Learning to be frugal in the kitchen

BrassicWoman

I have an app on my phone called "kitchen store cupboard" where you add what you have and expiry dates. It's pre-loaded just for herbs but you can add anything. Then I can buy things to compliment what I have, and don't end up with huge stockpiles.

Also it's very therapeutic spending an hour or two sorting through and loading (and throwing out reallllly old stuff.)

Molillie

I would just aim to keep reading through threads and taking note of ideas which help you at the moment. It's too hard to change everything overnight. Don't get stressed by it.
Maybe keep a note of the most successful meals, to save you remembering who likes what.
If you shop weekly, and are paid monthly, pretend all the months have five weeks, and divide your budget by that. It will help you not run short in the 31 day months, and build up a bit of extra.

LongTimeLurker18

Hi There,

I just wanted to quickly add that the recipe for Jack Monroes Penny Pizzas is amazingly quick to throw together in a bowl (I don't bother faffing around with flouring surfaces to roll it out, just add it all in a bowl and mix together, allow an hour or so for the dough to rise and then dollop it on a lightly oiled tray to form its own shape!).
You can adapt it to make smaller pizzas with or without cookie cutter shapes or a nice big base and then the kids can add whatever toppings they want/whatever needs using up!
Kids find it entertaining and yummy and it's cheap as chips requiring just a small amount of flour, sachet of yeast, table spoon of oil, warm water and some tomato puree and cheese for a basic margarita. (actual recipe on Jack's blog).
Can be cooked in batches too

Or another healthy snack is flapjacks made using ripe bananas and oats with whatever extras you want such as choc chips, dried fruit, nuts etc. Again the recipe can be found online, I cannot post links due to being a new poster

Hope this helps

mardatha

What I did at the very start was to pretend I was stuck on an island and what food I had in the house was all there was... it was fun and we had some strange meals but it worked

purpleybat

MartagonLilies wrote: »

:)Does anyone mind sharing any good recipes please? Or maybe some cookbook suggestions?

i love cookbooks (have about 300) and try to make three new things a week, lots easier now my sister is staying during the week.
but... i would suggest popping to the library and getting a couple out, trying 3-4 recipes to see how they work for you and then consider buying the book. i have a list i keep an eye out for in charity shops and from amazon.
i know before i've bought books and the recipes just don't work for me and that's a waste of money esp if things are tight.

Molillie

purpleybat, you are right about the library, our tiny branch has lots of good recipe books, including ones for helping various medical conditions which aren't seen so often in shops.
Good Housekeeping ones tend to be full of well-tested dishes, and also Delia Smith, who is seen as old-fashioned now, but one of her strengths was that the recipes had really been checked and refined until they are pretty foolproof.
My nephews all liked Jamie Oliver, who was starting with the Naked Chef when they were young boys, and appealed to them. They all became competent cooks, tending to use the method of getting one dish right, trying variations, and then learning another one. (there are five of them, cousins, not all brothers, and two take the lead in making family meals now with their own children) He has lots of books in the library.
Our branch also has magazines with recipes in, like Good Housekeeping, and sell off slightly out-of-date editions for about 50p, I think, I've certainly bought one before for the recipes.
In the main now I've switched to watching Youtube videos, and the BBC site, especially if I've picked up some reduced items and want some ideas. I haven't watched much on television for a while, as the various cooking-related competitions aren't really for me long-term.
Long time Lurker, you are right about Jack Monroe, she has recipes which are easy to adapt and make with children. She is also good at suggesting substitutions for more expensive ingredients.
Fuddle, you are right about changing tastes, reducing salt and sugar and using things like raw carrot sticks and unsalted nuts as nibbles is going to help children (and adults) get healthy habits. I get a fruit and veg box delivered now, and try to prepare it all together while I'm watching youtube, or listening to an audio book. I find that if it's all in the fridge in containers, it's easier to put a meal together, or just take out something to snack on, otherwise I can leave things too long.
Martagonlilies, I hope you have time to update us on how things are going for you and your family.

kboss2010

My go-to recipes are the following:

Mac !!!8216;n!!!8217; Cheese - start with a roux (a big knob of butter melted & stir in a couple of heaped tbsp flour & whisk u TIL a paste) then add a couple of handfuls of grated cheese, 1 tsp smooth mustard, milk, salt & pepper to taste - you won!!!8217;t taste the mustard but it adds a depth of flavour you don!!!8217;t get otherwise. Pour over cooked pasta. Try adding a cup of frozen peas or some chopped up bacon. The trick to smooth cheese sauce is DON!!!8217;T STOP WHISKING UNTIL IT!!!8217;S FINISHED.

Moroccan shepherd!!!8217;s pie - sweet potato mash topping (boiled sweet potatoes, butter, salt & optional tsp grated nutmeg), then chuck mince, diced onions, 2 beef stock cubes, 2 chopped cloves of garlic (or 2 heaped tsp garlic paste), 1 tbsp tomato pur!e, approx 50 mls orange juice, sweet corn, a tin of kidney beans, chopped peppers, a handful of raisins or dried apricots & salt & pepper & cook the filling until the onions are soft & the kidney beans/mince are cooked. Then layer it, sprinkle with grated cheese & pop it under a grill for a few mins until the cheese goes crispy.

I batch cook the heck out of this one because it freezes so well!

Sweet & sour chicken - a packet of diced chicken, 2 sliced onions, a few chopped spring onions, 3 large peppers or 5 small out of a bag cut into chunks, a large tin of pineapple diced & the sauce is just the pineapple juice from the tin, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp tomato pur!e & 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce & a tbsp flour to thicken the sauce.

MartagonLilies

Hello :wave:
I'm sorry I haven't been on here for a while. It's rather rude of me, I just haven't been able to.
Thank you for all the new replies and advice I've had.
I've just quickly typed this out, to apologize. I'll have a read back through again, and be back with a bit more of responce!
Thank you, and sorry again:o

MartagonLilies

Ok, so this week I've tried to use what we have in first, and today is shopping day.
We have had soup and toasties one night, that was a good suggestion, so thanks for that tip!
I've also used my slow cooker, and checked out JM's blog a bit more, as well as the BBC food one. I really like their option to add the ingredients to your shopping list.

I will admit though that I've failed on all of us sitting down to eat the same meal, at the same time.
Am hoping to get better with it, I just can't face the back lash from DC2. I'm stuck on it. So for example tomorrow, I'm making Cottage pie. DC2 will not eat it. Perhaps the mince, without the peas and carrots added. What to serve with it though, for minimum fuss, I don't know! That's where I struggle I think.I

I still also have a freezer full of food that I couldn't think of what to do with. Not sure I've actually done that well.

rosie383

You've made a start so you have done well!

And hopefully you are feeling the support of the OS community behind you. And please be aware that because you have asked for help, there are probably thousands of people out there reading this thread who have been able to make even a few little changes that will make a difference in the long run.

So give yourself credit. Most of us are not as frugal as many of the regulars on OS but we try to pick up wee tips and make even wee differences to the way we do things.
I had been fairly frugal for a while, but because I'm working now and have had a wee bit of my own money, I'd become complacent and had fallen off the OS wagon a bit. Reading your thread gave me a kick up the bum to get some control back in the kitchen again.