though.

I can't post links but one of my favourites is gigantes plaki...Greek baked beans. It costs pennies and is great hot or cold.

I love Indian takeaways but can't afford them so I make them. I get my recipes from Al's Kitchen on YouTube.